Early last month, I had the opportunity to review a new Medieval Fantasy Horror RPG called Shadows of Esteren. The designers released the first English version of the game late last year with two books, Book 0 – Prologue and Book 1 – Universe, which provided a foundation for playing the game and using this unique setting.
But Shadows of Esteren publisher, Agate RPG, did more than just release a new role-playing game – they made a promise to release three more books for the game, each designed to provide more information about the world setting, as well as provide an entire campaign for fans to enjoy. Well, in just a few short months, Agate RPG is already making good on that promise, and is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to release the next book in the series: Book 2 – Travels!
With just a few days left in the Kickstarter, Shadows of Esteren – Travels is already funded and well into unlocking new stretch goals. So let’s explore what Travels brings to this horror-laden medieval fantasy RPG…
Shadows of Esteren: Book 2 - Travels
Travels is the third book released in the Shadows of Esteren product line - a Gothic Horror Medieval Fantasy RPG system, translated into English and released back in the fall of 2012. Travels is a source book providing detailed information on various lands and points of interest in the Tri-Kazel setting. In addition, Travels offers short adventure scenes which can be added to an existing campaign, as well as a full length adventure module which can have serious ramifications upon the player-characters and the lands of Tri-Kazel. And Travels has not only a “rogues’ gallery” of fully developed NPCs, but also a bestiary of creatures, both mundane and monstrous, for Leaders (GM) to add to their own scenarios.
Production Quality
The production quality of Shadows of Esteren: Travels is superb, with some amazing writing on behalf of the authors and a great layout presentation for the content provided. The material in Travels is quite well-organized, and there is a well-detailed table of contents, an index, and in the PDF, a selection of bookmarks. Navigation through this book will not be difficult for most readers.
The overall design esthetic of the pages in Travels evokes the feeling of leafing through a tome, with smudges and stains on pages, as well as a graphic suggesting distressed parchment. The illustrations are beautiful and plentiful, with nearly every page bearing either a small charcoal or pencil sketch, or watercolor styled image. In a very real way, every page of Travels is a work of art.
The maps in Travels are also beautifully rendered, and are drawn in the same style as the illustrations of the book. For instance, the map of the village in the adventure, A Life Choice, is just as much an illustration as it is a map of the locale. Other maps are done in a charcoal sketch style, and placed on a tattered parchment background to make them stand out from the rest of the page.
Due to the success of the ongoing Kickstarter, there will be more city maps released to add even more depth to Tri-Kazel, as well as a plan to create an interactive map software released, based upon the maps found in Book 1 – Universe. Patrons of the Kickstarter will be offered this Stretch Goal as part of their experience supporting the release of Travels.
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
Shadows of Esteren – Travels follows the release of the Book 0 - Prologue and Book 1 - Universe in the proposed seven book series. While Universe was designed to give an overview of the world setting, and to explain the mechanics needed create characters and play the game, Travels is really more of a Leader-only book. It is designed to give greater details about the lands of Tri-Kazel, and to reveal its hazards, mysterious locales, its denizens, and its creatures.
The book is divided into five broad chapters, each one providing new content for Leaders to use while running the world setting. Throughout the book, there are “boxed text” entires which provide additional information on a particular topic, and are often written with a strong storytelling motif, such as from the perspective of a letter from an NPC or notes in a book.
The first chapter, Cartography, is a gazetteer with far more detailed information about points of interest in the lands of Tri-Kazel than appeared in Universe. It covers points of interest in the lands of Gwidre, Reizh, and Taol-Kaer, including details on the untamed lands and waters between the kingdoms. Some points of interest are so unique, they get their own sections – Ashen Yard – A secretive Magientist city-state or Farl, called the Jewel of the North and the long line of the Mac Lenneïden family who has ruled over the city for more than half a century. The content also includes hazards, both natural and unnatural, including Difficulty Thresholds to overcome difficulties that might arise in travels.
Chapter 1 is by far the largest of all five in the book, as it includes a sub-section on traveling the lands, in which it details travel times when journeying across Tri-Kazal, lore of the world, and some hazards one might encounter along the way. New rules are also introduced, including two new Disciplines for the Travel Domain: Forced March and Messenger – both of which can help groups on long journeys. This section also has more details about the Varigals, including their glyphic system, called stermerk, which they mark on rocks or trees to warn other Varigals about hazards or benefits. For instance, the Fangs stemerk which warns a dangerous predator is in the area, while the Haven marks where a hideout is available for traveling Varigals to share. This section ends with tips for Leaders to help them create a more immersive storytelling to bring life to a mundane journey.
