The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Atlas Games' recent adventure The Bishop's Staff suffers from a number of shortcomings, many of which could easily have been prevented with better editorial input. These shortcomings conspire to make the final product almost useless as an adventure, unless you happen to have an almost complete library of Ars Magica products, or you were somehow lucky enough to guess which products you were going to need to use this adventure, because the only way to find out is to go over the book with a fine-tooth comb.

The Bishop's Staff states that its aim is to be both a mystery to the reader as well as to the players. While this is a novel idea, I didn't feel drawn into it as a read at all. Further, the restrictions of trying to satisfy two somewhat disparate aims make it somewhat harder to use as an adventure.

There are a number of saving graces to the product, the most notable of which are a system of magic, called transcendences, and an unusual Jewish religious sect, the Karaites. These alone make it value for money in my book. While the overall feel of the product is somewhat amateurish (though author and editor are not inexperienced), it does have some gold nuggets scattered through it.

The adventure begins with a short, but jarring piece of fiction. Fiction is normally written in the third person, past tense. This allows the reader to place themselves as hearing the story reported by an observer, who takes on the voice of the author, like so: "Brian looked up and saw a ghostly form...". One might imagine sitting around a warm fireplace hearing the tale. Fiction is occasionally written in the first person, past tense, where in general the principal character is telling us what happened to them, "I looked up and saw a ghostly form...". On very rare occasions, an author might break with convention and move that to present tense -- we can see inside the principal character's head and watch events unfold "I wonder at the sound, look up and see a ghostly form...", but this must be handled very carefully if it is to work, because the reader almost becomes one with the protagonist. The story in The Bishop's Staff uses the present tense, but in the third person, and we are privy to the thoughts of the principal character. This gives a very odd sensation. Who is the reader now? How did they come to be in the principal character's head? Further, the occasionally use of modern idiom in the principal character's thoughts is especially jarring.

I am not opposed to fiction in role-playing products, but it must be done well -- it must stand as a piece of fiction on its own merits. Given the generally higher price-per-word of role-playing products compared to fiction, I can get more words of quality fiction per dollar by simply buying one of the many books competing for my meager budget. Consequently, fiction in a role-playing product must work both as fiction and as support for the story, setting, mood or motives of the NPCs, or it is an expensive waste of space.

A number of other problems are quickly evident: the adventure doesn't seem to mention anywhere the edition it is for (presumably 4th). It doesn't say how powerful the PCs should be, apart from the hint in the handout letter that they are from a relatively new covenant. So you have to buy it to see if you can use it; indeed it gets worse.

It doesn't list what other books you need in one place (Kabbalah, Wizard's Grimoire, Hedge Magic and Ordo Nobilis are amongst the books referred to). Let me give a couple of examples. At the bottom of page 4 and top of page 6 it says that NPCs that are knights, guards, toughs and so on should be taken from other adventures and sourcebooks such as Ordo Nobilis. Why not give at least a brief outline of what they should look like in case the customer doesn't own that source book or a suitable adventure? There is a reference on p31 to Purity affecting aging rolls the same way as in Kabbalah -- yet the relevant section in Kabbalah is only a couple of sentences. Why not quote it rather than require the purchaser to get Kabbalah as well? And if they /are/ going to be required to have it, say so on the cover, dammit!

Hell, the outside cover doesn't even make it clear it's an adventure you're buying.

It doesn't give even suggested stats for the NPC it says is the one the PCs will mainly interact with, just a vague outline of the kind of character, yet gives a large amount of detail on NPCs the players may in the end only have relatively brief contact with.

One or two pieces of artwork look like they were produced by artists attempting to get a job with Disney, and don't go at all with the underlying woodcut style or the more realistic pieces. They aren't bad art, but the style simply doesn't sit well with the rest of the art.

The player handout is nigh unreadable, and indeed that may be why the editor (or whoever else did the proofreading) didn't spot the spelling error here. The Storyguide is told to fill in the name of the group's covenant and date, but the font is impossible to even vaguely match by hand (by mine, at least), and it's not at all clear where the date should go on this document. Top right hand corner (no room!) or perhaps at the bottom, next to the seal (where there is room, but it looks a bit strange)?

