Pyramid Review
Imperial Survey 1: Hawkwood Fiefs, by Christopher Howard
Imperial Survey 2: al-Malik Fiefs, by Rustin Quaide
Published by Holistic Design, Inc.
32 pages, $6.95 each
One of the most welcome trends in gaming these days is the short, inexpensive supplement. Pioneered by several game lines -- most notably White Wolf's Trinity -- these supplements tend to treat a single topic in a flavorful "in character" fashion. That is, they place a premium on setting over rules. This is a welcome approach. The last things most games need these days are more rules. As a game master, I've always been mildly afraid of new rules, as they often wreak havoc on the delicate equilibrium of established campaigns. By being "in character," these supplements make nice "hand-outs" for the players, serving as a precis of the topic in question from the perspective of someone living in that milieu. Add to that their low price and you've got the makings of a truly useful product.When I learned that Holistic Design had decided to adopt this model for Fading Suns, I was very pleased. Called the "Imperial Survey" series, these books are presented as reports given by a Questing Knight to the emperor about a handful of worlds. Each book begins with a short "letter," introducing the knight who composed the report. This is followed by the descriptions of several worlds controlled by one of the setting's great noble houses, hence the names of each volume. Each world is described in terms of its history, . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: January 28, 2000
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