Tir Nan Og - The Land of the Young

[Messageboard Golem]

From the sorcerous city of Gabala to the witches military schools in Alba, from the Goddess-worshipping tribes of Eriu to the wild berserkers of Midgard, Tir Nan Og covers all the places and people of Slaine: The Roleplaying Game of Celtic Heroes. Called the Land of the Young, because most folk there die before they grow old, Tir Nan Og is the land spoken of in the old Celtic tales. A land lost beneath the waves thousands of years ago, before the Great Flood, before the first empires of the Earth rose and fell. A land rich in legend, teeming with savage monsters and strange enchantments. A land thought lost forever, now rediscovered in this book. Fight time monsters in the Sourlands, or dance on the great chalk giant in Albion. Go in search of the Sorcerer in the Cave of Beasts, or seek the Goddess herself by diving into the Cauldron of Plenty. Join the Gaesatae mercenaries who always fight naked, or play a dragon-rider from the Glamour Land.

 

[GameWyrd]

Tir Nan Og is the name of the world setting for the Slaine Roleplaying Game. Slaine’s described as the game of Celtic Heroes and does a very good job of getting across what individual Celtic heroes might be like but there’s not so much attention spend on the land itself. Tir Nan Og makes the natural choice for the first supplement.

It’s a 128-paged softcover which makes light use of colour. By light use I mean that the intricate Celtic criss-cross design of the borders are in colour but none of the contents are. The book still benefits from the higher quality of paper needed to support the colour borders though. Throughout the entirety of the book there’s plenty of illustration, comic strips from the original Slaine series and graphic novels are used liberally and this is a good thing. The text density is good too and is on par with the high density used in the core Slaine rules.

The first half of the book is given over to the four main Earth Goddess’ tribes: the Sessair, the Finians, the Fir Domain and the Falians (who I always tend to refer to as the Tribe of the Shadows thanks to the storyline which introduced me to Slaine). Each of these tribes has a powerful ancestral artefact and you’ll find the stats for each of them in the appropriate chapter for each tribe. This is a good start since these artefacts are lost and thus make for an obvious campaign idea. Sometimes there’s a new feat, spell or item which is suitable for the tribe too, for example, the Sessair chapter presents the enlarge wound feat (and that’s your own wound, not someone else’s). Each tribe is presented in a similar style, it’s a geographical tour of the territories under their control, a tour that pauses on all the interesting places and shares the history of the place. Here, while you’re reading about the interesting or otherwise important location, you’re likely to find game mechanics to match. You’ve got the stats for a Slaine style Unicorn just beside the paragraph of information about the Temple of the Unicorn. You even have full rules for the Avanc race when you start to read about the history of the Tribe of the Shadows. It’s not quite a bonus player character race though since it’ll rather awkward to mix them in with a group of non-Avanc humans or warped ones but they’re there for us as villains or for GMs who want to run with an entire party of Avanc warriors. There’s lots of information about the geography of the place and of the tribe’s history but there’s also a present. There’s an assumed time taken from the Slaine series as to when all this applies; Slaine is not yet king. You’re told who the current rulers and leaders are and even given brief stats for them too. There’s a problem though. These first four chapters are haunted by a spectre from the future. Tir Nan Og is not collection of all the Tribes series. There’s a set of books that promise details and all sorts of tempting information on each of these tribes and they’re coming out after Tir Nan Og. You’ll know this because Tir Nan Og tells you so. I just couldn’t shake off the feeling that the stats on the different tribal Kings were so brief because really the King’s likely to be a member of a prestige class that’s yet to be detailed. We might get bigger and better stats for these important NPCs later on and that kind of reduces these stats to the status of a ‘stop gap measure’. It’s not just with the NPCs stats though; I’d be hesitant to do anything definitive with the tribes here. This should just be a niggle rather than a serious worry (even though it’s worrying me and not just niggling me) because there is enough information at hand to have your group of naked Celtic warriors roam the land and for the GM to get the general atmosphere right. More importantly, there’s more than enough history here for GMs to dig up inspiration and scenarios.

The Gaesatae are an elite band of spear-wielding mercenaries, actually there are enough of them to form several bands. They’re a natural choice for prestige class.

The Lands of the Drune Lords hold many more tribes than there are in the northern area of Tir Nan Og but the chapter presents itself in a similar manners to the four Earth Goddess’ tribes. The main Drune tribes are introduced, a tribal fighting style pointed out for them and then the geographical tour around the land begins. As before the important historical notes and hints of the future are pointed out. When it’s appropriate you’ll find a grey box with some game mechanics in it; Sleep Thorns, Hunt Spectres and Time Worms for example. You’ve got the stats for the Drune Lords who compose the Trinity of Carnac and you’ll even get the stats for Slough Feg when the tour reaches The Cave of Beasts. If you’re new to Slaine then I’ll quickly say that Slough Feg’s the main villain (of sorts). I suppose I could compare him to Star Wars’ Darth Vader in the way that he’s the main villain and yet there’s a dark master behind him. Having Slough Feg’s stats at hand is also a bit like having Darth Vader’s stats at hand too – do you really want to use them? Having the rules and stats for Feg’s Time Worms on the other hand makes a lot of sense and they’re a welcome inclusion in the book. Time Worms are another great scenario or even campaign brewing aspect of a Slaine game.

