Simon Collins
Explorer
Beware! This review contains major spoilers.
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 192
Price: $24.99
Price per page: About 8 cents per page
Front Cover: A colourful pastiche of images of reasonable quality.
Back Cover: Introduction and overview to Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires. Also, two black and white drawings of characters, slightly cartoonish but again of reasonable quality.
Inside Covers: Both blank although the main map is stuck to the inside back cover.
Other Pages: Page 1 and 2 are credits and contents, the last two pages are the OGL and an advert.
Internal Artwork: There are lots of black and white sketches of the peoples of Arcanis, all of which are good quality. There are several full-page black and white drawings, one of which is average, a couple good and a couple superb.
Maps: Maps are basic and would benefit from more detail and clearer political boundaries. Black and white maps of regions accompany their appropriate sections and there is a pull-out colour map at the back of the book, with two blobs of a nifty sticky material that so far seems infinitely re-usable to stick the map back in after viewing with no bad eefects on the paper.
Text Density: The text density is excellent with a little white space and no margins.
Text Style: The sourcebook attempts to give a perspective on each of the nations of Arcanis from the viewpoint of a certain character (a Coryani centurion speaking to child slaves, a set of scrolls recovered from the mummified remains of an explorer, etc.). I found that the style of some of these characters was verbose, dry and academic - more like a real history book than an RPG sourcebook - the disadvantage of using some of the characters they chose was that it doesn't always make entertaining reading. In addition, the number of typos was frightening, and ended up interfering with my appreciation of the text - Paradigm seriously need a decent editor.
Whats Inside:
Codex Arcanis is a sourcebook covering the major nations and races of Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires, the fantasy campaign setting that forms the basis of Paradigm Concepts' previously released adventures, and is also the newest RPGA 'Living' setting (which I understand is currently not available to play in Europe).
The sourcebook gets off to an interesting start (10 pages). 'Religion' is first on the agenda, and we are introduced to a new slant on things with the concept that none of the gods of Arcanis have alignments - only their clerics do. Thus you can have clerics from all the alignments each following different aspects of the same god. After a bit of history, and a section on resurrection, 'The Gods Of Arcanis' details each deity including information on a secret society linked to each god, which are great for adventure ideas. The next section introduces us to the concept of 'Vals' - families that have inherited the bloodlines of certain gods, gaining special powers and responsibilities. The section ends with a brief timeline.
The first nation dealt with is the Coryani Empire (20 pages), lying at the heart of the continent of Onara (which is the focus of the Arcanis setting) . An 11-page detailed history of the Empire is given, from the viewpoint of a Coryani Centurion as he rescues child slaves from the Canceri. If I had been one of the children, I would pesonally have gutted him to stop the monotony of his speech. It would practically have sufficed to say "There were a lot of wars, against everybody". Further sections detail Family Life In The Empire, Social Classes, Imperial Government, and The Legions Of The Empire. The Geographical Overview section details the main Coryani provinces, with stats for the major city in each province; also in each section are sidebars that give a more detailed explanantion on a certain aspect of the province (e.g. the allergic reaction of elves to the incense that permeates the city of Sweet Savona in the province of Cafela thus causing them to wear headscarves that cover their faces - this in turn has led to others disguising themselves as elves in the city). The section finishes with a 'Who's Who In Coryan' detailing 3 important NPCs and the Coryani attitude towards the other nations in the sourcebook. The Coryani Empire and the historical Roman Empire have a lot in common, and much can be deduced of the content of this section if you are at all versed in Roman history.
The next nation is The Blessed Lands (5 pages), lying to the north west of Coryani. The section is offered up as a series of short essays by a temple scribe to brief the Patriarch of Coryan on the nature of the region. At the centre of The Blessed Lands, both geographically and spiritually, is The First City - think of it as similar to Jerusalem during the Crusades, except ruined and uninhabited (at least by civilised peoples). Each person is expected to make a pilgrimage to the First City sometime during their lifetime, and the equivalent of Knights Templars have developed to protect the pilgrims in this harsh and dangerous land. West of the First City is an enormous flood plain, invaded by the sea at seasonal intervals. A couple of other locations, the strange Lanzhou Island and the ruins of the ancient Cyclops nation of Saam-Ur, are also detailed.
