This is not a playtest review.
A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe, is a sourcebook providing an in-depth reference to political, social, and economic structures in a fantasy mediaeval setting.
Magical Medieval Society is a 2.36 MB .pdf file consisting of 145 pages and costing $10. Presentation is fairly straightforward, with a mock fibrous-paper background and a mono decorative margin on one edge. Good use is made of the .pdf bookmarks feature for easy navigation round this large file. Art is fairly infrequent and of an appropriately mediaeval woodcut style. Writing style is engaging, especially considering some of the content type, though those unfamiliar with historical mediaeval terminology might find it a bit tough going at times. Editing has regular minor errors, but does not interfere with the flow of the writing to any great extent.
The three pages of contents gives the reader an overview of what the rest of the product contains, though may be a little unnecessary considering the detailed bookmarks provided.
Introduction: On Setting Concepts
This section looks at the difference between historical mediaeval society and a _magical_ mediaeval society, with some ideas on how to overcome issues of gender, magical communication, non-human races, alignment, and the pervasiveness of magic. There is a table showing the percentage of spellcasters in each type of community, from thorp to metropolis. The central idea of how to deal with the influence of magic on society is by treating magic as a form of technology, and taking account of the changes this technology would have on the lives of people in this magical mediaeval society. The remainder of the book takes this concept and applies it to various different societal aspects of a Western European mid to late mediaeval society.
Chapter 1: On Those Who Toil
This section takes a look at manorial (or feudal) society. The buildings and staff of the typical manor (manor here having the meaning of 'rural estate' rather than manor house) covers aspects such as how many doves can be found in a typical dovecote, and the role of a beadle and a reeve. The differences between a yeoman and a villein are discussed - their legal status and their labour rights. There is also a table showing the various taxes that the lord applies to those who work on his manor. Further detail is given regarding the village of a manor, and focuses on the farming calendar including discussion of collecting honey and wax, the typical yield per acre of various crops, and the gathering of reeds to make thatch for the cottage roofs. Another section takes a comparatively brief look at the role of a castle in this mediaeval picture.
The next section delves into the relationship between peasants and magic, their opinions and superstitions, the extra income brought in by a member of the family having magical power, and the more practical role of magic in everyday life. This last section takes note of the impact such seemingly low-level spells as purify food and drink, cure minor wounds, and mending have on society. The lord may have more powerful spells on hand to increase his return such as paying for a druid to cast plant growth on a regular basis. The chapter ends with three plot hooks based around the concept of peasants and the manor, along with some twists to those plots.
Chapter 2: Generating Manors
This chapter takes an in-depth look at the possibilities opened up by a PC acquiring a manor (usually as a grant from a powerful lord, but other methods are discussed). Detail is given on the sizes of manors and how much income can be earned from the various resources available, such as the incidence of mines or quarries, agriculture, taxes and tolls, etc. It also looks at the expenses of running a manor (alms for the poor, construction, repair, taxes from the over-lord, etc.). An example is given of a group of adventurers taking over a manor, and how the income and expenses are worked out. A Manor Worksheet is provided, which aids players or GMs in keeping track of the changing fortunes of the manor.
Chapter 3: On The Magical Medieval City
This chapter looks at the development of the mediaeval city and begins with discussion as fortifications, taxes, justice, and guilds. Different types of cities are defined such as the free city, the founded city, and the chartered city. The layout in terms of buildings, streets, and wards, is discussed in detail before moving on to outline specific locations such as baths, wells, hospitals, churches, markets, etc.
The next section looks at urban concerns such as fire, sanitation, plague, and crime, particularly in regard to the effects of magic on these aspects (for example, plague took no account of wealth in the middle ages, whereas in a magical society, the rich can pay for powerful spells to cure their ailments). A further section looks at power centres - those who rule communities - including guilds, religious bodies, councils, and lords. The role of adventurers in magical mediaeval city life is also discussed in a fair amount of detail.
The next section looks at trade and economics in the city - pricing, banking, the role of barter, and currency are all discussed. A section on magic in the city, especially the improvements it brings compared to a historical city, are discussed, but the section also looks at magic and the law, and the role of spontaneous spellcasters.
Chapter 4: Generating Towns And Cities
Similar to Chapter 2, this chapter provides means for the GM to design and populate her magical mediaeval community. Structures, income for the king, and the various wards that could comprise the city are discussed. The chapter looks at power centres in terms of Influence Points, which measure the changing influence of powerful people or groups on the community.
A selection of detailed tables offer a chance to define the profession or role of a random member of the city population in any ward and their incidence rate in the community. The same theory is applied to structures in different areas, as well as guilds. A City Worksheet gives a GM a structure in which to note the basic designs of her city and keep track of the power struggles that take place in a community over time, whilst the Power Centre Worksheet allows her to record the spheres of influence and servitors of the major political players in the community.
Chapter 5: Economic Simulator
This chapter offers an optional pricing mechanism for goods and equipment in a magical mediaeval society. The system is based on a DC modified by the rarity of the item, its cost, and the community in which it is for sale, whilst how much the buyer is offering to pay modifies the straight d20 roll. This concept reflects the flexible price points and bartering culture of a mediaeval society. Some advice is also given on creating a fairly complex economic structure by assigning demand and supply centres with trade routes, and assigning modifiers to DCs based on these factors. A lengthy table gives DCs for a wide range of mundane items as well as weapons, armour, etc. The table also lists the gp price so comparative DCs could be extrapolated for magical items and services should the GM wish. I did feel that perhaps the Diplomacy or Intimidate skill (or even Charisma modifier) should influence this system, but the modifiers would upset the balance of the DCs provided.
