Supplement Four
Mongoose
I've been spending a lot of time between the covers of one of Mongoose's last Conan offerings, Cimmeria, and if I had to pick one word to describe the work, I'd have to choose "subtle".
What I mean by that is that you really have to dig into the book to find its worth. Some books, you just flip it open to a random page, look scan it a bit, check out the table of contents, and spend some time on any obvious "special features" that you can find. Doing that, you can sometimes tell the quality of a book--or, at least, whether you think you'll like the book or not.
Cimmeria is a different sort of book. If you don't dig into it and find the "hidden gems", you'll probably have a negative or neutral opinion of the work upon first glance.
Is it a perfect Conan book? Nope. There's a few areas where I'd like to see some greater detail. For example, instead of spending about 3 pages (precious pages, in a book that totals 134 pages) on Cimmerian wedding traditions (how often will that come up in a game?), I would have liked to see those pages dedicated to something like greater detail about what happens on the Field of Chiefs once the bloody spear is passed around.
Maybe a little more time could have been spent describing how Cimmerians view the non-warriors in the tribe: the tanners and butchers and leatherworkers and smiths, etc. I'd have liked to see a list of jobs that every clan needs. A big section on the different types of warriors and hunters and scouts accompanied by a list of that needed to sustain a clan and village. It's a lot easier to forget about the tanner than it is the smith or the scout.
A section on Cimmerian-specific equipment, armor, and weapons is missed.
Plus, I was expecting a little something on Cimmerian smiths, the Secret of Steel, and all that. The book gives little in that regard.
I was also expecting to read a bit more on Atlantis, but there is nothing in the book about the Cimmerian Atlanean heritage that you don't already know being a Conan fan.
The Bothan diagram on pg. 15 is really neat. I would have liked to have seen other illustrations like this throughout the book.
So, yes, the Cimmeria book is lacking in some regard.
But, on the other hand, if you do dig into it an read it, you will find that you haven't wasted your money. There is gold in this book for those who are willing to sift for it.
The book's biggest strength is that it provides a line here, a thread there, and idea over there, that sparks your creativity and gets you to thinking about life in Cimmeria. Throughout all the sections of this book, there are fantastic details that provides you with just enough to make your Cimmeria game world "real".
You're not spoon fed this greatness. It's not apparent on a quick scan. As I said i the beginning of this review, this type of stuff is presented in a subtle fashion.
For example, Whitaker does an excellent job of describing the different major clans that call Cimmeria home. There's the type that you know from the Conan stories, but there's also other Cimmerians who stray from the norm. I love the story of the Grath and their degrading, cursed culture. When I read the For-GMs-Eyes-Only box that details the true story of Nuadha and her fate, I was horrified. I said to myself, "You won't see that type of stuff in most fantasy role playing games". I'm glad Mongoose didn't censor it. That type of grit reminds you that you are playing in Howard's Cimmeria--not the lite, PG version of the Hyborian Age.
Scattered throughout the book, hidden within the paragraphs of different sections, there are tidbits of really neat, usable stuff that can be grown into some very interesting Cimmerian adventures. I'll give you some examples of what I'm talking about:
The svartheim, a race of charcoal-skinned, flesh-eating dwarves who inhabit the Black Mountains.
The different cultures of the different clans of Cimmeria--much more diverse than what you'd think, presenting self-mutilating savages, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, to what you'd think of as "normal" Cimmerians, based on Conan and his background.
The holy numbers of 3 (representing the 3 parts of the human soul: earth, wind, and sky); 9 (the average size of a family unit; the number of months of gestation); and 27 (which is 3 x 9, the average size of a Cimmerian war party).
That's all cool stuff that a GM can drop on his players, bringing just enough detail to the game world to make it interesting and seem real.
Where the book fails: In my opinion, the book fails by spending too many pages on non-relevant material that is not likely to show up in a game. Cimmerian marriages is presented on 3 pages. This should have been condemned to a column--half a page. There are several pages devoted to things like Earthquakes, Storms, Quicksand, Rockfalls. While needed, I think the author, again, should have condensed this material to make room for stuff that was missed and probably should have been i the book (see above).
Where the book succeeds: If you take the time to read the book, you will find a ton of neat "details" to use in your game. This is perfect fodder for the imagination, giving you ideas to expand upon and create a gameworld that your players will be intrigued to explore. Also, these "details" give the GM an all-around education of the place that helps him narrate the adventure. It brings "culture" to the gameworld, and it's believable culture in that it shows you many areas where the cultures differ.
What you are given is the right type of clay. In order to use the book successfully, you've still got to take that clay and make it into something. This requires work. But, that's exactly what this type of sourcebook is supposed to bring to a game--clay for the GM's imagination to mold into something that the players will be "wow-ed" by.