The Western Lands section (12 pages) is presented as the teachings of a native of the region to a foreigner who has inherited land in the area. Also known as The League of Princes, this jungle region is split into six smaller regions with varying types of government. The main race in the area are known as Kio, humans who legend tells once lived in cities in the sky. They are pale and long-lived with an alien mindset that other humans find hard to grasp. When they first arrived in the area, many centuries ago, they took the lands from a less civilised race, the Undir, who are reputedly descended from a tribe of humans who mated with undines (water spirits). The Undir still remain in the area though they have been heavily affected by the Kio ways. The section also details the unknown lands of Uggur to the west of The Western Lands and the mysterious city-states that may lie within its borders - Hegoch (a humanoid mountainous city-state) and Quagga (a subterranean city-state run by an ex-Coryani half-orc Centurion). A Who's Who Of The Western Lands details 3 of the major NPCs of the area.
Milandir (14 pages), to the north of Coryani, is a lawful land built upon chivalry and faith. The section has 7 pages of tedious military history. The section then gives information on the ruling Vals of the region, the church and the Freemen (slavery and bondage is, uniquely, abolished in Milandir). The Milandir are focused towards the Arts (sub-sections on literature, music, dance, theatre, and opera) but have military might too (sub-sections on the navy, the king's guard, the knightly orders, and conscripts). There is a geographical overview of Milandir with stats on the major cities, 3 NPCs are detailed in the Who's Who section and the section finishes with details of relations with other nations (they hate the Canceri with a vengeance).
The Republic of Altheria (10 pages) lies in the south east of the continent of Onara. The Altherians are the chosen people of Althares, the god of knowledge and artificers. When their land was threatened centuries ago, the Altherians prayed to Althares for help. He granted them three gifts but warned that the gifts would bring pain and, through pain, spiritual growth. The first gift was magnetism. The culmination of this gift was that The Altherians built a floating city which, after being attacked by opposing armies and storms, eventually crashed into the mountains and thus the new capital of the Altherians was born. The second gift was blastpowder (gunpowder), which is currently a developing but restricted means of firepower in Altheria and a few other places that have strong links with Altheria. Due to the problems that the first two gifts have caused, the Altherians have not yet dared ask for the Third Gift from Althares. Presently, they use their knowledge to remain neutral though they are severely threatened by the serpentmen nation of Ssethregore. This section, presented as if by the Altherian ambassador to Coryani, ends with information on the Altherians faith, the capital of Altheria, and the threats from Ssethregore and elsewhere, as well as attitudes to the other nations of Onara.
The Hinterlands (20 pages) lie north east of Milandir. These hostile lands hold diverse cultures and they are explored as if through the remnants of scrolls recovered from the mummified body of one explorer who met his death whilst investigating this diversity. The indigenous peoples of the area the four tribes of the Yhing Hir horsemen who survive in the harsh desert climate of the area. Several sections describe the geography and ecology of slightly differing regions in The Hinterlands (mesa valleys, sand dunes, cactus forests, etc.). An overview of the city of Sicaris is given (introduced in The Bloody Sands of Sicaris adventure), as is some information on a college of sculptors defended by angelic statues. A number of locations and peoples in The Haunted Wastes are covered (The Chalk Seers and the Plain of Falling Stars, The Sorcerer Stones, The Veil Of Doom, The She'haulk Mountains and the Wall of the Gods, Erduk and The Mouth of the Nier, The Fire Dwarves, and Ni'huk Ma, the Ehtzara, and the Cult of the Jackal) and give plenty of fascinating adventure ideas - one of the best sections of the book. This quality is continued in the next section The Northern Desert which includes sub-sections on the Domain of the Hyena Queen, The Silt Sea and Bone Black, The Knights of the Order of the Holy Pillar, The Valley of Glass, The Hidden Canyon of Zhu, The Bleak Coast, Pearlspar, Jappa and the Takomir, The Keepers of the Well, and a detailed sub-section on the free city of Censure and the Six Noble Guild Houses. 3 important NPCs are detailed in the Who's Who section.
The Theocracy Of Canceri (10 pages) lies directly north of Milandir. Its story is related by a vampire to a Milandir thief in Canceri who has been given as punishment to the vampire to do what it will - the vampire wishes to talk of Canceri. We are treated to a sidebar discussing playing Canceri as PCs and using Canceri in a campaign. There follows a short and interesting history section discussing the coming of the Devil-Kings and the rise of the Church of the Dark Triumvirate (the Canceri essentially worship only three of the pantheon of gods of Arcanis - Neroth (god of the dead), Nier (god of destruction) and Sarish (the demon god). The text then deals with Canceri society (the people, nobility, and the church). Several locations are detailed (the Cold Plains, the Vosewalden (a cursed forest), Nier's Spine and the Holds of the val'Virdan, the Necropolises, and the Cities of the Red March). 5 NPCs are dealt with in the Who's Who section and the vampire's thoughts on the other nations of Onara conclude this section.
