A while back I mentioned a PDF house called Silven Publishing in connection to a review of a cute little evocation spellbook entitled 50 New Ways to Blow Things Up. According to the review eight buck buys you 50 cute evocations spells for your wizard or sorcerer types to unleash on the DM's pets. I haven't bought a copy yet because my cutoff for impulse purchase elctrons is around five bucks. Maybe if I was playing an arcane caster in a campaign with a cooperative GM I'd be more inclined to spend the dough.
Anyway, later this month these Silven people plan to release a new product called Secret Societies. Its a d20 book with prestige classes and an overview of how secret societies work, but it also contains detailed information on 6 real-world cryptic organizations: the Thule Society, Aum Shinrikyo, the Mossad, the Assassins, the Knights Templar, and the Freemasons! Cover price for this book is twelve bucks, with a dollar off for pre-orders. I must say I'm tempted to get this just to see what author Landon Winkler has to say about the Lodge.
This winkler fellow, where did you say he lives? Wife and children?
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, though, I don't see why you'd be very interested. If winkler isn't on the level and square himself, whatever he presents will be nonsense. If he is, you already know the drill already, plus he won't be able to publish certain things.
Everytime Masons have been used in game books its been a disaster; consider Deadlands, where they made Freemasonry into satanistic conspirators out to conquer the world, and turned Albert Pike into a cartoon supervillain.
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Hmmm. My earlier response to your comment seems to have evaporated.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I fully expect a trainwreck. That's how these things go. But some trainwrecks are more interesting than others.
I didn't realize Deadlands cast the Craft as cartoony villains. That's annoying. I guess George Washington was a Satanist in the Deadlands universe.
But, hey. Maybe this guy's a Brother and the Lodge will be handled tastefully. It could happen.
Freemasons were not especially mistreated by Castle Falkenstein, as I recall, but I wouldn't call them a major element of the setting, either.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the relevant Falkenstein material. Seeing a letter 'M' in a square & compasses left me with the distinct impression that it wouldn't be worth my time.
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