This is the fourth book in Green Ronin's Mythic Vistas line. It details the middle ages for use in d20, with a focus on England and north-western France in the years following the death of William the Conquerer. This book claims to present the middle ages in a more realistic sense than is found in the typical RPG book, a goal in which it succeeds somewhat, although in doing so it opens itself up to some criticisms that would not otherwise apply.
This is a 126-page black and white softcover. As with other Green Ronin books, the editing is near-flawless, and the rules mastery is impressive. There are six chapters.
Chapter 1 is an overview of the setting, discussing the roles of religion, race and sex, and giving some guidance on using the book and using the setting. This is short; it runs to only 4 pages.
Chapter 2 deals with magic in the middle ages. This takes the form of astrology, theurgy, necromancy, and folk charms. The emphasis is on more subtle forms of magic. The existing magic-using classes are considered inappropriate, and are replaced with less flashy variants. In terms of balance, these appear to hit the right level; although less magically potent than the wizard, they usually have more spells per day (with limitations), or better access to skills. This material is well done, but it's a bit dry. This chapter runs to 29 pages.
Chapter 3 repeats the process for religion, with the emphasis squarely on Christianity. Indeed, Islam and Judiasm (the other relevant religions of the day) are barely mentioned, and the classes here aren't suitable for use in modelling followers of those faiths. The chapter presents some new classes, to supplement the Cleric and Paladin (the Druid is removed in this setting), and then has a whole new type of feat: the Charism. These are feats granted to the especially holy, representing drect gifts from God. This material is all well handled, and seems balanced. As before, though, it's rather dry, although less so than the previous chapter. This chapter is 28 pages long.
Chapter 4 deals with the world of the artist, the philosopher and the politician. It describes some new classes (that are best suited for use as NPCs, or in a distinctly unusual campaign), and rules for the creation of books, artworks, and so forth. There is a social combat/debating system that is similar to the combat system, for use in the non-standard campaign I've just mentioned. The chapter concludes with a discussion of campaign options using this material. The entire chapter is well done, but probably of limited utility in most cases. The chapter is 30 pages long.
Chapter 5 presents the history of the setting, from 1066 to the ascention of Henry Plantagenet to the English throne. The emphasis is definately on England and Normandy. The chapter also presents some key characters. All in 14 pages, which is probably enough.
Finally, chapter 6 is 14 pages about life in the middle ages. This also includes some key characters of the setting, focussing on thinkers and philosophers rather than kings and bishops.
The book concludes with a summary sheet of the feats presented herein and an index.
For the most part, the material here is fine. However, I have three key complaints. The first is that this is a very dry read. This is probably due to over-familiarity; this has been done before, and better, in Vampire: Dark Ages.
Secondly, this book runs into a problem with religion. There is an underlying stance that Christianity is the correct religion, for the most part. This is a fair enough assumption upon which to build a setting, and is appropriate given the focus of the book. However, it is not carried through. The book states that the Crusades feature clerics and paladins on both sides. If Christiantity is right, though, this can't be the case. Basically, they haven't followed through on the tenets of the setting.
I should note here that I don't object to the notion of there being Islamic paladins and clerics in the crusades. The explanation used by Vampire, that it is the faith of the individual that grants the powers, would be the ideal solution. It would also allow for there to be clerics and other priests of all alignments, which would definately be a good thing. However, having stated that Christianity is right, it should have been carried through.
Thirdly, the book goes to pains, in at least two places, to present the setting in such a manner as to be accomodating to female characters. One character "could be portrayed as a proto-feminist", despite the fact that this is not consistent with history. Another example goes to pains to show that the female thinker is clearly superior to her male counterpart, despite the fact that her own notions are as nonsensical as his.
The simple truth is that the middle ages did not include many women in prominent positions. This can be demonstrated quite simply - for every such woman who can be named, you can probably name half a dozen equally prominent men. If you're going to present the setting in a 'realistic' sense, you simply have to acknowledge this. Hell, it's not even as if there's a big problem - adventurers are inherently a special breed, so there's absolutely no reason why you can't simply assume that women are equally populous within this breed.
One more, minor, point popped up when I was reading this book. I couldn't help thinking that perhaps d20 Modern might be a better system for this sort of game than D&D itself. True, you would need to add new equipment lists, and remove the firearm rules, but that's hardly a problem. d20 Modern also involves the supernatural in a much less prominent position than D&D, which would seem appropriate here.
Unfortunately, I can't recommend this book. I think the setting is better handled elsewhere. I think the setting can be better modelled with d20 Modern, and I have a few specific issues with the setting as presented here. Finally, it's rather dry. Unfortunately, this is also the third book in this series that's less good than its predecessor. Testament was great. Skull & Bones was also great, although not quite as good. Mindshadows wasn't anywhere near as good as either of the others, and this book is less good still. I just hope the next one (which deals with a werewolf-ruled kingdom) is better.
Not recommended.
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