the other review can be found here:
I have opted for a review of the Thargos Atlas which is in fact the latest book in the range but the second corebook for the game.
The cover can be found below:
The Cover:
the cover has an interesting use of a character's face for the main gaming map. The map has been scarred and tattooed into the skin of the front cover character which we found quite novel and in keeping in line with most of the other full-face covers by Rob Larson from the range. The cover has the usual veneer/mat finish and looks very classy.
Quality/design:
the paper is of a high grade and has the same characteristic greyscale background as the whole range. I think that the designers must have been trying out some new styles as there are more fonts than the corebook (which had mainly papyrus). In our opinion simple is better so previous book styles were more suited.
Interior Art:
The Atlas really does well here with superb 3d city representations by Andrew Dobell, amazing CGI by Paul Bourne (the guy who did most of the art for A-State, which we also play) and other contributions from the guy who has done the graphic novel for Cursed Empire (we have seen this but have yet to acquire it). Some city life scenes have been provided although we would have liked to have a few more of these in the book. We only noticed later that the 3d city art is actually built up from the exact maps down to every building and structure, which is great for showing players the art and telling them where the encounters are actually taking place. I find myself pointing to the Celestia city art and telling players where their tavern is, where they are due to meet their informant etc.
There are over 25 city maps by Amandine Labarre (some of these were in the corebook). The maps have a nice style to them but it is a shame that this title is not in colour as all the art would have been stunning. I recommend checking out the site where you can get a glimpse of the art in colour.
Overall the art really is of a high standard and is very pleasing to the eye. Whatsmore we really enjoyed the crossover of detail between artists. Paul Bourne's Black Falcon Keep can be seen in Andrew Dobell's Celestia 3d city art. Amandine's Black Falcon emblem from the Corebook and Knight Sourcebook can also be seen on Paul's art. I mentioned consistency in my previous review and this is literally illustrated again here.
Content:
The Atlas is full of material for any fantasy game GM. We found this of a huge amount of use when putting together scenarios and in particular the "average citizen's day" descriptions for quite a few cities are invaluable in getting a feel for the atmosphere of any particular location.
I have grabbed the extract that can be found on the site:
Extract from the Atlas - A Day in the Life in Condar
"After waking in a warm bed next to a warmer woman, the common Condorian resident dresses in dyed linens and grabs his wares—be it produce or a trade craft—to bring to the bazaar to make his day’s wages. On a bad day he may have to go to the Farm Union to work, digging up tubers and picking fruit for a share to feed his family…but today he has a full sack of his wares and has a good feeling about market. He takes the largest and most populated roads to avoid any muggers, and stops only briefly at the Temple of his faith to pray for a good price. After a small run in with a nasty pickpocket—who is summarily punished by an Onyx Knight wandering by—he finds his way into the bustling bazaar and elbows his way through the crowds to a proudly buying merchant. After some haggling, he is satisfied he is not getting too taken by the greedy merchant, and takes a handful of gold coins in exchange.
After narrowly avoiding an Imperial knight chasing down a suspected Karnacosian agent, the common Condorian seeks a break from the everyday stress and hardships that his life is surrounded by. A short jaunt to the Arena of Bravery and Honour, he happily gives up a pair of coins for a leg of mutton, two mugs of watered-down ale and a fine show. Two gladiators, chained at the waist, are set against a wild beast—one of the Rarlonn Kandor savages—with nothing but a pair of blade-knuckled gauntlets between them. It was a fine show, and after a few other lesser events it becomes close to nightfall. Knowing how dangerous the streets can be when dark, he tucks the last of his mutton into his empty satchel and heads for his quarter of town.
Seeing the very same man that was being chased earlier in the day duck into an alley—suspected of being a spy from Karnacos—our common Condar an feels a strange surge of pride for his city and Empire. Drawing the closest thing his is carrying to a weapon, he slinks forward to investigate—half-eaten mutton leg in hand. The “spy” is dealing with two mountain goblins, and one sees him. The spy whips around, wicked blade in hand. Fearing for his life, he throws the meat at the man. The two goblins dive for the mutton, knocking the weapon and the spy to the ground—giving the Condar an the chance to bellow for help. In seconds two knights appear and arrest the spy.
Our common Condaran goes home with the commendation of the knights that helped him, and he still has seven gold coins in his purse. May be that tomorrow he will go to the barracks and see what it takes to join one of the Orders—such as it was today, he would love to do his part in the fight to come."
Facts and figures can be found very much in line with the corebook, but there is a lot more in this tome that has now become our cursed empire bible. These pieces of information include city resources, general trade info and population figures as well as an introduction to the city or region. The descriptions are great and the variety of cities, towns etc. is a really useful resource. We have often found that some game settings have very repetitive descriptions and atmospheres for different locations. The cities and regions described within the Atlas have a great deal of variety and alow us to change the style of games we play.
Scenario:
The scenario included was a solid introduction to the seafaring city of Elios, so much so that we have now shifted our campaign headquarters from Celestia. The corsairs, darkuns and general city scumbags all add to the setting and ambiance. We actually beefed up the guild scene by adding a few guilds (city of Kurnor) from the Slavers of Karg supplement (see future review). The scenario is pretty serious with regards to its impact on the game world, which was needed for the range as it has upped the ante on our campaign development. Bryan Steele wrote this as well as quite a few other sections of the book. He has an excellent style and has written for Babylon 5 RPG and Iron Kingdoms.
Additional Rules:
only 2 pages of this hefty tome have been taken up by rules and there is an interesting although not yet implemented rule for our campaign, which gives players regional bonuses to their skill rolls. Basically players choose a region of specialisation for their character where they have better local knowledge. This is a simple mechanic where the player chooses urban vs rural skill bonuses for example. It is funny that in fact that I have kinda been doing this myself during our home game where I assign roll modifiers based upon my perception of the characters' familiarity of the city or region.
Flavour Text:
this is becoming a regular fixture throughout the range and I consider this a useful addition for background and atmosphere definition. The stories are relatively short and help set the scene and break-up the reading experience every so now and then.
Overall:
This book is a solid addition to the range and would be of use to many GM's playing D&D or other games and wanting an alternative and consistent setting for their campaign. The fact that only 2 pages are system related, make this title a good "all rounder" for non-CE players as well. It is a pity that some errors crept in:
end of book flavour text has too many fonts used and a box text insert for the scenario has actually covered some other text although not crucial. These editing errors made me opt for a 4/5 for Style where the book should have earnt a 5.
I trust this will be a useful review.
James
