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When Everway was dropped with the rest of Wizards of the Coast's RPG line, it looked for a while as though it was going to die. But Rubicon Games rescued it from oblivion, and have finally published Greg Stoltze's long-awaited supplement.

Everway is a very rules-light system, and for this book, they've dispensed with the rules altogether. Spherewalker is in the form of an A to Z of the Everway multiverse. (For those who don't know, Everway consists of a huge number of worlds connected by magical gates, through which only special people called Spherewalkers can travel). Entries range from short items (on the sybolism of cats, or a particular magical herb), to entries several pages long, detailing such things as the rebellion of the dragons against heaven, or the problems of dealing with satyrs. And none of your tired fantasy cliches, either; these stories are bursting with originality and atmosphere.

The whole book is a joy to read, and many of the stories are genuinely moving, or send a shiver down the spine. More importantly, they cry out to be used in a game. The idea is that the GM and players can use as little or as much of this material in their game-world as they please; none of the entries are tied to a particular location. Some *mention* locations (there are one or two realms described), but since these locations are not fixed with regard to the city of Everway, they're not going to ruin your own campaign world. For instance, there's a group of vampiric travelling traders called the Red Merchants. Their history and society is described at great length. But they could just be trading in a small number of worlds in one corner of your multiverse, or they could be found throughout; it's up to you.

Most of the information could be of use to GMs or players. Entries include many organisations to which PCs could belong (including several types of magical disciplines for those wishing to be wizards) or which could be allies or enemies of the PCs. There are fine details on the sybolism of clothing colours, the implications of reincarnation, magic items great and small. Many of the stories contain, or are told by, characters who could easily be used as NPCs. Some things could be used for small adventures, others for huge quests spanning many spheres.

I recommend this to anyone wishing to inject a bit of new life into a fantasy campaign, whether they play Everway or not. It's designed to be a stand-alone book, is a good read, and is full of weird and wonderful ideas. And you never know, you might be persuaded to give Everway a go after all...

Note: This review was first written for Arcane magazine, before its sad demise. It might be slightly out of date, but I stick by my opinion!

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

The Spherewalker Sourcebook
Author: Greg Stoltze Category: game Company/Publisher: Rubicon Games Cost: 19.95 Page count: 136 ISBN: 0-9653679-0-8 Playtest Review by Ken Walton on 11/30/97. Genre tags: none	When Everway was dropped with the rest of Wizards of the Coast's RPG line, it looked for a while as though it was going to die. But Rubicon Games rescued it from oblivion, and have finally published Greg Stoltze's long-awaited supplement. Everway is a very rules-light system, and for this book, they've dispensed with the rules altogether. Spherewalker is in the form of an A to Z of the Everway multiverse. (For those who don't know, Everway consists of a huge number of worlds connected by magical gates, through which only special people called Spherewalkers can travel). Entries range from short items (on the sybolism of cats, or a particular magical herb), to entries several pages long, detailing such things as the rebellion of the dragons against heaven, or the problems of dealing with satyrs. And none of your tired fantasy cliches, either; these stories are bursting with originality and atmosphere. The whole book is a joy to read, and many of the stories are genuinely moving, or send a shiver down the spine. More importantly, they cry out to be used in a game. The idea is that the GM and players can use as little or as much of this material in their game-world as they please; none of the entries are tied to a particular location. Some mention locations (there are one or two realms described), but since these locations are not fixed with regard to the city of Everway, they're not going to ruin your own campaign world. For instance, there's a group of vampiric travelling traders called the Red Merchants. Their history and society is described at great length. But they could just be trading in a small number of worlds in one corner of your multiverse, or they could be found throughout; it's up to you. Most of the information could be of use to GMs or players. Entries include many organisations to which PCs could belong (including several types of magical disciplines for those wishing to be wizards) or which could be allies or enemies of the PCs. There are fine details on the sybolism of clothing colours, the implications of reincarnation, magic items great and small. Many of the stories contain, or are told by, characters who could easily be used as NPCs. Some things could be used for small adventures, others for huge quests spanning many spheres. I recommend this to anyone wishing to inject a bit of new life into a fantasy campaign, whether they play Everway or not. It's designed to be a stand-alone book, is a good read, and is full of weird and wonderful ideas. And you never know, you might be persuaded to give Everway a go after all... Note: This review was first written for Arcane magazine, before its sad demise. It might be slightly out of date, but I stick by my opinion! Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

The Spherewalker Sourcebook