Out of the Sands, into the Fire...

Tales from the Sands is a supplement for Hellfrost: Land of Fire, the Arabian Nights style campaign setting published by Triple Ace Games for use with Savage Worlds. It collects four scenarios written for slightly experienced player characters that have previously been available only as a PDF titles. Written by the designer of the Hellfrost and Hellfrost: Land of Fire, Paul ‘Wiggy’ Wade-Williams, they see the heroes uncover a strange new cult, find evidence of an old one, go in search of legend, and stop the ‘Land of Fire from going up, well, in flames… 

In doing so, they draw from material previously presented in various supplements for Hellfrost: Land of Fire, including  Realm Guide #11: The Grazelands, Region Guide #11: Ertha’s Realm, and whilst they will be useful in running the scenarios in this anthology, they are not absolutely necessary. The GM will require Realm Guide #5: The Southern Ocean to effectively run the third adventure, ‘The Last Voyage of Sinbad’. The quartet requires characters of both Novice and Seasoned Ranks.

The collection opens with ‘The Golden Queen’, in which an all too curious scholar comes to the attention of a misguided priestess who has subverted a cult devoted to an aspect of Ashtart. Unfortunately, the scholar also happens to be the player characters’ employer and now her attentions are turned to them… Where this adventure shines is in the application of its theme—bees and honey—and its subversion of that theme. This leads to some delightfully horrific moments, such as the birth of giant bees a la Alien and facing the mellified dead, zombies preserved in honey. The adventure’s dungeon continues this theme, but feels somewhat linear as it forces the adventurers down certain paths. Nevertheless, the background to this scenario feels well-researched and the theme is well handled throughout—enough to give the heroes melissophobia.

In ‘Darkness at Darshab’, the heroes come upon a village that is slowly retreating into sullen wariness and distrust as a horrid cult subverts the inhabitants. Villages falling prey to a ghastly cult is a gaming cliche, although it can be well done, as in N1, Against the Cult of the Reptile God for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition. This adventure though comes with a set of reasonable hooks to get the heroes to the village and once there, presents an array of NPCs to interact with and acquire clues from. There are ways in which this scenario can go wrong during this investigative phase, but eventually the player characters will learn of the real threat behind the village’s malaise. This involves a descent into an underground lair that is not a dungeon in the classic worked stone style, but a system of rough, often wet caves. The scenario makes great play of the differences between the two and the challenges involved in delving into territory where your foe knows the terrain and the darkness far better than the heroes do. Thus ‘Darkness at Darshab’ is a scenario of two halves, both of which are really rather good.

The chance to meet one of the land’s greatest heroes, a figure out of legend, is what drives the heroes to undertake ‘The Last Voyage of Sindbad’. This is an island-hopping quest to open a portal and hopefully rescue the great sailor and adventurer. It is also an excuse to present four different mini-adventures on four different islands, each time facing different threats and challenges. They include stopping an island of Orc raiders and their masters; discovering that sometimes even true love can be too much; helping to lift a curse from a young lady who rejected the advances of a sinister suitor; and discovering an ancient, long forgotten ancient cult. Each of the little adventures is a relatively straightforward affair and can be played in any order. To make the scenario a little more interesting, the GM is given a set of optional encounters that can be used to add colour to the player characters’ voyages. The climax of the adventure is a little underwhelming, but each of the mini-adventures is decent. Maps of each of the islands would have been nice.

Lastly, as the lands seems to warm unpleasantly in ‘Reign of Fire’, the heroes find that weather seems to have turned against the land with clouds from which fall droplets of fire and that creatures of fire—long ago pushed back into the mountains and the hottest of plains—are once again abroad. Unfortunately the local ruler seems concerned with other things, such as a flying carpet race, but if the heroes enter the race and win, then perhaps they will gain his attention? ‘Reign of Fire’ harks back to the War of Copper Jars when the prophet Suleiman the Great overthrew the great Jinn and bound them in copper jars. Perhaps the great Jinn that once enslaved the now free peoples have escaped and plan to rule again? There are some fun moments in ‘Reign of Fire’, such as the flying carpet race and encounters with less inimical Jinn that will firmly put the heroes outside of their comfort zone. In some ways it does feel a little short though, as if it should be the climax of a great campaign, ending it does with a big ‘big boss’ fight in a set of underground volcanic caverns.

