The Inside Scoop on Gaming

By Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Grade: B-, reviewed by Lisa Padol swordfighting consultant: Joshua Kronengold.

This is the Templar sourcebook for Deadlands: Hell on Earth. It describes the history and abilities of the knights in tarnished armor of the Wasted West. As with most Deadlands books, it is divided into Posse Territory, intended to be read by everyone; No Man's Land, intended to be read by GMs and by players who have gotten permission from their GM to read it; and The Marshall's Handbook, intended for GMs only.

The book opens with a history of the Templars, written by Jo, who, I gather, is also the narrator of The Wasted West, the worldbook for Hell on Earth. Jo explains how Simon Mercer got the idea of founding the Templars and why the Templars are very choosy about whom they will defend. She describes the Templar headquarters and talks about the Anti-Templars and the other foes of the Templars.

In addition, she talks about the original, twelfth century Templars. This is a reasonably accurate history of the original Templars and better than some that don't have the excuse that they're written by a post-apocalypse woman whose sources of information are less than perfectly reliable and who has other things on her mind than history, like survival. I do like books where the authors have done their research.

Jo's guide is followed by her colleague Biletnikoff's description of the "saints", also called Martyrs, heroes from the world of Deadlands who haven't let a small thing like being dead stop them from trying to make the world a better place by granting Templars who meet certain conditions even more cool powers than they had before. The saints will even bestow their blessings on Companions, non-Templars who have won recognition from Simon. The saints, it is explained in the rules section of the book, work through the Templars because these are the people closest to doing their work. However, not all of the saints approve of the Templar code and some only give their blessing to those who break it.

Since this is the case, I wonder why Simon's recognition of a hero as a Companion is a necessary prerequisite for the saints' blessing. Why can't a law dog who's never met Simon gain the blessing of Saint Jenny Hise, the law dog who fought to save a town that refused to protect her and who gives her blessing to those who aid the unworthy? Later on, it is explained that Simon's analysis of who merits aid is correct, though harsh, and that is why the saints work with him. This is not consistent with the claim that the saints do not agree that Simon is correct, even temporarily, even under these circumstances, nor with the existence of those saints who only grant their blessings to Templars who break Simon's rules. Also, one page has both an illustration of the saint Ronan Lynch, with a caption explaining that only Simon has been visited by him, and text by Biletnikoff stating that "several" Templars "claim him as a Martyr." Sloppy, people.

After all the narrative come the mechanics: new skills, edges, flaws, and new archetypes. There are plenty of new powers, along with an updated summary chart which should make GMs' lives easier. There are also rules for fancy sword maneuvers. My local consultant read these over, concluding that they were:

1. Written by a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism or someone who consulted a member of the SCA

2. Silly

3. Very appropriate for a cinematic game such as Deadlands

I bow to my consultant's judgement in this.

The No Man's Land section of the book provides an explanation of why there are no Doomsayer Templars, Syker Templars, or Junkman Templars. It even makes a reasonable amount of sense. The section also has the rules for the boons granted by the saints and the powers gained by Anti-Templars. Templars can lose their boons if they break the taboos of their chosen saints. Anti-Templars never have to worry about this, but they risk becoming corrupted by using their power, regardless of their intentions. My consultant said this sounded like Jedi gaining Dark Force points, and that's not a bad comparison. You -can- be a good Anti-Templar, but it takes heroic effort.

The Marshall's Handbook has a chapter full of secret information, including what some law-abiding folks think of the Templars and why. There is also an adventure in which the GMs are allowed, nay, encouraged, to let the PCs kill off a major villain. How can the folks at Pinnacle possibly allow this? Simple: Everything they wanted this villain to accomplish was accomplished before the scenario started. Authors and GMs take note: This is how you make sure players don't interfere with those hopefully rare events which simply must happen. The only problem I spotted is that Simon says he will reward non-Templars by making them Companions, but at the end of the adventure, the reader is informed that the non-Templars need the endorsement of a Templar - not Simon - to reap that reward. This is a problem if none of the PCs are Templars or if the Templar party members were killed, and it makes Simon seem either clueless or more conniving than I think he was meant to be.

On the whole, this is a good product. The layout is clean, although the cover art is ugly and the interior art not much better. The art is not offensive--there are no inappropriately dressed bimbos, and there is a surprisingly well-drawn female veteran Templar. It's a pity that the rest of the art isn't as good.

My biggest quibble with The Last Crusaders is that Pinnacle is not providing all of the goods on the Templars. We are told that we'll have to wait for Simon's secret, much as they hate to tell us we have to buy another book. Excuse me? Later on, we're told we will have to buy another book to learn about the Boise Horror because this is the Templar book, not the Boise Horror book. Okay, but it -is- the Templar book, and only giving a teaser about the Templar leader is a nasty trick to play. I would have been very annoyed if I had paid for this book to be told that the author is sorry, but I'll just have to buy another one to learn the big secret of the Templars. All the apologizing does not make up for it, and I am continually amazed that gamers put up with this from so many companies.

As far as I can tell, Pinnacle assumes that each gaming group will buy each product as soon as it comes out, and will keep their world a near-mirror-image of the company's. White Wolf may have been the first company to do this, but too many are following suit. To all of them, I would suggest keeping novel writing separate from game writing.

