I hope this review won't be controversial....
Tapestry of Dark Souls
Summary: A novel following a young couple's encounter with a legendary dark artifact that results in the birth of a young man whom will free its evil entrapping contents on an unsuspecting world.
Tapestry of Souls is a work that's fairly infamous in Ravenloft literary circles because the work is well...awful. Part of the problem is the plot is so damn...Vile. I'm not a squeamish man and largely argue for more adult D&D products. Tapestry of Dark Souls has rape, torture, infanticide, forced marriage, religious justification for ignoring the screaming defilement of a woman not two feet away that no one helps from our "good guys" and more violently gratituous death than any ten of the other books combined. I'm certainly comfortable with the subjects but the context in which lesbianism and promiscuity are mixed with the storyline (I'm twitchy whenever these are associated with horror, monsters, or anything 'evil') is something I'm not too happy with either. They are causally lumped with the villianesses and their activities seemed deliberately to add further shock to a book. The emotionlessness of sexuality in the book also seems to be something out of a bad french film.
But these touchy subject's handling in an abominable manner in what had then be a fairly family friendly series that at most eluded to Strahd's taking women by force (and even Azalin's taking of his unwilling wife was done in a subdued fashion) could have been fine if the rest of the writing had been quality. Instead, Tapestry of Dark Souls exists solely to shock people with the depravity of the individuals involved. The Monks of the Guardians never once warn innocent travellers of the Tapestry and leave an innocent woman to be violated, the young 'hero' lets his father carve a nightmarish swath across Tepest, and everyone else is selfish to the point of total inhumanity. Everything is gratitous in this book and it's ironic that the Tapestry's creation in Tales of Ravenloft would be a thousand times more akin to the mood than this piece of drek is.
I can't honestly say that any of this book is useful to Ravenloft and would mark it as even more worthless than Death of a Darklord. No matter how out of character Harkon Lucas was, no matter how violent that was, no matter how freakish some of it was....it doesn't hold a candle to Tapestry of Dark Souls. The people in Death of a Darklord at least are HUMAN....the people in this book are repulsive. Also, and I never thought I'd say this, Ravenloft as described in this book has wayyyyy too many monsters. The volume content seems closer to Hell than the Land of Mists.
0 out of 5 drops.
The Reviews for the Review Section thread
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Willowhugger
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Last edited by Willowhugger on Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Willowhugger
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The Enemy Within
Summary: A novel chronicling Nova Vaasa's Darklord's history. Sir Tristan Higeraad is cursed by a Vistani woman, despite being innocent of any crime. Brought into Ravenloft by the vileness of her spell, Sir Tristan must contend with the rise of the evil Malken and the horrors he brings to his family.
The Enemy Within has been widely lambasted because it contradicts a great deal in the 'cannon' sourcebook regarding Sir Tristan Higeraad. The problem is, well, Sir Tristan Higeraad's curse is boring. That is, unless you're a member of his bloodline and in which case it's great. I won't say that the author shouldn't have stuck to the guidelines but the work here is still one that is excellent for working through Nova Vaasa.
Game source materialwise, the Enemy Within is a wealth of details with the entire domain absolutely reaking of crimminal tresspasses and urban decay. If Port-A-Lucine is the home of Alanik Ray, he probably should be better here because the Moriarty feel of Malken is a wonderful use for a character who otherwise seems a tad out of place. The idea of Sir Tristan Higeraard being out of place as a champion of law and order despite his station is also a wonderful way to set up shock value.
The storyline works well with the nature of Sir Tristan's origin, the unfair curse upon him, his relationship with his wife, and his poor misguided son are all wonderfully handled. The end of the story also justifies the odd question as to why Sir Tristan is a Dark Lord when he really seems to be largely an innocent victim here. Even if he is, he's made his own damnation.
Nevertheless, because of the gross violation of cannon. Sir Tristan is a wizard, five moons, and the new origin...the storyline can't be given a perfect score. It's hardly I, Strahd or even Vampire of the Mists honestly either. It is an amusing bit of Dark Fantasy though and one that I heartily recommend.
