This is not a playtest review.
Beware! This review contains spoilers.
Atlas Games' Coriolis line provides products that have statistics for d20 and another game system. The Black Monks Of Glastonbury is designed for use with both d20 and Ars Magica, an RPG set in a mythical Europe of 1220 A.D. The setting described is the small town of Glastonbury and its environs, an area of religious and mythical importance in southwest England. The d20 stats are for 3rd Edition, not 3.5.
The Black Monks Of Glastonbury is an 80-page mono softcover product costing $17.95. The layout contains a lot of 'wasted' space - large gaps between paragraphs, regular chunks of white space, an ad, and (unless you intend to run the adventure for both systems) stats for a game system you don't run, several of which are provided on a full page sidebar per system, where they could and should have been compressed. Half of the artwork is public domain stuff, but does suit the tone of the product well with several mediaeval woodcuts used, and is appropriate to the text. The cover features a great illustration of two grim, cowled monks walking past the local guard, set in a mediaeval-style frame - shame the artist forgot the monks are supposed to wear black cowls. The two maps are fairly basic but do help to give an understanding of the layout of the abbey and the surrounding lands for those who are unfamiliar with the area. The writing style is intelligent and engaging, whilst editing is also good.
Chapter One: Introduction
This is a brief overview of the product and discusses the use of dual stats. Two points worth noting: firstly, there is more setting material here than actual standard adventure - David Chart provides all the ingredients for adventure but the GM is expected to put them together to concoct her own version of the 'Mystery of the Diabolic Monks' recipe. Secondly, it is also not a conversion guide between Ars Magica and d20 - the stats for the two game systems were developed separately and do not always mesh.
Chapter Two: Using This Book In A D20 Game
For those who are unfamiliar with Ars Magica, this chapter gives an overview of the concept of Mythic Europe (mediaeval Europe where myths have at least a kernel of truth), England in 1220 (shortly after the Magna Carta was signed, ruled ostensibly by a twelve-year old Henry III, but actually controlled by three influential power mongers), and the Order of Hermes (twelve wizardly orders who make an oath not to interfere with mundane life through their magic to retain their privacy, and therefore avoid being burned at the stake as heretics). There is also a discussion of how to integrate these factors into a standard fantasy setting.
Having said that its not a conversion document, there are guidelines for d20 use, with recommendations for extricating certain character races and classes for an authentic Mythic Europe feel (most importantly, the clarification of the term 'monk' in the product), dealing with clerics and wizards (the issue of Christianity and the role of the cleric, and social skills penalties for wizards). Auras and Regiones are cool concepts from Ars Magica - locations that have a magical, divine, infernal, or faerie influence with hierarchical mini-demiplanes associated with them that can only be accessed via magical means. Very basic rules are given for perceiving and crossing these magical boundaries using the d20 system. Vis is another iconic concept from Ars Magica - concentrated magic in a material form - and rules are given for using vis in aiding in item creation and boosting spellcasting for d20 magic. There is also a sidebar with the new spell, Aegis of the Hearth, for d20. This important spell in Ars Magica protects the sanctuary of the Wizards of Hermes from magical attack by their enemies.
Chapter Three: History
This chapter covers the history of Glastonbury, and in particular its abbey. Each section deals with an important aspect, from the coming of Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century to form the first Christian church in Britain, through its strong links with King Arthur (giving the less common tale of a liaison between Guinevere and Mordred, rather than Lancelot), the important saints of the Saxon era that graced the abbey, and on through the rise of diabolism among the monks during the Norman era until its height at the time of the product's setting. Several 'Story Seed's are provided in the text linking to its history. A new magical weapon, Saint Dunstan's Tongs, are presented in a sidebar, which are particularly effective against evil outsiders when used as a club.
Chapter Four: Glastonbury Abbey
This provides a short location guide to the important areas of the abbey, as well as community stats, and some simple but elegant rules for the influence of holy and infernal relics. A new wondrous item, a Binding Tomb, is provided in a sidebar - a tomb to permanently bind an evil outsider if the outsider is buried there.
Chapter Five: The Monks
This provides the appearance, personality, motivations, background history, and possible role of a number of the most important monks in the abbey. These NPCs are also given full d20 stats and Ars Magica stats. Several of the less important monks are also described and there are several story seeds linked to certain characters. There is also an interesting section on the diabolist monks discussing the possible roads to redemption that the character might be encouraged to follow, rather than killing him. Stat blocks seem fairly sound.
