 Goto [ Index ] |
Back Cover of Satanis Unbound
This alchemist of the surreal and infamous magician, Darrick Dishaw, whatever you wish to call him, has written a sourcebook for his Empire of Satanis RPG. With only a few scant suggestions from friends, playtesters, and two guys from the Forge, he created this universe in which to darkly play. When it comes to the roleplaying establishment, including most critics, the infamous magician has cast his pearls before swine. By no means do I wish to categorically denounce the pedestrian roleplayer community; however, I wish to challenge the discerning gamer to see beyond those who condemn Satanis!
I’m a newcomer to the worlds of Satanis, (thanks to a few bad mouthing reviewers who initially kept me away yet finally pulled me in after curiosity got the best of me). Since then, I have gone back and researched all of the unfounded judgments made on Mr. Dishaw’s oeuvre, both on rpg.net and other RPG forums. And quite frankly, I was utterly appalled. Here is this visionary genius slaving away for absolutely nothing except the appreciation of his fellow gamers! That’s right, he doesn’t ask for a dime from those who purchase his works. They are either free PDF downloads or hardcopy books that only amount to Lulu’s cost of production. Such a sad state of affairs when something fresh and creative is reviled because of its very eccentricity.
Satanis Unbound is available here: http://www.lulu.com/content/287104
Getting back to the point, it was an easy decision to write this review. Satanis Unbound is a work of art and like most art, it’s not easily understood by everyone – not like a d20 stat block or a vampire's soul in turmoil. Empire of Satanis came out of nowhere and was so surprising and unsettling to so many people, that is was routinely degraded…
Which brings me to an email I sent to Mr. Dishaw. I asked him what he thought of the extreme, vocal backlash he’s received since releasing EoS and Satanis Unbound. Surprisingly, this was his emailed reply:
“yeah. the Satanis Mythos is not your typical roleplaying experience. Empire of Satanis and Satanis Unbound are different. one doesn't play it like a regular RPG, it is presented strangely, and it must be received by only a few people at certain times. this is an occult work. it will feed the godform of the Crimson Emperor, Satanis. and He shall grant His disciples power. i applaud my detractors for drawing so much attention this way… to myself, Satanis, all the Fiends, and most of the lascivious girls who’ve traded their innocence for tentacles. this is a work of decadence. if it belongs anywhere, then it belongs to the school of decadent literature… that obsessively strange, perverse, and grotesque aesthetic which outsiders seem to cling to. outsiders such as H. P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, and many others.”
Satanis Unbound brings us deeper into the world of alien demons. It establishes locales and plot hooks while keeping the atmosphere of fanatical wickedness. Personally, I don’t think it “tries to be evil”, let alone tries too hard. Rather, it is evil in spite of itself – existing in a morality free zone where horror and darkness unconsciously work their way to the surface. Maybe the effect of the writing style is uncomfortable to people because the mood is so expertly sustained. Even when released, Satanis Unbound grips a stream of consciousness that leads to a nightmarish land. For instance:
“The Kurur-esh who live in the Shadow Jungles have a particular ritual for catching something to eat. They beat a human’s head with a rock until his brains spill out. The spilt brains are then boiled and poured onto a shaman’s face. Once the scalding brain liquid cools, it hardens to become a mask. The mask is worn by the shaman for nine days. At the end of the ninth day, the entire tribe beats on sacred drums as the shaman not only peels off the mask but he also peels off the flesh of his own face. The skinless-faced shaman of the tribe ululates to any and all Ibsa, a gargantuan, ebony crab-like species. The Ibsa is summoned and bound to the ululating shaman while the rest of the tribe kills it. Upon its death, Ibsa meat is ripped from the bone and cooked over a greenish hell-flame. The feast generally lasts three nights. A few tribes also use this feast as a celebration of fertility. Impregnating a female during the Ibsa feast supposedly brings good fortune.”
