The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Gamemaster's Pack, 2nd edition

cover (which I presume means the GM screen) artwork Carl Frank, cover layout Brendon Goodyear

booklet written by John Wick

"The Silence Within Sound" written by Patrick Kapera

48 pages saddle stappled

$14.95

This consists of a screen and a 48 page booklet.

The Screen

The picture on the screen is ugly. I do not mean that it is badly drawn. It is a fine picture of walking skeletons and other denizens of the Shadowlands, but, as one of my players said, this is not what I want to look at during the game.

The original screen was much more attractive, containing a map of Rokugan on two panels and the clan mons on the third, rather than showing a generic monstrous army. Like the cover of the main rulebook, the screen seems designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator of dungeon crawlers. This kind of art turns me off. Its presence on the cover of the main rulebook kept me from being interested in L5R for a long time.

This was a shame, for neither piece of art is representative of L5R (or of the art that usually graces L5R products). Sure, you can play it dungeon crawl style, and you can fight mass battles against armies of Fu Leng, the Rokugani equivalent of the dark lord. But you can also fight against other Rokugani. You can intrigue and scheme in royal courts, you can investigate mysterious goings on, and you can attempt to keep the peace as a magistrate assigned to a city. I know that it would be impractical to try to fit all of this on the screen, but the map of Rokugan was an excellent compromise. It showed that L5R was a game about life in a large, wondrous, and multi-faceted country. The map also served the useful function of letting players and GM constantly see where the PCs were. To drop this in favor of art representing the most stereotypical aspect of L5R is to do the game an injustice and sell the product short.

The other side of the screen has all of the information from the first edition. It also has an extra panel with conversion notes for Clan Wars. I am not sure what Clan Wars is; nowhere on the screen or in the booklet is this explained.

Style: 2, Grade: F, with no blame to the artist who did a good piece of work that is out of place here.

Substance: 3

The Booklet, Part One: Miscellaneous Material

The first part of the booklet is identical to the original edition in content. There are rules clarifications and errata, as well as rules for black magic, the Shadowlands taint, and the use of jade as protection against the taint. I am glad to have this material, but it is wrong to make people buy the GM Screen Pack to get it. Certainly, the rules for jade and the Shadowlands taint should be in the main book. The errata ought to be obtainable without requiring an additional purchase. As of September 14, 1999, it is not on AEG's website, nor is the information about the Shadowlands Taint. Ironically, the less essential information on black magic is summarized there. Perhaps AEG could be convinced to put the more essential material from the GM Screen Pack online?

As in first edition, there are three invaluable pages of advice from John Wick. Like Jonathan Tweet, John Wick advises against the use of brute force to curb a powergamer's excesses, showing instead how to give the player enough rope to hang her PC on her own. Wick also explains what it is that players really want: to have their PCs win and to have them go through hell doing it. These three pages get a substance rating of 5 and a grade of A+.

Overall style: 2 because this material should be in the main book

Overall substance: 4.

The Booklet, Part Two: The Adventure

The rest of the book contains a good adventure, albeit one marred by some flaws that should have been caught by the editor.

"Silence Within Sound," an adventure packaged with a GM screen, goes out of its way to use charts on the screen. This is an excellent idea, and, as far as I know, it has not been done before. There is a page listing where in the adventure the various charts on the screen are used. This is helpful.

The author says that the PCs may be from any clan. However, later he says that the only Scorpions welcome are a group of NPC monks. I think that, with some effort, Scorpion PCs can fit into the adventure, but the contradiction should have been spotted, especially as Scorpion PCs may well have divided loyalties.

The adventure is good for beginning PCs, as well as for those who have played through some adventures, such as "The Ceremony of the Samurai" in the main rule book. Like that adventure, this takes PCs through many different kinds of actions in the guise of a low risk tournament. It also includes ample opportunity for investigation, diplomacy, and combat, making this a very well-rounded piece indeed. In addition, it avoids two weaknesses of the otherwise good "Ceremony of the Samurai": players are not put in situations where they have to listen to stock descriptions and remember to respond with a simple answer that involves neither challenge nor roleplaying, nor is there a scene where their PCs are expected to behave passively.