Chapter Six: Diabolical Schemes
This chapter details the four evil plans of the diabolist monks of Glastonbury Abbey. These plans mainly involve the usual greed and corruption of diabolists but introduce a more gripping concept of raising Mordred from the dead to rule England. The chapter discusses the possibilities and obstructions for each plan as well as providing possible adventure seeds linked with each facet. The possibility of raising Mordred and the effects that might have on the politics in England are dealt with at good length.
Chapter Seven: The Hides Of Glastonbury
In the 13th century, most of the area around Glastonbury is marshland but several areas of dry land do exist surrounding Glastonbury and the abbot of Glastonbury owns these. Each are is known as a Hide, and there are twelve hides surrounding the abbey/town. In this chapter, a couple of these areas are described in more detail - Beckery has a faerie aura and regio, and is the site of the grave of King Arthur, whilst Meare has a magical aura and is the site of a new wondrous item - Beonna's Bones cause those who tell lies within its sphere of influence to vomit up worms.
Chapter Eight: Glastonbury Tor
The tor is a hill to the west of the abbey and town and is steeped in legend and mystery - it is probably the most famous mystical site in England to this day, along with Stonehenge. In this product, the tor is presented as a faerie regio, which concurs with some of the legends about fey castles and Gwyn ap Nudd, the King of the Faeries, living on the tor. Indeed, the product takes this idea and runs with it - detailing both the castle and Gwyn himself. Several story seeds are also presented for the location.
Chapter Nine: Diabolist Prestige Class
The Diabolist is a 10-level PrC with good BAB and all saving throws. With a d12 hit die and possible entry at 1st level, temptation is great. Put that together with an impressive range of class features such as ability bonus, AC bonus, attack bonus, enchanted devices, additional spellcaster levels, fiendish servants, and immense wealth, and you can see why so many of the Glastonbury monks have been seduced by evil. Many munchkins would surely follow in their footsteps. However, there are two good reasons why they won't. The first is an in-game reason - the devil can claim the diabolist's soul at any time, with no save and no return through resurrection, wish or similar spells. The second meta-game reason is that this is designed to be an NPC-only PrC, and each level of diabolist causes the CR of the character to jump by 2 instead of the normal 1. There is also a short section about redemption and repentance.
Chapter Ten: Diabolism For Ars Magica
This chapter does for Ars Magica what the previous chapter did for d20. The diabolist is presented as a powerful form of Hedge Magic. Details of demonic temples, sacrifices, demonic gifts, cursing, and demonic servants are given.
The book ends with a two-page glossary, a bibliography, and a brief index.
High Points:
The author certainly knows his stuff. There's been some great research done here, and the setting has a really authentic feel to it. The NPCs are described in good detail and I liked the 'raw ingredients' feel to the layout of the product. The product provides some simple but useable d20 rules to roughly simulate an Ars Magica adventure and the diabolical schemes of the monks are well thought out and provide some great storytelling opportunities. Armed with the Ars Magica rulebook (downloadable free from the Atlas Games site) and possibly the Ars Magica sourcebook 'Heirs To Merlin' (which is plugged several times in the product), it would be quite possible to develop a d20 campaign set in the area in the style of Ars Magica.
Low Points:
Apart from the wasted space that dominated the book, I felt there needed to be more information on translating the historical setting for a standard fantasy setting. It certainly leaves the GM a fair amount to do on top of creating the adventure to integrate it into an existing setting. The layout of the adventure material will be daunting for beginning GMs. Though the rough d20 conversion guidelines do make the Ars Magica setting playable, they sometimes fail to quite capture the mystical feel engendered by the Ars Magica ruleset.
Conclusion:
Best suited for those Ars Magica GMs who would like to run a d20 adventure set in Mythic Europe and are relatively experienced in grabbing disparate parts of an adventure to create a satisfying whole. However, with a little work and imagination, the adventure could be used in a standard fantasy setting. And, on the whole, it should be worth the work, as this provides some excellent concepts, interesting characters, and inspirational locations. The Diabolist PrC is perhaps more limited in its possible useage, being more suited to a monotheistic than polytheistic setting. Should be a fine adventure for those who run Ars Magica too, though there's quite a bit of d20 stuff to wade through.
