The first thing that strikes you about Principia Malefex is the glorious cover. It is a hardback volume, covered in black pseudo-leather, blank but for the words “Principia Malefex” in gold gothic font on front and spine. The pages within are printed on cream coloured paper, and a red ribbon is bound into the volume by way of a bookmark. The eyes of the Goth in our gaming group lit up as she grabbed the book off our table to take a look.
But if you take the time to look more closely, you will discover that presentation as a whole is really Principa Malefex’s failing. The writing is strongest when talking about ideas. Some of the concepts about supernatural creatures – such as the vampires (“The GM should remember that there are more types of Vampire then there are types of cat.”), and the shape-absorbing hunters, would interest any horror games-master. Principia Malefex’s magical tomes are not spell recipe books but allegorical and narrative descriptions of the unknown. (One of these is the eponymous Principia Malefex.) The games-mastering section is mainly excellent. The author’s essay on rape in RPGs should be obligatory reading for anyone covering the topic in a game. A couple of the hints for first time GMs seem heavy handed (“If a player is deliberately disrupting your adventure and ruining it … remove his character. If possible do it in a creative manner.”)
The cosmology presents several types of magic, each with their own dangers. The most powerful, Malefex and Helix, are based on the summoning of evil demons and amoral spirit-creatures from different dimensions. As mages practice Malefex and Helix magic, they become more proficient but simultaneously more corrupted. Malefex magic makes the practitioner blunt, direct, and hungry for power. Helix magic slowly envelops the caster in a dreamscape. Weaker Aegyptian magic is derived through a Roman mystery cult from five “godlings” who power the spells and transform casters into their servants. Weaker still, hedge witches inherit psychic powers.
One of the author’s central ideas is to treat this metaphysics as seasoning rather than the staple diet, and to treat horror with a subtle approach and a light touch. She considers that the real world is a terrible enough place, full of people who lie and cheat and do not consider themselves evil because everyone else does it. Thus she succeeds in making the “World of Darkness” look positively heroic. Scenario seeds and supplements support this tone, which gives Principia Malefex a very different feel to most other horror games.
Principia Malefex is particularly useful as a sourcebook on Britain for contemporary RPGs. It contains detailed information on law, policing, business structure, and education system. So detailed, in fact, that something as esoteric as the 1998 reforms to small claims law have outpaced the information and undermined one of the scenarios.
But not all the ideas are brilliant. The rules system is a complex collage worthy of the early 1980s. Some skills roll a d20, others a d200. Many mechanics require adding or subtracting an ad hoc die, such as a d3 or d5. Educational attainment and degree subject are randomised, but career is chosen by the player. Combat is run with a detailed system that uses an action track, differentiates between different types of damage, and includes the chance of infection. If anything, it errs on the side of being more lethal than the real world. I was fortunate to play in a game run by the author, in which the system ran smoothly and produced believable results. (And which was both truly horrific and a great deal of fun.) But combined with the layout style I describe below, it makes the system difficult to use out of the book. My advice is to use Principia Malefex as a sourcebook for your favourite horror RPG, and use a system you already know.
Another idea usually included near the beginning of an RPG is notable by its absence. There is no outline for running a campaign, description of how to bring a player characters together into a team, or suggestions for linking together adventures. Since few Principia Malefex players will be new to role-playing, this is probably not a major omission.
As I implied above, the presentation of the pages within is not as good as the covers. Principia Malefex is a small press book, with small press composition and layout. Evocative snippets of fiction lie in text boxes without margins. The layout is unimaginative. Fonts conflict. The lack of any art is, given the low-budget or amateur art of games completed on a small budget, probably a wise choice.
A more ruthless editor might have clarified the rules and made them easier to follow. The mechanics are presented before the cosmology (which starts in the middle third of the book). Some of the advanced rules are presented alongside the advice to the GM. As is common for small press books, typographical errors are frequent.
In summary, Principia Malefex is an intriguing take on horror in the UK. Any horror role-player interested in the UK setting or looking for something more subtle and different should consider buying it as an idea mine. It is a pity that Chaosium’s BRP system was not both freely available (it is not) and used for Principia Malefex, as Principia Malefex feels like it wants to be a non-mythos Call of Cthulhu supplement. And when you go back to your Camarilla LARP, it makes a great prop. Most importantly, the author enjoyed the gory convention game.
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