"Sound Within Silence" is set at a celebration of the Lion Clan and features those Scorpion masters of disguise you love to hate! However, most the prominent disguised Scorpion is never given a name for her disguise persona. This should have been caught; coming up with Rokugani names on the fly is no easy feat for many GMs.

I was confused about who all of the NPCs were when I read the adventure the first time. The second time I read more carefully, and it became clear. However, a chart listing all of the major NPCs and their function in the scenario would have been helpful.

There are two places where the plotting is weak. In the first instance, the PCs are told that an NPC is in trouble, having fallen into some kind of trap in the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city. Will they help rescue him?

At this point, there are three basic possibilities:

a. The party is split. No problem: the PCs asked to rescue this guy have something to do, and their players' plot thread detector should go off.

b. The party is not split and has been reasonably competent--and kudos to author for covering that possibility! They are asked to rescue the NPC just after they have warned the city to expect a siege/attack very soon. Under these circumstances, they may feel that their place is defending the city, not rescuing a lone individual. While the author allowed for the possibility that the PCs may not be able to rescue the NPC, I do not think he had the siege in mind as a reason not to do it. The reasons given for not rescuing the NPC are seclusion and distance, not battle. There is a patch: tunnels beneath the city that is about to be besieged -should- be investigated, especially given the news that there is a trap in the tunnels that was not set by the forces of the city. Clearly, something is going on below, and someone had better find out what it is before the siege begins. The PCs are logical candidates.

c. The party is not split and is unaware of the coming siege. However, the PCs have just seen that the Lion general is homicidally irrational. He may or may not have committed an atrocity. Regardless, presumably he is with the PCs (though maybe not: see the second problem below). The PCs may well feel that dealing with the general takes priority, for who knows what the man will do next?

The second problem is one of clarity. Unless the PCs have been extremely competent, the text seems to indicate that they are with the Lion general, or, at least, that the general is in the city. Yet, the besieging Scorpion army will claim to have "dispatched" the general, which I presume means killed. Even if it merely means captured, there is a problem: the scenario gives no indication of how this is supposed to have happened. That is, nowhere does it say that the general leaves or attempts to leave the PCs, nor, as far as I know, are the PCs supposed to be attacked by Scorpions before the siege--which would allow them to be separated from the general--unless they both figure out what's really going on and unwisely tip their hand. My first guess was that the author neglected to explain how the general is supposed to get separated from the PCs. However, I am not sure that this is correct, for he later states that a Crane samurai will demand a death duel with the general. Precisely how the Crane expects this to take place when the general has been "dispatched" by Scorpions is not explained.

Two more nitpicks: First, some of the NPCs are described a little too abstractly. For example, one is supposed to be rambling, but logical, and adorable. A tall order for the GM, especially when the author provides no examples of dialogue or action. Second, the author explains that the general's actions are based on very flimsy evidence. True, but it is stressed in the rules that testimony, not evidence, is important in Rokugan. This principle is hammered home in the main book and half of the L5R supplements; it is disconcerting to see it ignored in the other half

Nevertheless, none of the problems cited above are insoluble. All it would take, I think, are a few paragraphs to pull together what is basically a good scenario. Still, those paragraphs are needed to tie in a subplot and to keep the main plot flowing smoothly. As it stands, "Silence Within Sound" is a good adventure for beginning PCs and beginning players. However, the gaps in the text will confuse beginning GMs.

