In my continuing series of reviews of the "Archipels" gameline, I will review today the first (and only, to my knowledge) hardcover book entitled "Carnets de Voyage", or "Voyager's Journal". It's a 184 page hardcover book retailing at 34.75 EUR, which roughly translates to a similar amount of dollars. Like the previously reviewed products, "Carnets de Voyage" is in French. For those who know nothing about "Archipels", it's a game world where a past cataclysm has caused the continents to fragment into a multitude of islands that drift on the oceans. The setting is steam-punk fantasy and very different in flavour to most classic fantasy settings. Gritty and surprising are two adjectives that easily spring to mind. Before I get to the meat of this review I should add that the products are sent to me free with the specific purpose of me writing reviews about them. I don't believe that affects my opinion much, but there you are !
"Carnets de Voyage" features five very distinct sections. Rather than having a strong link between them, these sections cover various topics related to the "Archipels" setting. Overall, the writing is good, with this brand of non-intrusive humour that pervades the gameline (I find it funny at times and annoying at others). The artwork and layout are good without being outstanding, and I still have a little trouble appreciating the maps, which I find to be not very readable, if good looking. Now for the contents :
The first chapter entitled "Voyages Insulaires" (Island Voyages) and running roughly 90 pages describes no less than 20 different islands, each of them a locale for potential adventuring. These islands range from race specific havens to cosmopolitan trade centers. I wouldn't say that they're all excellent, but it's unlikely that any GM, whether he uses "Archipels" as a setting for his game or not would not find at least a couple of locales he'd be willing to plug into his own game. Furthermore, for those who do use the setting, there are a few mysteries revealed, and a few more mentioned, that are certainly worth your while. I was hooked by the concept of the gypsy like halflings who roam the seas on "boat-cities" and have weather-control abilities. Overall, the descriptions are detailed enough that you could use the stuff and extrapolate from there without additional work, which is, afterall, all you could possibly want.
The second chapter is "Les Monstres" (Monsters) and describes 20 creatures specific to "Archipels". As might be expected from an essentially maritime setting, a lot of the creatures are water related, although there are a couple of outsiders in there too. Overall, the creatures are not extremely original but they are well thought out. In other words, there's no entry in there just for the sake of building up numbers. I'm a GM who has trouble using more than, say, ten different monsters in a campaign, so I'm glad there's 20 in "Carnets de Voyages" rather than 100 in a campaign specific monster book. One thing I should add : since I'm not heavily into mechanics, I didn't check all the stats for all the monsters in detail. If there are any inconsistencies in there, I wouldn't have spotted them.
The third chapter is "Le Combat Naval" (Naval Combat). There are a bunch of supplements out there on this subject, but it's nice for the GM to not have to splash out cash for an additional set of rules that you really can't do without in this setting. The rules are clear and well thought out and I would rate them as on par with those of Mongoose's "Seas of Blood", although simpler and less detailed (but that's rather a plus, to me !) Then follows a "Captain" prestige class and a detailed description of 16 ships, ranging from the hastily built safety raft made of assembled crates to the steam powered dwarven warship. Each ship has a 1/3 page illustration and full stats. Again, I haven't checked the detailed mechanics.
The fourth chapter is entitled "Mythes et Légendes" (Legends and Myths) and is, in my opinion, long overdue in the game line. At last we have here a detailed (if legendarised) account of the Sundering (the cataclysm that caused the continents to shatter and start drifting), creation myths, details on the deities and cults, etc. Considering how important this is to the setting as a whole, it's a shame GMs had to wait for this book to access this. Still, it's good stuff and in particular the mythical quest of heroes to counter the demon that wanted to subjugate the world and the clash of these heroes with the demon that caused the Sundering is a great idea full of classic mythological elements that sound cool.
The final chapter describes Magic Items and setting-specific equipment. It's all relatively short (it runs 8 pages in all) and includes some interesting items and some slightly over the top stuff (a clockwork-powered tricyle, anyone ?)
Overall, this is a good resource. However, I'm not rating it higher than this because I find it to be very tedious reading. In other words, it's a book that I find hard to read cover to cover. It's the kind of book you pick up occasionally to fish for a nugget or some story ideas, not the kind of RPG supplement book that stays on your bedside table until you've read it three times over. I think the writing is not in question here but rather the structure of the book itself. Furthermore, I think it lacks a certain spark, something to make the ideas presented shine a little bit more. Still, if you plan on using the Archipels setting I believe it's a vital addition for the GM's collection, if only for the Myths and Legends section.
