Stupid Fantasy Laws, Vol. 1 is an 8-page PDF from Top Fashion Games, written by Dave Woodrum. It aims to present "stupid, oppressive laws" based on past beliefs and inactive laws in the real world. The product's cover, designed by the author, is simple, depicting a blue gemstone on a grey field -- the design has little to do with the book's content, but is cleaner and a little bit slicker than the covers on previous Top Fashion products. There is no interior art.
I received a number of Top Fashion products at the same time, and most of them have similar issues in their editing and layout, which I'll cover here briefly: ragged right margins, using block paragraphs but not double-spacing them, odd choices in spacing and formatting, and a completely blank page at the end of the file. All these PDFs were added to the RPGNow catalog at roughly the same time, so it makes sense that they would display similar issues. Although I'm still concerned with them, it's not fair for me to hammer the same company for mistakes/choices that are in their past -- if layout issues really annoy you, you'll probably be disappointed with this product; if you can look past them, you'll find some nice, useable content.
The first two laws, on Black Cat Possession and the Black Cloak Law, would be perfect for a low magic campaign or any campaign where the peasantry would fear magic and its practioners. They have a great 17th century New England Puritan feel, making me think of the Salem Witch Trials, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, and the short stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Coughing in the Moonlight fits into this category as well. The rest of the laws include laws designed to improve public hygiene and stop the spread of disease (Drinking from an Uncovered Vessel) to maintaining proper ettiquette (Walking Backwards in Public). All in all, the strongest part of each of these entries is the "Probable Cause" section, which explains possible reasons for the enactment of the law. I liked this because it helps to flesh out the community -- a law against the consumption of alcoholic beverages before lunch says something about the community, and presenting these laws in a campaign will allow the DM to shorthand the nature of this part of his world, making it more real. Instead of telling the PCs about a community, you can show them -- this is a good thing.
On the other hand, some of the laws are pedestrian -- Drinking Alcohol Before Lunch or Drawing Water After Dusk both come to mind here -- and gave me the thought that I could come up with them given the time. It's also a very specific topic for the supplement. Either you'll need and want this information or you won't. The laws play better for small villages and towns than cities, and some campaigns have fairly homogenous law systems (or none, in the case of any prehistoric campaigns). If this is what you're looking for, it does what it aims to do nicely -- Mr. Woodrum has done the research so that you don't have to do it. It could be that this is something I don't particularly enjoy doing, but this product, more than any of the other products by Top Fashion that I've reviewed so far, worked really well for me.
Score: 3.5 (layout & editing issues, narrow topic)