4 out of 5 blood drops
Summary: A novel chronicling Nova Vaasa's Darklord's history. Sir Tristan Higeraad is cursed by a Vistani woman, despite being innocent of any crime. Brought into Ravenloft by the vileness of her spell, Sir Tristan must contend with the rise of the evil Malken and the horrors he brings to his family.
The Enemy Within has been widely lambasted because it contradicts a great deal in the 'cannon' sourcebook regarding Sir Tristan Higeraad. The problem is, well, Sir Tristan Higeraad's curse is boring. That is, unless you're a member of his bloodline and in which case it's great. I won't say that the author shouldn't have stuck to the guidelines but the work here is still one that is excellent for working through Nova Vaasa.
Game source materialwise, the Enemy Within is a wealth of details with the entire domain absolutely reaking of crimminal tresspasses and urban decay. If Port-A-Lucine is the home of Alanik Ray, he probably should be better here because the Moriarty feel of Malken is a wonderful use for a character who otherwise seems a tad out of place. The idea of Sir Tristan Higeraard being out of place as a champion of law and order despite his station is also a wonderful way to set up shock value.
The storyline works well with the nature of Sir Tristan's origin, the unfair curse upon him, his relationship with his wife, and his poor misguided son are all wonderfully handled. The end of the story also justifies the odd question as to why Sir Tristan is a Dark Lord when he really seems to be largely an innocent victim here. Even if he is, he's made his own damnation.
Nevertheless, because of the gross violation of cannon. Sir Tristan is a wizard, five moons, and the new origin...the storyline can't be given a perfect score. It's hardly I, Strahd or even Vampire of the Mists honestly either. It is an amusing bit of Dark Fantasy though and one that I heartily recommend.
4 out of 5 blood drops
Last edited by Willowhugger on Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Steve Miller
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I probably shouldn't do this....Brandi wrote:I had to read that twice before realizing you weren't proposing to write some kind of horrible fanfic story.Steve Miller wrote:(Three-way with her, Moosha, and Don Pablo.)
[Bad taste ahead]
[Bad taste ahead... you've been warned.]
[Bad taste ahead... turn back now if you're under 18 or a mature adult.]
If such a story were to be written, it would have to be titled "Marla Gives Head".
Steve Miller, Writer of Stuff
Once and Future Ravenloft Contributor
Help keep my cats fed and my car gassed up: [url=http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=3765]NUELOW Games at RPGNow.[/url]
Once and Future Ravenloft Contributor
Help keep my cats fed and my car gassed up: [url=http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=3765]NUELOW Games at RPGNow.[/url]
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Willowhugger
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Steve Miller
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Ah... so it dates from around the time 'ContN: Vampires' was released. Was the article by Paul Culotta?Willowhugger wrote:The story with Marla is 222# of Dragon Magazine by the way Steve. One of my favorites as well. I checked my Dragon Magazine Archives for it.
Steve Miller, Writer of Stuff
Once and Future Ravenloft Contributor
Help keep my cats fed and my car gassed up: [url=http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=3765]NUELOW Games at RPGNow.[/url]
Once and Future Ravenloft Contributor
Help keep my cats fed and my car gassed up: [url=http://www.rpgnow.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=3765]NUELOW Games at RPGNow.[/url]
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Willowhugger
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Willowhugger
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I was a tad dissapointed that you didn't use this more Steve in Legacy of Blood.
Scholar of Decay
Summary: A novel following a Borcan nobleman and secret mage trying to find a curse for his petrified wife's curse. His dandy brother follows him. Both become quickly caught up in the wererat's intrigue.
Scholar of Decay is probably my favorite Ravenloft book even if I recognize that I, Strahd, King of the Dead, and Lord of the Necropolis are better and more relevant (Dance of the Dead is my second favorite).
Richemulot's detail here is good because it basically becomes a sort of twisted Venice instead of a generically abandoned city. The intrigues and flavors here are well handled with the flavor of the domain being that it's an endless party so long as you don't tick off the nobility of wererats or end up crossing the many weirdos who can get you killed and then dumped into the canals.