The Pirate Isles (9 pages) lie off the north eastern coast of Onara. A short history leads into a brief discussion of Freeport (Green Ronin's pirate city which is situated in the Arcanis setting, due to a ground-breaking partnership between the two companies). The other islands in the archipelago are dealt with in much the same manner, all introduced as if from a secret journal written by an ex-slave of the pirates, now turned Coryani cleric. The other sub-sections deal with Garundi, Fortress of the Crimson Slavers, Naori: The Island of Fire, and Magra: The Stronghold of the Pirate King. Each section has a 'Secrets' sidebar that gives the reader information that the author of the journal did not know, all great adventure seeds.
The Lament of the Dwarves (10 pages) gives an account of the dwarves of the Arcanis setting through the journal of an Altherian librarian joining a dwarf on the dwarf's return to his homeland. We learn of dwarven physiology, trade, hospitality, and settlements. The History sub-section reveals that the dwarves were once Celestial Giants. Cursed by the god Iliir, their leaders turned to stone (and the leaders' hearts to gems). However, the dwarves were promised possible freedom from the curse by the god Sarish, who promised to lift the curse for those who forge a perfect object and bathe it in the light of the glowing heart-gems of their stone ex-leaders. In addition, the dwarves must themselves occasionally bathe in this light to stop them rapidly aging. Since the stone ex-leaders are all underground, thus the dwarves live underground. Another fascinating aspect of the dwarves is when they die, they transmigrate their souls into crystal shards in the hope that they will be admitted into the paradise of Iliir once the curse is lifted (their souls do not presently reincarnate due to the curse). In a particular magical chamber, the souls of these shards can communicate with the living. However, since this practice has been followed, there has been a concerning downturn in the number of dwarven births. Seven dwarven enclaves are then detailed in the text, and there is a discussion of gnomes - in Arcanis, gnomes are actually half-dwarfs, the twisted result of interbreeding between the cursed dwarves and humans.
The Bright Nations of the Elorii (12 pages) deal with the elves of Arcanis, who are portrayed as being part elemental-, part nature-spirit, imbued into flesh, and with sharp teeth. It is presented as a study by a sage given as a present to the King of Milandir. The elves worship different gods than the humans and each elf is affected by the bloodline of these five elemental gods, four of whom have now been destroyed by humans. The History section explains how this came about and the tragic circumstances that led to humans slaughtering thousands of elves at the behest of the humans gods after the humans first came to Onara (elves lived in Onara long before humans arrived). Th elves retreated into the forest waiting for vengeance against the humans gods (the remaining elven goddess prophesied that the humans themselves would one day be needed by the elves in help to "beat back the silent darkness", though some elves still hate humans and kill them on sight). Some elves have recently re-emerged. The section goes on to deal with Family and Bloodkine (detailing the five sub-races of elves - there are no half-elves), the art and craft of the elves, government and religion, and the Elluwe' (sacred pools much like druid groves but with magical powers). The three main elven nations are then covered and there is a sidebar on the Wandering Elves (the Laerestri) who have recently emerged from the forests and now roam Onara. The section concludes with the Laerestri view of the other nations of Onara (they don't automatically dislike dwarves).
The Menace Of Ssethregore (8 pages) deatils the various reptilian races of Ssethregore, which lies to the south of Altheria. The Serpent Men are the oldest of these races and in fact are the oldest race of Onara (they created the elves to be their slaves, but the elves rose up and destroyed their wicked society). Sub-sections also include Troglodytes, Ss'ressen (Lizardfolk), a forgotten Reptile God, and information on the slaadi that interact with the reptilian races, the use of fear and loathing in the reptilian forces, and some brief information on The Swamplands that the reptilian races call home.
The Magocracy Of Ymandragore (10 pages) is based on the city of Ymandragore which is built on the Isle of Tears of the east coast of Onara. The Magocracy is ruled by the mysterious Sorcerer-King who seeks to attain godhood, and seems to be not originally from the world of Arcanis at all. After a short history section (which discusses how the Sorcerer-King's 'Harvesters' seek to kidnap those with magical talent and bring them back to Ymandragore), the geography of the land is covered in terms of some interesting locations with useful adventure ideas. Ymandrake society is then dealt with, discussing the native goblinoids and the various races the Sorcerer-King has brought to Ymandragore. Various magical societies are then discussed including some who work on the mainland (such as the Harvesters). 3 Ymandrake NPCs conclude this chapter and the main text.