Physically, Tales from the Sands is, unfortunately, slightly disappointing. Although well written, the collection suffers from some really poor editing in places and the maps are a little dark to be presented in greyscale.

Unlike the various Realm Guides, none of the four scenarios in Hellfrost: Land of Fire – Tales from the Sands is available individually. Only in this collection. Nevertheless, which ones are worthy of the GM’s attention? Simply NF3, The Golden Queen and NF2, Darkness at Darshab stand out as the better half, but then SF1, The Last Voyage of Sindbad and SF2, Reign of Fire are far from terrible scenarios. If there is anything missing from the collection it is a guide to running them as a campaign, though again, ‘The Golden Queen’ and ‘Darkness at Darshab’ are probably easier to run after the other than the second pair of scenarios. Together though, Hellfrost: Land of Fire – Tales from the Sands is a solid quartet of scenarios for the Hellfrost: Land of Fire setting.

—oOo—

Triple Ace Games will be at UK Games Expo.

Hot, Dry Fantasy

Hellfrost: Land of Fire is a supplement for Hellfrost, the desperately wintery fantasy setting published by Triple Ace Games. Over the course of three core books—a Gazetteer, a Player’s Guide, and a Bestiary, as well as numerous PDF titles, Hellfrost describes the continent of Rassilon, divided in two by the Icewall, a gigantic, mile high wall of ice and cold that rose at the end of the Blizzard War. The peoples and nations of Rassilon are threatened by encroaching armies of coldfire-breathing Hellfrost dragons, frost giants, coldfire elementals, and orcs from north of the Icewall, by the ever falling temperatures, and by the growing belief that the gods have abandoned the peoples of Rassilon to the cold. Written for use with Pinnacle Entertainment Group’s popular Savage Worlds, the Hellfrost setting is a pre-apocalyptic, Northern European-inspired fantasy. In many ways, Hellfrost: Land of Fire is both very different to the setting of Hellfrost and its counterpart.

Technically, Hellfrost: Land of Fire is not a standalone book. Of course it requires Savage Worlds, but it is actually a geographical expansion for Hellfrost, so requires two other books—Hellfrost: Player’s Guide and Hellfrost: Bestiary. The need to access these two books is limited to various Edges and Hindrances as well as certain creatures that reside in cold North and the hot South. As one book though, Hellfrost: Land of Fire combines a Gazetteer, a Player’s Guide, and a Bestiary into one volume. As its title suggests, the element at the heart of its setting is fire rather than cold. Physically, this manifests in burning sands rather than freezing ice, and just as Rassilon faces falling temperatures, so do ‘The Lands of Heat’ or Al-Shirkuh. As Al-Shirkuh grows colder, the rains come less often, and the sands of the desert encroach upon the fertile ribbons along the continent’s coasts. Nevertheless, for the last five centuries, Al-Shirkuh has been free and prosperous, ever since Suleiman the Great overthrew the great Jinn and bound them in copper jars, and left the minor jinn to be commanded by Jinn mages. Suleiman was capable of great magics—magics that he believed did not come from the ‘gods’, but came from within and that anyone was capable of were they to live a good life. This belief spread quickly amongst the human slaves who fought to throw off the shackles of the Jinn. Yet since his death, the source of Suleiman’s magic has divided Al-Shirkuh. To the Devoted he is the greatest Mage who ever lived, who mastered all of the magical arts and stated that everyone was responsible for their own salvation. To the Faithful though, Suleiman is a prophet and a priest for all of the gods rather than none. This divide cuts through the politics and cultures of the peoples of the coast of Al-Shirkuh and colours the magics of the region.

