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The Library at Bletherad

Preamble

Justified or not, I was worried that The Library at Bletherad would be some weird combination of the Dewey decimal system meets RPG's head on. I was wrong. The Library at Bletherad is a solid and very different supplement than the past few Palladium Fantasy RPG supplements. It is also something Palladium Fantasy has needed for some time: a starting point for campaigns.

The Setting

The Library at Bletherad is about the greatest known library in the Palladium world. Located on a geologically active island, the setting is not unlike a sleepy Mediterranean island. While the island is peaceful it is literally in the eye of a political hurricane as it is between the Western Empire and Wolfen Empire. The latter holds claim, but the Library at Bletherad is neutral and open to all scholars. Most of the major powers in the Palladium Fantasy world donate to the library, which makes it a center point to introduce many interesting characters and plot hooks from a variety of locations. The hooks can take the form of an Indiana Jones type of adventure: finding ancient places and looting them. The hooks can also take the form of political and social intrigue: spies, cults and thieves. However neither has to be exclusive of the other, The Library at Bletherad provides ample opportunity for both.

This is a new addition to the Palladium fantasy setting, but most of the details about The Library at Bletherad itself could be used for any campaign.

A Starting Point

One of the best things about the Palladium Fantasy RPG is that it has always had a great story to it, one that I still find interesting after almost 15 years of reading and playing. What Palladium Fantasy has seemed to lack is a good starting point for new characters. The Library at Bletherad, provides this and in turn can provide hooks for a long time. What better excuse to explore the world than to fight the long time enemies of the library and/or find lost texts for it? There is also a small internal security force dedicated to protecting the library and ensuring all is safe. This is mostly comprised of changelings. Unlike most parts of the Palladium world they are not hunted down and killed without thought, at the library.

There are enough plot hooks that a party could start small and work their way up to more dangerous quests. The nature of the library, it allies and enemies allow for many options to be played out. A party could perhaps starting to do small tasks around the island, like recovering stolen items, minor intrigues, troubleshooting. Then more challenging tasks in the near by Western Empire or Wolfen Empire, which could lead to the Yin-Sloth jungles or even the Baalgor Wastelands. But The Library at Bletherad is also suitable for introduction into an existing campaign, Palladium Fantasy or not.

A Middle Point

The Library at Bletherad can provide a good middle point to a campaign as adventurers seek additional knowledge for their quests. Adventurers are considered the bane of the Library at Bletherad by the monastic order that runs it. There is a black-market guide to the Library at Bletherad that is covered in the book that acts as a set of Cliff Notes and handbook for the library.

The island seems like a sleepy place, with two small towns and little going on. But there are enough subtle hooks to keep the more adventurous party members distracted while the bookworms dig through the tomes at the library (ruins, ghosts, intrigue and wild goose chases). I think the author left enough vague plot hooks that a GM could make as much or as little of them as they choose.

Even if The Library at Bletherad has not been introduced to the campaign, its agents could draw PC's to the library. New opportunities for adventure to support the library abound. Even adventures against the library are plausible. Also the library can be the source for more adventures even if the PC's do not get involved with the library, via treasure maps and other titillating bits of obscure knowledge. There is an entire section of the supplement dedicated to tomes of lost treasure maps. The book does not need to be centered around the library at all, there are enough ideas and hooks in the tomes section of the book to be dropped into almost any campaign.

The Book

There are some organizational issues in The Library at Bletherad and was by some appearances a rush job. The book does not suffer much in quality, but it could have been assembled a bit better, particularly in the last 1/3^rd of the book. The last third of the book (more or less) is a summary of books found in the Library at Bletherad. Also for Palladium Fantasy fans, this is book 12, while book 11 is still in production. Not a major problem, but a little disconcerting at first if you go by the numbers. I thought I might have missed something.

The art in The Library at Bletherad is a mixed bag and did not do much for, or against, the book. Much of it is fair to good, some of it looks like it was just lying around from other projects. The NPC art was generally good, the art depicting events/action was poor to average. Art is not a huge qualifier, unless it is for a specific purpose or used to pad a book. While the art was a mixed bag in regards to relevance, it also did not pad the book.

There are plenty of NPC's in The Library at Bletherad. A few suffered from not being described enough, such as the monk that acts as a liaison to the guardians of the library. Some of the NPC's of the library suffer from not having well thought out histories and motivations. The monastic order that runs the library has a solid history and is detailed enough for a GM to run, but also open enough for some interpretation.

Also there are a number of new spells, which could be a fun addition to a Palladium Fantasy campaign. Of course if they are not suitable, they could always be checked out.

Synopsis

The Library at Bletherad is a solid, entertaining addition to the Palladium Fantasy line. Bill Coffin has done a good job energizing this long-standing product. There are numerous options for beginning and existing campaigns. Also there is enough material to be useful even outside the Palladium Fantasy world. The Library at Bletherad is a bargain. For 13.95 you are getting 192 pages. There is a lot of information even it is occasionally disorganized and confusing.