On that level, the book succeeds.
What I mean by that is that you really have to dig into the book to find its worth. Some books, you just flip it open to a random page, look scan it a bit, check out the table of contents, and spend some time on any obvious "special features" that you can find. Doing that, you can sometimes tell the quality of a book--or, at least, whether you think you'll like the book or not.
Cimmeria is a different sort of book. If you don't dig into it and find the "hidden gems", you'll probably have a negative or neutral opinion of the work upon first glance.
Is it a perfect Conan book? Nope. There's a few areas where I'd like to see some greater detail. For example, instead of spending about 3 pages (precious pages, in a book that totals 134 pages) on Cimmerian wedding traditions (how often will that come up in a game?), I would have liked to see those pages dedicated to something like greater detail about what happens on the Field of Chiefs once the bloody spear is passed around.
Maybe a little more time could have been spent describing how Cimmerians view the non-warriors in the tribe: the tanners and butchers and leatherworkers and smiths, etc. I'd have liked to see a list of jobs that every clan needs. A big section on the different types of warriors and hunters and scouts accompanied by a list of that needed to sustain a clan and village. It's a lot easier to forget about the tanner than it is the smith or the scout.
A section on Cimmerian-specific equipment, armor, and weapons is missed.
Plus, I was expecting a little something on Cimmerian smiths, the Secret of Steel, and all that. The book gives little in that regard.
I was also expecting to read a bit more on Atlantis, but there is nothing in the book about the Cimmerian Atlanean heritage that you don't already know being a Conan fan.
The Bothan diagram on pg. 15 is really neat. I would have liked to have seen other illustrations like this throughout the book.
So, yes, the Cimmeria book is lacking in some regard.
But, on the other hand, if you do dig into it an read it, you will find that you haven't wasted your money. There is gold in this book for those who are willing to sift for it.
The book's biggest strength is that it provides a line here, a thread there, and idea over there, that sparks your creativity and gets you to thinking about life in Cimmeria. Throughout all the sections of this book, there are fantastic details that provides you with just enough to make your Cimmeria game world "real".
You're not spoon fed this greatness. It's not apparent on a quick scan. As I said i the beginning of this review, this type of stuff is presented in a subtle fashion.
For example, Whitaker does an excellent job of describing the different major clans that call Cimmeria home. There's the type that you know from the Conan stories, but there's also other Cimmerians who stray from the norm. I love the story of the Grath and their degrading, cursed culture. When I read the For-GMs-Eyes-Only box that details the true story of Nuadha and her fate, I was horrified. I said to myself, "You won't see that type of stuff in most fantasy role playing games". I'm glad Mongoose didn't censor it. That type of grit reminds you that you are playing in Howard's Cimmeria--not the lite, PG version of the Hyborian Age.
Scattered throughout the book, hidden within the paragraphs of different sections, there are tidbits of really neat, usable stuff that can be grown into some very interesting Cimmerian adventures. I'll give you some examples of what I'm talking about:
The svartheim, a race of charcoal-skinned, flesh-eating dwarves who inhabit the Black Mountains.
The different cultures of the different clans of Cimmeria--much more diverse than what you'd think, presenting self-mutilating savages, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, to what you'd think of as "normal" Cimmerians, based on Conan and his background.
The holy numbers of 3 (representing the 3 parts of the human soul: earth, wind, and sky); 9 (the average size of a family unit; the number of months of gestation); and 27 (which is 3 x 9, the average size of a Cimmerian war party).
That's all cool stuff that a GM can drop on his players, bringing just enough detail to the game world to make it interesting and seem real.
Where the book fails: In my opinion, the book fails by spending too many pages on non-relevant material that is not likely to show up in a game. Cimmerian marriages is presented on 3 pages. This should have been condemned to a column--half a page. There are several pages devoted to things like Earthquakes, Storms, Quicksand, Rockfalls. While needed, I think the author, again, should have condensed this material to make room for stuff that was missed and probably should have been i the book (see above).
Where the book succeeds: If you take the time to read the book, you will find a ton of neat "details" to use in your game. This is perfect fodder for the imagination, giving you ideas to expand upon and create a gameworld that your players will be intrigued to explore. Also, these "details" give the GM an all-around education of the place that helps him narrate the adventure. It brings "culture" to the gameworld, and it's believable culture in that it shows you many areas where the cultures differ.
What you are given is the right type of clay. In order to use the book successfully, you've still got to take that clay and make it into something. This requires work. But, that's exactly what this type of sourcebook is supposed to bring to a game--clay for the GM's imagination to mold into something that the players will be "wow-ed" by.
On that level, the book succeeds.