Style: 3 Substance: 4 Grade: B-

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Gamemaster's Pack, 2nd edition
Author: cover (which I presume means the GM screen) artwork Carl Frank, cover layout Brendon Goodyear, booklet written by John Wick, "The Silence Within Sound" written by Patrick Kapera Category: game Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group Line: Legend of the Five Rings Cost: $14.95 Page count: 48 pages, saddle stappled Capsule Review by Lisa Padol on 09/24/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Asian/Far_East	Gamemaster's Pack, 2nd edition cover (which I presume means the GM screen) artwork Carl Frank, cover layout Brendon Goodyear booklet written by John Wick "The Silence Within Sound" written by Patrick Kapera 48 pages saddle stappled $14.95 This consists of a screen and a 48 page booklet. The Screen The picture on the screen is ugly. I do not mean that it is badly drawn. It is a fine picture of walking skeletons and other denizens of the Shadowlands, but, as one of my players said, this is not what I want to look at during the game. The original screen was much more attractive, containing a map of Rokugan on two panels and the clan mons on the third, rather than showing a generic monstrous army. Like the cover of the main rulebook, the screen seems designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator of dungeon crawlers. This kind of art turns me off. Its presence on the cover of the main rulebook kept me from being interested in L5R for a long time. This was a shame, for neither piece of art is representative of L5R (or of the art that usually graces L5R products). Sure, you can play it dungeon crawl style, and you can fight mass battles against armies of Fu Leng, the Rokugani equivalent of the dark lord. But you can also fight against other Rokugani. You can intrigue and scheme in royal courts, you can investigate mysterious goings on, and you can attempt to keep the peace as a magistrate assigned to a city. I know that it would be impractical to try to fit all of this on the screen, but the map of Rokugan was an excellent compromise. It showed that L5R was a game about life in a large, wondrous, and multi-faceted country. The map also served the useful function of letting players and GM constantly see where the PCs were. To drop this in favor of art representing the most stereotypical aspect of L5R is to do the game an injustice and sell the product short. The other side of the screen has all of the information from the first edition. It also has an extra panel with conversion notes for Clan Wars. I am not sure what Clan Wars is; nowhere on the screen or in the booklet is this explained. Style: 2, Grade: F, with no blame to the artist who did a good piece of work that is out of place here. Substance: 3 The Booklet, Part One: Miscellaneous Material The first part of the booklet is identical to the original edition in content. There are rules clarifications and errata, as well as rules for black magic, the Shadowlands taint, and the use of jade as protection against the taint. I am glad to have this material, but it is wrong to make people buy the GM Screen Pack to get it. Certainly, the rules for jade and the Shadowlands taint should be in the main book. The errata ought to be obtainable without requiring an additional purchase. As of September 14, 1999, it is not on AEG's website, nor is the information about the Shadowlands Taint. Ironically, the less essential information on black magic is summarized there. Perhaps AEG could be convinced to put the more essential material from the GM Screen Pack online? As in first edition, there are three invaluable pages of advice from John Wick. Like Jonathan Tweet, John Wick advises against the use of brute force to curb a powergamer's excesses, showing instead how to give the player enough rope to hang her PC on her own. Wick also explains what it is that players really want: to have their PCs win and to have them go through hell doing it. These three pages get a substance rating of 5 and a grade of A+. Overall style: 2 because this material should be in the main book Overall substance: 4. The Booklet, Part Two: The Adventure The rest of the book contains a good adventure, albeit one marred by some flaws that should have been caught by the editor. "Silence Within Sound," an adventure packaged with a GM screen, goes out of its way to use charts on the screen. This is an excellent idea, and, as far as I know, it has not been done before. There is a page listing where in the adventure the various charts on the screen are used. This is helpful. The author says that the PCs may be from any clan. However, later he says that the only Scorpions welcome are a group of NPC monks. I think that, with some effort, Scorpion PCs can fit into the adventure, but the contradiction should have been spotted, especially as Scorpion PCs may well have divided loyalties. The adventure is good for beginning PCs, as well as for those who have played through some adventures, such as "The Ceremony of the Samurai" in the main