[Review] Tuala Morn

[TheQuestionMan]

TUALA MORN

 

A LAND OF CELTIC WONDER

 

A land of wondrous adventure amid green hills and dark forests awaits you: Tuala Morn. It's a place of subtle Celtic magic and bold Celtic warriors, of capricious faerie-folk and wicked trolls, of clan-feuds and cattle-raids, of forest-gods and river-spirits. Ten years have passed since the death of High King Davaine left the realm leaderless, and land and people suffer for it - king fights with king for supremacy, the druidic faith of the Hundred Children vies with the priests of the Golden Temple for worshippers, and Vulkring raiders harry the coasts. There's work here for heroes... heroes like you.

All this and more you can find in Tuala Morn, which includes:

 

-complete information about the history, culture, and customs of the Tualans

 

-a thorough kingdom-by-kingdom review of people, places, things, and events to interest your heroes

 

-character creation guidelines, including a dozen Professional Package Deals for characters like Bards, Druids, and Wizards, and rules for the amazing Feats performed by spear-wielding Tualan warriors

 

-Tualan magic, with rules for learning, casting, and using over 100 spells in a unique system of magic

 

-the Tualan Bestiary, including character sheets for dozens of faeries and faerie creatures

 

-a Gamemastering chapter including secret information not available to the players, plot seeds, and much more

 

Raise high your spear and keep your wits about you... it's time for adventure in Tuala Morn!

 

 

Greetings Herophiles, I picked up Tuala Morn for Fantasy Hero.I picked it up at my FLAGS Thusday around 1217hrs at my local FLAGS and decided to give you a taste of this much anticipated book.

 

 

Art: (3 out of 5) - Front Cover I know that there were some problems, but the format really does not speak to new gamers or appeal to me (Mind you with Hero Games Products its the contents that make it worth while). The Interior Art is nice and suits the subject well. There we a few to many Armoured Warriors for my taste, but even they added to the Celtic feel. The Maps are excellent. My only complaint was there were not enough of them and there was no Poster Map (Hint hint.. I know not subtle, but it does help!).

 

 

Layout: (4 out of 5) - Andy did a great job on the Layout and Designs. I have a few pet peeves though. The Tualan Bestiary Section's Centuar (p. 256) is out of place and some of the Pictures could have been placed differently, but that is as much a matter of personal esthetics. The Chapter Layout still my favourite. Easy to use and reference. The Index could have been better and there were a few pages with very little one them. (Examples p. 6, 22, 112, 272, 280 all at Chapters end.) Also a lot of empty spaces. That I know Steve could have put some of the culled material into.)

 

 

Writing: (4.5 out of 5) - Wow, we knew Steve could write, but the story, history, timeline and background of Tuala Morn... ROCKS!!!

 

The Chronicles of the Tualans makes for great reading and also makes it difficult to decide what kind of campaign to run (DAMN you!).

 

Tualan Society and Culture is well thought out and orginized. I might have like more personal anecdotes from fictional characters, but overall was happy with what I saw.

 

The Realms of Tuala Morn is well written and laid out. I would have liked to have seen more NPC write ups, but overall nicely done. I think GMs will find it more useful than Players, but encourage them to read through it anyway.

 

Gods and Men really hits the nail on the head. I mean the conflict between two religions (Old Gods and Christianity???) is so well presented that I would have no trouble working it into a campaign (Any Campaign, I think this was the one serious thing missing from GURPS Religions).

 

Creating a Tualan Character is easy. Picking which one to play is hard. I know I could creat a lot of Generic NPCs from the Package Deals alone. The Abilities and Optional Abilites offered really add flavour and colour to the setting. (Nice one Steve). I wanna play a Fea-Blooded Knight of the Golden Temple .

 

Tualan Magic makes the GMs life easier and I must admit simpler. It creates Game Balance without being too constraining. It will need some play testing to see how much. The section on Miracles, Smithcrafting and Armour and Weapons is one not to be overlooked. Wanna know how a Spearman survives without armour. Look Here .

 

The Tualan Bestiary is awesome, fantastic, incredible, ... hmmm wrong genre but accurate all the same. Many of them Faerie could easily cause havok for Superheroes. Wise Characters will survive by using their wits and not their swords when dealing with the Kindly Ones .

 

Other Adversaries provides you the GM with instant genric NPCs to pit againt you Hero Bands (With a party of Bards they would be... A Band that is.)

 

Beyond Tualan Shores gives you a look outside the Blessed Isles. To a world dark and dangerous. A taste that may produce future supplements of Hero Plus Adventures. I would have liked more and I am sure Steve has some notes lying around somewhere, but there is more than enough adventure at home making it unnecessary to travel the water road.