The encroaching sands is not the only threat faced by Al-Shirkuh. The vast inner plains of sand and ash are still home to Jinn that continue to plot against their former slaves, fire giants launch raids from the Heart of Fire with impunity, whilst the remnants of two ancient rival empires have resurfaced and are determined to restore themselves to their former glories—the Ophidae or Naga empire of serpent people and the Hekatic Empire, a land of the undead ruled by necrotic Pharaohs! To the peoples of the coast, these and other places within the vast deserts are dangerous, but with their lost tombs and ancient, glittering cities, they are wondrous, full of magic and secrets ready to be won by those brave enough to seek them. That is of course if they can survive the dangers of travel across the desert. Danger and intrigue also lies on the coasts, including from assassins for hire, cults devoted to re-establishing the power of the Jinn, women plotting to overthrow the traditional order, and Wizirs—some mages, other not—aiming to overthrow their Sultan masters.

As with Hellfrost, the setting presented in Hellfrost: Land of Fire provides plenty of character options. In terms of Race, these include the Cakali, nomadic jackal men known for their sense of honour and their fearlessness; the hyena men or Hyaenidae, who scavenge the ruins in the desert and have a poor reputation due their greed and taunting yap; the Jinn Blooded, humans who are naturally capable of commanding Lesser Jinn and thus have an innate control of the elements; and Sand Goblins, also known as ‘Camel Goblins’, hunched creatures with wide feet who are capable surviving longer in the desert and walking across its sands with ease, who are known for being lazy and live as beggars, scavengers, and thieves. Lastly, Humans come in two cultural varieties, the city and coast dwelling Hadaree and the nomadic, desert dwelling Bedu. Both receive a free Edge or extra skill points.

In terms of character options, players have plenty to choose from. They can play Assassins, Beggars, Headsmen, Houri, Nomads, Pegasus Guards, Tomb Raiders, and more, most of which have related Edges. For example, the Headsman Edge grants the masked members of the Guild of Headsmen the right to conduct executions, including beheadings, using the Called Shot action; beggars can be Unfortunate Souls, members of a brotherhood who often seem to pass unnoticed and can rely upon each other; and Pegasus Guards are elite soldiers and messengers who bond with their pegasi mounts. This in addition to the range of Edges that fit the Arabian Nights genre of Hellfrost: Land of Fire, such as Storyteller, Desert Son, Mameluk Mercenary, and so on.

Our sample character is a highly persuasive assassin who uses her wiles and stories to beguile her intended victims. These are her weapons against them rather than straight out good looks and charisma. She is fascinated with history and folklore and takes pleasure their study as much as she does of her studying of her victims.

Husna bint Azhar – Hadaree Houri-Assassin
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigour d4
Skills: Fighting d8, Knowledge (Folklore) d8, Notice d4, Persuasion d8, Stealth d8, Streetwise d6
Charisma: +0
Glory: 0
Pace: 6” Parry: 6 Toughness: 4 Bennies: 3
Languages: Al-Waziran, Anari, Classical Anari, Holy Tongue
Hindrances: City Dweller, Code of Honour, Sea Fear
Edges: Diverse, Brotherhood of Assassins, Houri
Gear: Dagger (Str+d4)

Magic in the Land of Fire offers just as many options, though there is a deep divide between the Devoted and the Faithful. Beyond the cultural differences, only the Devoted study the arcane arts, whilst the Faithful worship the gods and receive miracles. Dervish Magic involves spinning and the longer a Dervish spins, the more effective his magic is, whilst Jinn Magic is not so much magic as commanding Lesser Jinn to control the elements—the Jinn Blooded are often adept at Jinn Magic. The art of Khem-Hekau is actually necromancy, whilst Sand Magic is the study and manipulation of the magical energy flowing through the deserts, essentially a sort of ‘desert druidism’. Ushabti magic involves the animation of inanimate objects which the caster must be able to touch the objects he is animating, including the temporary creation of flying carpets! Animate Object, a new spell, is regarded as a signature spell. Lastly Wizir Magic is divided into two types, although both draw from the connection that a Wizir has with a patron, such as a Sultan or rich merchant. Guardian Wizirs use magic to protect their patrons, whilst Counselors are advisers or spies.