Appendix 1 gives stats for the races of Arcanis. Interesting changes to the basic races are:
* Gnomes, due to their origin, are medium-size
* Dwarves have additional abilities including Weight of the Curse (deals with soul shards and reincarnation problems), and Search for Perfection (focus on Item Creation)
* Elves are immortal, and the five subraces each have different Ability Adjustments and Racial Abilities
* There are three new races: Dark-Kin (think half-fiend), Ss'ressen (Lizardfolk) and Val (powers and responsibilities linked to bloodlines, psionic abilities and legal ability to own an Altherian firearm are restricted to Vals only.
A note on classes tells us that humans in Arcanis cannot be sorcerers and confirms that only Vals can be Psions or Psionic warriors
Appendix 2 has lots of new feats: Alien (undead/infernal) Understanding, Avoidance, Born to the Saddle, Church Education, Combat Firing, Conscript, Divinity's Presence (Val Cha bonus), Elorii Bloodline (broken down into elemental lines), Empower Blood (Canceri blood sacrifice to empower magic), Fishmonger (actually an actor), Gentry, Hawk Eyed, Honeyed Tongue, Improved Quick Draw, Improved Ride-by Attack, Judge of Character, Knowledge of the Past, Know Terrain, Lay of the Land, Legionnaire, (Cunning) Linguist, Master of the Tops (climb rigging bonuses), Quick Reload, Saddle warrior, Strength of the Coryani Heart, Tactical Leadership, tail Attack, Trick Shot, and Visions of Lives Past. Many of these feats are particular to characters from certain nations or races. They vary in quality. There are also four new skills: Examine Technique (allows you to discover what your opponents combat modifiers are), and three Knowledge-based skills (disease, planar species and thanatology (study of death, funerals, mummification, etc.)
Appendix 3 has 10 new prestige classes: The Altherian Sharp Shooter, Brethren of the Order of St. Theomund the Missionary, Dancer of the Elements (elven spiritual warrior), The Blight Bearer (Neroth disease cleric), val'Mehan Emissary (diplomat/interrogator/spy), Order of the Emerald Flame (Ymandragore magical society) , Society Of Ordained Seekers (another Ymandragore magical society), The Wine Drinkers (another Ymandragore magical society), The warriors of the Eternal Flame (Canceri soldier), and the Ehtzara (Hinterland tribal sorcerer-shamans).
Appendix 4 details the unique weapons and armour of Arcanis, including Altherian firearms and a disc crossbow.
Appendix 5 gives a summary of the Pantheon of Arcanis with old and new clerical domains and the deities they relate to.
Appendix 6 details 23 unique spells of Arcanis, a magical plague called Betrayer's Fever, and three new magic items.
Appendix 7 gives the Val Bloodline powers.
Appendix 8 details the Coryani Lunar Calendar.
The High Points: This sourcebook reflects the enormous amount of work that must have gone into it. It is full of information on the setting of Arcanis, invaluable if you want to run a Living character in the RPGA games, very useful as background reference for developing your own adventures in Arcanis, and useful for understanding the background behind Paradigm's excellent adventures. In the latter chapters, there are a wealth of adventure ideas. The view on races, particularly the elves, dwarves and Vals, was creative, but the human subraces are also given life and sparkle. There is a very detailed world here and some excellent sources for adventures and ideas for your own campaign world. There was plenty of statistical information in the appendices to allow the DM and player to put these ideas into practice.
The Low Points: The editing was shocking. The earlier chapters in particular (Coryani and Milandir for example) were boring - I found myself skipping through sections as I read them. In fact, right throughout the book there were patches that went into information overkill, usually in the history sections, that seemed to have little use for DMs except as a link to the next paragraph about another war with somebody. Quite a few of the feats and one of the skills I found unnecessary or bland. This work, due to its size, clearly needs a decent index, and there is none to be found. Its a shame that the chapters later in the book (e.g. The Hinterlands and Ymandragore) were not used as templates for some of the earlier chapters - the details of interesting locations and secret societies with brief history sections would have better served the chapters on Coryani and Milandir.
Conclusion: Invaluable as a sourcebook for those interested in Arcanis, Codex Arcanis does not succeed in entertaining from start to finish as Paradigm's previous releases have. This should be seen as a SERIOUS BOOK, both in terms of style and in terms of the amount of information it offers. It is not for the academically-challenged. For this reason, I have had a hard time rating it. It is appalling in editing, poor in light entertainment value, average in terms of crunchy bits, good in terms of adventure ideas, and superb for reference. I was close to giving this an average rating as a measure of this range of value, but the amount of work that has gone into this is truly stunning and I just can't be that cruel. So take my rating as an indicator of its overall usefulness rather than its level of interest.