Scholar of Decay treats magic as a matter of scholars as well with the feeling of wizardry being traditional D&D but somehow more Heremetic in feel and thus being more appropriate for the Land of Mists. The insanity of the protagionist's quest and his heroism unrewarded for it is all very well done.
Finally, weirdly enough, the book also suceeds in making the wererats sexy. Their role as information brokers is well played in the context but the best part is well...the Core can always use some more fine honeys as Darklords.
5 out of 5 blood drops
Scholar of Decay
Summary: A novel following a Borcan nobleman and secret mage trying to find a curse for his petrified wife's curse. His dandy brother follows him. Both become quickly caught up in the wererat's intrigue.
Scholar of Decay is probably my favorite Ravenloft book even if I recognize that I, Strahd, King of the Dead, and Lord of the Necropolis are better and more relevant (Dance of the Dead is my second favorite).
Richemulot's detail here is good because it basically becomes a sort of twisted Venice instead of a generically abandoned city. The intrigues and flavors here are well handled with the flavor of the domain being that it's an endless party so long as you don't tick off the nobility of wererats or end up crossing the many weirdos who can get you killed and then dumped into the canals.
Scholar of Decay treats magic as a matter of scholars as well with the feeling of wizardry being traditional D&D but somehow more Heremetic in feel and thus being more appropriate for the Land of Mists. The insanity of the protagionist's quest and his heroism unrewarded for it is all very well done.
Finally, weirdly enough, the book also suceeds in making the wererats sexy. Their role as information brokers is well played in the context but the best part is well...the Core can always use some more fine honeys as Darklords.
5 out of 5 blood drops
Last edited by Willowhugger on Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Willowhugger
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When Black Rose's Bloom
Summary: Lord Soth has begun to lose interest in his domain and it has started to decay and destroy his homeland. The PCs must find a way to stop this.
I love this adventure because the mirrors are a brilliant way to explore the past of any Dark Lord. While I cannot imagine that their number and volume would be applicable to every Dark Lord. The narrative device could be turned to explore the history of virtually any of the Dread Lords.
The idea of a Dark Lord of Ravenloft not caring enough about his realm to the point to actually have it start falling apart on him is a great device honestly and I think that it personally fits very well into Ravenloft.
If I had one complaint about the whole thing, its the fact that Sithicus as a whole has NEVER fit into Ravenloft and no matter how you slice it...never will. The whole idea of a domain of elves is a square peg enough as it is but the whole "Dark Knight/Camelot" etc feel of Soth is completely out of place.
I did do this adventure but my own biases against Sithicus made it almost unrecognizable with countless feuding knights, passions run amock, and the like being a major feature of the Domain. The exploration of Soth's home is nevertheless a great one and I'm glad to have done this adventure.
I just wish the idea of a portal in SOTH'S ARMOR was gone. There's also the slight oddity of bandying about 20th level Paladin and Priest for the characters but that's nitpicking and probably because they were idealized versions of the characters.
4 out of 5 blood drops.
Summary: Lord Soth has begun to lose interest in his domain and it has started to decay and destroy his homeland. The PCs must find a way to stop this.
I love this adventure because the mirrors are a brilliant way to explore the past of any Dark Lord. While I cannot imagine that their number and volume would be applicable to every Dark Lord. The narrative device could be turned to explore the history of virtually any of the Dread Lords.
The idea of a Dark Lord of Ravenloft not caring enough about his realm to the point to actually have it start falling apart on him is a great device honestly and I think that it personally fits very well into Ravenloft.
If I had one complaint about the whole thing, its the fact that Sithicus as a whole has NEVER fit into Ravenloft and no matter how you slice it...never will. The whole idea of a domain of elves is a square peg enough as it is but the whole "Dark Knight/Camelot" etc feel of Soth is completely out of place.
I did do this adventure but my own biases against Sithicus made it almost unrecognizable with countless feuding knights, passions run amock, and the like being a major feature of the Domain. The exploration of Soth's home is nevertheless a great one and I'm glad to have done this adventure.
I just wish the idea of a portal in SOTH'S ARMOR was gone. There's also the slight oddity of bandying about 20th level Paladin and Priest for the characters but that's nitpicking and probably because they were idealized versions of the characters.
