Revanche is the 96 page cap to what has so far been the most epic of the Tribe 8 plot arcs. Set up much the same way as every other Cycle book, a brief introduction for Weavers, an effective synopsis of the plotline (remember metaplot happens to other people, plot happens to PCs, when metaplot affects PCs it becomes plot) beginning with the main rulebook. The chapters use a in-character narrative to set the tone for that particular bit of the adventure, and the final 2 chapters deal with the aftermath, implications for all groups, a couple of NPC/monsters stat boxes and general guidelines that didn’t fit anywhere in particular in the book. If only more companies would follow this model – especially the aftermath/implications chapter.
Now, the rest of the review may contain spoiler information, so be warned. I’ll try and keep it as vague as possible but some things that happen in Revanche are spoilers by their very mention.
The plot covers the final months of a very violent year for Vimary – starting with the Crusades in Broken Pact, then the destruction and occupation of Vimary by the Z’bri, and now, in the autumn months the Fallen and the Nation plan a pre-emptive counterstrike, to avoid the Z’bri’s final assault and conquest of all humanity. The book really captures two very contradictory concepts very well – the idea of the righteous war (the battle to take back their homes and end the nightmare of the Z’bri once and for all) and the insanity, inhumanity of war (which is everywhere in the book, but really felt in the 4th chapter as the campaign grinds down into a bloodfest).
Be warned – a LOT of people die here, even outside the combat situations. This is the last hurrah for most of the shiny faces that led the various groups since their mention in the main rulebook. Tribe 8, since Broken Pact, has been clearing the way for the next generation, the younger Tribals and the Children of Hom (the children born to parents in exile, who never Fell and therefore lack the emotional/spiritual wounds that causes). If PCs have been reluctant to step up and take their place among the leadership of various groups here is their big chance. Now much of the book is written around the NPCs, but it tries to take into account PCs in leadership/influential positions throughout, especially if they have been successful in previous quest books.
Chapter One: In Fallow Fields.
The situation is grim, Hom is overcrowded, still partially in ruins (because of the beating it took by the Inquisition and the Z’bri attacks), and seriously strained. The good feelings and brave words that ended Vimary Burns have been forgotten in the “cabin fever” nature that is taking hold. This chapter deals with the recovery of the fatima Lilith’s body but without her spear or hammer head – which acts as the spark that lights the fire of built up resentment and frustration, and leads to the attempted murder of another fatima. Players must do investigation, and a lot of work to calm down situations, reminding Fallen and Tribal alike that their enemy is the Z’bri, not each other. A number of new factions start to emerge here – the New Bloods (a movement among young Fallen and Tribals to work together despite their parents’ politics), the Children of Hom (mentioned above) and the emergence of Keeper factions that want to fight for the Earth, not hide beneath it. For everyone who was getting mad or disappointed about Tribe 8 becoming too dark, this is the break in that dark cloud, no sexual abuse, no child murder, just lots of constructive work and leadership. The plot here is actually quite simple, and linear – the real trick is getting the breathing room to do an investigation and presenting the facts of the matter before the whole island explodes into violence.
Chapter Two: Fallen Blossoms.
In Vimary Burns, the bulk of the Evans and the Tera Shebans chose to simply leave Vimary, and created a living arcology for themselves. Now with the Crusade beginning, a few people (PCs) are sent out to the Keepers, the survivors (Tribal and Keeper) of Westholm, and on a treacherous journey to the Firmament to coax Eva and Tera Sheba to join them. Each of the factions are colourfully dealt with (but the Westholm section is a little brief), but the bulk of the chapter is dedicated to dealing with the Firmament and realizing just how bad things have gotten in there. The plot is a bit rail roaded, and the climax/image is a rehash of one that was done before (better IMO) in another book, and one of those major deaths I mentioned occurs, but all in all it’s a pretty good chapter – the real drama isn’t coming from the plot but from built up character subplots (a chance to reunite with family, friends, allies, enemies, contacts, etc).
Chapter Three: Desert Rose.
This short chapter deals with a long lost character from a previous book, and breaking a budding alliance within the Z’bri that would make the Crusade impossibly difficult. Done right this chapter ends up with the most dangerous and numerous Z’bri leaving H’l Kar unprotected. Most of it involves dealing with Z’bri and Z’bri tainted humans (and Tribals) so I’d recommend caution – use this chapter only if your PCs have proven able to withstand the Atmosphere of the Z’bri for very long periods of time (i.e. they’ve built up their Willpower and Psyche scores). This one can be done sneaky or combat heavy – the book and I both recommend sneaky, otherwise you’ll end up with a group of dead PCs before the big fight ever starts.
