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Before we see how Noir Knights differs from standard pulp, let me mention a couple of things. First, this is a Savage Worlds setting. I’m going to go ahead and assume that you know what Savage Worlds is and a bit about how it works. Second, this is a Suzerain setting. Since Suzerain is a more recent addition to Savage Worlds, I shouldn’t assume as much, and ought to say a tiny biy about it. If you’re not familiar with Suzerain, I’d suggest reading up on it, but for our purposes, suffice it to say that it’s a multi-verse setting for high-powered characters. I mean, seriously high-powered characters. Like, “starting at Heroic and eventually becoming gods while not only saving their own realms but possibly even other realms throughout a multi-dimensional universe” sort of high-powered. That alone should give you a hint of just some of the ways that Noir Knights differs from the more usual pulp fare.
Noir Knights takes place in Suzerain’s “American Grit” realm, a supernatural take on American during the Great Depression – think X-Files set in the 1930’s, but with characters who are potentially as paranormal as the various cases they pursue. Specifically, the PCs in Noir Knights are government agents working for the Special Projects Administration’s Task Force Division, a largely off-the-books organization devoted to investigating paranormal threats to American security, whether in the Florida wetlands, the Midwestern heartland, or the political corridors of Washington D.C. (three regions of particular focus in the plot point campaign).
The text begins with the player’s section, as is typical of most Savage Worlds settings books. The first several pages are devoted to describing the setting – basically, what I’ve described in the previous paragraph, but in more detail. In addition, it describes a few sub-cultures unique to the setting that are especially fertile grounds for recruitment into the SPA: Ruizologists, railwalkers, and taximancers, each with a corresponding arcane background (or “pulse path” as they are called in Suzerain – more on that in a bit).
Ruizologists – what the heck are they? If you think “a 1930’s equivalent to the standard fantasy druid,” then you’re not too far off. Ruizology is named after its founder, Bertrand Ruiz, and is a combination of nature magic and meteorological science. Ruizologists can control the weather in order to make it storm, call lightning from the sky, read weather patterns to discern the future, and so forth. In addition, they can use the scientific aspect of their craft to create “Spell Engines” that augment their spellcasting abilities.
Railwalkers, I have to say, are easily my favorite of the three. Back in the (real-world) American Depression, hobos would inscribe various symbols on people’s mailboxes, barns, and the like, as a code to communicate with other hobos (for example, to tell them if they could find shelter at that particular location, or if they should move on). Noir Knights adds a supernatural dimension to this by turning these symbols into a system of magic sigils that can be used for a variety of magical effects, including protection, illusions, good luck, and so forth.
Taximancers = Voodoo + Taxidermy. ‘Nuff said – I’ll let your imagination take over here.
Next comes the character creation section. It follows the standard format, explaining the basics of the process such as choosing race (only human – unless you’re using Noir Knights as part of a multi-dimensional Suzerain campaign), traits, hindrances and edges, gear, and background. In addition to the material from the Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition core rule book and the main Suzerain book, players can choose from a variety of new character options.
There is just one new hindrance: “Charge” – someone for whom the character is responsible, such as a relative. However, there are also eighteen new edges. There are combat and professional edges as you’d expect, but my favorite ones are those that give the characters very low-level pulp-appropriate powers, without the need for a full-fledged arcane background; a few examples include “Mesmerist” (a kind of hypnotism that can be used to aid memory or plant a hypnotic trigger), “Folk Hero” (which allows characters to take a single instance of a power, such as Boost Trait: Strength or Shape Change: Hawk), and Lucky Guess (a kind of low-level divination). There is also a brief section for “New Uses for Old Edges,” but which only discusses one old edge, “Connections”; however, it does give a half-dozen detailed variations appropriate to the setting, such as “Bureau Rat,” “The Mob,” and “Political Connections.”
The rest of the character creation section is devoted to the more straightforwardly supernatural aspects. First, there are a few new Telesma edges. (If you’re not familiar with Suzerain, Telesma are basically semi-intelligent talismans that help guide the characters through their world-saving, dimensional-hopping quests, and they can benefit from advancements similar to the way that characters do, including a variety of edges of their own.) Noir Knights provides three additional setting-specific Telesma edges, including “Folk Hero” (a complement to the “Folk Hero” character edge that allows the character to choose edges a rank higher than he or she would normally be able), “Spirit Sense” (which improves upon the core Suzerain Telesma ability to sense and interact with the spirit world), and “Ward” (which basically helps protect the character from magical attacks). Then there are three new Pulse Paths (Suzerain’s name for Arcane Backgrounds, more or less) – one each for the aforementioned Ruizologists, railwalkers, and taximancers – and eighteen new powers that characters can choose in addition to those available from Savage Worlds and the core Suzerain book.
