The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I must say, I wasn't set on fire by Book of the Weaver. I mean, it's like reading about Larry. Everyone likes Moe, right? He's the interesting one, he always breaks stuff. Curly is the creative force of the group, always doing neat things.

But Larry? What's HE do? He just gets caught in the middle; seems like he's only there because there has to be three. I think he was there cause Moe & Curly owed him money.

Digression: Wait a minute; The three stooges, the three parts of the Triat. It all makes sense now! Moe = Wyrm, Larry = Weaver, Curly = Wyld! Hey, I think that would make a wonderful sourcebook. I can be reached at the e-mail below.

Anyway, BotWe comes across as a good attempt to make what was previously an un-interresting third party in the game world into a viable 'bad guy' figure.

To be deadly honest, it would have worked better as a Mage supplement. First off, it seems to be a bit of a mid-stream switch. For all this time, we've been working on the 'Wyrm as villain' idea. Wyrm is corrupting, Wyrm is destroying, blah blah, isn't Pentex cool, look at the pretty Nuwisha. Now, we're bait & switched to "It's all the weaver's fault! Whoopie!"

Now, to be honest, it's not like it's 100% new, out of the blue stuff. People have been saying for a while that it was the Weaver who went nuts & started binding and wrapping and stuff. And then the Wyrm got caught up and went nuts. Just a general nutfest.

Anyway, this book takes the Weaver and makes it a manipulative type (we're all in its web, ya see) who's trying to force the universe to total order (which, being a White Wolf book, means that everyone has to clean up their rooms and be home by curfew).

The first chapter, which is supposed to explain the Weaver and her efforts to wrap us all up in her web (this should please some of the in potentia wife beaters out there; there's a villainous female force in the Wod!) ends up just being a fairly dull piece that doesn't seem to go anywhere. Maybe I've been spoiled by tales of perversion and corruption, but the idea that the human race is doomed because of Dogma, Technology, and Science (Science!) is kind of lame-a-licious.

Of course, just because the first chapter is dryer than the bar at an AlAnon gradution party is no reason the rest of the book will be lame.

Chapter two (or "Bigger Guns, part 2") is a catalog of WeaverTech. In it you find such goodies as Nev-R-Dry gun clips (good for one gunfight only), a chemical toxin that will kill you (no matter what; it'll even cack a Kitsune!), and a computer program that allows you to create stuff (literally; it's called GenEsys, and it 'coaxes chaos into a higher state of order'.

Of course, the 'higher state of order' (anything froma cheeseburger to a statue) doesn't exist in the real world, but in the spirit world. But, wait; wasn't there a gadget that moved stuff from spirit to Prime Material a couple pages back?

The gear in this chapter is well worth the price of admission.

The Bestiary, which covers a wide variety of Weaver spirits (although you have to wonder why they couldn't have squeezed at least a few into Axis Mundi) and more corporeal servants of the olde Arachnid, is a cute chapter.

The spirits are great; ranging from programs (really, sub-routines) and AIs to the spiders that you find everywhere (with a Paradox Spirit. Joy). There are also Fomori/Kami for the Weaver. Drones, as they're called, are even rarer than Kami (which in most games mean you'll only find 20 in the average city; more if it's live action).

They seem very interesting, and I particularly like the whole idea of immutability, particularly with how it keeps them from becoming totally disposable. Regenernation, ya see.

DNA, which has been a relatively minor boogieman since Werewolf debuted is fleshed out. Of course, they're terribly subtle and evil, but don't quite fit with my view of Werewolf. The odd thing is they're essentially mortal hunters. One wonders why a group of Monkeywrenchers hasn't just decided to make the corporation a less than going concern.

Of course, the biggest flaw with this book is it has the reek of evil on it; by evil, I mean Mage. The endless Paradigm kvetching that is part & parcel of Mage causes my Werewolf hackles to rise. While I can appreciate that there might be some mixing of the Technocracy with the whole Weaver thing, could we not for once fall back on the theory that the games operate very well seperately, and mixing them together only causes pain? Just once?

The book climaxes with a short chapter on storytelling against the weaver, which was okay, if not 100% inspiring, and new charms for the spirits found in the book.

