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Houses of the Bull God, hereafter referred to as HotBG, is a regional sourcebook for the Exalted RPG by White Wolf detailing a kingdom in Southern Creation, it’s Realm presence, it’s patron god, and a local society of Little Gods.
The first chapter, The Land of Harborhead, details the kingdom of Harborhead and its people. Basically an “African-like” region, Harborhead is a large kingdom populated mainly by five different tribes divided by inter-tribal conflict, social divisions between warrior and slave, and their conquest by the Realm. Harborhead’s political structure and history, the tribal leaders, and the Cult of Ahlat are all given special note, as well as Ahlat’s self-serving meddling in the uniting of several small tribes into the Five Peoples. As a broad overview of a giant area, the chapter works. The only part really standing out in my mind being the potential for games revolving around local politics and power brokering.
The second chapter, The Imperial Garrison, details the Realm’s presence in the capital of Harborhead, as well as statting out significant characters, discussing the interests of the various Dynastic houses in the area, and exploring the local offices of the Thousand Scales. While this chapter may be of great use to a group playing Dynastic Dragon-Bloods removed from the Realm, I personally thought it felt like a lot of filler. The inclusion of stats for some NPCs here, but none statted in the first chapter, kind of reinforces that for me.
The third chapter, Gods, Monsters and Manses, is where the book really begins to take off in my opinion. First we have a great detailing of the Southern God of War and Cattle, Ahlat. His history, his stats, who his allies and foes are and why, and how the Bull God spends his day. Something in here is sure spark an idea or two for a God-heavy game. Next we get an overview of the Lion Folk, a breed of raksha who roam the South. The chapter finishes off with a look at several Manses and Demesnes important to Ahlat and Harborhead.
Keeping up in speed, but in a slightly different direction, is the book’s final chapter, The Court of the Orderly Flame. A collection of gods and elementals in the South, the Court seeks to promote stability and order throughout the region. Much like the previous chapter, this one covers who the Court is, their history, their goals, their allies and their foes, as well as other Fire Courts throughout Creation. That said, there’s something about this chapter that just feels off to me. Why would a bunch of fire-aspected beings, passionate and often destructive, choose to ally together? How would they maintain their own order, let alone bring order elsewhere? What are the other elemental courts doing meanwhile? I like the chapter, and enjoyed reading it, but something just didn’t click right with me.
In terms of art, the book varies from being decent to some pieces being outright excellent. The battle picture on page 4 possibly sums up everything this book is about better than the Introduction. Other pieces failed to inspire me much, such as the mostly redundant pieces on page 8 and 42. As a glance at local architecture and clothing, more variety and differing details would have gone farther.
But how does this book measure up over all? Well, the closest comparison I can make is with Kingdoms of Halta. And compared to it, HotBG is a bit disappointing. The setting material feels very mundane and lacks a high-fantasy epic feel for me. Granted, this is set in a time when magic and technology are largely dying arts, but Harborhead seems like a place that was always mundane in scope. The first two chapters should have been combined into one I think, with more emphasis placed on local Artifacts and curiosities so that a starting party of Exalted would both want to adventure here and find suitable challenges outside of the political arena. The last two chapters of the book go the other route, being so vastly magical and epic in scope that starting characters may be out of place, and even mid-range characters might feel out of their league. Books like Creatures of the Wyld and Scavenger Sons might help a GM find material suitable for more middle-tier games, but this book alone doesn’t really have it. On the other hand, HotBG is a great resource for someone wanting to see how a powerful God in Exalted shapes and guides things. It also provides a good setting for Heroic Mortals and novice Dragon-Blooded to adventure in for a while. I also have to give the authors kudos for making something which didn't feel like it was just "Africa with Exalted!" With some work, much of the material could also be ported into another fantasy game setting. I'm giving this book a pair of 3's for Style and Substance. It's not bad, it's not good, it's just... average.
In summation: it’s great for people wanting to see stuff on Ahlat and spirit courts, but that’s about it. Get Kingdom of Halta instead.
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