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"Magic and Mysticism: The Dark Continent" is a great sourcebook for a game line that could use one. Still, this particular outing from West End Games exhibits one of the faults common to their INDIANA JONES game line. Roleplaying games expand and breathe through books, for the most part. Booklets, boxed sets, sourcebooks, novels, what have you, are the vehicle for communicating the delicate art/game we dig. Some companies make their publications work on either the game level or the book level, some actually manage both and some neither. West End Games, it seems to me, manages to at once make their publications function as both books and games but this is not always for the best.

"Magic and Mysticism" is a pretty good example of what I mean. The book is an interesting excursion into the adventurer's realm of the 1910s and 1930s. The game material is logically crafted, interestingly conveyed and balanced between in-setting details and rules-related notes. So what's the problem here? Well, the book element and game element don't blend perfectly in matter of function. In order for the adventure included in the book to carry its full weight to the players they must read the entire book.

Likewise, if players want to wield the sorcery, witchcraft or shamanism rules themselves they'll have to read most of the text to get the full appreciation of how it should relate to the game world. From both angles one gets caught in the trap that just about everyone in your gaming group could end up having to read this book. And you know what else? That's a good thing. Like I said, this is a great sourcebook.

The first thing I noticed about the product was its cover. This is the first INDIANA JONES game book not to have a photograph from an Indy movie on the cover (with the exception of the movie sourcebooks, which use the one-sheet posters) and I wasn't disappointed at all. The cover's of good quality and relates exactly to what the sourcebook and the INDIANA JONES game are about (adventure, exotic lands, historical elements and slight fantasy). My attention had been caught, like it should've, even though I didn't go out that day with the intention of picking up this book. So I paged through it.

Wow. The interior artwork, cartography, and creative layout work are all pretty impressive. Stephen Daniele presents a distinctive but still versatile style that is perfect for the nature of the book. Sketchy line work present images from an adventure in Africa as they might be recorded by adventurers while textured cartography and action illustrations appeal directly to the gamer (and would-be adventurer too). Sure, the text's a little large, but not really more so than your average game book, and the margins are small (though the illustrations often expand out to fill them anyway) so I really got the impression that there's a good amount of material in the book.

So I bought it. I paid $15 I didn't expect to and took the book home. I'm glad I did.

Not only is there a strong amount of material present but author Lee Garvin has displayed it in a fun and compelling style that actually encouraged me to finish a page before moving on. Intermittent pages are laid out as memos or letters from an anthropology professor to his student, excerpts from that student's diary, newspaper articles (that aren't so convincing, but they're fun nonetheless) and a wedding invitation. To boot, the adventure even relates to these characters without forcing them on the player characters too strongly.

My only complaints about the adventure are its pacing and hook. The action seems to work at an odd speed, assuming a certain reaction time from the characters (though not necessarily the players) and skipping some potentially fun "in an strange land" scenes. Of course, these are better played in a character-specific manner so it might not be useful to include slower scenes anyway. The hook, similarly, isn't real convincing, but it's good enough to get a roleplaying session going. These, still, are the lowest points and, really, they're not so low.

Aside from the fiction/setting information and the game adventure the book provides rules for sorcery, shamanism and witchcraft in the INDIANA JONES setting as well as staging tips, a few adventure ideas and sample spells and whatnot. Again to the credit of the author or the developers (Fred Jandt and George Strayton), the spell lists are decidedly in the vein of INDIANA JONES. Where it would be too easy to present these arcane elements like a poor cousin to CTHULHU or a twentieth century AD&D, the designers have stuck to their setting. My favorite element of these lists is the inclusion of suggestions for faking the spellcasting. After all, there should be a lot more charlatans in the INDIANA JONES setting than actual sorcerers.

Best of all, I think, is the coagulation of all these elements into one cohesive book that actually relates not only to the INDIANA JONES setting but the real world it's supposed to take place in (but of course doesn't). I'm an on-again-off-again student at a school based mostly on anthropology and I'm a history major (and a big fan of the 1930s time period) so I have a natural attraction to subjects like this one, and it seems the author does too. Not only does this book have something to do with anthropology (which a lot of Indy books haven't yet done), but the author actually demonstrates familiarity with the subject. I especially appreciate the notion that Indiana Jones himself is only one generation removed from Franz Boas (one of the most commonly heard names in an anthro class), which shows a working knowledge of both Indy's history and ours.

My fedora's off to Lee Garvin, Stephen Daniele and the rest for reminding me why I keep meaning to run an INDIANA JONES campaign.

AFTERTHOUGHT: Let me mop up a couple of spills I may have made during this review. Notice how the problem I mentioned with the sourcebook at the beginning is also a plus at the end? Well, most of the time I think that a sourcebook that every player needs to have read cover to cover can be a problem, in my experience. So, too, can a sourcebook that is really just a book and doesn't have a lot of play value. "Magic and Mysticism: The Dark Continent" almost does both, but actually works just like it should. Last, I meant to point out that INDIANA JONES actually operated out of the school I go to. Okay, sort of. An anthropologist who operated out of Beloit College was well-known in the field for being exceptionally afraid of snakes and for shooting two bandits near a dig site. He got a reputation as an adventurer, wore a fedora and is thought to be an inspiration for Indy. Of course, no one's ever really asked Lucas about it. For a little more info, go to .