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

The Library at Bletherad
Author: Bill Coffin Category: game Company/Publisher: Palladium Books Line: Palladium Fantasy Cost: $13.95 Page count: 192 Capsule Review by Wes Johnson on 09/13/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	The Library at Bletherad Preamble Justified or not, I was worried that The Library at Bletherad would be some weird combination of the Dewey decimal system meets RPG's head on. I was wrong. The Library at Bletherad is a solid and very different supplement than the past few Palladium Fantasy RPG supplements. It is also something Palladium Fantasy has needed for some time: a starting point for campaigns. The Setting The Library at Bletherad is about the greatest known library in the Palladium world. Located on a geologically active island, the setting is not unlike a sleepy Mediterranean island. While the island is peaceful it is literally in the eye of a political hurricane as it is between the Western Empire and Wolfen Empire. The latter holds claim, but the Library at Bletherad is neutral and open to all scholars. Most of the major powers in the Palladium Fantasy world donate to the library, which makes it a center point to introduce many interesting characters and plot hooks from a variety of locations. The hooks can take the form of an Indiana Jones type of adventure: finding ancient places and looting them. The hooks can also take the form of political and social intrigue: spies, cults and thieves. However neither has to be exclusive of the other, The Library at Bletherad provides ample opportunity for both. This is a new addition to the Palladium fantasy setting, but most of the details about The Library at Bletherad itself could be used for any campaign. A Starting Point One of the best things about the Palladium Fantasy RPG is that it has always had a great story to it, one that I still find interesting after almost 15 years of reading and playing. What Palladium Fantasy has seemed to lack is a good starting point for new characters. The Library at Bletherad, provides this and in turn can provide hooks for a long time. What better excuse to explore the world than to fight the long time enemies of the library and/or find lost texts for it? There is also a small internal security force dedicated to protecting the library and ensuring all is safe. This is mostly comprised of changelings. Unlike most parts of the Palladium world they are not hunted down and killed without thought, at the library. There are enough plot hooks that a party could start small and work their way up to more dangerous quests. The nature of the library, it allies and enemies allow for many options to be played out. A party could perhaps starting to do small tasks around the island, like recovering stolen items, minor intrigues, troubleshooting. Then more challenging tasks in the near by Western Empire or Wolfen Empire, which could lead to the Yin-Sloth jungles or even the Baalgor Wastelands. But The Library at Bletherad is also suitable for introduction into an existing campaign, Palladium Fantasy or not. A Middle Point The Library at Bletherad can provide a good middle point to a campaign as adventurers seek additional knowledge for their quests. Adventurers are considered the bane of the Library at Bletherad by the monastic order that runs it. There is a black-market guide to the Library at Bletherad that is covered in the book that acts as a set of Cliff Notes and handbook for the library. The island seems like a sleepy place, with two small towns and little going on. But there are enough subtle hooks to keep the more adventurous party members distracted while the bookworms dig through the tomes at the library (ruins, ghosts, intrigue and wild goose chases). I think the author left enough vague plot hooks that a GM could make as much or as little of them as they choose. Even if The Library at Bletherad has not been introduced to the campaign, its agents could draw PC's to the library. New opportunities for adventure to support the library abound. Even adventures against the library are plausible. Also the library can be the source for more adventures even if the PC's do not get involved with the library, via treasure maps and other titillating bits of obscure knowledge. There is an entire section of the supplement dedicated to tomes of lost treasure maps. The book does not need to be centered around the library at all, there are enough ideas and hooks in the tomes section of the book to be dropped into almost any campaign. The Book There are some organizational issues in The Library at Bletherad and was by some appearances a rush job. The book does not suffer much in quality, but it could have been assembled a bit better, particularly in the last 1/3^rd of the book. The last third of the book (more or less) is a summary of books found in the Library at Bletherad. Also for Palladium Fantasy fans, this is book 12, while book 11 is still in production. Not a major problem, but a little disconcerting at first if you go by the numbers. I thought I might have missed something. The art in The Library at Bletherad is a mixed bag and did not do much for, or against, the book. Much of it is fair to good, some of it looks like it was just lying around from other projects. The NPC art was generally good, the art depicting events/action was poor to average. Art is not a huge qualifier, unless it is for a specific purpose or used to pad a book. While the art was a mixed bag in regards to relevance, it also did not pad the book. There are plenty of NPC's in The Library at Bletherad. A few suffered from not being described enough, such as the monk that acts as a liaison to the guardians of the library. Some of the NPC's of the library suffer from not having well thought out histories and motivations. The monastic order that runs the library has a solid history and is detailed enough for a GM to run, but also open enough for some interpretation. Also there are a number of new spells, which could be a fun addition to a Palladium Fantasy campaign. Of course if they are not suitable, they could always be checked out. Synopsis The Library at Bletherad is a solid, entertaining addition to the Palladium Fantasy line. Bill Coffin has done a good job energizing this long-standing product. There are numerous options for beginning and existing campaigns. Also there is enough material to be useful even outside the Palladium Fantasy world. The Library at Bletherad is a bargain. For 13.95 you are getting 192 pages. There is a lot of information even it is occasionally disorganized and confusing. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)