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This book was quite a change of pace for me. Expecting another luke-warm, half-hearted addition to the Changeling: the Dreaming line that did nothing to address the issues of the past nor advance the setting forward (like I found The Fool's Luck: the Way of the Commoner to be), I got a wonderfully written and well-done book indeed. Easily one of the best Changeling: the Dreaming books to date (only Dreams and Nightmares stands out in my memory as of the same quality, and that is due almost entirely to the inspiration and ideas it provided me with), Pour L'Amour et Liberte: The Book of Houses II is what Nobless Oblige: The Book of Houses should have been.

The book covers the three houses of the Unseelie Court, Houses Ailil, Leanhaun and Balor. Like the back of the book says, it is "a complete guide" to those houses. Unfortunately, it also advertises a new Art, which was apparently cut during editing, but never removed from the back cover.

The first chapter deals with the Ailil, one of my favorite houses. Often seen at first glance as "faerie Lasombra" (making wonder about connections to the Kiasyd), this chapter goes quite a ways towards giving them some degree of independent depth. The house does not suffer from the same hobbling as the Sabbat clan of having a near-duplicate clan opposing it. The nearest thing would by House Gwydion, which is quite different in many ways. Through the course of the chapter, the authors look at the history of House Ailil, an unseelie house founded and initially led by a Seelie Lord. The history is quite good, acknowledging the accomplishments of great mortals and the absence of the sidhe during the Interregnum (something that the seelie houses apparently ignore). It does, however, fall into the pit that many of the seelie houses fell into as well. It tries to blunt the apparently selfish desertion of the sidhe during the Shattering by mentioning that the High Lord or many followers stayed behind out of a sense of duty or caring or whatever. That was one of the first Book of Houses' biggest mistake, trying to make all of the Seelie Houses seem kind and caring toward commoners and mortals. As for the Ailil, the High Lord and a few other sidhe were supposed to have remained behind.

Much of the rest of the chapter is taken up with house culture and oaths, as well as extensive looks at how the Ailil relate to damned near everyone else. Detailed point-by-point looks at the Escheat and both the Seelie and Unseelie Codes are included, and are extremely useful in understanding the house's psychology. It seems that the authors are very fond of Oaths, as examples are numerous, although useful. There are also a few words about Ailil societies, secret and not, which I found quite interesting.

The next chapter is about the Leanhaun, arguably one of my least favorite sidhe houses, as of Shadow Court. This section, however, managed to completely change all that and presented me with a house that recalls the emotion and beauty of the Toreador combined with the heart-warming pragmatism of the Nosferatu. A delightful mix indeed, and it results in a house that actually feels alive and vibrant. This does for the Leanhaun what my imagination does for the Ailil and other White Wolf "splats," it very nearly makes them breathe. While reading this section, I found it hard to pay attention, as I was constantly drifting to think of character concepts and campaign ideas, which I find a mark of a good supplement. So what is actually in this oh-so-great chapter? More than you would expect. A great history and a creation story that is quite touching and epic at times. A look at how the Leanhaun managed to survive the Interregnum locked in Arcadia, an explanation of how the house manages to survive in the modern day, and how the Accordance War was its ticket to that survival in many ways, and much more. Like the Ailil section before it, we get a look at the Escheat and the Seelie and Unseelie codes through the eyes of the Leanhaun. Several more Oaths are provided as well, as are extensive looks at the relations with other groups. Several truly splendid secret (and not-so-secret) societies are provided as well. The only thing I had an issue with in the Leanhaun chapter, really, was the "Great Ritual." Their motivation for bringing on the Endless Winter is novel and compelling enough, but their planned execution falls flat, very flat.

The final chapter looks at House Balor, easily the least subtle and "noble" of the sidhe houses. They are also among the most boring. Shadow Court portrayed a group of stupid brutes bent on world domination - or destruction. The numerous implications of their alliances with Dark Beings and whatnot seemed a little too obvious. The house, like the Leanhaun, was a waste in my opinion. Once again, the house was salvaged and made useful, if not to the same extent as the Leanhaun. Balor now has character, what was brutish before is now still brutish, but that seems almost natural. They claim different descent from the fomorians, not the Tuatha de Danaan, and as such they sit and stew and plot their revenge against the rest of the Kithain around them.

The strength of this chapter lies in its frankness and blunt nature. It is clear what the Balor are, for the most part, and it really reads like a Balor would feel. The same attitude is brought to bear upon the same things of the previous chapter (a strength of having one set of writers throughout the book, what is covered once is covered again, unlike in the first Book of Houses). The best tidbit from the Balor section is easily the secret society, the "Riders of the Fell." The implications they bring to the setting are refreshing to see. Old threads (and threats) are actually being looked at again, instead of being mentioned and tossed away.

The only major drawback of the book was the layout, which wasted an startling amount of space. The organization could have used a great deal of work as well. I found myself flipping through the book a lot to find what I wanted to know. The art, on the other hand, was pretty good. Melissa Uran illustrated the section on House Ailil, and her work was quite good, although it gave it a slight anime feel, as she is wont to do. I believe it is Drew Tucker who did the artwork for the Leanhaun, and it was nice and quite mood-setting.