As fevered as the writing style gets, it comments on the world as if these people and events were commonplace. I don’t know if that’s off putting to some readers, but I found this juxtaposition chilling. Kudos!
Some of the artwork is fantastic. Looking at it, one can tell that it didn’t come from the usual suspects of RPG commercial artists. A lot of the drawings have an idiosyncratic authenticity; as if it came from an anonymous cultist or just some source unknown.
Mention has been made about the malevolent player character entities having no reason to do the things they do. Why are they evil? Well, it’s been made clear in the core rules as well as this sourcebook – on earth, years from now, a group of humans were exiled from the universe for using black magic. The exiled sorcerers believed the universe worked differently than the majority; and for that alone these outsiders were abused, ridiculed, hated, and spat upon. (Weird foreshadowing by the author?) Once they arrived in their new home, the universe known as Yidathroth, they were found by Satanis and reborn in His image. And what else could these mistreated magi turned demons do but take revenge on their persecutors?
Fiends are not unlike the Sith or the Cenobites. They are left vague enough so that gamers can make their own decisions, but there is a decidedly iconic feel to them. Fiends are the repulsive entities from beyond the stars. They are inhuman, yet just human enough for us to play. This is just like Lovecraft’s creatures; they don’t behave or think like we do, don’t follow the same laws – nevertheless, Lovecraft’s demons want earth and they want something from mankind. Even if it’s merely our destruction.
If I must find a criticism of SU, it’s that the entire book seems to come from left field. I would bet that the content didn’t get sent to some committee or writer’s workshop where it was mediocritized and made palatable to Joe Gamer. No, it probably came straight from one man’s warped imagination and vomited right on the page. From S&M sex parlors to Cyclopean Towers to below the Shadow Jungles of Tharr. Satanis Unbound goes places I never expected – in terms of prose, content, philosophy, and aesthetics.
The glossary is a nice touch. Language is important to - pretty much everything, especially when describing a world that no one has seen. Mr. Dishaw uses our native tongue when naming places or things the players need to see in their mind’s eye. (Unlike, for instance, the RPG Jorune which constantly confounded the reader with alien sounding language for everything under the sun.) Every so often, Satanis Unbound includes a foreign word - a demon word which informs us that this isn’t Kansas anymore. Because of the Fiend to English dictionary I now understand why the human universe is called Sha-la! Yes, it should have a silly and feminine name because that’s how the ultra barbaric male Fiends regard our entire culture. Or how about this phrase, “Rax Xackna Rosso Navrit” which means, “Slime, the red unholy slayer.” What a perfect name, motto, or philosophy for a denizen of K’thana. It was mine when I last played in my friend's campaign. For having a mere 100 or so words and short phrases, the Satanis GM and players can really get a lot of mileage out of the bloodthirsty, eldritch tone.
Plenty of subtle in-jokes have been included as well. For instance, the colored descriptors for Satanis. I suspect this is because the first edition of EoS called Satanis both the crimson God and the black God. And I also assume that this was an unintentional oversight. A couple reviews pointed out this miniscule discrepancy, and Mr. Dishaw must have decided to have a bit of fun with it because SU uses a hideous rainbow of hues to describe Satanis, each reference different.
By the way, the hardcover second edition Empire of Satanis is available here: http://www.lulu.com/content/223100
Briefly: There is an excellent section on using Diceless mechanics to play EoS; news about the Crimson Christ; new Fiend races and magic; demon misogyny – the use of women; varieties of worship; how to create a voidsaber; adventure ideas; and some very cool artwork.
Well, I could go on and on, but I won’t. Satanis Unbound is a remarkable sourcebook for an unearthly game. It deserves to sit on the shelf of everyone who wants a taste of something forbidden. In fact, I’ve placed it next to the really great RPG books in my collection: The Book of Vile Darkness, The Dark Side Sourcebook, and The Masks of Nyarlathotep. Thank you, Mr. Dishaw, as well as the many critics who have drawn us to the Satanis Mythos.
The End
