WHITE WOLF GAMES
WRITTEN BY WADE RACINE, MATT BURKE AND JD. WIKER
$15

With their new role-playing line, Vampire: the Dark Ages, White Wolf has saddled itself with a bit of a dilemma. They must present their World of Darkness line in a new and invigorating light, but they mustn't lose sight of the source material they've run before. The Book of Storyteller's Secrets, the first real supplement to the basic book, demonstrates both the way they have solved that dilemma, and the problems it continues to present.

The Book of Storyteller's Secrets is an odd, quirky little manual designed to help Storytellers with a Vampire: The Dark Ages chronicle. A fairly slender volume at 96 pages, it attempts to cover a lot of ground in a very short time, jumping from one topic to the next quite quickly. As such, it's a very hit and miss qiffair; the stuff that hits, though, really hits dead on.

The opening section details Europe circa 1197, and is one of the strongest portions of the book. A pocket field guide to the world of Vampire: The Dark Ages, it briefly discusses every country on the continent. Historical background and contemporary leaders are dealt with concisely and informatively, letting those unfamiliar with the time period quickly grasp the nuances of. A "Local Cainites" addendum to each country fills the reader in on the undead side of things, describing dominant clans and lower players from England to the Black Sea. Each country takes up about three paragraphs; enough to get an overview, but not enough to get bogged down in descriptions.

Also useful is a section devoted to the lifestyles of the Middle Ages and ways to convey them during a role-playing session. As the writers are quick to point out, Vampire: The Dark Ages is not Dungeons and Dragons and treating a chronicle as high fantasy with fangs is a good way to get into trouble. The lifestyles sections discusses clothing, foodstuffs, and class differences in much the same way, presenting useful atmospheric information without sounding like a history report.

But the text fares less well in other areas not exactly bad, just problematic. The "Storytelling for the Dark Ages" section, for example, demonstrates the difficult balance beam this series walks. It seems to serve simply as a peptalk/instruction book for novice GMs, giving them advice on how and what to do in order to run a successful campaign. It's useful stuff, but White Wolf has run similar material countless times before. Do you reprint something like that, knowing that new storytellers will want coaching? Or do you omit it, and spare veteran players a warmed-over rehash of previous products? The decision to fill ten pages with such information is questionable, and for older players can be quite frustrating.

Other sections, as well, have a similar "recycled" feel, and the filler seems to take away space for the better and more developed material. The entire text moves very quickly from subject to subject, giving it a rushed feelings at points.

Despite that, though, there are bursts of brilliance throughout the work, and even the weaker sections have their moments. You like magic items? How do two dozen severed heads predicting the future grab you? Tid-bits like that add spice and color to the text, turning what could otherwise be dull fluff-pieces into engaging and legitimate contributions to the World of Darkness. When combined with the stronger sections, they raise the product's overall quality considerably.

Vampire: The Dark Ages must inevitably depend a bit on its twentieth century predessesor, and The Book of Storyteller's Secrets reflects that dependence. Good but not great, it demonstrates the challenge of the Dark Ages line and the difficulties that line must inevitably overcome. White Wolf has taken a great chance by revamping its flagship product the way it has, and for all its flaws, The Book of Storyteller's Secrets is an admirable start along that rocky road.