4 out of 5 blood drops.
Last edited by Willowhugger on Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Willowhugger
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Gazetteer V
Summary: The Travelogue to Nova Vaasa, the Shadow Rift, Keening, and Tepest.
Gazetteer V isn't my favorite of the Gazetteers but it's the last of them and nevertheless one of the quality works of RPGing I've ever read and for that I'm grateful. The entire series has been one gigantic expansion of the Domains of Dread and while they're all filled with too much obviousness that 'there ain't something right about these parts.' Every domain is nevertheless given a detailed and fascinating history. Part of the success of the line is due to S, the third most engaging character in Ravenloft after Strahd and Doctor Van Ritchen (Azalin is now fourth). The stoic and cynical female narrator is probably one of the least displayed females in fantasy and gets by on her personality alone. Compared to the Weathermay Sisters, her professionalism and experience is a welcome return to Doctor Van Ritchen levels of detail. It's a pity we'll never find out what would happen to her in Blaustein, I'Cath, or Pardion.
Nova Vaasa- This entry does well in expanding on Nova Vaasa, a domain that has remained the "other" not-so-terrible domain after Mordent for people who want to visit some place without interesting plots afoot. This has changed and Nova Vaasa is now a festering cesspool of poverty, crime, and passion. It's pretty clearly a place you can play both Russians and the Old West at once. If there's one complaint, it's the fact that Nova Vaasa doesn't really have much in the way of monster content. Aside from cowboys and indians, there's not much in the way for characters to fight evil here unless they want to try and deal with the edemic vice to the region.
Tepest- The depiction of Tepest makes it a place that's pretty much a mixture of people from The Crucible and Grimm's Fairy Tales. It's a little one note with the Inquisition and the superstitious peasantry the ONLY noteworthy features of the place that don't involve the massive goblyn population. Maybe it's my own bias against religious bigotry but moreso than Necropolis, I don't think the Domains of Dread would lose much if this entire domain vanished with their dread lords.
Keening- Keening is a problematic domain really because aside from the town of the dead (Necropolis does 'unhead hellhole' much better even if it was second), there's not much interesting to the domain and Tristessa is one of those few domain lords you can slay without effecting the Demiplane at all (the only other Core domain lord with this dubious distinction is Sir Tristan Al Blanc). They add some nice moment though with undead Shadow Fey afoot and a few Rumplestiltskin moments. This is one of those areas that could have used a comple overhaul though rather than refresher.
The Shadow Rift- A wonderful fleshing out of the domain by the writers and one I'm grateful for. They cover everything you need to know about the mysterious and frightening Shadow Fey here. I admit, I was skeptical when they revealed the Shadow Rift was populated by FAERIES of all things but they've created a thriving and surreal subculture out of it and now it's difficult to imagine Ravenloft without them.
The prestige classes were well done and enjoyable with unfortunately "Inquisitor" not really something a player would take. The monsters were intriguing and and well detailed. I liked the character writeups as well with Gwydion growing more and more like Cthulhu with every bit of writing (he's a former ARCHFIEND?)
I wished they'd included an updated Desmound Larouche though.
Summary: The Travelogue to Nova Vaasa, the Shadow Rift, Keening, and Tepest.
Gazetteer V isn't my favorite of the Gazetteers but it's the last of them and nevertheless one of the quality works of RPGing I've ever read and for that I'm grateful. The entire series has been one gigantic expansion of the Domains of Dread and while they're all filled with too much obviousness that 'there ain't something right about these parts.' Every domain is nevertheless given a detailed and fascinating history. Part of the success of the line is due to S, the third most engaging character in Ravenloft after Strahd and Doctor Van Ritchen (Azalin is now fourth). The stoic and cynical female narrator is probably one of the least displayed females in fantasy and gets by on her personality alone. Compared to the Weathermay Sisters, her professionalism and experience is a welcome return to Doctor Van Ritchen levels of detail. It's a pity we'll never find out what would happen to her in Blaustein, I'Cath, or Pardion.
