Once again, I am taken by surprise with a little known line – Shadows of Esteren – which continues to produce very high quality translations of the French game of the same name (Les Ombres d'Esteren). This is a medieval roleplaying game with a horrific and gothic influence. And, nowhere is this more apparent in this more apparent in this supplement/adventure which details the monastic life of monks/nuns in this fantasy world. The supplement portion is a great homage to High Fantasy monastic life thus having great relevance for any Fantasy RPG that has clerics or quasi-clerical orders such as Paladins, Monks, Druids, etc. within or even Space Fantasies or Rapture, such as, Fading Suns which have a strong religious overtone or even certain horror games, such as those set in the World of Darkness (Dark Ages) or Cthulhu Dark Ages. Indeed, many games do incorporate religion, but usually as an accessory to the fact. Much as the early, iconography of D&D, included, lots of crosses or pentagrams, clerics, especially, Monks received very short thrift until Oriental Adventures, and, even then they were a combination of Kwai Chang Caine and Friar Tuck with a good measure of piteous solemn veneer of Guglielmo da Baskerville.
And, in a few short pages, this supplement completely changes my view of monks and medieval life. For all too often, we do fall into the pitfall laid out by Tolkien in which High Fantasy must follow the Nordic European model or a variation can sometimes be Sino-Japanese model. Therein, lies the fundamental conceit, of High Fantasy – it can draw from other beliefs – Slav, Celtic. And, it is the Celtic and Gaul traditions that Shadows of Esteren strongly draws upon. Therefore, it does perform 180* turn for much of the source material on religious orders by grounding into a pseudo-medieval mindset that would make the most ardent medievalist proud. The best comparison that could be made with Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, as opposed to Carlo Ginzburg’s The Cheese and the Worms. Both offer very detailed looks at medieval life, but, what The Monastery of Tuath highlights in a few short pages highlights how a society can progress without progression.
Rounding things out is a scenario that plays with all these concepts. It builds upon the basic premise of the setting of medieval supernatural horror with an overlay and understanding that the greatest monsters are ourselves. Wonderfully, illustrated, evocative with player aids. However, once again, makes reference to products not yet in English…hopefully…by the time this review has been published that it will have changed.
Then comes the inevitable question, is a beautifully written and lavishly illustrated hardcover worth the price tag of $30.00? For the question, would most certainly, if you have already players who have bought into The Shadows of Esteren. And, those who play, as I said in the introduction – other games – that might use a Medieval façade – this still would be worth it for creation of the right flavor and atmosphere. However, if you do play an immersive, narrativist game – that is Hack & Slash – maybe you pass this one.