That Hellfrost: Land of Fire is the counterpoint to Hellfrost is particularly self-evident in the range of options available to design the player characters. Essentially Cakali are the equivalent of Elves in Al-Shirkuh—more or less—whilst Sand Goblins are the equivalent of Rassilon’s Engros. In place of the Frostborn from the North, Al-Shirkuh has the Jinn-Blooded, and although it has elementalism in the form of Jinn Magic, fire is the favoured element rather than ice. Indeed, in the brazen heat of the southern deserts, the ice and cold magic of the Hrimwisards of the North is severely curtailed. Similarly, the Land of Fire has rules for its difficult environment—heat, ash, and fire, and of course, water and dehydration rather than the cold, ice, and snow. Other notable setting rules govern the types of arms and armour available. Notably, these state that the use of bronze is far more common for both, and armours worn tend to be lighter because of the heat. Surprisingly, silk is considered a type of armour since it slows arrows.

The bulk of Hellfrost: Land of Fire is devoted to a gazetteer. This covers everywhere from the coastal states such as the Caliphate of Al-Shirkuh and the Free Emirate States to the deep desert ruins of Hekata, the Realm of the Medusae, and the Jinn Lands of Old. Much of it is richly detailed, typically half a page or more per major location, but for all that detail, the supplement does feel underdeveloped in one or two ways. First, the effects of the climate change that is currently affecting the northern continent of Rassilon do not feel as desperate in Al-Shirkuh and this lack of desperation moves it away from the pre-apocalyptic feel of Hellfrost. This is not to say that a lighter tone is unwelcome—this is after all, a land of Arabian fantasy—but the lack of urgency in the threat overhanging Al-Shirkuh means that there is not the impetus playing out in Al-Shirkuh that there is in Rassilon. Second, this is not helped by the lack of advice for the GM or suggestions as what sort of campaigns could be run in this setting. After all, it could be argued that Hellfrost: Land of Fire is very much a standalone setting.

Hellfrost: Land of Fire is well presented and nicely illustrated. As a setting it can of course be presented as a counterpoint to the iciness of Hellfrost set in an Arabian Nights fantasy, but just as easily it could be played as an Arabian fantasy of its own. There is certainly enough supporting material—if not advice—to do either. Where Hellfrost: Land of Fire shines is in its character options, both in terms in what there is to play and what magic there is to cast; indeed, Hellfrost: Land of Fire provides wonderfully thematic characters to play and some thematically great magic to cast.

Cold, Grim Fantasy

The truth is that are more games released than I can ever review however much I try. This means that I miss games that I want to review as I never find the time to tackle them. One such game is Hellfrost, a setting published by Triple Ace Games which I had good reason to read this last fortnight or so. Written by Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams for use with Savage Worlds – the generic RPG rules from Pinnacle Entertainment Group that handles slightly pulpy, cinematic action – Hellfrost is yet another fantasy RPG setting, but one that is very different to other fantasy RPGs in a couple of important ways. First, whilst it is fantasy RPG that draws on European roots, those roots are not atypical fantasy, for setting can be best described as a pre-apocalyptic, Northern European set fantasy. Second, unlike other Savage Worlds settings, it comes as a typical fantasy RPG rather than a Savage Worlds book. In other worlds, it is not a single book with an included campaign like Triple Ace Games’ Sundered Skies or Pinnacle Entertainment Group’s 50 Fathoms, but rather a true setting in that it is described in three books – the Hellfrost Player’s Guide, the Hellfrost Bestiary, and the Hellfrost Gazetteer, with support in the form of scenarios and supplements sold separately. It is the first of these books, the Hellfrost Player’s Guide, which is reviewed here. As with previously reviewed titles from Triple Ace Games, I should point out that I have worked on several of their titles as an editor, though not specifically on Hellfrost itself.