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 192
Price: $24.99
Price per page: About 8 cents per page
Front Cover: A colourful pastiche of images of reasonable quality.
Back Cover: Introduction and overview to Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires. Also, two black and white drawings of characters, slightly cartoonish but again of reasonable quality.
Inside Covers: Both blank although the main map is stuck to the inside back cover.
Other Pages: Page 1 and 2 are credits and contents, the last two pages are the OGL and an advert.
Internal Artwork: There are lots of black and white sketches of the peoples of Arcanis, all of which are good quality. There are several full-page black and white drawings, one of which is average, a couple good and a couple superb.
Maps: Maps are basic and would benefit from more detail and clearer political boundaries. Black and white maps of regions accompany their appropriate sections and there is a pull-out colour map at the back of the book, with two blobs of a nifty sticky material that so far seems infinitely re-usable to stick the map back in after viewing with no bad eefects on the paper.
Text Density: The text density is excellent with a little white space and no margins.
Text Style: The sourcebook attempts to give a perspective on each of the nations of Arcanis from the viewpoint of a certain character (a Coryani centurion speaking to child slaves, a set of scrolls recovered from the mummified remains of an explorer, etc.). I found that the style of some of these characters was verbose, dry and academic - more like a real history book than an RPG sourcebook - the disadvantage of using some of the characters they chose was that it doesn't always make entertaining reading. In addition, the number of typos was frightening, and ended up interfering with my appreciation of the text - Paradigm seriously need a decent editor.
Whats Inside:
Codex Arcanis is a sourcebook covering the major nations and races of Arcanis, the World of Shattered Empires, the fantasy campaign setting that forms the basis of Paradigm Concepts' previously released adventures, and is also the newest RPGA 'Living' setting (which I understand is currently not available to play in Europe).
The sourcebook gets off to an interesting start (10 pages). 'Religion' is first on the agenda, and we are introduced to a new slant on things with the concept that none of the gods of Arcanis have alignments - only their clerics do. Thus you can have clerics from all the alignments each following different aspects of the same god. After a bit of history, and a section on resurrection, 'The Gods Of Arcanis' details each deity including information on a secret society linked to each god, which are great for adventure ideas. The next section introduces us to the concept of 'Vals' - families that have inherited the bloodlines of certain gods, gaining special powers and responsibilities. The section ends with a brief timeline.
The first nation dealt with is the Coryani Empire (20 pages), lying at the heart of the continent of Onara (which is the focus of the Arcanis setting) . An 11-page detailed history of the Empire is given, from the viewpoint of a Coryani Centurion as he rescues child slaves from the Canceri. If I had been one of the children, I would pesonally have gutted him to stop the monotony of his speech. It would practically have sufficed to say "There were a lot of wars, against everybody". Further sections detail Family Life In The Empire, Social Classes, Imperial Government, and The Legions Of The Empire. The Geographical Overview section details the main Coryani provinces, with stats for the major city in each province; also in each section are sidebars that give a more detailed explanantion on a certain aspect of the province (e.g. the allergic reaction of elves to the incense that permeates the city of Sweet Savona in the province of Cafela thus causing them to wear headscarves that cover their faces - this in turn has led to others disguising themselves as elves in the city). The section finishes with a 'Who's Who In Coryan' detailing 3 important NPCs and the Coryani attitude towards the other nations in the sourcebook. The Coryani Empire and the historical Roman Empire have a lot in common, and much can be deduced of the content of this section if you are at all versed in Roman history.
The next nation is The Blessed Lands (5 pages), lying to the north west of Coryani. The section is offered up as a series of short essays by a temple scribe to brief the Patriarch of Coryan on the nature of the region. At the centre of The Blessed Lands, both geographically and spiritually, is The First City - think of it as similar to Jerusalem during the Crusades, except ruined and uninhabited (at least by civilised peoples). Each person is expected to make a pilgrimage to the First City sometime during their lifetime, and the equivalent of Knights Templars have developed to protect the pilgrims in this harsh and dangerous land. West of the First City is an enormous flood plain, invaded by the sea at seasonal intervals. A couple of other locations, the strange Lanzhou Island and the ruins of the ancient Cyclops nation of Saam-Ur, are also detailed.