The final section of the chapter is entitled Sailing, and it discusses just that – the art of traveling by boat or ship throughout the lands of Tri-Kazel. There are prices for taking trips by boat, as well as information on the various types of boats and ships used in the setting. There’s a great illustration of the types of ships, done in an ink-on-parchment style which really captures the flavor of the game.
Chapter 2 is about Canvases, which are five short scenarios that can be used in any sort of campaign. The authors describe these scenarios in a sort of tree motif, and even specifies the Style of the mini-adventure, its Setting and what Season it could take place in, as well as the Length of the scenario.
So as an example, the Canvas called Night of Fright is a Thriller Style adventure, meant to be run in the Early Spring season, and typically has a Length of about 2 hours.
In the third chapter, there is a full-length adventure called A Life Choice. It is a detailed full length adventure scenario in three Acts, with a creepy atmosphere. There is a very detailed mystery for heroes to solve, and the Author included some aftermath and consequence information depending on how the players resolve the scenario.
Chapter 4 of Travels presents what best might be described as a “rogues’ gallery” of NPCs. Figures of Tri-Kazel has 18 characters which can be most can be used as either enemies or allies in a wide range of scenarios. Each character has technical characteristics such as Ways, Domains and Disciplines, Advantages and Disadvantages, as well as details about Sanity, Combat, and Health Condition. There’s a description section, then sections with rumors that surround the figure, their personality, and any secrets which the NPC might have. The entries are highly detailed, and it’s easy to see that a Leader could use the information to spin off a few scenarios from just one of these characers.
There is also a section in this chapter entitled Mysterious Powers, which details black magic (or Oradh) and practices which might be employed by evil NPCs. This information details the topics discussed in Book 1 – Universe, which touched on Oradh only briefly.
Finally in Chapter 5, the authors offer up a Bestiary, which details 11 mundane animals found and 9 monstrous Feondas. Mundane animals in this section range from cats and rats, to spiders and snakes, and on up to wolves and bears. But the Feondas in the Bestiary are a collection of really creepy and very dangerous monsters! Here the monsters might look like hideous versions of rats (Cnaigh) or vampire bats (Mealtag), or horrific incarnations such as a Sirens of Tealderoth. The Sirens’ songs are so powerful that mortals actually long for the embrace of her tentacles – until they are dragged off and devoured, of course!
Overall Score: 4.3 out of 5.0
Final Conclusions
The folks who write for the Shadows of Esteren game continue to really impress me, and Book 2 - Travels is really a fine addition to the product line. Not only is it beautifully written and illustrated, it contains so much more lore about the setting, including the Bestiary that I really felt was a little lacking in the previous book. Most importantly, Travels provides not only a complete adventure and five ad hoc scenarios, but it also provides so many “hooks” in both the lore, NPCs, and Feondas that it would be easy for Leaders to create myriad adventures of their own, or even a full blown campaign.
Of course, the Shadows of Esteren has an Official Campaign due out with the next book in the series: Book 3 – Dearg. But for Leaders who are working on their own campaign ideas, Travels is a solid piece of work and adds considerable content to the world. And the price for the PDF is quite reasonable for the scope of the new content – a great addition to a fantastic RPG system!
Author’s Note: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the products from which the review was written.
Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)
Endnote: A Kickstarter for Book-2 Travels for Shadows of Esteren is totally funded, and are well into opening many new Stretch Goals! Click here to get in on the last few days of the KICKSTARTER!