Further, why does the text of the adventure say to make the redcap who delivers the message whoever the group's local redcap is... yet the handout specifically uses the name Alixos (the default name mentioned in this adventure and some other Ars Magica books), twice? This alone makes the handout next to useless for a Storyguide wanting to follow the suggestion, yet the text easily could have been worded so the redcap wasn't specifically named, or a blank spot left to fill it in, as was done with the name of the PC's covenant.

There is a boxed section about adapting the adventure for combat-oriented groups that outlines what to do but spends almost as much time explaining it's a waste of time to try. At least half, and perhaps all of this is a waste of space better spent giving some of the more crucial information referred to from other books.

There is a text box explaining who Nemesis (of ancient Greek mythology) was. Does Nemesis play any part whatever in the adventure? No. One of the NPCs regards himself as a brother of Nemesis. So why on earth give us details about Nemesis (such as the fact that she gave birth to Helen of Troy) that can be of no relevance to the adventure? Only the first sentence is relevant, and could have been included parenthetically in the appropriate NPC description; if I want irrelevant detail on Nemesis I can look it up.

This wasted space (along with other wasted space like it) could have been used to reproduce the relevant passages of the many sections of other books the adventure refers to. These books are not mentioned on the cover - and the text doesn't say how to manage without them (or even make it clear if you can manage without them), so a reader without those books is in a bind.

There are some plusses, however. The description of the Karaites - whose laws are based on a literal reading of the Torah rather than on the Talmud is interesting and useful. Most especially, the "magic" system of transcendences has a wonderful flavor. There are new spells, magic items and interesting NPCs. The basic ideas of the adventure itself seems fine for the most part, though I imagine some groups will be at a loss for how to proceed in several places.

If this product were a free download, my standards on the editing, artwork, English, and so on would be lower and I'd rate it more highly. Since this is a product you pay money for, these things also must be held to a certain standard. The Bishop's Staff, while it has much to commend it, does not achieve that standard. It has the feel of a very promising first draft.