 

Gamemastering Tualan Morn provides some good Meta Plots to use for you campaign or as fuel for a One Shot epic Adventure. Combined with The GM's Vault and Plot Seeds you will not run out of ideas let alone inspiration for a couple of years to come.

 

The Tualan Tounge Dictionary adds an element that I am going to Photo Copy as a Handout for my Players.

 

The Index definitely should have been bigger. As is the GM is going to do a lot of page turning and Marking Notes in the Back Cover.

 

Content: (4 out of 5) - Everything is useful and all of it easy to read and reference. The Chapter Page Markers through to the character creation guidelines. I real real loved the Fearie in the Bestiary.

 

Tuala Morn is not just a Campaign Setting for Fantasy Hero. Its a Style that Steve and Gang captured in the Introduction and does not let go until the Tualan Dictionary. I still belive that there should have been more Characters provided. Legendary Heroes, Heroes to Be, and etc...

 

 

Summary: (4.125 out of 5) - Tuala Morn is a well written and presented campaign setting. There will be things you liked and others you hate, but in the end you'll glad you have access to it on your gaming shelf. I hate the Exterior Cover, but the Interior Contents are Golden.

 

 

Make mine a Hero by Hero Games!

 

 

QM

 

 

P.S.: RPG Net Review Here

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/search-review.phtml

[ghost-angel]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

The Tualan Bestiary is awesome' date=' fantastic, incredible, ... hmmm wrong genre but accurate all the same.[/quote']

 

Nice review.

 

but, what exactly do you mean by "wrong genre"? As a setting that constantly references fairies and draws on parallels to ancient Celtic and surrounding cultures how could a beast section on fairies be the wrong genre?

[EvilDrPuma]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Nice review.

 

but, what exactly do you mean by "wrong genre"? As a setting that constantly references fairies and draws on parallels to ancient Celtic and surrounding cultures how could a beast section on fairies be the wrong genre?

 

I thought he was joking about his use of superlative adjectives. Marvel comic titles, y'know.

[EvilDrPuma]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

There will be things you liked and others you hate...

 

There's not much here that I hate. Things I'd tweak for the sake of the "feel" I'd like to create, sure, but that's just GM prerogative. Things I hate, not so much.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

There's not much here that I hate. Things I'd tweak for the sake of the "feel" I'd like to create' date=' sure, but that's just GM prerogative. Things I hate, not so much.[/quote']

Perhaps "Hate" is to strong a word. How about "Dislike"?

 

 

QM

[EvilDrPuma]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Perhaps "Hate" is to strong a word. How about "Dislike"?

 

 

Your mileage may vary. Nothing wrong with that!

[ghost-angel]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

I thought he was joking about his use of superlative adjectives. Marvel comic titles' date=' y'know.[/quote']

 

I didn't get that at all, oh well. I know very little about Marvel Comic titles, I don't read comic books.

[EvilDrPuma]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

I didn't get that at all' date=' oh well. I know very little about Marvel Comic titles, I don't read comic books.[/quote']

 

I haven't done so since about the turn of the Iron Age, and from what I hear, I got out in the nick of time.

 

Oh, and as for your sig line: "Hit it."

[Fitz]

Re: Tuala Morn Art

 

I've been making my way through TM since it arrived a few days ago, and generally I like it. Some parts I like a lot. But some of the art in the Bestiary -- the illustration of the Spriggan, for example -- is the worst I've seen lately, not only in Hero System stuff but in any professional RPG publication. Maybe I've just been spoiled lately, but amateurish stuff like that really makes me wince, and it makes me embarrassed to show the book to others.

 

On the other hand I really like the heavy blacks and moodiness in some of the other illustrations, like that of the Athac, so maybe it balances out.

 

I'm not really au fait with the realities of small-venture publishing, so maybe there are compelling reasons to get it out the door asap. If it had been my baby though, I'd rather have pushed back the release date to fix some of the art-related issues than pump out a "near enough is good enough" product.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Edited Review

 

Cheers

 

QM

[Markdoc]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

but' date=' what exactly do you mean by "wrong genre"? As a setting that constantly references fairies and draws on parallels to ancient Celtic and surrounding cultures how could a beast section on fairies be the wrong genre?[/quote']

 

I think it was the references to real-world countries/legends. It's explained at the beginning of the bestiary section, but in a sourcebook for a fantasy realm, it's still really grating. It gives the section the feeling of being cut and pasted from another book (which I assume it was). A brief sentence explaining the link to british myth at the beginning and an hour on editing out the real world comments would have time well spent, imo.

