Review of Fianna Tribe Book

I, personally, am not a person that is a tribe book fanatic. I am pretty picky in which ones I spend my money on, because not many of them offer much useful information to deserve the 10 bucks you pay. But this time, I can honestly say that I am absolutely assured that every cent of the money I have spent on the Fianna Tribe Book was well spent.

If there were a few words that can describe this tribe book, those would be: "harmonic, poetic, tragedic, dramatic and beautiful". Let's get down to the reasons.

Perhaps the only not-so-strong part of the whole book is its starting comic. Werewolf source books are known for their dramatic comics, true, this one is no exception. The topic of the Irish civil war has been very tenderly and cleverly touched, yet the art leaves something to be desired.. With just a mild displeasement, you move onto the Introduction and..

God, this, is beautiful. This, is how these proud decendants of the Celts should be honored, every word, every sentence brings chills as the book draws you deeper and deeper into it...

"...So, get a drink and listen well. All too soon this will be your story to tell..."

...as you delve into the history of these fey struck 'lore-keepers' and their mysterious ways, their deelings with the fae, their immigration to Britain, the spreading of the Garou over the world from the tongue of the history makers, in that awesome language.. here is a small excerpt:

"...As the Fey folk listened to our wolf-songs, we listened to their words. The faeries taught us of the power of names., When a thing gaines a name, its spiritual strength grows. A place or object with a name becomes a source of inspiration. To protect things, places and people, from the Wyrm, we set about giving them names. When our warriors, today call by name each ancient tree that witnessed the passions of our fathers and mothers, when they know each rock and stream as a brother, they fight to protect the land with all their hearts, and they are invincible!..."

That, alone is a good example of how the tribe book goes. The history keeps being spanned as the Fomori and clan wars are detailed, the coming of the get and the rise of the silver fangs... the Fianna humor has been well placed and cherished here and there, adding a different and unique atmosphere to it:

"...Why, if one of them were here right now, I'd show him some hospitality! I'd introduce him to my fist! And if he didn't have the courtesy to thank me for it, he'd meet my claws next! Them bloody Get bastards, don't know arses from their own heads! I'd say they were always thinking with their balls if they had any!..."

And the history keeps spanning as world wars one and two pass by, the immigration to the US and the state of Ireland.. all too beautiful to describe here.

Then we move onto the Camps, Moots, Rites and Gifts. The Camps are very well detailed and planned, and each of them have a meaning, unlike many other Tribe Books' Camps. The Rites are incredibly well laid out, displaying the poetic and heroic background of the tribe very well. The Moots are set up to show the deep Cherish of life and drinks, and the Fianna's hedonistic life style.

The character templates presented inside are very well designed, each offering a different aspect of the tribe, and a better than average character background, better than many ready to play templates I have seen. The Elder Fianna presented at the end are just as well planned.

At the end of the book, as usual, is your four page character sheet. You can't help but sadden when you reach that.. it is a pleasant and unique experience to read this book, because it is not only a resourceful source book, but it is also a shining piece of reading for any world of darkness player and storyteller, regardless of system. I do not normally give a book Excellent! in any category unless it really deserves it, but if there was anything beyond Excellent! for this book, it would most certainly deserve even that.

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)