But Shadows of Esteren publisher, Agate RPG, did more than just release a new role-playing game – they made a promise to release three more books for the game, each designed to provide more information about the world setting, as well as provide an entire campaign for fans to enjoy. Well, in just a few short months, Agate RPG is already making good on that promise, and is in the midst of a Kickstarter campaign to release the next book in the series: Book 2 – Travels!With just a few days left in the Kickstarter, Shadows of Esteren – Travels is already funded and well into unlocking new stretch goals. So let’s explore what Travels brings to this horror-laden medieval fantasy RPG…
Shadows of Esteren: Book 2 - Travels
- Authors: Nelyhann, Aldo “Pénombre” Pappacoda, Joëlle “Iris” Deschamp, Ludovic “Elenyl” Monnier-Ragaigne, Guillaume "Ikaar" Vasseur, and Laurent “Nico du deme de Naxos” Duquesne
- Illustrations: Yvan "Gawain" Villeneuve (cover); (interior) Yvan "Gawain" Villeneuve, Fred Pinson, Nicolas Jamme,Olivier "Akae" Sanfilippo, Rémi "Remton" Le Capon, Joëlle "Iris" Deschamp, and Sandrine Malus; (cartography) Christophe Bouvet and Yvan "Gawain" Villeneuve
- Publisher: Agate RPG /Studio 2
- Year: 2013
- Media: PDF (200 pages)
- Price: $19.99 (available from RPGNow / KICKSTARTER Patrons can get a hardbound with PDF and Stretch Goals!)
Travels is the third book released in the Shadows of Esteren product line - a Gothic Horror Medieval Fantasy RPG system, translated into English and released back in the fall of 2012. Travels is a source book providing detailed information on various lands and points of interest in the Tri-Kazel setting. In addition, Travels offers short adventure scenes which can be added to an existing campaign, as well as a full length adventure module which can have serious ramifications upon the player-characters and the lands of Tri-Kazel. And Travels has not only a “rogues’ gallery” of fully developed NPCs, but also a bestiary of creatures, both mundane and monstrous, for Leaders (GM) to add to their own scenarios.
Production Quality
The production quality of Shadows of Esteren: Travels is superb, with some amazing writing on behalf of the authors and a great layout presentation for the content provided. The material in Travels is quite well-organized, and there is a well-detailed table of contents, an index, and in the PDF, a selection of bookmarks. Navigation through this book will not be difficult for most readers.
The overall design esthetic of the pages in Travels evokes the feeling of leafing through a tome, with smudges and stains on pages, as well as a graphic suggesting distressed parchment. The illustrations are beautiful and plentiful, with nearly every page bearing either a small charcoal or pencil sketch, or watercolor styled image. In a very real way, every page of Travels is a work of art.
The maps in Travels are also beautifully rendered, and are drawn in the same style as the illustrations of the book. For instance, the map of the village in the adventure, A Life Choice, is just as much an illustration as it is a map of the locale. Other maps are done in a charcoal sketch style, and placed on a tattered parchment background to make them stand out from the rest of the page.
Due to the success of the ongoing Kickstarter, there will be more city maps released to add even more depth to Tri-Kazel, as well as a plan to create an interactive map software released, based upon the maps found in Book 1 – Universe. Patrons of the Kickstarter will be offered this Stretch Goal as part of their experience supporting the release of Travels.
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
Shadows of Esteren – Travels follows the release of the Book 0 - Prologue and Book 1 - Universe in the proposed seven book series. While Universe was designed to give an overview of the world setting, and to explain the mechanics needed create characters and play the game, Travels is really more of a Leader-only book. It is designed to give greater details about the lands of Tri-Kazel, and to reveal its hazards, mysterious locales, its denizens, and its creatures.
The book is divided into five broad chapters, each one providing new content for Leaders to use while running the world setting. Throughout the book, there are “boxed text” entires which provide additional information on a particular topic, and are often written with a strong storytelling motif, such as from the perspective of a letter from an NPC or notes in a book.
The first chapter, Cartography, is a gazetteer with far more detailed information about points of interest in the lands of Tri-Kazel than appeared in Universe. It covers points of interest in the lands of Gwidre, Reizh, and Taol-Kaer, including details on the untamed lands and waters between the kingdoms. Some points of interest are so unique, they get their own sections – Ashen Yard – A secretive Magientist city-state or Farl, called the Jewel of the North and the long line of the Mac Lenneïden family who has ruled over the city for more than half a century. The content also includes hazards, both natural and unnatural, including Difficulty Thresholds to overcome difficulties that might arise in travels.
Chapter 1 is by far the largest of all five in the book, as it includes a sub-section on traveling the lands, in which it details travel times when journeying across Tri-Kazal, lore of the world, and some hazards one might encounter along the way. New rules are also introduced, including two new Disciplines for the Travel Domain: Forced March and Messenger – both of which can help groups on long journeys. This section also has more details about the Varigals, including their glyphic system, called stermerk, which they mark on rocks or trees to warn other Varigals about hazards or benefits. For instance, the Fangs stemerk which warns a dangerous predator is in the area, while the Haven marks where a hideout is available for traveling Varigals to share. This section ends with tips for Leaders to help them create a more immersive storytelling to bring life to a mundane journey.