 

OTOH, I like the write-ups generally, and this doesn't make them any less usable - it's just an editing issue. As Fitz comments, Tuala Morn gives the impression of being hustled out the door to meet a deadline on several levels - which is a wee bit sad, because I like it (a lot!) flaws n' all. When my current game ends (at the pace we're going, about 2012 ) I might well adapt Tuala Morn for the next game.

 

cheers, Mark

[ghost-angel]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

I think it was the references to real-world countries/legends. It's explained at the beginning of the bestiary section' date=' but in a sourcebook for a fantasy realm, it's still really grating. It gives the section the feeling of being cut and pasted from another book (which I assume it was). A brief sentence explaining the link to british myth at the beginning and an hour on editing out the real world comments would have time well spent, imo. [/quote']

 

Ah, well it was supposed to be a whole different book "The Celtic Bestiary" which was canned and folded into Tuala Morn.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

I kind of liked the real world references. Makes it more usable in a real world game. Most of the beasties in MMM, for example, are from real world legend, but it would be impossible to place them in their proper real world setting without doing some research first.

[Susano]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

The Asian Bestiaries were written the other way around. I reference the real world all through them, and figure you can adapt that to your game as you need.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

The Asian Bestiaries were written the other way around. I reference the real world all through them' date=' and figure you can adapt that to your game as you need.[/quote']

 

The Asian Bestiaries also get a big plus in my book. No fears of populating your Philippine analog with Japanese monsters there.

[Curufea]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Ah - but Tuala is a setting, and the beastiary isn't.

 

Hmm, makes me wonder about creating a collaborative setting...

[Markdoc]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Ah - but Tuala is a setting' date=' and the beastiary isn't.[/quote']

 

And that's the point: as written they would have fit perfectly into "the celtic bestiary". However information on Cornwall leaves you no particular hint about where they fit in Tuala Morn.

 

Hmm' date=' makes me wonder about creating a collaborative setting...[/quote']

 

How so?

 

cheers, Mark

[Captain Obvious]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

However information on Cornwall leaves you no particular hint about where they fit in Tuala Morn.

 

That is a good point.

[BobGreenwade]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Quick note:

 

Love the setting, generally speaking.

 

Nobody's mentioned (at least in this thread) the new Geas Disadvantage, which I find quite brilliant.

[TheQuestionMan]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Sorry I was drunk when I wrote it.

[Susano]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Warrior Princess Mihrimah was created using Tuala Morn as a resource and inspiration.

 

http://surbrook.devermore.net/original/fantasy/mihrimah.html

 

I really liked a lot of the concepts given.

[ghost-angel]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

And that's the point: as written they would have fit perfectly into "the celtic bestiary". However information on Cornwall leaves you no particular hint about where they fit in Tuala Morn.

 

Each creature has a section called "Campaign Use" which provides notes on how to use a creature in Tuala Morn, or other campaigns if appropriate.

 

The intro paragraph notes that the real world information is left in so you can use the creatures in campaigns outside Tuala Morn - thus broadening the books appeal slightly.

 

Personally, I'd be very mad at Steve where he to give the Faerie Legends the Gygaxian Treatment and made crap up just to fit the setting. We're given full information to adapt as appropriate.

 

So, we aren't just left hanging with a bunch of legends, there is some info to use them in TM.

[Markdoc]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Personally, I'd be very mad at Steve where he to give the Faerie Legends the Gygaxian Treatment and made crap up just to fit the setting. We're given full information to adapt as appropriate

 

Heck, nobody wants that!

 

As I noted, it's not a big deal - the critters are perfectly usable as is: it simply adds to the feeling that the book was slapped together in a hurry and pushed out the door before it was properly done - a pity, because there's lots o' good stuff in there.

 

cheers, Mark

[Lord Liaden]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Sorry I was drunk when I wrote it.

 

How Gaelic of you.

[Lord Liaden]

Re: [Review] Tuala Morn

 

Beyond Tualan Shores gives you a look outside the Blessed Isles. To a world dark and dangerous. A taste that may produce future supplements of Hero Plus Adventures. I would have liked more and I am sure Steve has some notes lying around somewhere' date=' but there is more than enough adventure at home making it unnecessary to travel the water road.[/quote']

 

Steve Long has mentioned that he'll be using the realm of Logres as part of a playtest campaign to work out the kingdom-building rules that will appear in The Ultimate Base, and that some of the material arising from that campaign may see publication at some point.