When we get to the Borderlands we’re pretty much out of Drune territory and into Titan land. The treatment is the same again; a tour around the lands, historic and geographical notes of interest are made. You’ll pick up stats for Half-Titans and Titan-Dwarves too. They’re both tempting player character races and you’re given the minimum in the way of attribute modifications to make that happen. Half-Titans, for example, enjoy a +6 to strength. Yes, fear not, suitable level modifications are suggested too. The Fir-Bolg are a human tribe who also inhabit the Borderlands and the rules for playing a member of the Fir-Bolg are detailed enough to include the appropriate Noble Warrior tribe rules for them. They’ve a prestige class all to themselves as well, the Shelgeyr act as shamans for the tribe. This prestige class is fully detailed through ten levels and is restricted to the Fir-Bolg. It’s inclusion is welcome; it means GMs can do something special with the Fir-Bolg early on but I can’t help notice that three of the four "main" tribes are without their prestige class yet. Just through the coincidence in the publishing of the supplements I think most players will want to play either Sessair (who have their Red Branch prestige class included in Slaine) or the rather more obscure Fir-Bolg.

I don’t think there’s too much reason to repeat the pattern for Lyonesse, the Sourlands, and the regions of Midgard except to say that there are details for all of these areas in Tir Nan Og.

The book ends with a couple of pages for scenario ideas and a quick blast of mini-encounter tables. The re-print of the slightly more detailed map of Tir Nan Og appears on the back inside cover too.

Tir Nan Og has left me with mixed feelings. The flavour text of the history and geography of the world is well written and welcome. It’s the sort of thing I’m likely to read once, remember and then rarely need to check up on again. It’s almost the case that there’s a second hidden book in Tir Nan Og though. The amount of rule snippets in the form of new spells, creatures, items, races, prestige classes, feats, etc really does build up into a significant number of pages. These are the sorts of things that I’m likely to need to check up during a game and they’re also much harder to find while you’re frantically flicking pages. Some of these clips of game mechanics are in the index but some of them are not. Some of these clips are in shaded boxes but some of them are not. The Drune Trinity of Carnac have their stats in a grey box but Slough Feg has his stats outside in the normal flow of text. The Sessair artefact, the Cauldron of Plenty, is in the normal flow of text but the Finian artefact, the Spear of Lug, is in a shaded box. The consistently is weak.

If you want to go places with Slaine then I think you’ll want Tir Nan Og and the core Slaine rules are certainly good enough to inspire all sorts of epic games. On the other hand, if you picked up Slaine with the aims of running it every now and then between your more usual cheese fantasy game then you can get away with trying to borrow someone else’s Tir Nan Og.

* This GameWyrd review was first published here.

 

[Simon Collins]

This review contains spoilers.
This is not a playtest review.

Tir Nan Og is a campaign setting sourcebook for Mongoose Publishing's Slaine RPG.

Tir Nan Og costs $19.95 for 128 pages. It is a softcover book with high paper quality. Though the borders are colour, the internal text and art are mono. Though heading and sub-heading font sizes are fairly large, the main font size is good, margins are average (though a piece of art in themselves) and there is practically no wasted space in the book (both inside covers are used).The internal mono art is taken mainly from the Slaine comics and, like the main Slaine core book, these pieces usually illustrate the accompanying text appropriately. The front cover is a superb piece showing Slaine hacking his axe into the tentacles of a giant octopus. There are a few unscaled maps that also lack compass direction. Writing style and editing are both good.

The introduction gives us an overview of the Land of Tir Nan Og, which is a conglomerate of the British Isles, France, and Scandinavia. However, the British Isles are still connected by land both to each other and the main continent, giving it a very Ice Age look. A full page map of Tir Nan Og gives some further detail not given on the map in the main Slaine book.