The setting for Hellfrost is Rassilon, a continent that for centuries has been divided in two by the Ice barrier, a gigantic, mile high wall of ice and cold that rose at the end of the Blizzard War. North of the Icewall, an army of coldfire-breathing Hellfrost dragons, frost giants, coldfire elementals, and orcs swept away numerous, but now forgotten civilisations whose lands lie under deep under snow and glacial ice. As fire as an element diminishes, the newly appeared Coldfire grows in its place, being an element that burns as well as it freezes, such that it can be used to forge arms and armour, especially from the new “black ice.” South of the Icewall, some civilisations held out against the Hellfrost armies, but in the five centuries since, ice and snow has continued to encroach ever further south as the temperatures drop. The forests continue to freeze, coniferous trees replacing deciduous ones, Taiga Elves living amongst the former, whilst their cousins, the hearth elves, reside in the latter. Frost Dwarves now build their cities into the high glaciers as well as the rock of the high mountains, all the whilst mining for precious metals and gems as well as the “black ice” from which they can forge arms and armour. South of the Icewall, three human civilisations can be found – the city-dwelling Anari; the rural and clannish Saxa; the tribal and warlike Tuomi; and the nomadic Finnar. Travelling in great caravans throughout this region are the Engros, a diminutive and distrusted race that has the reputation of being thieves and beggars. Nevertheless, their indomitable spirit sees them withstand all of the jibes that come with such a reputation. Lastly, the Frostborn are a new race, born of other races, which has found a home in the encroaching cold and snow even as their recent appearance is seen as one more sign that the gods have abandoned the peoples of Rassilon to the cold.

All of these races – Engros, Frostborn, Frostdwarves, Hearth and Taiga Elves, and the Anari, the Saxa, the Tuomi, and the Finnar – are available to play. In terms of occupation, both the setting and the Hellfrost Player’s Guide offer numerous options. Elven Bladedancers and Engro Bludgeoners protect their respective races, whilst druids protect both races and also attempt to protect the wilds from the oncoming Ice Age. Elementalists are wizards that work to master the elements one-by-one. Heahwisards work their powerful magics through their staves, but would be lost without them. Hrimwisards, or “Hoar Frost Mages” draw directly from the cold to fuel their spells and the more cold it is, the more powerful their spells are. Meanwhile, the Frost Dwarves remain the last people to retain knowledge of Rune Magic, focusing their magic through carved runes. The tradition of magic, poetry, song, and stories is maintained by the Skalds, entertainers who are welcome in any stead or household.

Several knightly orders are known across Rassilon. Hearth Knights defend directly against the predations of the Hellfrost inhabitants and mostly work along the Icebarrier and beyond. The Order of the Knights Hrafn, or “Order of the Knights Raven,” is dedicated to military leadership and usually serves the nobility as advisors. In addition, protection is provided by various guilds, such as the Iron Guild, which hires out its mercenaries to protect merchants. The Roadwardens are an informal organisation dedicated to protecting travellers on the road, whilst the Elven Woodwardens protect the forests.

Lastly, the Lorekeepers are an informal organisation dedicated to finding lost knowledge and ensuring that it is never lost, whilst the Reliquary is more interested in locating, studying, and protecting magic items. The art of creating magic items is one that has been lost following the rise of the Hellfrost, but the Reliquary would rather ensure that the remaining relics never fell into the hands of the enemy than see it be used against the enemy. Both the Lorekeepers and the Reliquary consist of scholars and tomb-raiders.

Character creation more or less follows the standard pattern for Savage Worlds. Except that there are more options given in the Hellfrost Player’s Guide than in many other Savage Worlds settings, and because a character’s race is important in Hellfrost, a player’s choice of race uses up the Edge (or advantage) that all characters begin with prior to creation. This includes Humans as race, but rather than receiving further Edges and Hindrances as part of a racial package, they instead have a choice of more skills or an extra Edge. The two sample characters below are typical of the setting, a hated Hrimwisard or “Hoar Frost Mage” who searches the Winterlands and beyond for lost secrets, whilst the second is a stalwart Roadwarden, protecting Rassilon’s roads and travellers. Nevertheless, the Hellfrost Player’s Guide is ripe with character options and ideas, and it would be easy to fill this whole review with sample player characters. That would be extra hard work though, in part because the process does flipping back and forth to work out what works with what and what each of the setting’s new Edges requires.

