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I had heard mixed opinions about Weird Places. Some people said that it was good, some said that it was horrible, but most said that it was a mixed bag, with some great places and some horrible ones.

I have to say I liked it. There was no location in the book that I found bad, per se, just some that were less interesting than others.

Weird Places is not the kind of book I would be inclined to like, either. Most collections of neat places are disjointed and lose a great deal from their modular nature, removed from more information about their surroundings. Holistic Design was smart enough, however, to continue their tradition of exemplary history, giving enough information on the surrounding areas to get some handle on it.

After the initial fiction, which was about as good or bad as would be expected, the book looks at seven different locales in six chapters (the last two are the Barter and Istakhr markets in one chapter. Each chapter starts of with the history and set-up, and then moves into the current events that make the place weird enough to be included in the book.

Pentateuch is the first locale, and while the others are merely houses or valleys or cities, Pentateuch is an entire planet. As such, the chapter seemed more a brushing than an examination. Terraformed by Doramos himself under quite mysterious circumstances, the planet retains that aura of mystery throughout its history. Reading the chapter, my mind kept being swamped by ideas for campaigns and adventures. Pentateuch would be an ideal setting for a Fading Suns era X-Files game, or for the more sadistic gamemaster, Call of Cthulu. The mysterious disappearing townsfolk, the fire that falls from the sky and does not burn, the odd time-warping effects sometimes experienced, all of this nearly cries out "The Truth is out there, and this time it is actually interesting." Just imagine Mulder the Scraver and Scully of House Hawkwood trying to find out why all of the residents of the town of Patolli disappeared in 3812, and what that has to do with the ritual slayings that occur every 12 years in Heliopolis.

The lost world of Rimpoche was next, and the most striking feature of the section was Darryl Elliot's art, some of the best work I have seen him do. His picture of Nyne Renton is nearly suitable for framing, even if he looks more like a Scraver than an Engineer. Beyond that, the lost world is interesting enough although limited in possible use. The Ur artifacts there are quite interesting and an archaeological Fading Suns campaign could be very interesting indeed, especially with the Sphinx-like Colossus of Rimpoche being so looming and enigmatic.

The Vale of the Chevrins on Kurga is the next weird place, largely because of the effects of some old, old technology long forgotten. I liked everything about this except for some of the effects of the technology. I don't want to spoil anything, but I would drop that entire sub-plot involving the effects of the field on the people living there in favor of a story about society and culture. Again, Elliot supplies nice art as well.

Fourth is the Symbiot Isle on Bannockburn. While this could have been Bug Hunt Isle, the wavering dedication of the main villain turns it into so much more. I think that this would have been a much better jumping off point for the adventure in the back of War in the Heavens: Lifeweb, although that may have lessened the impact of the later revelatory news about how the Symbiots truly are.

The haunted chapel on Manitou was perfect for more genre-crossing stories. Running a ghost/horror story in the Fading Suns setting can be quite good, as this example shows. The situation provided is tense, dramatic, mysterious, and puzzling, all while remaining scary. It also gave some interesting insight into the Vau and seems to foreshadow what Holistic Design intends with the War in the Heavens trilogy of supplements.

The book closes out with the markets of Barter and Istakhr, both of which have very unique "personalities" and flavors. Barter is a moving starship/agora/marketplace built from the fused remains of older starships. An unimaginably chaotic "wretched hive of scum and villainy," Barter calls out for adventure. As does the market as Istakhr, and the opening fiction points out the feel of the market, and what keeps it unique. Very nicely done.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Some locations were of very limited or focused use (Symbiot Isle, Rimpoche and the Vale of Chevrins) while others were almost staggeringly open (Pentateuch). Weird Places was not the best Fading Suns book ever, but it was certainly a good and useful one.

