A SCENARIO FOR CHANGELING: THE DREAMING
WHITE WOLF GAME STUDIO
$15.OO

Immortal Eyes: The Toybox is the first supplement released for White Wolfs Changeling role playing game. Toybox is touted as the first in a trilogy of linked products. This ambitious project will provide both Source material and a complete chronicle with each release.

The game material is also linked to a trilogy of fantasy novels also released by White Wolf. While reading the books isn't "required" to use the game material, it is encouraged for a full understanding of the background. Whether this is an innovative approach to gaming or simply a clever marketing strategy will be left to others to decide.

As a sourcebook, Toybox details the "Kingdom of Pacifica" within the larger continent of "Concordia." In mortal terms, this covers San Francisco and the Bay Area, including Marin County, Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley, the East Bay, Berkeley, Oakland, the Inland Valleys, San Jose, the Peninsula, and San Francisco itself.

This is a wide stretch of territory, but the book adequately describes the basic features of these areas. San Francisco in particular is described in detail, including an overview of its history, both mortal and fae. Separate attention is given to changeling "freeholds" (powerful enchanted areas hidden away from normal mortals).

Just as importantly, Toybox details a number of significant NPCs within the region, including 18 nobles and 9 commoners. These characters are described in good detail, and provided with enough depth to make them interesting and easily playable. Their interactions form the social fabric of the setting, and are composed of a variety of intrigues, alliances, and rivalries.

The sourcebook aspect of Toybox is excellent, providing a rich atmosphere for a wide variety of games. Considering the large Population of changelings in the Kingdom of Pacifica, there is enough room for the Storyteller to elaborate and create other NPCs as required. Indeed, my only complaint is that they could have included more characters, in particular commoners. Since the majority of changelings are commoners, the Sourcebook is unbalanced, with Sidhe outnumbering every other type of Kithain by a factor of 6-to-1 It would have been nice if significant members of each type of changeling had been detailed (as per most Vampire Sourcebooks, for example). Nonetheless, there is enough here to keep Storytellers and players busy for quite some time.

Unfortunately, the chronicle is much less impressive. Despite taking up 50 pages, the three, chapter story isn't particularly detailed, well plotted, or imaginative. The story relies too heavily upon combat, which is disappointing for a game like Changeling which could easily focus on more interesting activities.

More troublesome, the chronicle makes many references to the novel (Toys Will Be Toys) but does not elaborate upon them. Without having read the book, these references are worse than useless, becoming distracting and confusing. Thus, despite claims of being a complete chronicle, the story seems more a brief introduction.

Despite the disappointing chronicle, Toybox is worth its price as a sourcebook for the Bay Area. Particularly skilled or energetic Storytellers may be able to salvage the chronicle and use it to create something more interesting. Otherwise, it might be best to wait until the second of the Immortal Eyes is Published, hopefully with a better

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