Howell Frostfall – Frostborn Hrimwisard
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Climbing d4, Fighting d6, Hrimwisardry d8, Investigation d6, Knowledge (Arcana) d8, Knowledge (History) d4, Lockpicking d4, Notice d6
Charisma: –4
Glory: 0
Pace: 6” Parry: 5 Toughness: 5 (+1) Bennies: 3
Languages: Anari, Classical Anari, Frosttongue, Trader, Selari
Hindrances: Bad Eyes (Minor), Curious, Necromantic Weakness (Minor), Outsider
Edges: Arcane Background (Hrimwisardry), Lorekeeper
Spells – self only: Armor (icy skin), Environmental Protection (against cold only), Smite (icicles grow from hands or a held weapon), and speed (ice-shod feet) – all from Frigid Form
Spells: Burrow, Detect/Conceal
Notes: Frigid Form; Heat Lethargy (Lethargic at temperatures of 53° or higher. –1 to all trait rolls in such temperatures); Winter Soul (+2 to Vigor saves to resist the effects of cold weather, and +2 Armor to resist the effects of cold, coldfire, or ice attacks); Hrimwisardry (permanent environmental protection (cold) spell, but +4 damage from heat and fire attacks)
Gear: Leather Armor (+1), knife (Str+d4), warhammer (Str+d6, AP 1 vs. rigid armour)

Yrsa Skulisdohtor – Saxa Hearth Knight
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Climbing d4, Fighting d8, Guts d4, Persuasion d4, Riding d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d4, Survival d6, Tracking d6
Charisma: +2
Glory: 0
Pace: 6” Parry: 6 (+1) Toughness: 5 (+2) Bennies: 3
Languages: Saxa, Trader
Hindrances: Code of Honour, Magic Forbiddance
Edges: Attractive, Roadwarden, Snow Walker
Notes: Roadwarden (+2 to all Survival and Tracking; +2 to Notice rolls to detect ambushes, traps, concealed weapons, and such like)
Gear: Chainmail Hauberk (+2), Medium Shield (+1 Parry, +2 Armour against ranged attacks), Short Spear (Str+d6, Reach 1), Bow (12/24/48, 2d6), winter clothing

Magic, as has already been suggested by the character types earlier, comes in numerous forms in the Hellfrost setting. These are not the only forms of magic in Rassilon, for Alchemy is also studied, as is Hedge Magic and Herbalism. Both are natural magic rather than arcane or divine magic. Herbalism focuses on the creation of poultices and draughts to provide remedies to various maladies, but Hedge Magic draws on natural magic to replicate other forms. In game terms, this requires both the Hedge Magic Edge and a Professional Edge if a character wants to know more than Herbalism. The advantage of both Hedge Magic and Hrimwisardry is that neither is affected by the disturbing phenomenon known as The Siphoning which replaces Savage Worlds’ Backlash rules and which can occur any time that an arcane spell is cast. In game terms, any time that a one is rolled on the arcane skill die, The Siphoning occurs with effects ranging from the caster being simply Shaken – at best, or Fatigued and losing the use of his powers for a day, to at worst, being Wounded and losing his powers for days or even permanently losing part of his magical ability. The latter is represented by a reduction in type of die he rolls for his arcane skill. The effect of The Siphoning is to make casting spells anything other than an easy choice, even though all arcanists are free to cast as many spells as they would want. In game terms, the casting of spells in Hellfrost does not use the Power Points usually found in other Savage Worlds fantasy settings.

Whilst The Siphoning does not affect priests and divine magic, the gods of Rassilon are all the more difficult to contact and they dislike those who abuse their power or call upon it too often. Thus when casting Miracles, a cleric who rolls a 1 on his Faith die, regardless of the Wild die, is automatically Shaken. At worst, he can be Fatigued or even Wounded. Nevertheless, the gods are important and through faith and dedication, it is possible for priests and paladins to become disciple of any one of the twenty-four deities that are recognised – if not always worshipped by the peoples of Rassilon. Each of the gods is fully detailed, from the titles they known as and the aspects they have domain over to the signature Power and Powers granted. More importantly for paladins and priests, the description includes the sins that in committing would cause either to lose their Powers.

