The Inside Scoop on Gaming

When TSR released the Red Steel campaign setting I must admit to not paying it any attention. Not only was I involved in running a Call of Cthulhu campaign, but an acquaintance of mine who had purchased the Red Steel set made it out to be nothing more than a power-gamer's paradise. A few years ago a local comic store had a liquidation sale of their RPG merchandise, and I picked up a copy of Savage Baronies, the only supplement released for Red Steel. It sat in my closet until last year, when I finally broke its shrinkwrap and read it. Now I feel Red Steel may have been TSR's best release during the 1990s, and that Savage Baronies is a supplement that should be in any gamer's library.

The boxed set consists of a music CD, a sourcebook on the Savage Baronies, an adventure in the Baronies, a color map of the Baronies, and some pregenerated characters and handouts. The map shows both the Baronies and their surroundings, though about half of it is devoted to the sea that sits below the Baronies. The pregenerated characters are a must-read, giving a good look into the people of the Baronies, along with showing what a well-written pregenerated character looks like. Each individual has a believable background that makes sense, rather than a bunch of stats and a brief description that tells you nothing, as most pregenerated characters in TSR products are written. I must mention that you should look through the character sheets to find Miguel, a semi-important character in the adventure that comes in this boxed set. At no point in the adventure does it mention where to find Miguel's stats, so you'll be scratching your head about what his abilities are like if you don't look at the sheets. The music CD is rather uninspiring, seeming more appropriate for a typical fantasy campaign rather than the unique world of the Savage Baronies. Be warned that the CD case is unusually fragile, with mine breaking the second time I opened it.

With those comments out of the way let me move on to the two books that are the meat of this boxed set. Book I: The Savage Baronies, is a 64 page sourcebook detailing the nine lands that make up the baronies. Let me explain the main reason I give high praise for this boxed set: I do not own the Red Steel campaign set, yet after reading through this book I have a general understanding of the culture of the Savage Coast, the Red Curse, and the obsession for cinnabryl the inhabitants of the baronies possess. The author does this without reprinting text from the original boxed set, nor does he explain it in a dry fashion. He keeps the reader interested and aware, without sending them jumping back and forth throughout the book to look for information. Even without the main boxed set I was able to use this book in my campaign with no problem.

The first 22 pages of this book cover the history and general customs of the Savage Baronies, all of which is interesting and believable. Those of you who have read through the Glantri boxed set TSR released in the mid 1990s will notice the connection between the Red Curse and that nation of mages. Next up is entries on each barony, each land's culture, religion, industry, trade, and thoughts on the Red Curse being described. Every entry is well-written, and one could believe these are real nations inhabited by real people that are interacting with one another. The book ends with two new monsters unique to the Red Steel campaign area.

Finally there is the adventure, a 32 page scenario entitled "Divided We Fall." Cloaked underneath the cover art recycled from an earlier D&D product is one of the finest adventures every published by TSR. The scenario can be summed up as "Player characters take over quest from dying NPCs to save the kingdom." You say you've heard that one before? Perhaps, but no one has done it as well as in this adventure.

The scenario is broken into three chapters, the first of which is devoted to involving the PCs in the adventure. There is absolutely no combat in this section, allowing players to roleplay their characters and immerse themselves in Red Steel's unique setting of a Spanish/Mexican influenced game world. I can't remember another TSR scenario where so many pages went by without combat. Chapter two is the quest for the magical artifacts needed to save the kingdom. This section shines for several reasons, among them the fact that stealth is more valuable than a hack-n'-slash attitude, the PCs unexpectedly find themselves in a hostage situation, and an ending which lets the players realize they're in a bad situation without killing off half the party. Chapter three is just wonderful. Every gamer can recall at least one adventure where the scenario revolved around mega-powerful NPCs, with the player characters doing little more than standing around scratching their noses (Fortress O' Fear for Deadlands, anyone?). Well, the final chapter of this adventure starts out this way, but just when you're players think their presence is unnecessary the tables turn for the NPCs on the side of good, and it's up to the PCs to save the day, with the fate of a barony hanging in the balance. Assuming they survive the PCs are reasonably rewarded, with one prize an item that, while not something power gamers would enjoy, adds color and richness to the world of Red Steel, and should be found cool by anyone who enjoys role-playing.

