The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Hush, brothers, hush. Here in the Church of Righteous Reviewing it is time for silence. The sermon you are about to here is last of today's offerings from the Reviewing Reverend Mao Chapman. Take your seats all ye who seek to see the Light of Truth shone brightly to illuminate the RPG world.

Truly, my brethren, it is time to listen to the last of today's sermons on recent L5R supplements. The trilogy of Righteous Reviews finishes with my look at The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan. Be sure to listen to my sermons on The Winter Court and The Way of Shadow if you have not already been kind enough to do so.

This book, according to the back cover blurb, is about the Merchant's of Rokugan. The following is a verbatim quotation from the back cover, "The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan has everything players and GMs need to know about this deeply underestimated class, from the secrets of the Unicorn caravans to the unseen influence of the Yasuki traders." The front cover depicts a grinning merchant, and similarly the introduction discusses the emerging importance of Rokugani merchant's, the increasing value of the koku, rice production of the Seven Clans and other such material.

But brethren, my sermon will show you different. Gather close, brethren, for the Reviewing Reverent Mao Chapman is about to show you what the Church of Righteous Reviewing and the Holy Light of Role-Playing Truth can do for you. Are you ready?

The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan, aside from the back cover and the first two pages of the introduction, has got nothing to do with the merchants of Rokugan. At least, not in the way you expect. You see, my Flock, The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan is about the Kolat. Yes, you heard me. The Kolat, the conspiracy that has been hinted at, touched on, whispered about, is here.

There, I've said it. I have blown the lid on the funniest piece of RPG marketing I have ever seen. Totally misguiding the entire public for the sake of keeping the Kolat secret. Once again, we are reminded that AEG is not White Wolf as they give everything there is to know about the ancient and very, very secretive master-conspiracy, the Kolat.

I cannot say much more, brethren, for to do so would be to ruin the book. I preach to you today to warn players away from buying this book. Even more so than Way of Shadow this is a GM-only book. At least in the case of the Ninja, players have some idea about what they are. The Kolat, however, are completely unknown and should remain so until their GM chooses to let them know, little by little, what they are.

Without spoiling anything, the book is a no-nonsense guide to the Kolat. It describes their history, from humble beginnings right through until their present state. It covers their organisation, motives, recruitment and methods and it then describes important members. Some of these may or may not be already published as innocent-looking characters in other supplements……

There has been so much hinting about the Kolat that when I realised I was actually reading the definitive sourcebook I was suspicious. Was I going to read about just another secret-society; could the book manage to keep me interested. The problem about revealing secrets is that they often do not live up to their expectations. Well, brethren, I am happy to say I was not disappointed. The Kolat are interesting, plausible, and easily in keeping with the rest of Rokugan.

One of my only complaints about the book are that it does not give very much help on integrating the Kolat into an existing campaign. After Way of Shadow, which excels in this department, I was a little disappointed. A few more hooks would have been welcome (then again, I don't want any more of the 'Challenge, Focus, Strike' type hooks that I never feel quite work). There is some advice on bringing one or more Kolat characters into an existing party and running a campaign from there, but this does not help a campaign in which there are already established characters. Nonetheless I was glad of reading this book.

In conclusion, I doubt there are many GMs who have heard this sermon who will not want this book. After shining to Holy Light of Truth and revealing the book for what is it, who does not want to learn about the Kolat. You will not be disappointed, although the book will not be winning any awards. A good, solid sourcebook about an organisation that is anything but.

Good day, brothers, may you go in peace.

So ends the sermon, good people. Be sure to visit Reverend Mao Chapman's Church of Righteous Reviewing next time it convenes. The sermon will aim, as always, to be enlightening.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan
Author: Rob Vaux Category: game Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group Line: Legend of the Five RIngs Cost: $19.95 Page count: 117 Pages Capsule Review by Mao Chapman on 05/10/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Historical Asian/Far_East	Hush, brothers, hush. Here in the Church of Righteous Reviewing it is time for silence. The sermon you are about to here is last of today's offerings from the Reviewing Reverend Mao Chapman. Take your seats all ye who seek to see the Light of Truth shone brightly to illuminate the RPG world. Truly, my brethren, it is time to listen to the last of today's sermons on recent L5R supplements. The trilogy of Righteous Reviews finishes with my look at The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan. Be sure to listen to my sermons on The Winter Court and The Way of Shadow if you have not already been kind enough to do so. This book, according to the back cover blurb, is about the Merchant's of Rokugan. The following is a verbatim quotation from the back cover, "The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan has everything players and GMs need to know about this deeply underestimated class, from the secrets of the Unicorn caravans to the unseen influence of the Yasuki traders." The front cover depicts a grinning merchant, and similarly the introduction discusses the emerging importance of Rokugani merchant's, the increasing value of the koku, rice production of the Seven Clans and other such material. But brethren, my sermon will show you different. Gather close, brethren, for the Reviewing Reverent Mao Chapman is about to show you what the Church of Righteous Reviewing and the Holy Light of Role-Playing Truth can do for you. Are you ready? The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan, aside from the back cover and the first two pages of the introduction, has got nothing to do with the merchants of Rokugan. At least, not in the way you expect. You see, my Flock, The Merchant's Guide to Rokugan is about the Kolat. Yes, you heard me. The Kolat, the conspiracy that has been hinted at, touched on, whispered about, is here. There, I've said it. I have blown the lid on the funniest piece of RPG marketing I have ever seen. Totally misguiding the entire public for the sake of keeping the Kolat secret. Once again, we are reminded that AEG is not White Wolf as they give everything there is to know about the ancient and very, very secretive master-conspiracy, the Kolat. I cannot say much more, brethren, for to do so would be to ruin the book. I preach to you today to warn players away from buying this book. Even more so than Way of Shadow this is a GM-only book. At least in the case of the Ninja, players have some idea about what they are. The Kolat, however, are completely unknown and should remain so until their GM chooses to let them know, little by little, what they are. Without spoiling anything, the book is a no-nonsense guide to the Kolat. It describes their history, from humble beginnings right through until their present state. It covers their organisation, motives, recruitment and methods and it then describes important members. Some of these may or may not be already published as innocent-looking characters in other supplements…… There has been so much hinting about the Kolat that when I realised I was actually reading the definitive sourcebook I was suspicious. Was I going to read about just another secret-society; could the book manage to keep me interested. The problem about revealing secrets is that they often do not live up to their expectations. Well, brethren, I am happy to say I was not disappointed. The Kolat are interesting, plausible, and easily in keeping with the rest of Rokugan. One of my only complaints about the book are that it does not give very much help on integrating the Kolat into an existing campaign. After Way of Shadow, which excels in this department, I was a little disappointed. A few more hooks would have been welcome (then again, I don't want any more of the 'Challenge, Focus, Strike' type hooks that I never feel quite work). There is some advice on bringing one or more Kolat characters into an existing party and running a campaign from there, but this does not help a campaign in which there are already established characters. Nonetheless I was glad of reading this book. In conclusion, I doubt there are many GMs who have heard this sermon who will not want this book. After shining to Holy Light of Truth and revealing the book for what is it, who does not want to learn about the Kolat. You will not be disappointed, although the book will not be winning any awards. A good, solid sourcebook about an organisation that is anything but. Good day, brothers, may you go in peace. So ends the sermon, good people. Be sure to visit Reverend Mao Chapman's Church of Righteous Reviewing next time it convenes. The sermon will aim, as always, to be enlightening. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)