Goto [ Index ]

The Age of Napoleon is an epoch that has been overlooked in roleplaying terms*. It begins at the tail end of the Swashbuckling Era, and ends well before the Victorian one. In this GURPS worldbook the author makes a spirited claim to the period, and while I did not come away with a yearning to visit Waterloo or Trafalgar, I was treated with a weighty introduction to Europe at the turn of the 19th Century.

Experienced gamers know that GURPS shines when presenting historical information; this is truer than usual here. Rule-specific GURPS material runs less than 15 pages; in fact, GURPS players may actually feel slighted by the lack of crunchy bits. Character templates, which are omnipresent in most recent books, are not here. Instead they are replaced by the older-format "character types" that speak in more general terms about the possibilities for role-playing, and list general skills and traits that a d20 game could easily replicate. There are rules for period jobs and weapons, most notably stats for typical naval guns and artillery pieces, and some additions to the GURPS system for abstract naval combat.

The other omission that struck me is a more specific round-up of world regions. Most of the material is confined to sidebar "Interludes" that mention current events in major European nations (and the US) without going into specifics about demographic or geographic information. While I can understand leaving information out about Brazil or China, major players like Russia are not examined in the main text. This is especially glaring since several GURPS books have presented such information in a succinct fashion (the best example is the Cliffhangers genre book, and Swashbucklers to a lesser extent). In fact, both Alternate History books and Steampunk cram multiple world overviews in five or so pages per setting.

Still, all the information in Age of Napoleon is germane to a game set in Europe at this time. There is an impressive amount of detail about warfare, culture, industry, and overall life in Europe with an emphasis on France in particular. English material is present to a lesser extent, and every so often another nation is addressed. A mammoth timetable section highlights the first thirty pages, stretching from the stirrings of the American Revolution to Napoleon's death on St. Helena. This is followed by twenty more pages of notable personalities (some with GURPS stats). As a matter of fact, there is so much information in some places that I found myself wondering why each of Napoleon's siblings, together with some of the more obscure personalities, when others were presented. For example, George Washington and Catherine the Great get stats - I can't see a legitimate use for either one in a Napoleonic setting.

The other problem from packing so much information is that the rest of the layout suffers. The sidebars are printed in smaller text - looked like 10 point to me. Most of the art is small as well, and the maps that are included are humdrum. I got the impression that this is the result of a shaky compromise between leaving the page count as is and including as much of the writer's original text as possible.

The final section of the book discusses running campaigns in the Age of Napoleon. While military ideas dominate, there are some other plot ideas for other genres. I enjoyed the many "What If" interludes with departure points for alternate history, and the small section about Illuminated campaigns (too small, given some of the apocrypha about the French Revolution and conspiracies of the time, and the normal proclivities of Steve Jackson Games).

The Napoleonic period has long been the personal fief of the wargamer. Hollywood understands this and for the most part has kept away. This book proves the maxim applies to roleplaying as well. At times I thought I was reading a manual for reenactors rather than gamers. A good manual, but nonethleless the prospects for a campaign seem limited. A military game would work, and possibly a story arc for a time travel or alternate history game, but beyond those examples there may not be enough here that isn't readily available on the internet or at a decent library. If you are a purist and desire a volume for the American Revolution to Congress of Vienna era, this book amply fits the bill. If the book doesn't suit you, chances are it's because the content overwhelms rather than shortchanges you.

* Off the top of my head only GURPS Scarlet Pimpernel can be considered contemporaneous, with GURPS Goblins one long decade - and one alternate world - away.