The adventure does have its flaws. If your players apply logic in chapter one (apparently the author never thought the PCs would follow the tracks of the dying woman they encounter back to where she was attacked) they can easily miss out on the role-playing, jumping ahead to chapter two and leaving them in chapter three without anyone to back them up in battle. At the end of chapter two PCs have the option of sacrificing themselves to slow a horde of evil beings approaching the party. The problem is that such a sacrifice is unnecessary, as the horde is meant to move the party toward the castle in chapter three, and is not meant to be fought. Imagine a player bravely sacrificing his character to save the party, only to learn that if he'd just run off with his comrades his character would still be alive today. Chapter three has a lengthy dialogue between two NPCs, whose words are so dry your players will want to jump into combat about halfway through just to shut them up. Finally, a magic item is introduced that, when owned by an individual for a year, increases their experience level to twelve permanently! This same item has several other powers, and the only curse on it is one INTENTIONALLY put on it, implying its creators could churn out super-level increasing items with no problem. True, it's almost impossible for PCs to get their hands on said artifact, but its existence is still annoying.

One thing I had forgotten to mention is the black & white artwork found throughout the boxed set. Done by Randy Post and Dee Barnett, this duo is very talented, and I feel other game companies would do well to employ them.

So do I recommend Savage Baronies? If you want to see a quality fantasy adventure, an amazingly well-written sourcebook of mythic nations, or just love swashbuckling artwork, the answer is YES! I think that covers about every gamer, so go out and hunt down a copy of Savage Baronies.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Savage Baronies
Author: Tim Beach Category: game Company/Publisher: TSR Line: AD&D Red Steel Cost: 20.00 Page count: 96 ISBN: 0-7869-0123-3 SKU: 9500 Playtest Review by Ralph Dula on 05/18/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	When TSR released the Red Steel campaign setting I must admit to not paying it any attention. Not only was I involved in running a Call of Cthulhu campaign, but an acquaintance of mine who had purchased the Red Steel set made it out to be nothing more than a power-gamer's paradise. A few years ago a local comic store had a liquidation sale of their RPG merchandise, and I picked up a copy of Savage Baronies, the only supplement released for Red Steel. It sat in my closet until last year, when I finally broke its shrinkwrap and read it. Now I feel Red Steel may have been TSR's best release during the 1990s, and that Savage Baronies is a supplement that should be in any gamer's library. The boxed set consists of a music CD, a sourcebook on the Savage Baronies, an adventure in the Baronies, a color map of the Baronies, and some pregenerated characters and handouts. The map shows both the Baronies and their surroundings, though about half of it is devoted to the sea that sits below the Baronies. The pregenerated characters are a must-read, giving a good look into the people of the Baronies, along with showing what a well-written pregenerated character looks like. Each individual has a believable background that makes sense, rather than a bunch of stats and a brief description that tells you nothing, as most pregenerated characters in TSR products are written. I must mention that you should look through the character sheets to find Miguel, a semi-important character in the adventure that comes in this boxed set. At no point in the adventure does it mention where to find Miguel's stats, so you'll be scratching your head about what his abilities are like if you don't look at the sheets. The music CD is rather uninspiring, seeming more appropriate for a typical fantasy campaign rather than the unique world of the Savage Baronies. Be warned that the CD case is unusually fragile, with mine breaking the second time I opened it. With those comments out of the way let me move on to the two books that are the meat of this boxed set. Book I: The Savage Baronies, is a 64 page sourcebook detailing the nine lands that make up the baronies. Let me explain the main reason I give high praise for this boxed set: I do not own the Red Steel campaign set, yet after reading through this book I have a general understanding of the culture of the Savage Coast, the Red Curse, and the obsession for cinnabryl the inhabitants of the baronies possess. The author does this without reprinting text from the original boxed set, nor does he explain it in a dry