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Gossamer Worlds: Empyrea (Diceless) $1.49
Average Rating:4.3 / 5
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Gossamer Worlds: Empyrea (Diceless)
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Gossamer Worlds: Empyrea (Diceless)
Publisher: Rite Publishing
by Mark K. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/29/2014 23:56:48

These world source books are a great little addition to the Lords of Gossamer and Shadow because they are short, descriptive and interesting. They make me want to read them and Matt Banach keeps me wanting more from every one of his little gems.

Empyrea is a Grecian styled world with a self styled all-powerful ruler. This ruler has seemingly been experimenting with the subjects of his domain by introducing nanotechnology genetic serums to make them become super-human. The serums are also likely to be reducing the ability for the normal people of the domain to be able to manipulate magical forces. Of course that does not stretch to the tyrants own children.

Of course I make it sound very sinister and it is not necessarily the state of things. The domain has many beautiful, powerful individuals and is surprisingly high tech though much of this technology is well hidden from view. The world is bright and beautiful and many impressive excesses can be experienced here.

The ruler of this world is not a Lord of Gossamer yet. He has only recently become aware of the existence of the Grand Stair and his first encounter with a Lord did not end well. So much so that the door into the world is kept secret and it can be quite a hostile place for people that are unknown. There is a great deal of technical and mystical surveillance on the populace and unknowns tend to be quickly identified and then they are closely watched.

I love this book for its connections to the idea of Olympus and some nice mythological additions that are built in both with sorcery and technology. The rules are basically invisible in this book with the standard domain table being included as the final portion of the book.

The material is very easy to read and the book will likely be devoured in under ten minutes. The details hide a lot of hooks for adventures and provides a good detail of the atmosphere of the world to include in the games that you run with a connection to this world. It is an interesting place to visit and a world that I had not really considered previously for my own game but who knows, it may well be a place my players will be visiting in the future. Get this book for your game, it is well worth it. 4 out of 5 bunches of cyber harpies!



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Gossamer Worlds: Empyrea (Diceless)
Publisher: Rite Publishing
by Thilo G. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 05/06/2014 02:49:49

An Endzeitgeist.com review

Infinite worlds lie on the Grand Stairs - here, we get Empyrea in the second installment of the Gossamer Worlds-series in a 9-page pdf, of which 1 page is the front cover, 1 page the editorial, leaving 7 pages - so what is this place all about?

If you're a comic-book-nerd, think New Genesis. If that doesn't ring any bells - think an idealistic, enlightened greco-roman-style planet of essentially superhumans - guided by a benevolent allfather who is only slowly coming to grips with the existence of the Grand Stair, the people of Empyrea essentially live in bliss and, via positive eugenics, can be indeed considered superb beings. If you're like me, this makes you shudder somewhat, though the ruler seems indeed to be a mostly benevolent influence. Overall, though, the otherwise very elysian society remains ignorant of the Grand Stairs...at least for now.

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any glitches. Layout adheres to Rite Publishing's purple-bordered two-column full-color standard and the thematically-fitting stock-art by Thomas Cole is great. The pdf comes with bookmarks, in spite of its brevity.

Matt Banach's in-character prose once again is glorious and Empyrea comes alive from the pages of this supplement - the writing is awesome and the world per se compelling and full of potential. That being said, the world as such feels slightly less unique than Brokeworld, has no per se unique characteristic regarding its influence on magic/characters. It makes for a great, compelling backdrop, but it feels a tad bit less original than Brokeworld. It makes for a great place to visit, but verdict-wise, this installment of gossamer worlds clocks in at 4 stars for me - a good supplement, but not 100% as unique as its predecessor.

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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