The Sessair is the tribe that Slaine started off belonging to, and is based in Northern Eriu, what will become the northern end of Ireland. The tribe is split further into three areas, each ruled by a mighty warrior with their own city. The chapter covers:
* The capital city of Murias (with information on its defences and roundhouses)
* The king of the Sessair - Grudnew
* The magical artifact, the Cauldron Of Plenty, which is the home to a powerful outsider who can spread disease
* The plains of Airghialla and its Great Cairn
* The heathery hills of Ulaidh in the northeast and its main settlement, Rath Grainne, the home of war-witches
* A discussion on some new innovations - mail armour and fostering
* A sidebar discussing the fighting stle of the warriors of Rath Grainne in light of their use of mail armour, which is primarily made by the smiths of a mercantile venture known as Arget Roth
* The area of Aileach in the northwest and its border settlement Cruachu, which must be defended against the evil Fomorian Sea-Devils
* The Red Branch - a band of elite Sessair warriors who have the ability to warp-spasm
There is game information throughout the chapter including a new feat (the self-inflicted Enlarge Wound - which causes Sessair warriors to rage), stats for King Grudnew, game information for the Cauldron Of Plenty, stats for the powerful outsider Avagddu, stats for Arget Roth armour, regional fighting style for Rath Grainne Sessair, stats for Fomorian Sea-Devils, and stats for Dire Wolves.

The Finians occupy the very north of Tir Nan Og, in the area that will become Scotland. The Finians' territory is also split into three parts. There is a discussion on the creation of the Finians' capital city of Finias, the lands surrounding Finias, and the city itself, which is mainly rationed to vegetables grown within the city walls as it is under constant attack from the Fomorians of Lochlann and the berserkers of Midgard. There is also a discussion of the region of Skatha, a small independent area, which holds the fighting school of the warrior-woman Scathach. Scathach teaches a number of combat manoeuvres as a fighting style. The school is surrounded by a Plain of Ill Luck, where unfortunate circumstances seem to plague travellers. There is game information given on the bloodthirsty artifact the Spear of Lug, stats for the king of the Finians, King Gann, Scathach and her combat manoeuvres, and a random generation table for the Plains of Ill Luck.

The Fir Domain occupy the lands that will eventually become England, which is split again between four areas. It is crossed by a number of major roads built by giants, which are dotted with taverns along their route. The section details the capital city of Gorias, its king, Osdann, and the lost Silver Sword Of The Moon. Many of the magical places of Tir Nan Og can be found in the territory of the Fir Domain including the haunted wood of Broceliande, Silbury Hill (a massive repository for Earth Power), and several features of the land of Belerion which lies around Glastonbury, along with a zodiacal temple built by the Titans in times past. The section includes game information on stats for King Osdann, and stats for the Unicorn.

The Tribe Of The Shadows, also known as The Falians, occupy territories that will become Wales and southern Ireland. They are a tribe of rangers, warriors who favour ambush over outright attack, and sorcerers. Many paint their faces and weapons black to better hide in wait for their enemies. The Falians invaded a land previously held by an ancient race called Avancs, who they continue to war with. The section goes on to discuss the island city of Falias, its king, Sengann, and the artifact the Stone of Destiny which the mad Sengann seeks. A type of undead, the Dearg-dul are discussed, before the section covers some important places in the Falian lands such as metal mines, dragon farms, and the insidious illusory Glamour Land which lies around the Gower. There is game information on the laws of the Glamour Land, two new shape-shifting spells, stats for the undead Dearg-dul, the Stone of Destiny, and the ancient Avancs.

A short chapter is reserved for Dinas Emrys and the Cambrian Mountains. The fortress of Dinas Emrys lies atop Mount Snowdon and is the home to the Ever-Living Ones, the most powerful group of druids and sorcerers in Tir Nan Og. Time travel is possible in Dinas Emrys, though the details are not to be revealed until a further sourcebook is forthcoming. The group in Dinas Emrys is headed by Merlin, along with his personal guard, Brotor, and a group of tusked humanoids who dress in bird skins and feathers. A nearby mountain, Cader Idris, is also briefly discussed. There is game information for finding Dinas Emrys (which can only be done using Divination) and stats for the tusked humanoids known as Rmoahals and their bird-winged headdresses that allow them to fly. There is also a new type of fey, the Carn Teg, guardians of mountains, and two new spells - Rockfall, and Nature's Voice.

The Gaesatae are an elite mercenary organisation that fight naked, are fervent worshippers of The Goddess, and never show any fear. They are detailed here as a prestige class who specialise in the spear, and have the ability to cast a dying curse.