The Western Lands section (12 pages) is presented as the teachings of a native of the region to a foreigner who has inherited land in the area. Also known as The League of Princes, this jungle region is split into six smaller regions with varying types of government. The main race in the area are known as Kio, humans who legend tells once lived in cities in the sky. They are pale and long-lived with an alien mindset that other humans find hard to grasp. When they first arrived in the area, many centuries ago, they took the lands from a less civilised race, the Undir, who are reputedly descended from a tribe of humans who mated with undines (water spirits). The Undir still remain in the area though they have been heavily affected by the Kio ways. The section also details the unknown lands of Uggur to the west of The Western Lands and the mysterious city-states that may lie within its borders - Hegoch (a humanoid mountainous city-state) and Quagga (a subterranean city-state run by an ex-Coryani half-orc Centurion). A Who's Who Of The Western Lands details 3 of the major NPCs of the area.
Milandir (14 pages), to the north of Coryani, is a lawful land built upon chivalry and faith. The section has 7 pages of tedious military history. The section then gives information on the ruling Vals of the region, the church and the Freemen (slavery and bondage is, uniquely, abolished in Milandir). The Milandir are focused towards the Arts (sub-sections on literature, music, dance, theatre, and opera) but have military might too (sub-sections on the navy, the king's guard, the knightly orders, and conscripts). There is a geographical overview of Milandir with stats on the major cities, 3 NPCs are detailed in the Who's Who section and the section finishes with details of relations with other nations (they hate the Canceri with a vengeance).
The Republic of Altheria (10 pages) lies in the south east of the continent of Onara. The Altherians are the chosen people of Althares, the god of knowledge and artificers. When their land was threatened centuries ago, the Altherians prayed to Althares for help. He granted them three gifts but warned that the gifts would bring pain and, through pain, spiritual growth. The first gift was magnetism. The culmination of this gift was that The Altherians built a floating city which, after being attacked by opposing armies and storms, eventually crashed into the mountains and thus the new capital of the Altherians was born. The second gift was blastpowder (gunpowder), which is currently a developing but restricted means of firepower in Altheria and a few other places that have strong links with Altheria. Due to the problems that the first two gifts have caused, the Altherians have not yet dared ask for the Third Gift from Althares. Presently, they use their knowledge to remain neutral though they are severely threatened by the serpentmen nation of Ssethregore. This section, presented as if by the Altherian ambassador to Coryani, ends with information on the Altherians faith, the capital of Altheria, and the threats from Ssethregore and elsewhere, as well as attitudes to the other nations of Onara.
The Hinterlands (20 pages) lie north east of Milandir. These hostile lands hold diverse cultures and they are explored as if through the remnants of scrolls recovered from the mummified body of one explorer who met his death whilst investigating this diversity. The indigenous peoples of the area the four tribes of the Yhing Hir horsemen who survive in the harsh desert climate of the area. Several sections describe the geography and ecology of slightly differing regions in The Hinterlands (mesa valleys, sand dunes, cactus forests, etc.). An overview of the city of Sicaris is given (introduced in The Bloody Sands of Sicaris adventure), as is some information on a college of sculptors defended by angelic statues. A number of locations and peoples in The Haunted Wastes are covered (The Chalk Seers and the Plain of Falling Stars, The Sorcerer Stones, The Veil Of Doom, The She'haulk Mountains and the Wall of the Gods, Erduk and The Mouth of the Nier, The Fire Dwarves, and Ni'huk Ma, the Ehtzara, and the Cult of the Jackal) and give plenty of fascinating adventure ideas - one of the best sections of the book. This quality is continued in the next section The Northern Desert which includes sub-sections on the Domain of the Hyena Queen, The Silt Sea and Bone Black, The Knights of the Order of the Holy Pillar, The Valley of Glass, The Hidden Canyon of Zhu, The Bleak Coast, Pearlspar, Jappa and the Takomir, The Keepers of the Well, and a detailed sub-section on the free city of Censure and the Six Noble Guild Houses. 3 important NPCs are detailed in the Who's Who section.
The Theocracy Of Canceri (10 pages) lies directly north of Milandir. Its story is related by a vampire to a Milandir thief in Canceri who has been given as punishment to the vampire to do what it will - the vampire wishes to talk of Canceri. We are treated to a sidebar discussing playing Canceri as PCs and using Canceri in a campaign. There follows a short and interesting history section discussing the coming of the Devil-Kings and the rise of the Church of the Dark Triumvirate (the Canceri essentially worship only three of the pantheon of gods of Arcanis - Neroth (god of the dead), Nier (god of destruction) and Sarish (the demon god). The text then deals with Canceri society (the people, nobility, and the church). Several locations are detailed (the Cold Plains, the Vosewalden (a cursed forest), Nier's Spine and the Holds of the val'Virdan, the Necropolises, and the Cities of the Red March). 5 NPCs are dealt with in the Who's Who section and the vampire's thoughts on the other nations of Onara conclude this section.