It is James Stowe, however, who is definitely the best artist of the book, giving the Balor section a fair amount of its strength. He manages to capture a degree of horror rarely seen in Changeling: the Dreaming artwork. The only disappointment was the scarcity of the art, but the volume of text made up for it, in my opinion.

It is really hard to get across why this book is good. There is not really any sidebars that can be pointed at while exclaiming "See! There it is! That's what the book is great!" It is scattered throughout the book, in the style and writing. Pour L'Amour et Liberte: The Book of Houses II is the only Changeling: the Dreaming book I have yet seen that acknowledges that the modern era is not run by starch-necked librarians who like to make children cry by stealing their candy and beating them with teddy bears. There actually is Glamour out there to be had, but it is new and can be difficult to get. The seelie remain blind to this, more often than not, but the unseelie do not. The fact that the seelie houses are being Banal themselves in their refusal to follow the tradition of seasonal change and their strict adherence to out-dated ruling methods is also mentioned, and with scorn. I am so glad that this sees print somewhere in Changeling: the Dreaming. The Book of Houses II actually made the unseelie more like they should be, Change, not Naughty, Naughty Evil.

Now time for an aside. Justin Achilli stepped in to develop this book, and I am unsure how much of the book's quality is due to him. Oddly enough, I am hoping very little, because he is not going to be working on Changeling: the Dreaming from here on out, he has Vampire: the Masquerade to deal with. Apparently, as a note at the end of the book says, the entire weight of the line will be falling on Nicky Rea and Jackie Cassada, the authors of this book. From rumors that I've heard about their plans and the book I hold in my hands now, my hope for the line is actually rekindling, even now that it is resigned to the Arthaus imprint. However, I am not sure just how wonderful this "New Age of Changeling: the Dreaming" will be, because they have also worked on Gurahl, Sea of Shadows, and Pardoner's Guildbook (which I really enjoyed) and Verbena and Shadow Court (which I found to be quite a mixed bag). I'm hoping that they can bring the line around, but I'm not unreserved in my hope. The pair has done good work in the past, but they have also done stuff I have found quite disagreeable. I suppose that only time will tell, but here's hoping that the Endless Winter is at an end for Changeling: the Dreaming as a game line.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Pour L'Amour et Liberte: the Book of Houses II
Author: Jackie Cassada and Nicky Rea Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Game Studio Line: Changeling: the Dreaming Cost: $21.95 Page count: 152 ISBN: 1-56504-723-0 SKU: WW7304 Capsule Review by Derek Guder on 07/12/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Modern_day Gothic	This book was quite a change of pace for me. Expecting another luke-warm, half-hearted addition to the Changeling: the Dreaming line that did nothing to address the issues of the past nor advance the setting forward (like I found The Fool's Luck: the Way of the Commoner to be), I got a wonderfully written and well-done book indeed. Easily one of the best Changeling: the Dreaming books to date (only Dreams and Nightmares stands out in my memory as of the same quality, and that is due almost entirely to the inspiration and ideas it provided me with), Pour L'Amour et Liberte: The Book of Houses II is what Nobless Oblige: The Book of Houses should have been. The book covers the three houses of the Unseelie Court, Houses Ailil, Leanhaun and Balor. Like the back of the book says, it is "a complete guide" to those houses. Unfortunately, it also advertises a new Art, which was apparently cut during editing, but never removed from the back cover. The first chapter deals with the Ailil, one of my favorite houses. Often seen at first glance as "faerie Lasombra" (making wonder about connections to the Kiasyd), this chapter goes quite a ways towards giving them some degree of independent depth. The house does not suffer from the same hobbling as the Sabbat clan of having a near-duplicate clan opposing it. The nearest thing would by House Gwydion, which is quite different in many ways. Through the course of the chapter, the authors look at the history of House Ailil, an unseelie house founded and initially led by a Seelie Lord. The history is quite good, acknowledging the accomplishments of great mortals and the absence of the sidhe during the Interregnum (something that the seelie houses apparently ignore). It does, however, fall into the pit that many of the seelie houses fell into as well. It tries to blunt the apparently selfish desertion of the sidhe during the Shattering by mentioning that the High Lord or many followers stayed behind out of a sense of duty or caring or whatever. That was one of the first Book of Houses' biggest mistake, trying to make all of the Seelie Houses seem kind and caring toward commoners and mortals. As for the Ailil, the High Lord and a few other sidhe were supposed to have remained behind. Much of the rest of the chapter is taken up with house culture and oaths, as well as extensive looks at how the Ailil relate to damned near everyone else. Detailed point-by-point looks at the Escheat and both the Seelie and Unseelie Codes are included, and are extremely useful in understanding the house's psychology. It seems that the authors are very fond of Oaths, as examples are numerous, although useful. There are also a few words about Ailil societies, secret and not, which I found quite interesting. The next chapter is about the Leanhaun, arguably one of my least favorite sidhe houses, as of Shadow Court. This section, however, managed to completely change all that and presented me with a house that recalls the emotion and beauty of the Toreador combined