The final section of the chapter is entitled Sailing, and it discusses just that – the art of traveling by boat or ship throughout the lands of Tri-Kazel. There are prices for taking trips by boat, as well as information on the various types of boats and ships used in the setting. There’s a great illustration of the types of ships, done in an ink-on-parchment style which really captures the flavor of the game.
Chapter 2 is about Canvases, which are five short scenarios that can be used in any sort of campaign. The authors describe these scenarios in a sort of tree motif, and even specifies the Style of the mini-adventure, its Setting and what Season it could take place in, as well as the Length of the scenario.
So as an example, the Canvas called Night of Fright is a Thriller Style adventure, meant to be run in the Early Spring season, and typically has a Length of about 2 hours.
In the third chapter, there is a full-length adventure called A Life Choice. It is a detailed full length adventure scenario in three Acts, with a creepy atmosphere. There is a very detailed mystery for heroes to solve, and the Author included some aftermath and consequence information depending on how the players resolve the scenario.
Chapter 4 of Travels presents what best might be described as a “rogues’ gallery” of NPCs. Figures of Tri-Kazel has 18 characters which can be most can be used as either enemies or allies in a wide range of scenarios. Each character has technical characteristics such as Ways, Domains and Disciplines, Advantages and Disadvantages, as well as details about Sanity, Combat, and Health Condition. There’s a description section, then sections with rumors that surround the figure, their personality, and any secrets which the NPC might have. The entries are highly detailed, and it’s easy to see that a Leader could use the information to spin off a few scenarios from just one of these characers.
There is also a section in this chapter entitled Mysterious Powers, which details black magic (or Oradh) and practices which might be employed by evil NPCs. This information details the topics discussed in Book 1 – Universe, which touched on Oradh only briefly.
Finally in Chapter 5, the authors offer up a Bestiary, which details 11 mundane animals found and 9 monstrous Feondas. Mundane animals in this section range from cats and rats, to spiders and snakes, and on up to wolves and bears. But the Feondas in the Bestiary are a collection of really creepy and very dangerous monsters! Here the monsters might look like hideous versions of rats (Cnaigh) or vampire bats (Mealtag), or horrific incarnations such as a Sirens of Tealderoth. The Sirens’ songs are so powerful that mortals actually long for the embrace of her tentacles – until they are dragged off and devoured, of course!
Overall Score: 4.3 out of 5.0
Final Conclusions
The folks who write for the Shadows of Esteren game continue to really impress me, and Book 2 - Travels is really a fine addition to the product line. Not only is it beautifully written and illustrated, it contains so much more lore about the setting, including the Bestiary that I really felt was a little lacking in the previous book. Most importantly, Travels provides not only a complete adventure and five ad hoc scenarios, but it also provides so many “hooks” in both the lore, NPCs, and Feondas that it would be easy for Leaders to create myriad adventures of their own, or even a full blown campaign.
Of course, the Shadows of Esteren has an Official Campaign due out with the next book in the series: Book 3 – Dearg. But for Leaders who are working on their own campaign ideas, Travels is a solid piece of work and adds considerable content to the world. And the price for the PDF is quite reasonable for the scope of the new content – a great addition to a fantastic RPG system!
Author’s Note: This Reviewer received a complimentary copy of the products from which the review was written.
Grade Card (Ratings 1 to 5)
- Presentation: 4.5
- - Design: 4.5 (Beautiful design; excellent writing; easy to access; a fun read!)
- - Illustrations: 4.5 (Fantastic illustrations; art is plentiful; enhances the overall reading experience)
- Content: 4.5
- - Crunch: 4.5 (New character powers; new rules for handling environment; lots of monster stats)
- - Fluff: 4.5 (Packed with lore and atmosphere; tons on details about the world)
- Value: 4.0 (Great price for all the content – and a chance to get in on Stretch Goals!!!)
Endnote: A Kickstarter for Book-2 Travels for Shadows of Esteren is totally funded, and are well into opening many new Stretch Goals! Click here to get in on the last few days of the KICKSTARTER!