Chapter Four: The Razing
The longest chapter in the book, and one that takes the most time in the campaign – about 2-4 months or more. This is the crusade to destroy the Ziggurat, retake Vimary, and destroy the Z’bri’s hold on the Nation forever. It’s also where there is an acceptable return to the “darkness” of the recent Tribe 8 books – this is a war, a grinding war (not the happy go lucky short attacks and lightning raids of previous books) with thousands of deaths, atrocities on both sides, against an enemy whose very existence literally corrupts the soul and mind of anyone around them. Remember I said a lot of people die? One act of this chapter has an entire squad (made up of important supporting cast NPCs) wiped out – boom, no helping them – just to make the point that war is hell (and war with hell-spawned demons can only be moreso). The suggested strategies of the Z’bri does not pull punches – this is very much the time for long-time PCs to show their might, and really play this up to its fullest. Imagine a cross between Apocalypse Now, Lawrence of Arabia, Hamburger Hill and Saving Private Ryan – a mix of gritty and epic hand in hand.
If your PCs are not the big valorous warrior types there is still plenty of things to do (although the Weaver is encouraged to throw at least one big combat at them once and a while – this is a war afterall) – logistics, dealing with the still prejudiced elements of the army, investigating crimes, running messages, tending to the wounded, etc. What becomes apparent over time is that the war is slowly becoming war for war’s sake – and that humanity is beginning to take on some of the less endearing traits of the Z’bri. Great roleplaying potential can be found in agonizing what to do over Z’bri who surrender peacefully (even going as far as losing their Sundering and changing their Atmosphere), or how to handle villages full of serfs.
For the spiritually minded the end of the chapter (and the war) is loaded with significant events – the spiritual backlash from so much death and destruction, a dream-quest that leads to the in-game revelation that players and weavers knew was coming, and the final ritual which destroys H’l Kar and ends the war, “this war” Joan adds grimly, looking north to Capal, and Joshua’s heartstone.
If there is a weakness to this chapter it’s scope. Too much can happen here, and too much should. Its only in the final pages did I notice (because it tells me) that the Guides didn’t take part in the Crusade. And many of the small plotlines, to few weakened narrating characters from Vimary Burns (the two young Joanites, the Baron’s lost concubine, etc) never make an appearance. In war too many things can happen, and its all too likely that most of the party could be killed in the first burst of violence – either by Z’bri, or plague, or tainted by merely being that close to the Ziggurat for long periods of time. This is unavoidable I suppose, but I can see a lot of angry PCs if their precious characters die in a raid just because they make a bad die roll. There is also the matter of supporting cast loss – if you don’t have many NPCs that the players feel for then you are going to be losing almost all of them in this chapter.
Chapter Five and Six: Aftermath and Weaver Resources.
What can I say about Aftermath – a great chapter, hard numbers of losses (well, percentage figures anyway, including splitting up the “dead” from the “missing/lost”). The implications chapter makes it clear that this is only the beginning, but for the moment the next effort is to survive the winter (no food stores, remember?) and rebuild Vimary. Even the dark elements of the last chapter are quickly resolved, leaving the way for a much cleaner, more comfortable next plot arc – there will still be problems but the darkness of Tribe 8 setting is over. Humanity has weathered its trial.
The Weaver resources are just a couple of multi-chapter NPCs and more Z’bri goodies, including lots of information on how to really get the feel for H’l Kar and the Ziggurat.
Overall Opinion
A good book, a great read, and definitely confirming that T8 is the next game I run. To make the most of this book though you really need to build up the world, fill it with NPCs (of all sorts) that the PCs care about (one way or another). If you have been playing the entire line up to this point then that shouldn’t be hard. The real drama of Fallen Blossoms, for example, doesn’t come from being chased around by Cylix and the Watch but from trying to convince very scared and very defeated friends that the outside world isn’t a Z’bri pleasure park, and that there can be a union with the entire Nation if they are willing to try. The first chapter makes hard choices about where PCs stand on Fallen-Nation relations. There are no real saints here – every Fallen has at least one reason to hate the Nation, but often times these people were exiled for a legitimate reason (not everyone is tossed out for being politically inconvenient or because the priests didn’t like their destiny).
Really, next to Trial by Fire (which dealt with the distance between the Fallen and the Nation) this is best cycle book dealing with the social nature of Tribe 8. Children of Lilith may have been cooler and more adventure oriented (and I like it a lot) – but this gives the feel of something big, something great. Player characters (who survive) can really feel a sense of accomplishment when they can say they were “there” when the Ziggurat was destroyed, that they led the forces which liberated the Seven Fingers, or who finally made peace with the Keepers. This is the stuff of real epic fantasy.
Style 4 (Actually I give it a 9 out of 10, it loses the point because of the slight need to railroad in places)
Substance 5 (you get what you pay for here, and a lot more)
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