As a toybox, it's wonderful. The stuff on Weaver spirits & servitors is pure juic-i-licious goodness. Unfortunately, in its attempt to revamp the cosmos, it's a bit of a letdown. It's not a horrid book, but it's far from what it probably wanted to be.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Book of the Weaver
Author: Sue Armstrong, Sven Skoog, Ethan Skemp and Deena McKinney Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studios Line: Werewolf Cost: 17.95 Page count: 128 ISBN: 1-56504-311-1 Capsule Review by Justin Mohareb on 04/08/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Modern_day Horror Comedy Conspiracy Gothic Asian/Far_East	I must say, I wasn't set on fire by Book of the Weaver. I mean, it's like reading about Larry. Everyone likes Moe, right? He's the interesting one, he always breaks stuff. Curly is the creative force of the group, always doing neat things. But Larry? What's HE do? He just gets caught in the middle; seems like he's only there because there has to be three. I think he was there cause Moe & Curly owed him money. Digression: Wait a minute; The three stooges, the three parts of the Triat. It all makes sense now! Moe = Wyrm, Larry = Weaver, Curly = Wyld! Hey, I think that would make a wonderful sourcebook. I can be reached at the e-mail below. Anyway, BotWe comes across as a good attempt to make what was previously an un-interresting third party in the game world into a viable 'bad guy' figure. To be deadly honest, it would have worked better as a Mage supplement. First off, it seems to be a bit of a mid-stream switch. For all this time, we've been working on the 'Wyrm as villain' idea. Wyrm is corrupting, Wyrm is destroying, blah blah, isn't Pentex cool, look at the pretty Nuwisha. Now, we're bait & switched to "It's all the weaver's fault! Whoopie!" Now, to be honest, it's not like it's 100% new, out of the blue stuff. People have been saying for a while that it was the Weaver who went nuts & started binding and wrapping and stuff. And then the Wyrm got caught up and went nuts. Just a general nutfest. Anyway, this book takes the Weaver and makes it a manipulative type (we're all in its web, ya see) who's trying to force the universe to total order (which, being a White Wolf book, means that everyone has to clean up their rooms and be home by curfew). The first chapter, which is supposed to explain the Weaver and her efforts to wrap us all up in her web (this should please some of the in potentia wife beaters out there; there's a villainous female force in the Wod!) ends up just being a fairly dull piece that doesn't seem to go anywhere. Maybe I've been spoiled by tales of perversion and corruption, but the idea that the human race is doomed because of Dogma, Technology, and Science (Science!) is kind of lame-a-licious. Of course, just because the first chapter is dryer than the bar at an AlAnon gradution party is no reason the rest of the book will be lame. Chapter two (or "Bigger Guns, part 2") is a catalog of WeaverTech. In it you find such goodies as Nev-R-Dry gun clips (good for one gunfight only), a chemical toxin that will kill you (no matter what; it'll even cack a Kitsune!), and a computer program that allows you to create stuff (literally; it's called GenEsys, and it 'coaxes chaos into a higher state of order'. Of course, the 'higher state of order' (anything froma cheeseburger to a statue) doesn't exist in the real world, but in the spirit world. But, wait; wasn't there a gadget that moved stuff from spirit to Prime Material a couple pages back? The gear in this chapter is well worth the price of admission. The Bestiary, which covers a wide variety of Weaver spirits (although you have to wonder why they couldn't have squeezed at least a few into Axis Mundi) and more corporeal servants of the olde Arachnid, is a cute chapter. The spirits are great; ranging from programs (really, sub-routines) and AIs to the spiders that you find everywhere (with a Paradox Spirit. Joy). There are also Fomori/Kami for the Weaver. Drones, as they're called, are even rarer than Kami (which in most games mean you'll only find 20 in the average city; more if it's live action). They seem very interesting, and I particularly like the whole idea of immutability, particularly with how it keeps them from becoming totally disposable. Regenernation, ya see. DNA, which has been a relatively minor boogieman since Werewolf debuted is fleshed out. Of course, they're terribly subtle and evil, but don't quite fit with my view of Werewolf. The odd thing is they're essentially mortal hunters. One wonders why a group of Monkeywrenchers hasn't just decided to make the corporation a less than going concern. Of course, the biggest flaw with this book is it has the reek of evil on it; by evil, I mean Mage. The endless Paradigm kvetching that is part & parcel of Mage causes my Werewolf hackles to rise. While I can appreciate that there might be some mixing of the Technocracy with the whole Weaver thing, could we not for once fall back on the theory that the games operate very well seperately, and mixing them together only causes pain? Just once? The book climaxes with a short chapter on storytelling against the weaver, which was okay, if not 100% inspiring, and new charms for the spirits found in the book. As a toybox, it's wonderful. The stuff on Weaver spirits & servitors is pure juic-i-licious goodness. Unfortunately, in its attempt to revamp the cosmos, it's a bit of a letdown. It's not a horrid book, but it's far from what it probably wanted to be. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 3 (Average)