That aside, this is a decent supplement that does the job of making the Templars even more interesting and of giving them loads of cool powers.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

The Last Crusaders
Author: Shane Lacy Hensley Category: game Company/Publisher: Pinnacle Entertainment Group Line: Deadlands: Hell on Earth Cost: $20 Page count: 128 pages, perfect bound Capsule Review by Lisa Padol on 06/14/99. Genre tags: Horror Post-apocalypse Old_West	By Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Grade: B-, reviewed by Lisa Padol swordfighting consultant: Joshua Kronengold. This is the Templar sourcebook for Deadlands: Hell on Earth. It describes the history and abilities of the knights in tarnished armor of the Wasted West. As with most Deadlands books, it is divided into Posse Territory, intended to be read by everyone; No Man's Land, intended to be read by GMs and by players who have gotten permission from their GM to read it; and The Marshall's Handbook, intended for GMs only. The book opens with a history of the Templars, written by Jo, who, I gather, is also the narrator of The Wasted West, the worldbook for Hell on Earth. Jo explains how Simon Mercer got the idea of founding the Templars and why the Templars are very choosy about whom they will defend. She describes the Templar headquarters and talks about the Anti-Templars and the other foes of the Templars. In addition, she talks about the original, twelfth century Templars. This is a reasonably accurate history of the original Templars and better than some that don't have the excuse that they're written by a post-apocalypse woman whose sources of information are less than perfectly reliable and who has other things on her mind than history, like survival. I do like books where the authors have done their research. Jo's guide is followed by her colleague Biletnikoff's description of the "saints", also called Martyrs, heroes from the world of Deadlands who haven't let a small thing like being dead stop them from trying to make the world a better place by granting Templars who meet certain conditions even more cool powers than they had before. The saints will even bestow their blessings on Companions, non-Templars who have won recognition from Simon. The saints, it is explained in the rules section of the book, work through the Templars because these are the people closest to doing their work. However, not all of the saints approve of the Templar code and some only give their blessing to those who break it. Since this is the case, I wonder why Simon's recognition of a hero as a Companion is a necessary prerequisite for the saints' blessing. Why can't a law dog who's never met Simon gain the blessing of Saint Jenny Hise, the law dog who fought to save a town that refused to protect her and who gives her blessing to those who aid the unworthy? Later on, it is explained that Simon's analysis of who merits aid is correct, though harsh, and that is why the saints work with him. This is not consistent with the claim that the saints do not agree that Simon is correct, even temporarily, even under these circumstances, nor with the existence of those saints who only grant their blessings to Templars who break Simon's rules. Also, one page has both an illustration of the saint Ronan Lynch, with a caption explaining that only Simon has been visited by him, and text by Biletnikoff stating that "several" Templars "claim him as a Martyr." Sloppy, people. After all the narrative come the mechanics: new skills, edges, flaws, and new archetypes. There are plenty of new powers, along with an updated summary chart which should make GMs' lives easier. There are also rules for fancy sword maneuvers. My local consultant read these over, concluding that they were: 1. Written by a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism or someone who consulted a member of the SCA 2. Silly 3. Very appropriate for a cinematic game such as Deadlands I bow to my consultant's judgement in this. The No Man's Land section of the book provides an explanation of why there are no Doomsayer Templars, Syker Templars, or Junkman Templars. It even makes a reasonable amount of sense. The section also has the rules for the boons granted by the saints and the powers gained by Anti-Templars. Templars can lose their boons if they break the taboos of their chosen saints. Anti-Templars never have to worry about this, but they risk becoming corrupted by using their power, regardless of their intentions. My consultant said this sounded like Jedi gaining Dark Force points, and that's not a bad comparison. You -can- be a good Anti-Templar, but it takes heroic effort. The Marshall's Handbook has a chapter full of secret information, including what some law-abiding folks think of the Templars and why. There is also an adventure in which the GMs are allowed, nay, encouraged, to let the PCs kill off a major villain. How can the folks at Pinnacle possibly allow this? Simple: Everything they wanted this villain to accomplish was accomplished before the scenario started. Authors and GMs take note: This is how you make sure players don't interfere with those hopefully rare events which simply must happen. The only problem I spotted is that Simon says he will reward non-Templars by making them Companions, but at the end of the adventure, the reader is informed that the non-Templars need the endorsement of a Templar - not Simon - to reap that reward. This is a problem if none of the PCs are Templars or if the Templar party members were killed, and it makes Simon seem either clueless or more conniving than I think he was meant to be. On the whole, this is a good product. The layout is clean, although the cover art is ugly and the interior art not much better. The art is not offensive--there are no inappropriately dressed bimbos, and there is a surprisingly well-drawn female veteran Templar. It's a pity that the rest of the art isn't as good. My biggest quibble with The Last Crusaders is that Pinnacle is not providing all of the goods on the Templars. We are told that we'll have to wait for Simon's secret, much as they hate to tell us we have to buy another book. Excuse me? Later on, we're told we will have to buy another book to learn about the Boise Horror because this is the Templar book, not the Boise Horror book. Okay, but it -is- the Templar book, and only giving a teaser about the Templar leader is a nasty trick to play. I would have been very annoyed if I had paid for this book to be told that the author is sorry, but I'll just have to buy another one to learn the big secret of the Templars. All the apologizing does not make up for it, and I am continually amazed that gamers put up with this from so many companies. As far as I can tell, Pinnacle assumes that each gaming group will buy each product as soon as it comes out, and will keep their world a near-mirror-image of the company's. White Wolf may have been the first company to do this, but too many are following suit. To all of them, I would suggest keeping novel writing separate from game writing. That aside, this is a decent supplement that does the job of making the Templars even more interesting and of giving them loads of cool powers. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)