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Magic and Mysticism: The Dark Continent
Author: Lee Garvin Category: game Company/Publisher: West End Games Cost: $15.00 Page count: 96 ISBN: 0-87431-438-0 Capsule Review by Wil Hindmarch on 01/24/98. Genre tags: none	"Magic and Mysticism: The Dark Continent" is a great sourcebook for a game line that could use one. Still, this particular outing from West End Games exhibits one of the faults common to their INDIANA JONES game line. Roleplaying games expand and breathe through books, for the most part. Booklets, boxed sets, sourcebooks, novels, what have you, are the vehicle for communicating the delicate art/game we dig. Some companies make their publications work on either the game level or the book level, some actually manage both and some neither. West End Games, it seems to me, manages to at once make their publications function as both books and games but this is not always for the best. "Magic and Mysticism" is a pretty good example of what I mean. The book is an interesting excursion into the adventurer's realm of the 1910s and 1930s. The game material is logically crafted, interestingly conveyed and balanced between in-setting details and rules-related notes. So what's the problem here? Well, the book element and game element don't blend perfectly in matter of function. In order for the adventure included in the book to carry its full weight to the players they must read the entire book. Likewise, if players want to wield the sorcery, witchcraft or shamanism rules themselves they'll have to read most of the text to get the full appreciation of how it should relate to the game world. From both angles one gets caught in the trap that just about everyone in your gaming group could end up having to read this book. And you know what else? That's a good thing. Like I said, this is a great sourcebook. The first thing I noticed about the product was its cover. This is the first INDIANA JONES game book not to have a photograph from an Indy movie on the cover (with the exception of the movie sourcebooks, which use the one-sheet posters) and I wasn't disappointed at all. The cover's of good quality and relates exactly to what the sourcebook and the INDIANA JONES game are about (adventure, exotic lands, historical elements and slight fantasy). My attention had been caught, like it should've, even though I didn't go out that day with the intention of picking up this book. So I paged through it. Wow. The interior artwork, cartography, and creative layout work are all pretty impressive. Stephen Daniele presents a distinctive but still versatile style that is perfect for the nature of the book. Sketchy line work present images from an adventure in Africa as they might be recorded by adventurers while textured cartography and action illustrations appeal directly to the gamer (and would-be adventurer too). Sure, the text's a little large, but not really more so than your average game book, and the margins are small (though the illustrations often expand out to fill them anyway) so I really got the impression that there's a good amount of material in the book. So I bought it. I paid $15 I didn't expect to and took the book home. I'm glad I did. Not only is there a strong amount of material present but author Lee Garvin has displayed it in a fun and compelling style that actually encouraged me to finish a page before moving on. Intermittent pages are laid out as memos or letters from an anthropology professor to his student, excerpts from that student's diary, newspaper articles (that aren't so convincing, but they're fun nonetheless) and a wedding invitation. To boot, the adventure even relates to these characters without forcing them on the player characters too strongly. My only complaints about the adventure are its pacing and hook. The action seems to work at an odd speed, assuming a certain reaction time from the characters (though not necessarily the players) and skipping some potentially fun "in an strange land" scenes. Of course, these are better played in a character-specific manner so it might not be useful to include slower scenes anyway. The hook, similarly, isn't real convincing, but it's good enough to get a roleplaying session going. These, still, are the lowest points and, really, they're not so low. Aside from the fiction/setting information and the game adventure the book provides rules for sorcery, shamanism and witchcraft in the INDIANA JONES setting as well as staging tips, a few adventure ideas and sample spells and whatnot. Again to the credit of the author or the developers (Fred Jandt and George Strayton), the spell lists are decidedly in the vein of INDIANA JONES. Where it would be too easy to present these arcane elements like a poor cousin to CTHULHU or a twentieth century AD&D, the designers have stuck to their setting. My favorite element of these lists is the inclusion of suggestions for faking the spellcasting. After all, there should be a lot more charlatans in the INDIANA JONES setting than actual sorcerers. Best of all, I think, is the coagulation of all these elements into one cohesive book that actually relates not only to the INDIANA JONES setting but the real world it's supposed to take place in (but of course doesn't). I'm an on-again-off-again student at a school based mostly on anthropology and I'm a history major (and a big fan of the 1930s time period) so I have a natural attraction to subjects like this one, and it seems the author does too. Not only does this book have something to do with anthropology (which a lot of Indy books haven't yet done), but the author actually demonstrates familiarity with the subject. I especially appreciate the notion that Indiana Jones himself is only one generation removed from Franz Boas (one of the most commonly heard names in an anthro class), which shows a working knowledge of both Indy's history and ours. My fedora's off to Lee Garvin, Stephen Daniele and the rest for reminding me why I keep meaning to run an INDIANA JONES campaign. AFTERTHOUGHT: Let me mop up a couple of spills I may have made during this review. Notice how the problem I mentioned with the sourcebook at the beginning is also a plus at the end? Well, most of the time I think that a sourcebook that every player needs to have read cover to cover can be a problem, in my experience. So, too, can a sourcebook that is really just a book and doesn't have a lot of play value. "Magic and Mysticism: The Dark Continent" almost does both, but actually works just like it should. Last, I meant to point out that INDIANA JONES actually operated out of the school I go to. Okay, sort of. An anthropologist who operated out of Beloit College was well-known in the field for being exceptionally afraid of snakes and for shooting two bandits near a dig site. He got a reputation as an adventurer, wore a fedora and is thought to be an inspiration for Indy. Of course, no one's ever really asked Lucas about it. For a little more info, go to . Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 4 (Meaty)