Friday Fantasy: The Sorcerer’s Enclave

Far to the north stands the island of Ormil. At the heart of the island is the Great Lake. In the centre of the Great Lake is Olla’s Island. Standing on Olla’s Island is the Sorcerer’s Enclave. This is the last high point of civilisation in the north and no man should have reason to go beyond. This is a bastion for the study of magic and it can only be reached by the Dragon Ferry. A village, warded against those who would wish the Sorcerer’s Enclave ill, stands at the foot of the sorcerous sanctuary, but it is a mere steppingstone to the enchanted enclave that looms over it. Inside the Sorcerer’s Enclave, numerous schools of magic are studied and practised, some even simply recorded lest the knowledge be lost and need to be rediscovered in later generations. Druidic magic is one such school, part religion, part sorcery, which combines magics from across numerous later schools. The Druid’s way is practised outside, like the study of natural magics—practitioners insist the schools are very different, whilst inside, all wizards and wizards have the opportunity to learn how to use their magics offensively and defensively in the Duelling Pit, where that rarest of sights is seen—a Battle Magic wizard or witch in actual armour! Deep in the bowels of the Sorcerer’s Enclave is the Golem Manufactory where raw heartstones are infused with magic and inscribed with runes to dictate the behaviour of Golems they are placed deep within. Elsewhere alchemical arts are studied in their own laboratories, portents and omens are tracked across the sky from the observatory atop the Sorcerer’s Enclave, whilst mystic signs and alignments are tracked immediately below using a giant orrery.

The wizards and witches of the Sorcerer’s Enclave are even whispered to practise demonology, for how else can they explain the behorned, sometimes bewinged sprites that serve as their servants and assistants? All of these Minions wear hooded caps with bells on the end to prevent their presence from never being heard. After all, who wants demonic minions sneaking about a wizards’ school? Winged Minions work in The Arcanum or Great Library or the Sorcerer’s Enclave guard, members of which are recognised by their height of four foot or more, their bronze masks, and their hooked polearms. The members of Sorcerer’s Enclave are also served by Familiars as is traditional in many other schools, but here the Familiar is not duty bound to bond with a master or mistress. Instead, the Familiar Whisperer—a position of honour amongst the Minions—trains Familiars to accept that bond. This is the setting for The Sorcerer’s Enclave.

The Sorcerer’s Enclave is not a roleplaying book in the traditional sense. Published by SquareHex—best known for The Black Hack—The Sorcerer’s Enclave is more artbook than sourcebook, describing and depicting the rooms and locations of a great magical redoubt, hidden away from curious eyes and from accidentally unleashing some disastrous dweomercraft upon civilisation! The Sorcerer’s Enclave begins with a map of ‘The World as it is known’, showing the islands and their relationship. This is, unfortunately, too small to pick up on any detail on the page, but The Sorcerer’s Enclave is accompanied by a small poster map that shows the geography to far better effect. Our journey literally begins aboard the Dragon Ferry, crewed by Minions—many at the oars—with its dragon wing keel and rudder, and dragon head prow. This, like the whole of the Sorcerer’s Enclave, is shown in cross section with the Minions working and resting and there being actually little room for passengers.

Once ashore on Olla’s Island, the tour of the Sorcerer’s Enclave takes us roundabout and inside the enchanted establishment. Each location or section of the Sorcerer’s Enclave is given a two-page spread which showcases the room or facility itself as well as highlighting its location within the building as a cutaway on a silhouette of the Sorcerer’s Enclave. There are lovely little details such as a snoring wizard asleep in his chair, his feet resting on a Minion who is working on some notes and of the wooden tower atop a tree alongside the towers of the Sorcerer’s Enclave which is home to study of the Natural Arts. There is also a sense of story to The Sorcerer’s Enclave, one that becomes apparent as the reader turns its pages and progresses through the book and moves from the left to the right of the Sorcerer’s Enclave and its towers. Thus, the reader goes from the Dragon Ferry and the Dragon Jetty from the Druid’s Way and its menhir through the laboratories of the Alchemical Arts, the Great Library, the storehouse of the Masters of Secrets, and perhaps out beyond via the Portal Chamber. As the guide moves rightward, danger looms and so do the darkest secrets of the Sorcerer’s Enclave. First, there is the Thing Below, a betentacled creature lurking in a cleft in Olla’s Island, altered like many other fish and beasts of the lake by magic and alchemical spills, and then the tower that is home to the enclave’s lone necromancer, whose studies concern at least two of its Grand Magi and are revealed to the reader…

The Sorcerer’s Enclave is written and drawn by Aaron Howdle whose lovingly detailed pen and ink artwork is clearly influenced by the style of artwork being used by Games Workshop and Citadel Miniatures in the nineteen eighties such as the late Russ Nicholson and Ian Miller. Even the appearance of the Sorcerer’s Enclave as a silhouette echoes the castle logo of Citadel Miniatures. This is all confirmed by the artist’s biography at the end of the book, which actually contains more text than the rest of the book. Physically, The Sorcerer’s Enclave is lovely, the artwork is a delight, worth poring over for its exquisitely detailed locations and characters.

In game terms, there is almost nothing in The Sorcerer’s Enclave that is actually game-related. There are no stats or similar details. This means that whilst it is not immediately useful for a roleplaying game setting or rules set, the Game Master is entirely free to apply the numbers and mechanics that she wants to the setting to use it in her game world. One obvious direction of development for this, like the direction of the book’s exploration of the Sorcerer’s Enclave, would be to bring the threat of the establishment’s lone Necromancer and his plans into play. Others might be to use as a location and world to visit via the Portal Chamber or from somewhere within its own world, or to use it as a place of study for a wizard or witch-focused campaign. Of course, as a magical institute, the Sorcerer’s Enclave holds numerous tomes, potions, and other secret artefacts, all of which would interest the Player Characters.

The Sorcerer’s Enclave is simply a lovely book to own, a delightful and detailed homage to British fantasy artwork of the eighties that fans of Games Workshop and Citadel Miniatures will appreciate. As a gaming resource, The Sorcerer’s Enclave, very much awaits the input and development of the Game Master, but is especially suited to the Old School Renaissance.