fashion. He keeps the reader interested and aware, without sending them jumping back and forth throughout the book to look for information. Even without the main boxed set I was able to use this book in my campaign with no problem. The first 22 pages of this book cover the history and general customs of the Savage Baronies, all of which is interesting and believable. Those of you who have read through the Glantri boxed set TSR released in the mid 1990s will notice the connection between the Red Curse and that nation of mages. Next up is entries on each barony, each land's culture, religion, industry, trade, and thoughts on the Red Curse being described. Every entry is well-written, and one could believe these are real nations inhabited by real people that are interacting with one another. The book ends with two new monsters unique to the Red Steel campaign area. Finally there is the adventure, a 32 page scenario entitled "Divided We Fall." Cloaked underneath the cover art recycled from an earlier D&D product is one of the finest adventures every published by TSR. The scenario can be summed up as "Player characters take over quest from dying NPCs to save the kingdom." You say you've heard that one before? Perhaps, but no one has done it as well as in this adventure. The scenario is broken into three chapters, the first of which is devoted to involving the PCs in the adventure. There is absolutely no combat in this section, allowing players to roleplay their characters and immerse themselves in Red Steel's unique setting of a Spanish/Mexican influenced game world. I can't remember another TSR scenario where so many pages went by without combat. Chapter two is the quest for the magical artifacts needed to save the kingdom. This section shines for several reasons, among them the fact that stealth is more valuable than a hack-n'-slash attitude, the PCs unexpectedly find themselves in a hostage situation, and an ending which lets the players realize they're in a bad situation without killing off half the party. Chapter three is just wonderful. Every gamer can recall at least one adventure where the scenario revolved around mega-powerful NPCs, with the player characters doing little more than standing around scratching their noses (Fortress O' Fear for Deadlands, anyone?). Well, the final chapter of this adventure starts out this way, but just when you're players think their presence is unnecessary the tables turn for the NPCs on the side of good, and it's up to the PCs to save the day, with the fate of a barony hanging in the balance. Assuming they survive the PCs are reasonably rewarded, with one prize an item that, while not something power gamers would enjoy, adds color and richness to the world of Red Steel, and should be found cool by anyone who enjoys role-playing. The adventure does have its flaws. If your players apply logic in chapter one (apparently the author never thought the PCs would follow the tracks of the dying woman they encounter back to where she was attacked) they can easily miss out on the role-playing, jumping ahead to chapter two and leaving them in chapter three without anyone to back them up in battle. At the end of chapter two PCs have the option of sacrificing themselves to slow a horde of evil beings approaching the party. The problem is that such a sacrifice is unnecessary, as the horde is meant to move the party toward the castle in chapter three, and is not meant to be fought. Imagine a player bravely sacrificing his character to save the party, only to learn that if he'd just run off with his comrades his character would still be alive today. Chapter three has a lengthy dialogue between two NPCs, whose words are so dry your players will want to jump into combat about halfway through just to shut them up. Finally, a magic item is introduced that, when owned by an individual for a year, increases their experience level to twelve permanently! This same item has several other powers, and the only curse on it is one INTENTIONALLY put on it, implying its creators could churn out super-level increasing items with no problem. True, it's almost impossible for PCs to get their hands on said artifact, but its existence is still annoying. One thing I had forgotten to mention is the black & white artwork found throughout the boxed set. Done by Randy Post and Dee Barnett, this duo is very talented, and I feel other game companies would do well to employ them. So do I recommend Savage Baronies? If you want to see a quality fantasy adventure, an amazingly well-written sourcebook of mythic nations, or just love swashbuckling artwork, the answer is YES! I think that covers about every gamer, so go out and hunt down a copy of Savage Baronies. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)