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Tales of Magic & Miracles

for Pendragon

by Shannon Appel, Danny Bourne, Garry Faye, and William G. Filios

Green Knight Publishing

64 pages, perfect bound

$13.95

ISBN 1-928999-03-4 GK 2721

Grade: B

reviewed by Lisa Padol

Green Knight's second original Pendragon product is cleaner than the first and up to the usual high standards for Pendragon products. It has five adventures and eight adventure seeds.

The first part of the book has three adventures that deal with the faerie realm. Of these, "The Adventure of the Rosebriar Knight" is the most detailed, and, I suspect, also the most challenging. Players must be on their toes to spot important clues. "The Adventure of the Deceitful Faerie" is the most open-ended of the bunch. This one may be the most challenging to run well, but the players have no set route that their PCs must follow.

"The Adventure of the Faerie Road" is at the opposite end of the spectrum. The PCs must complete a series of encounters correctly if they are to escape the road, an unusual form of the faerie, with ample literary precedent. This adventure is followed by four adventure seeds, amply detailed, although I do wonder if the goal of the Picts in "The Adventure of the Worshipping Picts" is so terrible.

The next part of the book has two Christian quests. Both are quite challenging. "The Adventure of the Holy Sword" requires the PCs to lift an interlocking group of curses and to defeat a monster without starting the cycle of curses all over again. "The Adventure of the Castle of Light" has rigid requirements for success. This is well in keeping with source material for the genre, especially if this adventure occurs as part of the search for the Holy Grail. However, it is less than suitable for groups with Pagan knights, and the rigid requirements may make it frustrating even to a group of players with all-Christian PCs. Judge your group carefully before running this one.

The four Christian adventure seeds are nicely varied, covering everything from diabolical artifacts to religious crusades. My only complaint is that one of them refers readers to Tales of Chivalry and Romance for rules about spirits. These rules are needed for running the adventure seed and should have been reprinted. It's one thing to refer folks to a core rules book, but referring them to a book of adventures in which they may have no interest is another matter entirely.

My only other complaint concerns something I might not have noticed had it not been pointed out by Michael Cule in Alarums and Excursions (#293): This book about magic does not take into account the possibility that one or more of the PCs might be mages. It may be time for a book of adventures specifically geared to that situation.

For now, Tales of Magic and Miracles is a good product so long as you understand what you are getting: Well-written, challenging adventures, some of which presume a party composed only of Christians, all of which presume a party that includes no mages.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Tales of Magic and Miracles
Author: Shannon Appel, Danny Bourne, Garry Faye, and William G. Filios Category: game Company/Publisher: Green Knight Publishing Line: Pendragon Cost: $13.95 Page count: 65 pages, perfect bound ISBN: SISBN 1-928999-03-4 SKU: GK2721 Capsule Review by Lisa Padol on 04/04/00. Genre tags: Fantasy Historical	Tales of Magic & Miracles for Pendragon by Shannon Appel, Danny Bourne, Garry Faye, and William G. Filios Green Knight Publishing 64 pages, perfect bound $13.95 ISBN 1-928999-03-4 GK 2721 Grade: B reviewed by Lisa Padol Green Knight's second original Pendragon product is cleaner than the first and up to the usual high standards for Pendragon products. It has five adventures and eight adventure seeds. The first part of the book has three adventures that deal with the faerie realm. Of these, "The Adventure of the Rosebriar Knight" is the most detailed, and, I suspect, also the most challenging. Players must be on their toes to spot important clues. "The Adventure of the Deceitful Faerie" is the most open-ended of the bunch. This one may be the most challenging to run well, but the players have no set route that their PCs must follow. "The Adventure of the Faerie Road" is at the opposite end of the spectrum. The PCs must complete a series of encounters correctly if they are to escape the road, an unusual form of the faerie, with ample literary precedent. This adventure is followed by four adventure seeds, amply detailed, although I do wonder if the goal of the Picts in "The Adventure of the Worshipping Picts" is so terrible. The next part of the book has two Christian quests. Both are quite challenging. "The Adventure of the Holy Sword" requires the PCs to lift an interlocking group of curses and to defeat a monster without starting the cycle of curses all over again. "The Adventure of the Castle of Light" has rigid requirements for success. This is well in keeping with source material for the genre, especially if this adventure occurs as part of the search for the Holy Grail. However, it is less than suitable for groups with Pagan knights, and the rigid requirements may make it frustrating even to a group of players with all-Christian PCs. Judge your group carefully before running this one. The four Christian adventure seeds are nicely varied, covering everything from diabolical artifacts to religious crusades. My only complaint is that one of them refers readers to Tales of Chivalry and Romance for rules about spirits. These rules are needed for running the adventure seed and should have been reprinted. It's one thing to refer folks to a core rules book, but referring them to a book of adventures in which they may have no interest is another matter entirely. My only other complaint concerns something I might not have noticed had it not been pointed out by Michael Cule in Alarums and Excursions (#293): This book about magic does not take into account the possibility that one or more of the PCs might be mages. It may be time for a book of adventures specifically geared to that situation. For now, Tales of Magic and Miracles is a good product so long as you understand what you are getting: Well-written, challenging adventures, some of which presume a party composed only of Christians, all of which presume a party that includes no mages. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)