The Lands of the Drune Lords, what will become known as France, are then covered. The chapter covers the following areas:
* A brief overview of the four tribes of the Drune Lords - Carnu, Nemenites, Paressi, and Dree.
* A fairly detailed exploration of the area of Carnac, the focus for the Drune Lords gathering of power. It covers the Carnac menhirs and their power, the trinity of evil druids who plan the massive project, the academy that trains the Skull Swords - Drune Lord soldiers, and the population and festivals in the area.
* The sacred grove of Drunemeton and the corrupted forest of Dardun. Eight fortresses guard the sacred grove; there is a nearby village - both these aspects are discussed.
* The Cave of Beasts, the main stronghold of one of the evil Slough Druids, Lord Weird Slough Feg. The cave can only be reached by traversing a haunted labyrinth and avoiding the huge Time Worm guardians.
* The large city of Gabala, built on a three-tiered hill, with details of the dangerous inhabitants of the tiered 'circles' of the hill, the temple to Crom Cruach, and a couple of dodgy taverns.
* A prison set in an old broch.
* The town of Lucotetia, set on a river island, is a stage for spooky dark winding streets, stilted houses and mad architecture. The populace are paranoid in the extreme.
* A brief overview of the Drune Sourlands, subject to previous draining of Earth Power.
There is game information on the drune tribe fighting styles, stats for the druidic trinity of Carnac, modifiers when travelling through the corrupted forest of Dardun and stats for the poisonous Sleep Thorns, environmental hazards in the Cave of Beasts' labyrinth, an incorporeal undead animal known as Hunt Spectres, stats for the Lord Weird Slough Feg, and stats for the Time Worm (and a table showing it in different stages of it's rapid growth cycle).

The Borderlands lie between the Drunes and the four tribes of the Tuatha De Danann. This chapter covers:
* The land of the Titans - the degenerate giant race lives in a land of blizzards, volcanoes, heavy rainfall, fog-laden fens, and ruined cities.
* The architecture of the ancient ruined Titan cities.
* The magic of the ancient Titans.
* The barbarous tribe of the Fir Bolg who build their walls from human bones, use undead to patrol their borders, tie prisoners together to build giant living statues for the crows to feed on, and worship the evil Crom Cruach.
* Details of the Fir Bolg's main town and their worship of Crom Cruach, and Carnun, Lord of Beasts.
* The volcanic land of Lyonesse, with Basalt mountains, and a huge volcano known as Mor-Alltach. Other features of Lyonesse are a group of petrified Titans, vast pine forests, craggy coastline cliffs, and a small sanctuary for the increasing anti-Drune priests and tribespeople from the southern lands.
* The Sourlands, a vast area drained by sorcery, filled with dust, salt flats, and corrupted swampland and forests.
Game information in this section includes the race of half-titans, with rules on playing +4 equivalent-level half-titans as PCs, a magical dog - the Cusith, skilled smiths known as Titan Dwarves (again with rules for playing these as PCs), small fey known as Coblynau, the ancient Titan 'Crumble Walls' spell, a Titan pit trap, rules for playing Fir Bolg including a new tribal fighting style, a new Prestige Class - the Shelgeyr (Fir Bolg shamans), the effects of the Mor-Alltach volcano's blast, stats for the leader of the village of Gavra in the Sourlands, and three new Sourland monsters - the Horned Hag, Mud Snapper, and Serpent Demon.

Midgard is the home of the Norse tribes. The section covers:
* The people, weapons, architecture, food, Earth Power, and transportation (including skyblades) of Midgard.
* A more detailed map of the region.
* The Regions of Midgard - the Islands of Eversun in the far north, Drontheim (a great plateau), the forested plains of the Midlands inhabited by the pyromaniac Svear tribe, the lowlands of Vanaheim and its massive fortress of Fyrkat, the Dune Plains, Estlund and its fortified town of Aggarsborg, Gotlund - a land of snow and giant runestones, the Dry Sea Flats and the city of Kaupang, the Northern Coast, and the mountainous region of Jotenheim, which is still ocupied by titans.
There is also game information on trolls, several new Norse tribes and their fighting styles, a new weapon - bear claws, and a new feat - Pyromancer, allowing divination by fire.

The next section details a range of scenario hooks for the different tribal lands and regions, taking some of the most interesting snippets from the previous chapters and expanding them into adventure ideas in a paragraph or two, with two or more ideas for each area.

The final chapter gives some encounter lists and the book ends with an index.

Conclusion:
The major fault with this book lies with its presentation of information. Game information is spread in snippets throughout the book. Sidebars can contain both game stats and further non-statistical information about the land or people, whilst some game statistics are found un-highlighted in the main text. Yet the scenario hooks and encounter list are set in their own chapter, as is the Gaesatae prestige class.

Having said that, the book is a goldmine of information and adventure ideas (even outside the scenario hooks chapter) about Tir Nan Og, and a must-have for any GM running a Slaine campaign. Unlike the core book, this is not highly recommended for idea-plundering for other campaign settings (unless you're running a Celtic-style campaign setting). The book is at its most useful when designing adventures yourself for Tir Nan Og, and on this level the book is excellent in terms of breadth of area covered and is full to the brim with inspirational text supported by the game information.

My score reflects its intended use (as I see it) as a resource for adventure design and additional rules to explore for Slaine campaigns. I've given less weighting to its poor mix/presentation of stats and setting information - you'd have to be pretty familiar with the contents of the book to make in-game use smooth.