The Bishop's Staff
The Bishop's Staff Capsule Review by Glen Barnett on 11/09/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average) Atlas Games' recent adventure The Bishop's Staff* suffers from a number of shortcomings. While it has much to commend it, does not achieve the standard of a professional product.* Product: The Bishop's Staff Author: Michael de Verteuil Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Atlas Games Line: Ars Magica Cost: $10.95 Page count: 48 Year published: 2002 ISBN: 1-58978-020-5 SKU: AG0268 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Glen Barnett on 11/09/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Historical	Atlas Games' recent adventure *The Bishop's Staff* suffers from a number of shortcomings, many of which could easily have been prevented with better editorial input. These shortcomings conspire to make the final product almost useless as an adventure, unless you happen to have an almost complete library of Ars Magica products, or you were somehow lucky enough to guess which products you were going to need to use this adventure, because the only way to find out is to go over the book with a fine-tooth comb. *The Bishop's Staff* states that its aim is to be both a mystery to the reader as well as to the players. While this is a novel idea, I didn't feel drawn into it as a read at all. Further, the restrictions of trying to satisfy two somewhat disparate aims make it somewhat harder to use as an adventure. There are a number of saving graces to the product, the most notable of which are a system of magic, called transcendences, and an unusual Jewish religious sect, the Karaites. These alone make it value for money in my book. While the overall feel of the product is somewhat amateurish (though author and editor are not inexperienced), it does have some gold nuggets scattered through it. The adventure begins with a short, but jarring piece of fiction. Fiction is normally written in the third person, past tense. This allows the reader to place themselves as hearing the story reported by an observer, who takes on the voice of the author, like so: "Brian looked up and saw a ghostly form...". One might imagine sitting around a warm fireplace hearing the tale. Fiction is occasionally written in the first person, past tense, where in general the principal character is telling us what happened to them, "I looked up and saw a ghostly form...". On very rare occasions, an author might break with convention and move that to present tense -- we can see inside the principal character's head and watch events unfold "I wonder at the sound, look up and see a ghostly form...", but this must be handled very carefully if it is to work, because the reader almost becomes one with the protagonist. The story in *The Bishop's Staff* uses the present tense, but in the third person, and we are privy to the thoughts of the principal character. This gives a very odd sensation. Who is the reader now? How did they come to be in the principal character's head? Further, the occasionally use of modern idiom in the principal character's thoughts is especially jarring. I am not opposed to fiction in role-playing products, but it must be done well -- it must stand as a piece of fiction on its own merits. Given the generally higher price-per-word of role-playing products compared to fiction, I can get more words of quality fiction per dollar by simply buying one of the many books competing for my meager budget. Consequently, fiction in a role-playing product must work both as fiction and as support for the story, setting, mood or motives of the NPCs, or it is an expensive waste of space. A number of other problems are quickly evident: the adventure doesn't seem to mention anywhere the edition it is for (presumably 4th). It doesn't say how powerful the PCs should be, apart from the hint in the handout letter that they are from a relatively new covenant. So you have to buy it to see if you can use it; indeed it gets worse. It doesn't list what other books you need in one place (Kabbalah, Wizard's Grimoire, Hedge Magic and Ordo Nobilis are amongst the books referred to). Let me give a couple of examples. At the bottom of page 4 and top of page 6 it says that NPCs that are knights, guards, toughs and so on should be taken from other adventures and sourcebooks such as Ordo Nobilis. Why not give at least a brief outline of what they should look like in case the customer doesn't own that source book or a suitable adventure? There is a reference on p31 to Purity affecting aging rolls the same way as in Kabbalah -- yet the relevant section in Kabbalah is only a couple of sentences. Why not quote it rather than require the purchaser to get Kabbalah as well? And if they /are/ going to be required to have it, say so on the cover, dammit! Hell, the outside cover doesn't even make it clear it's an adventure you're buying. It doesn't give even suggested stats for the NPC it says is the one the PCs will mainly interact with, just a vague outline of the kind of character, yet gives a large amount of detail on NPCs the players may in the end only have relatively brief contact with. One or two pieces of artwork look like they were produced by artists attempting to get a job with Disney, and don't go at all with the underlying woodcut style or the more realistic pieces. They aren't bad art, but the style simply doesn't sit well with the rest of the art. The player handout is nigh unreadable, and indeed that may be why the editor (or whoever else did the proofreading) didn't spot the spelling error here. The Storyguide is told to fill in the name of the group's covenant and date, but the font is impossible to even vaguely match by hand (by mine, at least), and it's not at all clear where the date should go on this document. Top right hand corner (no room!) or perhaps at the bottom, next to the seal (where there is room, but it looks a bit strange)? Further, why does the text of the adventure say to make the redcap who delivers the message whoever the group's local redcap is... yet the handout specifically uses the name Alixos (the default name mentioned in this adventure and some other Ars Magica books), twice? This alone makes the handout next to useless for a Storyguide wanting to follow the suggestion, yet the text easily could have been worded so the redcap wasn't specifically named, or a blank spot left to fill it in, as was done with the name of the PC's covenant. There is a boxed section about adapting the adventure for combat-oriented groups that outlines what to do but spends almost as much time explaining it's a waste of time to try. At least half, and perhaps all of this is a waste of space better spent giving some of the more crucial information referred to from other books. There is a text box explaining who Nemesis (of ancient Greek mythology) was. Does Nemesis play any part whatever in the adventure? No. One of the NPCs regards himself as a brother of Nemesis. So why on earth give us details about Nemesis (such as the fact that she gave birth to Helen of Troy) that can be of no relevance to the adventure? Only the first sentence is relevant, and could have been included parenthetically in the appropriate NPC description; if I want irrelevant detail on Nemesis I can look it up. This wasted space (along with other wasted space like it) could have been used to reproduce the relevant passages of the many sections of other books the adventure refers to. These books are not mentioned on the cover - and the text doesn't say how to manage without them (or even make it clear if you can manage without them), so a reader without those books is in a bind. There are some plusses, however. The description of the Karaites - whose laws are based on a literal reading of the Torah rather than on the Talmud is interesting and useful. Most especially, the "magic" system of transcendences has a wonderful flavor. There are new spells, magic items and interesting NPCs. The basic ideas of the adventure itself seems fine for the most part, though I imagine some groups will be at a loss for how to proceed in several places. If this product were a free download, my standards on the editing, artwork, English, and so on would be lower and I'd rate it more highly. Since this is a product you pay money for, these things also must be held to a certain standard. *The Bishop's Staff*, while it has much to commend it, does not achieve that standard. It has the feel of a very promising first draft.