rule book. Like that adventure, this takes PCs through many different kinds of actions in the guise of a low risk tournament. It also includes ample opportunity for investigation, diplomacy, and combat, making this a very well-rounded piece indeed. In addition, it avoids two weaknesses of the otherwise good "Ceremony of the Samurai": players are not put in situations where they have to listen to stock descriptions and remember to respond with a simple answer that involves neither challenge nor roleplaying, nor is there a scene where their PCs are expected to behave passively. "Sound Within Silence" is set at a celebration of the Lion Clan and features those Scorpion masters of disguise you love to hate! However, most the prominent disguised Scorpion is never given a name for her disguise persona. This should have been caught; coming up with Rokugani names on the fly is no easy feat for many GMs. I was confused about who all of the NPCs were when I read the adventure the first time. The second time I read more carefully, and it became clear. However, a chart listing all of the major NPCs and their function in the scenario would have been helpful. There are two places where the plotting is weak. In the first instance, the PCs are told that an NPC is in trouble, having fallen into some kind of trap in the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city. Will they help rescue him? At this point, there are three basic possibilities: a. The party is split. No problem: the PCs asked to rescue this guy have something to do, and their players' plot thread detector should go off. b. The party is not split and has been reasonably competent--and kudos to author for covering that possibility! They are asked to rescue the NPC just after they have warned the city to expect a siege/attack very soon. Under these circumstances, they may feel that their place is defending the city, not rescuing a lone individual. While the author allowed for the possibility that the PCs may not be able to rescue the NPC, I do not think he had the siege in mind as a reason not to do it. The reasons given for not rescuing the NPC are seclusion and distance, not battle. There is a patch: tunnels beneath the city that is about to be besieged -should- be investigated, especially given the news that there is a trap in the tunnels that was not set by the forces of the city. Clearly, something is going on below, and someone had better find out what it is before the siege begins. The PCs are logical candidates. c. The party is not split and is unaware of the coming siege. However, the PCs have just seen that the Lion general is homicidally irrational. He may or may not have committed an atrocity. Regardless, presumably he is with the PCs (though maybe not: see the second problem below). The PCs may well feel that dealing with the general takes priority, for who knows what the man will do next? The second problem is one of clarity. Unless the PCs have been extremely competent, the text seems to indicate that they are with the Lion general, or, at least, that the general is in the city. Yet, the besieging Scorpion army will claim to have "dispatched" the general, which I presume means killed. Even if it merely means captured, there is a problem: the scenario gives no indication of how this is supposed to have happened. That is, nowhere does it say that the general leaves or attempts to leave the PCs, nor, as far as I know, are the PCs supposed to be attacked by Scorpions before the siege--which would allow them to be separated from the general--unless they both figure out what's really going on and unwisely tip their hand. My first guess was that the author neglected to explain how the general is supposed to get separated from the PCs. However, I am not sure that this is correct, for he later states that a Crane samurai will demand a death duel with the general. Precisely how the Crane expects this to take place when the general has been "dispatched" by Scorpions is not explained. Two more nitpicks: First, some of the NPCs are described a little too abstractly. For example, one is supposed to be rambling, but logical, and adorable. A tall order for the GM, especially when the author provides no examples of dialogue or action. Second, the author explains that the general's actions are based on very flimsy evidence. True, but it is stressed in the rules that testimony, not evidence, is important in Rokugan. This principle is hammered home in the main book and half of the L5R supplements; it is disconcerting to see it ignored in the other half Nevertheless, none of the problems cited above are insoluble. All it would take, I think, are a few paragraphs to pull together what is basically a good scenario. Still, those paragraphs are needed to tie in a subplot and to keep the main plot flowing smoothly. As it stands, "Silence Within Sound" is a good adventure for beginning PCs and beginning players. However, the gaps in the text will confuse beginning GMs. Style: 3 Substance: 4 Grade: B- Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 4 (Meaty)