Chapter 6: On Those Who Pray
Since the Catholic Church was so powerful in historical mediaeval society, this chapter looks at the changes that need to take place to account for the standard polytheistic campaign but also discusses the historical aspects of mediaeval Catholicism applied to a fantasy monotheistic society - in terms of a patron god of a city, region, or kingdom. The influence of intolerance, magic, and miracles are highlighted, and there is discussion of the social aspects of religion such as holidays, rites, preaching, and charity.
The chapter goes on to look at the political and economic influence of the church in terms of taxes, land ownership, and religious laws. Different organisations of religions are explained and discussed such as denominationalism and monastic orders. An example, expounding the aspects previously raised, is given of a church worshipping a neutral good god. The next section of this chapter looks at the role of religion, concentrating mainly on druids, but also discussing evil religions and the dificulties faced by clerics unaffiliated to a deity, and the role of adepts.
Chapter 7: On Those Who Rule
This chapter begins by taking another look at feudalism from the point of the lords who oversee the peasants who work the land for them. These lords in turn make payment in military or other service to a more powerful lord (the lesser lord is known as a vassal of the more powerful lord). The obligations of both parties involved in vassalage is discussed at length, and also looks at the benefits of owning land along with the law surrounding land acquisition (including a section on the effects of resurrection on inheritance and such like). An example is given to clarify how feudalism works in practice. A table is give showing the hierarchy of aristocracy.
The chapter continues by taking an in-depth look at the role of the king and the governmental structures that grew up around kingship to manage and administarte the kingdom - e.g. courts, treasuries, chanceries. The next section looks at law and takes an in-depth look at judicial procedures and philosophies, as well as looking at the different types of law courts that might run in a mediaeval magical society (including the effects of magic upon law). A fairly lengthy set of tables gives a cross-reference between the type of crime, who it is committed upon and by, and the relevant punishment.
Chapter 8: Generating Kingdoms And Aristocracy
This chapter begins by offering advice on plotting size, population, and community placement within a kingdom. It then discusses government, aristocracy, and manor placement. Further detail is provided on the economics of the kingdom in terms of income for the king and the aristocracy. A worksheet is provided to record the features of a kingdom and keep track of the economics.
Appendix 1: Demographics
This appendix expands on the demographics system in Core Rulebook II, by allowing the GM to generate populations with greater or lesser percentages of certain classes to fit their campaign setting using a nuber of tables with variant dice sizes for class generation within a community. The tables also allow for the measurement of influence points. Worksheets are provided to record the results of using these tables.
Appendix 2: Generating Magical Resources
In a magical mediaeval society, payment to lords and other institutions may be made in terms of magical rather than mundane means - potions, scrolls, and other magical items. This short appendix looks at what might be typically given to landowners of various stations.
Appendix 3: Magical Medieval King Template
This is a creature template that uses a HD-based progression system to provide increasing powers dependent on the power of the king. The idea of the template is probably to provide something that monsters can use (to create goblin kings, illithid kings, etc.). To my mind this concept would have been better as a prestige class and with a little work, this could be converted to use as such, albeit with the requirement to provide NPC monster kings with classes to qualify. The king gains such powers as 'Tied To The Land', where the health of the king affects and is affected by the health of his lands, various resistances and a smite attack.
Appendix 4: Building System
This appendix provides a system for building and maintaining structures. The system takes into account such factors as type and size of structure, materials (and transportation of those materials to the construction site), how stylish it is, labour, and magic. Further information is given on renovations and unusual constructions (with brief asides on castle and underground construction), before going into detail about how various magical spells and items can affect the building process on a spell by spell/item by item basism along with some final notes on using monsters to help build. Three examples are given to elucidate the building process/ It then has a table showing costs of the different base structures with the various modifiers in separate tables for carriage, materials, etc. The section ends with a building worksheet to record this information.
Appendix 5: A Magical Medieval Miscellany
This includes exxamples of flavour text giving charters, grants, guild rules, and tables showing various tolls and taxes at a glance. Another section compiles all the plot hooks from the different chapters into one place. There is a fairly comprehensive glossary of the terms used within the product, a bibliography, and an amusing exam to be taken at the end including an "In five hundred words or less..." essay question on the nature of feudalism.
Conclusion:
This is an immense resource for GMs wanting to build their campaigns on the back of fairly accurate information about mid-late medieval Europe, with some good advice on how to integrate the more fantastic elements of D&D (particularly magic) with this historical background. My only criticism of the content would be that for most GMs the level of detail is probably beyond what they need to know to get their campaign setting up and running, but it should always prove a useful resource to return to when expanding on particular areas and helping the GM work through each chapter. The worksheets make life a little easier in this regard, providing a template for quickly recording information that can then be referred to later if necessary. One of the aspects that the book advertises is 'no new feats, no new spells, no new classes' - despite the catchy concept, I don't believe this is necessarily a strength. There were areas that could have done with some original ideas behind them and I felt that the book was at its weakest when providing d20 rules. However, 99% of the book is resource material rather than rules, so its not a huge issue. The mock fibre background was not particularly successful, and may make reading and printing somewhat more difficult. The book is at its strongest when dealing with statistics and generating aspects of the GMs setting - it will appeal most to GMs who like drilling down into the minutiae of their world, but is a good general resource for most GMs and is also an interesting read above and beyond its in-game use.
