The Ambassador Chronicles is a gathering of two books on the Imperial ambassador in Kislev called General Caspar von Velten; The Ambassador and Ursun’s Teeth.
Von Velten is an elderly man believed to have served the Empire to a level where he deserves his retirement in the form of an ambassador position. Unfortunately, it was the cold Kislev he was sent to, and the task becomes significantly more demanding than expected.
During the first chapter, it is feared to be dragged through the 464 pages with stories about an old and worn man, but as you burn through the pages you will be constantly impressed by the enormous complexity of plot and the fantastic portrayal of the book’s characters. Von Velten is not as unsuitable as first thought and his lively temper only makes the book even more funny and captivating. There are passages where you think the plot is a little too obviously, but then you turn a page and become shocked at how much they were mistaken.
That the book is made up of two books is definitely an advantage. It is nice to be able to continue with the same story for a long time and I could not imagine reading the first it first and then having a pause before reading the next.
There are several small situations which could easily be transferred to role play, and I have already scheduled several of them with my group of players. There is no need for much modification in order to transfer sections of the book to small plot detours from the main campaign.
All in all a good book with many surprises and an amazing plot.
Posts Tagged ‘Kislev’
The Ambasador Chronicles
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009Star of Erengrad
Friday, October 16th, 2009
Stefan Kumansky is a formidable “sword-for-hire” in the dark and dangerous world of Warhammer. He driven to fight evil wherever it may hide. The destruction of his hometown has created a strong and dedicated vindictiveness which for many missions have confronted him with evil, with Chaos.The book starts out with a hunt for a powerful crystal that gives it’s wielder impressive abilities, but as the mission finally seems to be complete, Stefan is woven into an even more complex task. The city of Erengrad is on the brink of destruction, and if this happens Chaos will have a powerful foothold that will allow access to the heart of the Empire itself. This must for all the worlds be prevented.
Together with the strong minded Kislevit woman Elena Yecschenko, Stefan must bring two out of three parts of a sacred relic to Erengrad where they will be connected with the third part, which together will provide Erengrad with strength and most importantly hope again. With them on the long journey from Altdorf, past Middenheim to Erengrad, they have a selection of close friends. Friends they dare confide their lives to. It turns out not to be quite as safe as initially thought, as the darkness has influence over everything.
The way the plot of Star of Erengrad unfolds on is quite similar to a regular Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay adventure. The composition of the party is one of a number of very different characters who still have the same goals… well almost everyone. The story could easily be written directly into an adventure and be played without problems. It requires that players like The Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers, because it is a long journey, and they ride a great deal of the time.
Another reason for why this book is exciting is because you always see the action from different people’s point of view, both the heroes, villains and sometimes also the supporting roles. This is a thing which is very characteristic of the Neil McIntosh novels I have read and it is an extremely good effect in my opinion!
For historical interest in the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay world, you will not get so much out of this book. You are made aware of a few cults and secret societies that are not explained further. There is no real magic in the book, and each of the supernatural and undead creatures faced in the book is not very detailed described. It is somewhat a shame, and if you want to make an adventure out of the book’s action, you will have to do a bit of work here to give it all a little more background, which I think is missing.
The chapters in the book are well organized and the cover shows a very good picture of how the city Erengrad looks at the time when the group arrives. The amulet is not similar to the one described in the book, in my opinion. This is somewhat a shame I think.
All in all a really good book if you like sword fighting and adventure travel on horseback.