Warlords of Atlantis

Warlords of Atlantis
By Paul Elliott
Zozer Games 2022

Available at:

Drivethrurpg:  https://www.drivethrurpg.com/

Lulu:  https://www.lulu.com/

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Warlords of Atlantis (WoA) is a supplement for the Barbaric! rpg, which is part of the Cepheus Quantum suite of games; hence WoA can be used with any of the Cepheus/Quantum games.

WoA is a digest-sized, 55-page document.  The version I have was printed from Lulu so I will be reviewing this version.  I did not purchase the pdf from DriveThru so if there are differences with the pdf, I apologize.

The book starts with a quick history of the Atlantean Age, which is around 10,000-12,000 BC in modern day reckoning.  From the first sentence of the first paragraph, vibes of Robert E. Howard are oozing from the text.  "Back beyond the known ages of Man, to the lost beginnings of civilisation, there was a time of war and conflict".  Tell me you can't imagine Mako narrating this!  Also, with this sentence we can learn that the author probably British.

The next two pages consist of maps, one of Atlantis, proper, and the other of Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa in the Atlantean Age - basically the Mediterranean region "Inner Sea".  Both maps are very usable and it was fun to see the differences that Mr. Elliott applied to this region compared to a map I drew years ago for a similar themed campaign.  His is better.

Before I forget, I should review the Barbaric! rules as well.  I really dig them.  Back to the review.

The next eight pages are a gazetteer of the various nations, city states, and colonies, each of which get between one sentence and one half-page of text.  Most of the write-ups have notes on landscape, leader, and maybe local gods.

Modifications to standard Barbaric! character generation comes next.  You are expected to pick an archetype, which gives the character a free trait.  It doesn't state this, but a player could just choose not to take an archetype and not get the free trait.  If I was running a farmer-to-hero type campaign, I would maybe start characters with no free traits.  The list of archetypes includes a couple which give access to new traits from this book, these are Knight (access to Leader trait) and Temple Warrior (access to Sacred Shield trait).  I'm fond of the Merchant Adventurer and it seems to be included for Sinbad the Sailor inspired campaigns.

The following seven pages are write-ups on the various cultures.  The cultures include:  Aquitanians (Spanish-French folks), Arimaspians (Egyptians, but a mix of local guys, the Sokars, and the Anukan, which are the dudes who colonized Atlantis), Atlanteans (they seem to be a mix of Babylonian types and whatever the Anukan are - perhaps pre-Aztecs?), Greeks (come on, you know who they are), Kythians (Celt-Germanic folks), Sokarians (Masai, or a similar tribe, maybe?), Thalangorians (animal-clan-Viking), and Voluscians (Italians who are being influenced by Greek culture and dress).

The next page is a list of weapons allowed (bronze age, plus long sword) and an optional combat rule regarding initiative (longer weapons are better than shorter weapons).

This is followed by a list of 16 sorcerous tomes.  For those who want to know, neither the Scrolls of Skelos nor the Necronomicon are listed.  A shorter magical mishap table immediately follows the list of tomes.  It is quite a bit shorter than the one in the Barbaric! rulebook but it gives the Referee more freedom I think.  There are no "you are followed by cockroaches" mishaps and more "terrible toll on your frail body" type mishaps.

There is a short list of demons (seven of them) and how to summon them, which is followed by a list of the common gods of the land.  There are rules for becoming an acolyte of a deity and the benefits and obligations by doing so.  Since Barbaric! is a sword and sorcery genre game, there are no clerics, per se.  These rules give a way for players who enjoy playing clerics a way to do so.  One thing to note is that Hero Points are only gained by praying to the gods.

There are a few pages of new monsters, as well as a list of critters from the main rulebook which exist in this setting.

The book then has a few pages discussing war and sea travel in the Atlantean Age.  The wind table seems really useful.

We next have six interesting locations detailed, followed by six NPCs.  Tar-Nergal seems like he would make a great "mission giver" if the Referee wants to run his campaign this way.  The players will be sent to various ruins and far-off lands searching for the McGuffin.

The next section is 4 or 5 adventure seeds, all tied together under an adventure arc around two brothers vying for control of a kingdom, once their father passes.  I think this might be fun if the adventures are squished up time-wise.  I know that some players would probably just wander off and do their thing while the kingdom falls - the Ref will need to ensure that the party keeps on track with helping one prince or the other, or both if they want to go that way. 

The second to last section is one page of Atlantean machines - bronze titans, sunstones, Greek fire, etc.  The final section is bringing "pulp heroes" from other campaigns into this campaign.  It includes a handful of 1930s pulp NPCs and a short list of guns.

What are my thoughts, you ask?

I like this supplement.  It is just the right size.  It has just the right amount of detail.  One of my pet peeves with supplements is the information vomit.  Unless it is pertinent to most campaigns, I do not want to read about the 3% chance of the 7th daughter of left-handed galley slaves of having an extra toe.  I want just the basic information.  This supplement delivers the absolute minimal information for a country or culture.  A Barbaric! campaign, with this sourcebook, would make a fine gaming campaign.

⇒ Grit:  ★★★★☆:  This supplement is just what an aspiring Barbaric! Referee needs to get his campaign off the ground.  It is very straight forward and covers all of the bases.  I would have liked to see army lists, since the book includes information on warfare.  Perhaps, a standard soldier or hoplite from a few nations could be included.

⇒ Vigor:  ★★★★☆:  Warlords of Atlantis, as a setting book and rules supplement, works.  I think that having the basic information provided will give gaming groups a good grasp on the Atlantean world.  What I think would make it just a bit better would be more maps, preferably of trade routes, maybe one showing some ancient serpent men ruins, that sort of thing.  With a few more maps, the campaign could go longer for those like me who are not good with the maps.

⇒ Grace:  ★★★☆☆:  The book is not beautiful but it is also attractive enough.  The cover is pretty cool, the layout is good, and so much better than what I grew up with.  The fonts are nice, the clipart breaks up the text handily, and the white space helps my old man eyes.  I have no fault with Grace but I also can't rave about it.