For example, Thrym is the god of winter who has risen to prominence as the gods of the fire and sun, Kenaz and Sigel, have disappeared. Also known as the Blizzard Roar or the White King, Thrym’s aspects are cold, ice, winter, blizzards, and icy realms; his symbol is the head of a Hellfrost Dragon’s head; any day that temperature falls below freezing is regarded as being one of his holy days; the duties of his priesthood – the Breath of Winter, and his paladins – the Talons of Winter are to expand the Hellfrost and to destroy servants of fire and heat (including those who worship Kenaz and Sigel, fire elementalists, and fire elementals); and sins against him include lighting a fire, deliberately warming oneself by a fire, eating cooked food more than once a week, slaying any creature with Resistance or Immunity to cold except in self-defence, living in the warmer Hearthlands for more than half a year without permission of a superior, slaying a Hellfrost dragon, and working against the Fimbulvintr. To his worshippers, Thyrm embodies the Hellfrost, and whilst neither a “good” or an “evil” deity, Thyrm is followed by evil races such as Orcs and Frost Giants, though Hrimwisards at least acknowledge him as the source of their spells.

In addition all player characters have a statistic new Savage Worlds – “Glory.” It is like Charisma, but represents a character’s reputation rather than his force of personality. Within the game it is rewarded for undertaking heroic deeds – in addition to Experience Points – and every twenty or so Glory a character gains Connections with certain organisations, greater Combat Prowess, and can even be “Immortalised in Song”! Skalds can tell stories of a character’s deeds and so increase his Glory. Of course, Glory can go down as well as up, and gain such an infamous reputation that he is a Wanted man or even gains an Enemy who wants him dead! Essentially, encourages positive play, though a player could still play a villain if he wanted to.

Although the Hellfrost Player’s Guide provides only general information about Rassilon’s topography – the actual geographical details are described in the Hellfrost Gazetter – it does give plenty of background information and the rules to support this information. This includes not just chapters on gear – from food to fortifications and vehicles to weapons, and daily life on Rassilon – everything from food and funerary customs to calendar and coinage; but also descriptions of many of the continent’s organisations, all of which the player characters could join (if they qualify) or interact with; all before rounding out the volume with a set of setting specific generic rules. These understandably cover the weather and its dangers in some detail as well as the dangers of travelling in cold environments.

Physically, the Hellfrost Player’s Guide is a nicely presented hardback. The book is heavily illustrated, but what there is, does capture the grimmer nature of the setting. In comparison to other Savage World settings, a complaint could be made that the volume is incomplete in that it requires more books and an adventure to play. This though, should not be held against the publisher, for the Hellfrost Player’s Guide is, as with other well-known fantasy RPGs, a book intended for both players and GMs. Further, beyond the Hellfrost Bestiary and Hellfrost Gazetteer, the Hellfrost setting is well supported by the publisher. If there is an issue with the Hellfrost Player’s Guide, it is a lack of map that would give some idea of Rassilon’s geography. That said, a map is available from Triple Ace Games which also gives the breakdown to which of the setting’s areas the various Region Guides describe. Another issue might be the setting’s extensive use of non-English for its terms, such as some of the titles taken by the characters – Hrimwisard or Skald, for example, and names of the gods and Rassilon’s calendar. To be honest, this is just another element that brings Rassilon to life and the book includes a pronunciation guide.

Although the Hellfrost Player’s Guide is not a setting book, it does much to bring the richness and detail of Rassilon to life. Obviously, this is primary through the myriad number of detailed character options available right through character progression, which are tightly tied into Rassilon’s various organisations and elemental adversities and not only give rise to interesting characters, but also interesting character motivations too. The richness also shows in the setting’s inspirations, the cultures of Northern rather than Western Europe, and the extensive use of their languages. Accompanying this richness is a grim and gritty feel, one that again shows in the setting and its encroaching apocalypse, in its character options, and to an extent in the rules for magic and the weather. Above all, the Hellfrost Player’s Guide brings the complexity and detail of Rassilon to life in preparation for the heroic exploits of the player characters.