The (alleged) History of the Kings of Britain - a review.

The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Every people need a heroic origin story. It isn't enough to say "well, some migrating tribe thought this was a nice place and settled here." No, you have to have links to past legends, heroic founders, and epic tales of greatness.

Even if you have to make them all up.

This is exactly what Geoffrey of Monmouth does here, linking the ancient Britons to survivors of Troy who were enslaved in Greece until they are freed by a great hero, who gets the usual advice from oracles and epic battles before reaching the perfect island of Great Britain. It's ridiculous, but fun.

What follows is a mixture of myth and oral histories, as we get long lists of British kings and their wars. Geoffrey's confusion of dates shows several times, like when he has Emperor Leo I ruling from Rome and has Roman legions marching from Rome in the 6th century. Admittedly, he does employ a unique method of dating events; he equates them to the events in the Bible.

What is really interesting is that this book is where the Arthur myth gets started. We see Merlin earlier, giving prophecies, but Arthur, and his sword Caliburn, uniting basically all of Western Europe and Scandanavia into one mighty army. What's missing is all the things added by French authors, the round table, the grail quest, and all the mystical elements. It's interesting seeing Arthur portrayed as an Alexander-like warrior-king.

As a history, this is not a reliable source. As an epic story of a people, from their heights to their humiliation, it's a lot of fun. Anyone interested in how the Medieval world viewed their own history should read this.



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"Weapons & Equipment" for Runequest, my review.

RuneQuest: Weapons & Equipment by Richard August

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book is titled "Weapons & Equipment" because "Complete Guide To Bronze Age Economies, Trade, Managing Your Lands, Hiring Everything From Porters and Guides to Sorcerors, and oh yeah, all the Equipment and Weapon Details You'll Ever Need" would take up too much space on the cover.

Seriously, this slim tome contains so much more than just equipment that, honestly, the gear lists and weapons and armor tables feel like an afterthought. We start with a primer on how markets work, and your chances of finding what you need in one. Tolls, selling treasure, Masterwork items, and what they are worth. That's chapter one. Then we get into Gloranthan metals pottery, weaving, and what people use as fuel for their fires.

Now we get into things, starting with common goods that pretty much everyone will own. There's a chapter on Beasts, how to buy them how they are useful, and gear for riding or hitching carts. An entire chapter on hirelings and services, including a frank discussion of slavery in Glorantha. Weapons and armor get their due, and what I like about this is that while the game characteristics don't change much, the story aspects change. For example, an initiate of Waha the Butcher would probably carry a Flensing Knife, since he needs to break down animal carcasses for food and hides. That knife is just as sharp and deadly as a war dagger, but in the terms of the character's story, that knife makes more sense. The same goes for armor choices.

After that, we get expanded travel rules, which of course include buying your own means of transport, and rules for dwellings, with a great bit about what happens when your clan or temple grants you a few hides of land for being so awesome. Then an expanded chapter on training rules, and finally some fun enchanted objects and rules from the prized magic crystals, which are literally the blood of dead gods.

This is the kind of book that sits on the game table for easy reference. It's also filled with hooks for the clever gamemaster. Just reading the rules on developing hides of land had me plotting ways to make it both a blessing and curse for the player who is now a minor noble in his clan.

"Weapons & Equipment" belongs in every Runequest library.



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