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

Weird Places
Author: Bill Bridges, Jackie Cassada, Sam Chupp, James Estes, Ross Isaacs, Rustin Quaide, Nicky Rea Category: game Company/Publisher: Holistic Design Inc. Line: Fading Suns Cost: $12.95 Page count: 79 ISBN: 1-888906-05-7 SKU: FS #227 Capsule Review by Derek Guder on 08/02/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Horror Far_Future Space Conspiracy	I had heard mixed opinions about Weird Places. Some people said that it was good, some said that it was horrible, but most said that it was a mixed bag, with some great places and some horrible ones. I have to say I liked it. There was no location in the book that I found bad, per se, just some that were less interesting than others. Weird Places is not the kind of book I would be inclined to like, either. Most collections of neat places are disjointed and lose a great deal from their modular nature, removed from more information about their surroundings. Holistic Design was smart enough, however, to continue their tradition of exemplary history, giving enough information on the surrounding areas to get some handle on it. After the initial fiction, which was about as good or bad as would be expected, the book looks at seven different locales in six chapters (the last two are the Barter and Istakhr markets in one chapter. Each chapter starts of with the history and set-up, and then moves into the current events that make the place weird enough to be included in the book. Pentateuch is the first locale, and while the others are merely houses or valleys or cities, Pentateuch is an entire planet. As such, the chapter seemed more a brushing than an examination. Terraformed by Doramos himself under quite mysterious circumstances, the planet retains that aura of mystery throughout its history. Reading the chapter, my mind kept being swamped by ideas for campaigns and adventures. Pentateuch would be an ideal setting for a Fading Suns era X-Files game, or for the more sadistic gamemaster, Call of Cthulu. The mysterious disappearing townsfolk, the fire that falls from the sky and does not burn, the odd time-warping effects sometimes experienced, all of this nearly cries out "The Truth is out there, and this time it is actually interesting." Just imagine Mulder the Scraver and Scully of House Hawkwood trying to find out why all of the residents of the town of Patolli disappeared in 3812, and what that has to do with the ritual slayings that occur every 12 years in Heliopolis. The lost world of Rimpoche was next, and the most striking feature of the section was Darryl Elliot's art, some of the best work I have seen him do. His picture of Nyne Renton is nearly suitable for framing, even if he looks more like a Scraver than an Engineer. Beyond that, the lost world is interesting enough although limited in possible use. The Ur artifacts there are quite interesting and an archaeological Fading Suns campaign could be very interesting indeed, especially with the Sphinx-like Colossus of Rimpoche being so looming and enigmatic. The Vale of the Chevrins on Kurga is the next weird place, largely because of the effects of some old, old technology long forgotten. I liked everything about this except for some of the effects of the technology. I don't want to spoil anything, but I would drop that entire sub-plot involving the effects of the field on the people living there in favor of a story about society and culture. Again, Elliot supplies nice art as well. Fourth is the Symbiot Isle on Bannockburn. While this could have been Bug Hunt Isle, the wavering dedication of the main villain turns it into so much more. I think that this would have been a much better jumping off point for the adventure in the back of War in the Heavens: Lifeweb, although that may have lessened the impact of the later revelatory news about how the Symbiots truly are. The haunted chapel on Manitou was perfect for more genre-crossing stories. Running a ghost/horror story in the Fading Suns setting can be quite good, as this example shows. The situation provided is tense, dramatic, mysterious, and puzzling, all while remaining scary. It also gave some interesting insight into the Vau and seems to foreshadow what Holistic Design intends with the War in the Heavens trilogy of supplements. The book closes out with the markets of Barter and Istakhr, both of which have very unique "personalities" and flavors. Barter is a moving starship/agora/marketplace built from the fused remains of older starships. An unimaginably chaotic "wretched hive of scum and villainy," Barter calls out for adventure. As does the market as Istakhr, and the opening fiction points out the feel of the market, and what keeps it unique. Very nicely done. Overall, I enjoyed the book. Some locations were of very limited or focused use (Symbiot Isle, Rimpoche and the Vale of Chevrins) while others were almost staggeringly open (Pentateuch). Weird Places was not the best Fading Suns book ever, but it was certainly a good and useful one. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)