This book set out to do two things. The first is to provide all of the critical information that a Game Master requires in order to run a campaign set in pre-Columbian North America. The second, tied to the first, is to provide all of the needed information on the Lost Tribe of the Croatan. Did the writers do their job? Yes, they did. Did they do more than that? No, they didn't. (Is that a bad thing? No, it's not.) Allow me to go into detail.
This book is a perfect bound softcover with a cover by Richard Kane Ferguson; the piece is ugly and puts undue strain upon the eyes as I strained to distiguish the figures from the surroundings. The pieces used on the inside improve, insofar as they aren't so strenuous in their defiance of clarity, and they do depict something that goes on the accompanying chapter, but that's not much of an improvement. The layout follows the usual White Wolf style, which makes it sufficiently functional and easy to read, which puts this book squarely in the middle with the majority of White Wolf's products. Taken purely from a production point of view, there is nothing truly great or poor to say (aside from Mr. Kane's artwork) about Croatan Song. This is not bad in itself; there has to be an "average" for the great and the terrible to compare themselves against.
Now for the content. The book opens with one of those fiction pieces that long-time followers of my reviews know that I dislike with some measure of passion. This one is "Reknown", and it tells the story of the three brothers who would found the Uktena, Croatan, and Wendigo tribes. It does the job, but if I were an editor of any outlet that took fiction I'd send this back with a form letter right quick. All I got out of that story was that attention to detail isn't a strong suit for Garou storytellers, and that each brother overemphasized one of the three Reknown traits- with Honor being the one that led the Croatan to their doom. I'm not impressed.
The introduction serves the usual utilitarian purpose, telling the reader what this book is all about and how to use it. It covers the intended moods and themes, changes to the Lexicon, and the Biblography used in writing this book. I do recommend pursuing the sources that the writers used; if you can get a hold of any experts on these things then talk to them as well. (A little research for a historical game never hurts.)
Chapter One covers the history of the Pure Lands tribes, from where they came from through how they got to the New World and what they did when they got there. The big event is the establishment of the Mound Builders down south near the Mexican border, and its inevitable fall to the Wyrm. Of course the Garou got their Rage on and destroyed the Mound Builders' civilization. This had a lasting effect on the three tribes, especially the Croatan, as they received a foreshadowing of the Doom of the Croatan.
Chapter Two covers the turf of the tribes and their Kinfolk. It also covers how they lived. Again, I stress that this is not an in-depth work about pre-Columbian America--if detail is what you want, go to the Biblography and have at the source material--but rather all of the information needed to get off the ground. The concepts of harmonious existance, centered on a balance between flesh and spirit, are the bedrock of the tribes and their Kinfolks' beliefs. The issues of the lack of literacy and large-scale metalworking are also addressed and accounted for, and finally the resistance to (foreign) disease caps that section. The rest is a who-lives-where sort of thing, either in terms of caerns or Kinfolk nations.
Chapter Three covers the "How do I use this stuff?" question, and it does that job well enough. It's assumed that most games involving this book will be pre-Columbian, either at the very beginnings (the Great Migration) or in the happy times before the Europeans arrived. The post-Columbian takes are addressed, but special mention goes to the Old West and Modern Day uses for this book. They're slight, but potent, due to the persistant life that the past has for all Garou as well as their affinity for unknown/untouched places. The bulk of the chapter covers these approaches in depth, going over needed changes to the way players need to envision their PCs and the circumstances that those PCs live with as well as how the book's content mixes outside of its intended place in time. There are adventure seeds, sample NPCs, and other notes that a Game Master will find interesting if not useful. It's got something for everyone, even if you have to dig a bit to find it.
Chapter Four gets to the crunchy bits. Here is where all of the new rules and altered rules go, and there is nothing here that ought to shock anyone. The new or altered Abilities are quite fine for their intended use, but the Gifts are not so bound. (Getting them, on the other hand, is something else altogether.) These are the sorts of powers that, if used in a modern or Old West game, would logically result in a levelling of the powerbase between the natives and the settlers- and thus throw off the feel and mood of the game entirely. (I shudder to think of what an ambitious player could do once his PC reaches Rank Five and gets his PC's paws on Katanka-Sonnak's Spear; kiss those enemy armies and badasses goodbye.) The same goes for the Rites, Totems, and Merits/Flaws. That said, it's a nice addition to the game but only where it's meant to be used.
And that's it. Overall, I find that Croatan Song does what it set out to do and doesn't run into trouble until it attempts to go beyond the period of time (and subject matter) for which it exists. If you can find a copy, check it out because there may be something to steal here. However, I would not recommend buying a copy unless you are absolutely certain that you are going to employ its content early, often, and repeatedly. Remember to consult the sources mentioned in the Biblography if you're looking for more detail than that within the book, and then only if you need that detail. Otherwise, this book has all that you need (and nothing more).
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