The Pirate Isles (9 pages) lie off the north eastern coast of Onara. A short history leads into a brief discussion of Freeport (Green Ronin's pirate city which is situated in the Arcanis setting, due to a ground-breaking partnership between the two companies). The other islands in the archipelago are dealt with in much the same manner, all introduced as if from a secret journal written by an ex-slave of the pirates, now turned Coryani cleric. The other sub-sections deal with Garundi, Fortress of the Crimson Slavers, Naori: The Island of Fire, and Magra: The Stronghold of the Pirate King. Each section has a 'Secrets' sidebar that gives the reader information that the author of the journal did not know, all great adventure seeds.
The Lament of the Dwarves (10 pages) gives an account of the dwarves of the Arcanis setting through the journal of an Altherian librarian joining a dwarf on the dwarf's return to his homeland. We learn of dwarven physiology, trade, hospitality, and settlements. The History sub-section reveals that the dwarves were once Celestial Giants. Cursed by the god Iliir, their leaders turned to stone (and the leaders' hearts to gems). However, the dwarves were promised possible freedom from the curse by the god Sarish, who promised to lift the curse for those who forge a perfect object and bathe it in the light of the glowing heart-gems of their stone ex-leaders. In addition, the dwarves must themselves occasionally bathe in this light to stop them rapidly aging. Since the stone ex-leaders are all underground, thus the dwarves live underground. Another fascinating aspect of the dwarves is when they die, they transmigrate their souls into crystal shards in the hope that they will be admitted into the paradise of Iliir once the curse is lifted (their souls do not presently reincarnate due to the curse). In a particular magical chamber, the souls of these shards can communicate with the living. However, since this practice has been followed, there has been a concerning downturn in the number of dwarven births. Seven dwarven enclaves are then detailed in the text, and there is a discussion of gnomes - in Arcanis, gnomes are actually half-dwarfs, the twisted result of interbreeding between the cursed dwarves and humans.
The Bright Nations of the Elorii (12 pages) deal with the elves of Arcanis, who are portrayed as being part elemental-, part nature-spirit, imbued into flesh, and with sharp teeth. It is presented as a study by a sage given as a present to the King of Milandir. The elves worship different gods than the humans and each elf is affected by the bloodline of these five elemental gods, four of whom have now been destroyed by humans. The History section explains how this came about and the tragic circumstances that led to humans slaughtering thousands of elves at the behest of the humans gods after the humans first came to Onara (elves lived in Onara long before humans arrived). Th elves retreated into the forest waiting for vengeance against the humans gods (the remaining elven goddess prophesied that the humans themselves would one day be needed by the elves in help to "beat back the silent darkness", though some elves still hate humans and kill them on sight). Some elves have recently re-emerged. The section goes on to deal with Family and Bloodkine (detailing the five sub-races of elves - there are no half-elves), the art and craft of the elves, government and religion, and the Elluwe' (sacred pools much like druid groves but with magical powers). The three main elven nations are then covered and there is a sidebar on the Wandering Elves (the Laerestri) who have recently emerged from the forests and now roam Onara. The section concludes with the Laerestri view of the other nations of Onara (they don't automatically dislike dwarves).
The Menace Of Ssethregore (8 pages) deatils the various reptilian races of Ssethregore, which lies to the south of Altheria. The Serpent Men are the oldest of these races and in fact are the oldest race of Onara (they created the elves to be their slaves, but the elves rose up and destroyed their wicked society). Sub-sections also include Troglodytes, Ss'ressen (Lizardfolk), a forgotten Reptile God, and information on the slaadi that interact with the reptilian races, the use of fear and loathing in the reptilian forces, and some brief information on The Swamplands that the reptilian races call home.
The Magocracy Of Ymandragore (10 pages) is based on the city of Ymandragore which is built on the Isle of Tears of the east coast of Onara. The Magocracy is ruled by the mysterious Sorcerer-King who seeks to attain godhood, and seems to be not originally from the world of Arcanis at all. After a short history section (which discusses how the Sorcerer-King's 'Harvesters' seek to kidnap those with magical talent and bring them back to Ymandragore), the geography of the land is covered in terms of some interesting locations with useful adventure ideas. Ymandrake society is then dealt with, discussing the native goblinoids and the various races the Sorcerer-King has brought to Ymandragore. Various magical societies are then discussed including some who work on the mainland (such as the Harvesters). 3 Ymandrake NPCs conclude this chapter and the main text.
