In every campaign world, there are groups, agents and other powers often at work that are more worldly and often just as deadly as the monsters many people face. Some might prove to helpful, others an engima or a puzzle. Quite a few are often adversarial in nature. In Secrets and Societies, you get to see many of all these sides. If you're a fan of the Incarnates from R&R1 or just want to learn more about the Cult of the Ancients, then this is definately the book for you.
The cover art pictures an apparently old man with a cup of blood and some less than dressed women worshipping him whil the moon is full. (I'm guessing these are Belsameth's people.
) The interior artwork is more than decent, with some exception pieces being that of the Silver Lion, Daelia, and Horsemen pictures.
Divided into thirteen different section (one for each group listed in the table of contents), this book gives us some ideas of how each group works and some of their history. While I could go into greater detail I will just list them here with a few details to each:
The Accursed (A group of infected lycanthropes that have, thanks to Madriel's blessing, become good and can now control their changes. They live in the Hornsaw and try to find others to help with their problems)
The Black Dragoon(Elite Calavry troops in the service of Duke Travik from the Wise and the Wicked. They are the pride of Lageni and probably the damn fiercest fighters around. Oh and many of them are blackguards.)
Courseans of Idra (A cult of seducresses/seducers that work for some inscruble goal. Some believe they follow Idra, the lady of Secrets and pleasure. They have many holdings. Also there is the prestige class, Coursean of Idra.)
Cult and Order of the Ancients (While many Scarred Lands fans might know a little of them, there are actually THREE diverse groups of these killers. The Order itself was a scholarly band that got mixed up in finding old Slacerian stuff, which cause some of their members to turn to assassination. The Cult itself is divided into to factions. One is the old school faction, devoted to killing only those they are paid to kill. The other, the Belsmites, follow Talina Som, the Whisper of Belsameth. These two are devoted to killing each other.)
Horsemen of Vangal (Devoted madmen killers, they ride the plains of Ghelspad, owning alllegience only to their headman. The prestige class, Horseman of Vangal, is in this section.)
House Asuras (Prestigous clan of unscruplous merchants, they have their fingers in a lot of pies and are very tight knit about family and finances.)
Incarnates (A group of Denev's finest, these favored souls are gifted with the Earth Mother's blessings. Also the revised Incarnate Prestige class is in this section. You can also download it here: http://www.swordsorcery.com/swordsorcery/Excerpts/Incarnate.html)
Legion of Ash (The best damn mercenary company in all the Scarred Lands. And they have the dead guys to prove it.)
Legion of Crimson (Not exactly the best, but if you need mercenaries cheap, these are the guys to call.)
Order of the Morning Sky. (Devoted clerics and paladins of Madriel, they hunt down undead and diseases, usually with very draconian ways.)
Paladins of Corean (The four orders of Corean, Mithril, Silver, Iron and Gold, are all discussed here. Also the Prestige class, Silver Knight is in this section.)
The Scaled (mage/merchant/thieves, they operate in the shadows as best they can, but always to their own advantage.)
Vigils of Vesh (detailed look at Vesh's elite fighting force.)
Overall this is fine book, with many little hidden goodies, and insights into various Scarred Lands personalities. My favorite sections would have to be the Black Dragoons, the Cult and Order of the Ancients, the Horsemen of Vangal, the Paladins of Corean (specifically the Silver Knight) and the Scaled.
For those of you looking to add more to your campaign, you can take many of these existing groups and use them in a very generic fashion with out too much hassle.
Overall, I like the book, but I felt it was a little short and didn't really go into as much detail about other groups that have been mentioned. Still it's a worthy buy if you're looking for ideas for new power groups or even just an NPC or two.