with the heart-warming pragmatism of the Nosferatu. A delightful mix indeed, and it results in a house that actually feels alive and vibrant. This does for the Leanhaun what my imagination does for the Ailil and other White Wolf "splats," it very nearly makes them breathe. While reading this section, I found it hard to pay attention, as I was constantly drifting to think of character concepts and campaign ideas, which I find a mark of a good supplement. So what is actually in this oh-so-great chapter? More than you would expect. A great history and a creation story that is quite touching and epic at times. A look at how the Leanhaun managed to survive the Interregnum locked in Arcadia, an explanation of how the house manages to survive in the modern day, and how the Accordance War was its ticket to that survival in many ways, and much more. Like the Ailil section before it, we get a look at the Escheat and the Seelie and Unseelie codes through the eyes of the Leanhaun. Several more Oaths are provided as well, as are extensive looks at the relations with other groups. Several truly splendid secret (and not-so-secret) societies are provided as well. The only thing I had an issue with in the Leanhaun chapter, really, was the "Great Ritual." Their motivation for bringing on the Endless Winter is novel and compelling enough, but their planned execution falls flat, very flat. The final chapter looks at House Balor, easily the least subtle and "noble" of the sidhe houses. They are also among the most boring. Shadow Court portrayed a group of stupid brutes bent on world domination - or destruction. The numerous implications of their alliances with Dark Beings and whatnot seemed a little too obvious. The house, like the Leanhaun, was a waste in my opinion. Once again, the house was salvaged and made useful, if not to the same extent as the Leanhaun. Balor now has character, what was brutish before is now still brutish, but that seems almost natural. They claim different descent from the fomorians, not the Tuatha de Danaan, and as such they sit and stew and plot their revenge against the rest of the Kithain around them. The strength of this chapter lies in its frankness and blunt nature. It is clear what the Balor are, for the most part, and it really reads like a Balor would feel. The same attitude is brought to bear upon the same things of the previous chapter (a strength of having one set of writers throughout the book, what is covered once is covered again, unlike in the first Book of Houses). The best tidbit from the Balor section is easily the secret society, the "Riders of the Fell." The implications they bring to the setting are refreshing to see. Old threads (and threats) are actually being looked at again, instead of being mentioned and tossed away. The only major drawback of the book was the layout, which wasted an startling amount of space. The organization could have used a great deal of work as well. I found myself flipping through the book a lot to find what I wanted to know. The art, on the other hand, was pretty good. Melissa Uran illustrated the section on House Ailil, and her work was quite good, although it gave it a slight anime feel, as she is wont to do. I believe it is Drew Tucker who did the artwork for the Leanhaun, and it was nice and quite mood-setting. It is James Stowe, however, who is definitely the best artist of the book, giving the Balor section a fair amount of its strength. He manages to capture a degree of horror rarely seen in Changeling: the Dreaming artwork. The only disappointment was the scarcity of the art, but the volume of text made up for it, in my opinion. It is really hard to get across why this book is good. There is not really any sidebars that can be pointed at while exclaiming "See! There it is! That's what the book is great!" It is scattered throughout the book, in the style and writing. Pour L'Amour et Liberte: The Book of Houses II is the only Changeling: the Dreaming book I have yet seen that acknowledges that the modern era is not run by starch-necked librarians who like to make children cry by stealing their candy and beating them with teddy bears. There actually is Glamour out there to be had, but it is new and can be difficult to get. The seelie remain blind to this, more often than not, but the unseelie do not. The fact that the seelie houses are being Banal themselves in their refusal to follow the tradition of seasonal change and their strict adherence to out-dated ruling methods is also mentioned, and with scorn. I am so glad that this sees print somewhere in Changeling: the Dreaming. The Book of Houses II actually made the unseelie more like they should be, Change, not Naughty, Naughty Evil. Now time for an aside. Justin Achilli stepped in to develop this book, and I am unsure how much of the book's quality is due to him. Oddly enough, I am hoping very little, because he is not going to be working on Changeling: the Dreaming from here on out, he has Vampire: the Masquerade to deal with. Apparently, as a note at the end of the book says, the entire weight of the line will be falling on Nicky Rea and Jackie Cassada, the authors of this book. From rumors that I've heard about their plans and the book I hold in my hands now, my hope for the line is actually rekindling, even now that it is resigned to the Arthaus imprint. However, I am not sure just how wonderful this "New Age of Changeling: the Dreaming" will be, because they have also worked on Gurahl, Sea of Shadows, and Pardoner's Guildbook (which I really enjoyed) and Verbena and Shadow Court (which I found to be quite a mixed bag). I'm hoping that they can bring the line around, but I'm not unreserved in my hope. The pair has done good work in the past, but they have also done stuff I have found quite disagreeable. I suppose that only time will tell, but here's hoping that the Endless Winter is at an end for Changeling: the Dreaming as a game line. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Pour L'Amour et Liberte: the Book of Houses II