Appendix 1 gives stats for the races of Arcanis. Interesting changes to the basic races are:
* Gnomes, due to their origin, are medium-size
* Dwarves have additional abilities including Weight of the Curse (deals with soul shards and reincarnation problems), and Search for Perfection (focus on Item Creation)
* Elves are immortal, and the five subraces each have different Ability Adjustments and Racial Abilities
* There are three new races: Dark-Kin (think half-fiend), Ss'ressen (Lizardfolk) and Val (powers and responsibilities linked to bloodlines, psionic abilities and legal ability to own an Altherian firearm are restricted to Vals only.
A note on classes tells us that humans in Arcanis cannot be sorcerers and confirms that only Vals can be Psions or Psionic warriors
Appendix 2 has lots of new feats: Alien (undead/infernal) Understanding, Avoidance, Born to the Saddle, Church Education, Combat Firing, Conscript, Divinity's Presence (Val Cha bonus), Elorii Bloodline (broken down into elemental lines), Empower Blood (Canceri blood sacrifice to empower magic), Fishmonger (actually an actor), Gentry, Hawk Eyed, Honeyed Tongue, Improved Quick Draw, Improved Ride-by Attack, Judge of Character, Knowledge of the Past, Know Terrain, Lay of the Land, Legionnaire, (Cunning) Linguist, Master of the Tops (climb rigging bonuses), Quick Reload, Saddle warrior, Strength of the Coryani Heart, Tactical Leadership, tail Attack, Trick Shot, and Visions of Lives Past. Many of these feats are particular to characters from certain nations or races. They vary in quality. There are also four new skills: Examine Technique (allows you to discover what your opponents combat modifiers are), and three Knowledge-based skills (disease, planar species and thanatology (study of death, funerals, mummification, etc.)
Appendix 3 has 10 new prestige classes: The Altherian Sharp Shooter, Brethren of the Order of St. Theomund the Missionary, Dancer of the Elements (elven spiritual warrior), The Blight Bearer (Neroth disease cleric), val'Mehan Emissary (diplomat/interrogator/spy), Order of the Emerald Flame (Ymandragore magical society) , Society Of Ordained Seekers (another Ymandragore magical society), The Wine Drinkers (another Ymandragore magical society), The warriors of the Eternal Flame (Canceri soldier), and the Ehtzara (Hinterland tribal sorcerer-shamans).
Appendix 4 details the unique weapons and armour of Arcanis, including Altherian firearms and a disc crossbow.
Appendix 5 gives a summary of the Pantheon of Arcanis with old and new clerical domains and the deities they relate to.
Appendix 6 details 23 unique spells of Arcanis, a magical plague called Betrayer's Fever, and three new magic items.
Appendix 7 gives the Val Bloodline powers.
Appendix 8 details the Coryani Lunar Calendar.
The High Points: This sourcebook reflects the enormous amount of work that must have gone into it. It is full of information on the setting of Arcanis, invaluable if you want to run a Living character in the RPGA games, very useful as background reference for developing your own adventures in Arcanis, and useful for understanding the background behind Paradigm's excellent adventures. In the latter chapters, there are a wealth of adventure ideas. The view on races, particularly the elves, dwarves and Vals, was creative, but the human subraces are also given life and sparkle. There is a very detailed world here and some excellent sources for adventures and ideas for your own campaign world. There was plenty of statistical information in the appendices to allow the DM and player to put these ideas into practice.
The Low Points: The editing was shocking. The earlier chapters in particular (Coryani and Milandir for example) were boring - I found myself skipping through sections as I read them. In fact, right throughout the book there were patches that went into information overkill, usually in the history sections, that seemed to have little use for DMs except as a link to the next paragraph about another war with somebody. Quite a few of the feats and one of the skills I found unnecessary or bland. This work, due to its size, clearly needs a decent index, and there is none to be found. Its a shame that the chapters later in the book (e.g. The Hinterlands and Ymandragore) were not used as templates for some of the earlier chapters - the details of interesting locations and secret societies with brief history sections would have better served the chapters on Coryani and Milandir.
Conclusion: Invaluable as a sourcebook for those interested in Arcanis, Codex Arcanis does not succeed in entertaining from start to finish as Paradigm's previous releases have. This should be seen as a SERIOUS BOOK, both in terms of style and in terms of the amount of information it offers. It is not for the academically-challenged. For this reason, I have had a hard time rating it. It is appalling in editing, poor in light entertainment value, average in terms of crunchy bits, good in terms of adventure ideas, and superb for reference. I was close to giving this an average rating as a measure of this range of value, but the amount of work that has gone into this is truly stunning and I just can't be that cruel. So take my rating as an indicator of its overall usefulness rather than its level of interest.