The next section is called “The SPA Files.” Whereas the introductory section provides a general overview of the setting, this section provides more background information and context, especially of the setting’s political and economic aspects, including various organizations, official or otherwise. Especially helpful is the breakdown of several departments of the American government (at least, the ones relevant to the setting), and where the characters fit in as members of the SPA. Furthermore, there is some discussion of a few of the less official factions of the D.C. power structure, including the Orchard Protection Program (Johnny Appleseed?!), the Founding Fathers (rumors of Thomas Jefferson’s ghost on a burglary spree!), and the Fire of Industry (why are some industries flourishing in the middle of a depression?).
Next is two pages of gear. We get a couple of new pieces of armor (leather jacket and padded trenchcoat), one new melee weapon (whip), three new guns (Pony Sure-Shot, Colt .38 Super, Elephant Gun), one special weapon (dynamite), a handful of miscellaneous gear (padlock, field radio, lighter, services such as meals, rooms, and passage, etc.), and about a dozen new land vehicles. On the whole: not bad. A 1930’s setting doesn’t need a ton of new gear over and above what the core book already has. Having said that, I couldn’t help but compare to a couple of other setting books such as Thrilling Tales and Realms of Cthulhu (which has gear for 1920’s adventures, among others). Both provide several more guns, as well as other non-land vehicles such as watercraft and aircraft. As Noir Knights points out, the small selection of new guns isn’t really much of an issue – Savage Worlds doesn’t have particularly fine-grained weapon stats, so you can come up with a “new” weapon by simply slapping a new name on an existing one. However, I could see needing the stats for the watercraft and aircraft, and having to look to one of those other setting books for them. Not a big deal on the whole, but not quite as robust as I’d have hoped for.
The GM’s section begins next, and takes up the majority of the book (pages 42 through 144). Ironically, this is the section about which I want to say the least – I don’t want to spoil anything for you players out there. Hopefully, a brief overview will suffice for now – and whet your appetite to buy the book.
First, there are several pages of GM background info, spelling out the secrets of the setting. Then most of the rest of the book is devoted to the plot point campaign: twelve main plot point adventures and eighteen “Savage Tales.” Without giving anything too specific away about the plot point campaign, let me just say: it’s great. It more than fulfills the promise of a high-powered X-Files in the Great Depression. There’s an excellent blend of action and intrigue, combat and roleplaying, and it takes you to all the locales and introduces you to the groups and organizations teased by the player’s guide. It can be run straight-up, or it can be used as part of a larger dimension-hopping campaign, with several suggestions about how exactly to implement some crossovers to other Suzerain realms. I honestly can’t find fault with it in any way, other than to make the usual “YMMV” / “IMHO” caveats.
Finally, we get four pages of allies and enemies. I find the organization a bit odd. The vast majority of character stats are in the plot point campaign adventures and Savage Tales in which they appear, so I’m not sure why some of them would be left for the end of the book, or alternatively, why all of them wouldn’t be collected at the end of the book (which I believe is more typical of Savage Worlds setting books). There is a note that says (I’m paraphrasing) that unique, or at least unusual, denizens are in the adventures, and that more common, generic folks (such as Lawmen and Thugs) are left for the end, but that doesn’t seem to be entirely the case – there are generic characters such as Teamsters and Carnie Thugs in the adventures. It’s not a big deal, but I would have preferred that the stats for all of the allies and enemies, common or unique, be left for the end – that way, I can look them up easily should I choose to make my own adventures.
Now for some concluding remarks and assessments:
Substance:
Keeping in mind that it requires the use of both the Savage Worlds Explorer’s Edition core rule book and the main Suzerain book, I’m quite happy about the content of Noir Knights. If I were to nitpick, I’d only mention a couple of things. I already mentioned that the gear section felt a bit light, but not too bad. I also would have liked an adventure generator. Not all settings books have them, so it’s not a serious omission, but I love it when a setting book does include one – it makes my job as GM a million times easier when I want to come up with my own adventures but need a bit of help. Since RPG.net doesn’t allow fractions or decimals, I’ll give Noir Knights a 5 out of 5 for content, with the caveat that I’d select 4.5 out of 5 if I had the option. That’s about as high as I’d give almost any product on substance (I’m super picky about giving scores of 100% - just ask my students … ), so that’s pretty darn good.
Style:
Fantastic – easily 5 out of 5. This is a high quality, sturdy, beautiful book. The artwork is professional, and very little of it is repeated (there are various character portraits throughout the book, and occasionally several characters are collected into a single “group shot,” but that’s about it). The print is clear and easy to read (though there are a very few sections of red text that are slightly less so). The pages are sturdy and glossy. One weird, though totally unimportant thing: the name “Noir Knights” doesn’t appear on the spine (at least, not on my copy) – when sitting next to the main Suzerain book on my bookshelf, the books are pretty much indistinguishable. That seems like an odd omission (it certainly makes it harder to display in stores), but it’s not exactly a problem for the individual owner.
Conclusion: This is a great book. If the premise of the setting even remotely interests you, then I strongly suggest it – I’d be very surprised if you were disappointed. If Noir Knights is any indication of quality, then I look forward to getting my hands on more Suzerain settings.
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