Rogue Mistress is a 144-page "epic campaign across the multiverse" designed as "high-powered and dangerous" campaign for Stormbringer or Hawkmoon first published in 1991. There has already been one excellent and comprehensive
prior review of this publication, but having just ran the campaign book over the past three months or so (along with reading a dozen or so Moorcock books in a two-week stint), I shall attempt to express some further opinions and elaborations on the publication. In a nutshell however, the PCs are entrapped by a sorceress, escape, fall into the clutches of a multiverse travelling pirate crew, and are required to fit together several pieces of technology and magic, convincing the Eternal Champion to join their quest, and finally confronting the sorceress.
Stylistically, I am not over fond of the cover art by Alain Gassner. The Rogue Mistress (being the multiverse flying ship with an ocean going style) lacks illustrative detail and the unimaginately named captain, Maria de Tres Pistolas, seems to have acquired anti-gravitational devices on her breasts. This however is more than made up for by the evocative interior art by the same illustrator, which are well worth photocopying as play-aids. Of particular note are The O Sidata on p45 (a barely alive ship), the Inverted Adventurer on p79 (as it sounds), P'urg-orp Lysh, the Demon Priest on p101 (a crazed, human-headed priest with octopus' body), and the Rogue Mistress on Assault on p131 (the flying ship versus a greater demon). The text is presented in a readable two-column justified serif font which is organised in sequential 'chapters', with an solid introduction which provides a background, synopsis and appropriate elaborations to the rules.
In general the writing style is above average. In most cases introductions to the various settings are provided in a fairly succinct manner, whereas active scenes - especially NPC interactions - can often be read aloud straight from the book. There are no inaccuracies in the maps that I noticed, although the hand-writing scrawl that constitutes notes from a diary are likely to annoy rather than evoke. The production standards of the publication are quite high. I've put the product through some pretty serious gaming and the binding and paper remains in excellent condition.
The various planes that make up the chapters of the campaign are all fascinating places in their own right, although the bias towards the chaotic is somewhat evident. Whilst only modest descriptions are given, as can be expected, they are all extreme and dangerous places. I was particularly taken by the plane of Ildaron where chains of Law and tendrils of Chaos hold suspended islands of landmass in space, the oceanic plane of M'oor Talen with its underwater adventure, and the devastated nuclear winter of Uerth. There is difficult to avoid the feeling that it's a damn shame that the campaign must go on, as each plane itself is certainly worthy of several gaming sessions or an entire campaign in its own right.
Which does lead to a major negative of the campaign pack; it is extremely difficult for a GM to generate a sense that each step in the story is not contrived, that the players are not simply "running on rails". Whilst it could be argued that this is a theme of Moorcock's Eternal Champion series, that the protaganists are victims of cosmic requirements, I am not entirely convinced. Certainly Hawkmoon himself rails against it and takes significant independent initiatives to which the Balance seems to adapt to the circumstances that arise. Multiple pathways to a common conclusion would have certainly be preferable which the second last chapter ("The Dark of the Sun") provides, albeit with the Eternal Champion hero making the significant choice (by this stage however, the Champion was a PC).
A related issue is that the PCs, once the Eternal Champion and his companion make an appearance (about half-way through the campaign), can very much be relegated to second-order characters. There are two options to get around this; the former (implied by the book) is to relegate the NPC Justin Carrock to being a moody, uncertain, ineffectual character with merely a somewhat boyish and cheeky sidekick or (not suggested by the book) to strongly integrate the PCs into becoming "Champion status" in their own right. This may even be a little easier if one becomes possessed by the major artifact that will be found.
Finally the campaign is, as mentioned on the back-cover blurb, extremely dangerous and high-powered. Lacking levels as even an abstract measure more novice GMs may find that PCs are dropping like flies in this campaign. The reality is that the campaign is not just high-powerd (i.e., weapon skills at around 75%+ and significant armour is mandatory), but it is also extremely high-entropy. A number of the monsters and challenges confronted are so devastating that a successful hit simply kills, end of story, and often an alternative means of defeating or escaping from said creatures is far from obvious. This is not particularly appealing; even the standard Call of Cthulhu scenario avoids such unambigious death-traps.
These three problems spoil what is otherwise an excellent campaign, reducing the substance rating. The story itself is quite magnificant and the settings create a lasting impression on the mind's eye. However to truly create an impressive tale, further work from the GM is required to more strongly integrate the characters in the story, to provide elaboration on the various settings and to provide options in their strategic and tactical choices. Overall however it is an enjoyable, well-presented, well-designed and sturdy product.
Review Summary