Nova Vaasa- This entry does well in expanding on Nova Vaasa, a domain that has remained the "other" not-so-terrible domain after Mordent for people who want to visit some place without interesting plots afoot. This has changed and Nova Vaasa is now a festering cesspool of poverty, crime, and passion. It's pretty clearly a place you can play both Russians and the Old West at once. If there's one complaint, it's the fact that Nova Vaasa doesn't really have much in the way of monster content. Aside from cowboys and indians, there's not much in the way for characters to fight evil here unless they want to try and deal with the edemic vice to the region.
Tepest- The depiction of Tepest makes it a place that's pretty much a mixture of people from The Crucible and Grimm's Fairy Tales. It's a little one note with the Inquisition and the superstitious peasantry the ONLY noteworthy features of the place that don't involve the massive goblyn population. Maybe it's my own bias against religious bigotry but moreso than Necropolis, I don't think the Domains of Dread would lose much if this entire domain vanished with their dread lords.
Keening- Keening is a problematic domain really because aside from the town of the dead (Necropolis does 'unhead hellhole' much better even if it was second), there's not much interesting to the domain and Tristessa is one of those few domain lords you can slay without effecting the Demiplane at all (the only other Core domain lord with this dubious distinction is Sir Tristan Al Blanc). They add some nice moment though with undead Shadow Fey afoot and a few Rumplestiltskin moments. This is one of those areas that could have used a comple overhaul though rather than refresher.
The Shadow Rift- A wonderful fleshing out of the domain by the writers and one I'm grateful for. They cover everything you need to know about the mysterious and frightening Shadow Fey here. I admit, I was skeptical when they revealed the Shadow Rift was populated by FAERIES of all things but they've created a thriving and surreal subculture out of it and now it's difficult to imagine Ravenloft without them.
The prestige classes were well done and enjoyable with unfortunately "Inquisitor" not really something a player would take. The monsters were intriguing and and well detailed. I liked the character writeups as well with Gwydion growing more and more like Cthulhu with every bit of writing (he's a former ARCHFIEND?)
I wished they'd included an updated Desmound Larouche though.
Last edited by Willowhugger on Sat Aug 20, 2005 2:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bloody Morgan
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A little comment on the format that you're using Willowhugger. I think your reviews would be improved by including a summary chapter at the start of each, stating the basic premise of each product you review. Your writing is characterful and enjoyable, but not always hugely informative. For example, I was near the end of your review of Tapestry of Dark Souls before I knew if you were reviewing a book or a scenario. Your review of CotN: Vampires tells me very little about most of the vampires you mention. You say "Lyssa Von Zharovich's adventure unfortunately stunk since it more or less made her completely unusable as a villainess." but you don't say why. What was her adventure? Why did it stink? Why did it make her completely unusable as a villainess?
I enjoy reading what you're posting here because of your style - if you put a wee bit more form to the posts then I'd be suggesting that all this goes into the Fraternity archives.
Bloody Morgan
I enjoy reading what you're posting here because of your style - if you put a wee bit more form to the posts then I'd be suggesting that all this goes into the Fraternity archives.
Bloody Morgan
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Willowhugger
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Bloody Morgan
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Willowhugger
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I don't want to say too much of the content value.Bloody Morgan wrote:How do you mean "spoil the product value"?Willowhugger wrote:I'll see what I can do but honestly I don't want to spoil the product value and some of what I comment on borders on that.
However, I'm halfway done with my summary's now.
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Bloody Morgan
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I'm going to assume that means you don't want to give away the plot. But that means that the only people who can really understand your reviews are people who have the products. I can understand you not wanting to reveal plot twists to players, but there's no point to writing reviews if they don't tell a potential buyer* what they're going to get. If my game never goes near G'henna, I wouldn't be too happy to buy Circle of Darkness, even if it was a good book. Some more info on what is product actually is, such as what level it's aimed for, what's the basic premise, etc. would do wonders for what you're writing. And they'd be worth revising to put into the Drawing Room here in the Frat, imho.Willowhugger wrote:I don't want to say too much of the content value.
However, I'm halfway done with my summary's now.
Bloody Morgan
* and with old Ravenloft stuff available in pdf, we can still be these.