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This tome covers everything you could possibly want to know about the Guild, international trade, the drugs trade, slavery, and Realm Ecconomics, and then some. It is split up into an introduction and three chapters with an appendix, and takes the usual format of the entire Exalted line.
The Introduction.
There is a personal word from the line developer concerning this book that is well worth reading and inwardly digesting, as the writer speaks directly to his readership, which is very unusual in an RPG Supplement. To summerise, the writer wanted to get across more of the darker aspects of trade in Creation, and bring a certain level of grittiness to what appears to some to be a game about kung fu ass kicking. A lot of the material on drugs and slavery is taken from real world history, in as much as the practices of the slave trade in Exalted are analogeous of our own shady past. I think he has achieved that aim most adequately.
After the foreword the introduction has the usual chapter breakdown and lexicon that you would find in any Exalted supplement. I know other reviewers have already mentioned this when they have reviewed Exalted books, but it bears mentioning again - the use of chapter breakdowns in the introduction to Exalted supplements is a very good practice that White Wolf have adopted for the line, and I wish that more companies would take note of this approach. God knows, some companies could do with a few pointers in this respect.
The lexicon is very long, and it is worth keeping a bookmark between these pages for future reference while reading this tome.
Finally, ther is a black sidebar entitled "Please Read Me". I feel it should be repeated here before I go on to describe the rest of the book:
"This book is about horrible things - slavery, drug addiction and the socially endorsed exploitation of the inhabitants of the Threashold and the Blessed Isle by the competing forces of the Guild and the Realm. This book does not waste time pointing out how terrible any one specific part of this arrangement is. It was our belief that the evils depicted needed no emphasis and that pointing out how ghastly these matters are would be an insult to the reader's intelligence. Instead, the text portrays them as they are seen by inhabitants of the Second Age of Man - as terrible and unfortunate realities thrust upon everyone by the times and by practical necessity. I'm sorry if you're one of those people who thinks that unless you include a ritual denouncement every time you describe something bad you're somehow endorsing it. I guess if you're one of those people, you'll just have to either get a grip on reality or just not read this book."
Chapter One: Guild History and Structure
As the title suggests, this chapter deals with the history and structure of the Guild. It is mostly written in a factual style with rules on diverse subjects as joining the Guild or becoming a Guild Factor in sidebars.
The first part of the chapter gives an in-depth overview of the Guild's history, with a table of events at the end. It is an interesting read, and the writer manages to convey the information without it being dry.
The next part is a who's who of the leaders of the Guild, the Hierarchs that make up the Directorate. None of the nine Hierarchs have stats listed for them, but instead have thumbnail sketches and a short paragraph of how they became Guild Hierarchs and their primary motivations [apart from making stinking great wads of cash, naturally]. It has been left up to the ST to make up stats and further flesh out the characters in his or her own chronicle, or to abandon them entirely as may be the ST's wont. All nine personalities are well thought out and fit nicely into the organisation they are in charge of, and would make enemies or allies worthy of any campaign circle.
The next section details everything from joining the Guild to its internal workings, including what to expect in the typical day to day life of the Guild.
The final section is a detailed treatise on Guild Caravans, from getting the funding to run one to life on the road and certain dangers involved.
This chapter is very detailed and makes for an interesting read. You will find many plot hooks within this part of the book. Many will leap out at you and hit you upside the head, which is all good.
Chapter Two: Drugs - The Soft Trade
This chapter deals with everything from illicit substances to medicines, their manufacture, distribution, and the politics involved with drugs. It is the largest chapter in the book, and possibly the most fascinating. There is so much here that I cannot even begin to touch on it. Needless to say, the Beasts of Resplendent Liquids was a nice touch, as I have already mentioned in the Open Forum [imagine gigantic First Age beasts bred to eat opium and piss heroin].
Chapter Three: Slaves - The Hard Trade
even though this chapter is shorter than the previous one, it is far darker as the writer doesn't pull his punches when dealing with everything from slavers who raid tribes for slaves for the Guild to what happens to those poor unfortunates who end up in slavery. From the core book onwards we already knew that being sold to the Fair Folk for food is a fate far worse than death, but in this chapter, how much worse a fate is laid out before us in full detail. Kinda reminds me of some girlfriends I have had, but there you go...
In Exalted there is no Emancipation movement, but in one of the sidebars it does discuss the possibility of there being one should your players decide that they ought to abolish slavery. This is for the ST to decide, but players, even experienced Solars, are going to be hard pushed to make it happen. Slavery is more ingrained into the cultures of creation than it was in the West in the 18th Century. The whole of Creation is like the Deep South of pre-Emancipation years in attitudes to slavery.
Appendix: Money and Finance in Creation
This is the only bit of the book that made me go "Gah", but that is because I would admit to having no head for finances - when I am married I will let my missus do the budgetting. Otherwise, our household would be permanently skint.
It is labouriously detailed, which may appeal to the serious world-building geeks amongst you, as well as to those who work as accountants. I will have to read it a second or third time to make it click for me.
Saying that, the information presented on the various currencies of Creation do make sense, from the Jade Standard of the Realm to the silver coin of the Guild. The CG pictures of things like Jade Talents and Obols are very well done, and seeing realistic coinage adds to the flavour of the subject in hand. The most useful part of the appendix to me is the "Resources Dot to actual money" sidebar and the Item/Resources Cost/Jade Cost/Silver Cost conversion chart.
Summery:
Even though this book does not contain anything that you shouldn't let your players know, I would mark this tome as an ST Resource simply because of the depth and complexity of the information presented. In some parts the material can get rather dry, especially in the appendix, but all in all this book adds much to the world of Exalted.
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