As you will have seen in my previous post, I was so pleased to hear that Fat Goblin Games has acquired a licence to produce more support for Castle Falkenstein (CF) .
They have just released two supplements, the first is:
From the jungles of Africa to the rooftops of London, animals are everywhere.
Curious Creatures is a bestiary offering over thirty new creatures for inclusion in your Adventure Entertainment. It has New and clarified rules for the use of creatures of all types; a new Magick lorebook and Rules on playing a True Unicorn, Beast Folk, or wild Child as a Dramatic Character.
My Review of the PDF version of this book.
This book is beautifully illustrated and the text, pictures and mix of fiction, ‘fact’ and rules in its content are nicely done in a style that is consistent with the original series of books.
The first part clarifies several issues with animals in the original rules and describes how abilities work for slightly differently for creatures. It adds new abilities for creatures and Dramatic Characters, along with rules for creating your own creatures.
The next part covers Intelligent animals (some suitable for playing as Dramatic Characters) and magickal familiars. We are introduced to Sphinxes and True Unicorns as allies & adversaries.
The story continues by detailing the kingdom of Kongo, Moreau’s beastmen and Dinosaurs, though you will have to design your own T-Rex. Following this is a bestiary of magickal creatures, each with an an adventure seed, and a section on common animals.
The book is finished with a list of Host Characters drawn from our history and fiction who exist in the Falkenstein world and a range of new roles for Dramatic Characters.
This book is a Great Addition to the Castle Falkenstein range. For the Host, the whole book is scattered with useful adventure seeds and improved, well explained rules additions. I really like the background for Sphinxes and will definitely be adding them to my campaign.
For players, it widens the range of species and careers available, as well as expanding the number of dire enemies and helpful allies they may find in creature form.
I certainly hope that Fat Goblin Games will continue to produce new material for the Great Game, especially when it is of this high standard.
The second is a short six-page supplement which gives an excellent alternative to using a standard deck of cards as the sorcery deck. At last I have the perfect excuse to use the pack of steampunk tarot cards I got for Christmas last year..
An Alternative Sorcery Deck for Castle Falkenstein
My Review:
I like this variation, it helps to make magick seem less mundane in the game.
As magick no longer uses an ordinary pack of cards, it is separated from making common actions in the game and so adds to the mystique of those who have ‘the Talent’. The way the 22 Major Arcana are dealt with to provide extra benefits or problems to the spell cast (or spell caster) fits well into the way I think of how Falkensteinian magick works, as a sort of struggle of willpower trying to exert control and form over a random natural flow of Thaumatic Energy. Plus, it adds about 10% more Thaumatic Energy to draw on in a region - What could possibly go wrong?
Both books are available direct from Fat Goblin Games (by using the links on the products above) or via DrivethruRPG.
You can keep up with the latest on CF-related Fat Goblin Games’ products via their Castle Falkenstein Blog.
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