Taking a long look at one of the most difficult Dharmic paths to really get a full grasp on,
Dharmabook: Thousand Whispers is the third in the series for the superb line
Kindred of the East. I fell in love with the game when it was first released, and I have doted upon it since then, snatching up new supplements as they come out (though, sadly, I now seem to have fallen behind). They are, universally, of excellent quality and great use, so I had high expectations when I opened up this book. Did I get what I hoped for? Perhaps not, but
Dharmabook: Thousand Whispers is definitely a solid resource.
However, a short little manga (comic) is definitely not the way to start gaming supplements. While Melissa Uran can do single illustrations with a distinctive and enjoyable flair (her chapter openings throughout the rest of the book are quite nice, for example), she does not seem able to support a short manga here. On top of that a manga is much less “economical” in regards to the amount of information and mood that can be conveyed in the same page count. It’s just unthinkable to publish a supplement these days without some opening fiction, but if you are going to do it, at least try to put it to the best use possible.
The other White Wolf tradition of writing a book largely in character appears again here as well, but framing the book as letters a Rootless Tree writes to the lover he killed when putting a past life to death works surprisingly well. While a more removed prose may have worked better, the book certainly doesn’t suffer under it and is no where near as strained as some other supplements have been. What we get are the confessions of a Kuei-jin just starting down the Dharma’s path of philosophical enlightenment, conveniently similar to most PCs. Fancy that.
And speaking of confessions, enlightenment and philosophy, we get a lot of it. Not having to devote any real space to a “History of the Splat Thus Far” seems to free the book to some extent, and we get treated to a leisurely walk through a Dharma, its basic tenets, and the rituals that make up life along its path. Like all Kindred of the East supplements, a great deal of weight and importance is given to ritual and “proper form,” which serves to highlight the uniqueness of the setting.
The first chapter is a primer on the most important rites and events in a Rootless Tree’s life, and is rather brief. What follows is one of the most useful sections of the book, where the Dharma itself is examined in greater depth. The look at tenets, in particular, is very enlightening. Although the point-counterpoint format between the narrator and his Beast strains the in-character format to its limits. Following that is a look at the Dharma’s position in Kuei-jin society, from the wu to the Courts, as well as the role Direction plays in a vampire’s life. As with all Kindred of the East supplements, the view of outsiders may be the most refreshing part of the book, as the stereotypical feuds and rivalries are conspicuously absent
The rest of the book (almost half of it) is given up to the more “crunchy bits,” as some concrete advice is provided for character creation and new rites and other powers are handed out by the fistful. The most useful portion is definitely the frank discussion on how to play a follower of the Dharma. Distinctions between long term and short term roles (greater and lesser masks, respectively) serve to give questioning players some grasp on how to make their Rootless Tree stable enough to actually play in a campaign but also different enough to bother playing at all. That is a difficult balance to strike sometimes.
What is distinctly lacking, however, is a blunt and exhaustive examination of the very central idea of “Balance.” Perhaps I am simply embittered by disastrous Werewolf: the Apocalypse games, but I think that this is something that a lot of gamers need a lesson in. Especially in this Dharma, when questions like what to do when a role you have immersed yourself in slips out of balance. Do you correct it right away? Do you alleviate the strain later on? Just how long is too long where imbalance is concerned? Just what is imbalance? Many equal Balance with “fairness” when, if Balance is the natural state of things, “fair” has nothing to do with it. Not only is Balance not simply Justice and Goodness, but there is very clearly a place for evil in Balance. Just look at the Devil-Tigers.
Aside from that gap in its crown, Dharmabook: Thousand Whispers is a nice and solid resource for the game. Not as brilliant as Dharmabook: Devil Tigers or quite as varied as Dharmabook: Bone Flowers, but definitely of use in giving players and Storytellers a clearer handle on the Dharma. Steve Kenson’s writing is entertaining, and Melissa Uran provides some excellent full-page works. Charlie Rose also has some good illustrations, but my nemesis Brian LeBlanc also provides a number of pieces.
Bottom line: if you feel you need some more information on the Thousand Whispers, it’s here, but it’s not going to rock your socks off. If you feel you have a full and complete grasp on the Dharma already, you might find your time better served with other fare.
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