Two years after our review of Vaesen, now we can talk about Mythic Britain & Ireland, its expansion written by Graeme Davis and beautifully illustrated by Johan Egerkrans.
Mythic Britain & Ireland is the first setting expansion for this gothic horror RPG set in northern Europe. I want to thank Free League for sending us the volume so that we can tell you about the new material for this game, which is incredibly charming. This manual can be purchased at the publisher’s store at the price of …
The Setting
The strong point of Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland is the same as the core manual: the atmosphere. In fact the premises do not change from the game that we already know. The characters are people who have the Sight, that is the ability to perceive the Vaesen, the invisible and magical creatures on which folklore bases its roots. However, we are no longer in the Scandinavian peninsula but in the United Kingdom; we are talking about the group of states that, during the reign of Queen Victoria, constituted the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The game is thus set in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
Just keep in mind that Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland does not aim to be a historical game. In fact, more than reliability, it seeks historical verisimilitude; it highlights those elements that help to create a credible game context and adventures with dark and mystical tones. Just like the Scandinavian peninsula, each state has its own traditions, customs, and, of course, its own Vaesen.
New Kingdoms, Similar Atmospheres
Depending on the taste of the game group, the events can therefore be set in smoky London, but also in green Ireland or gray Edinburgh. The manual provides, in a dedicated chapter, a brief description of the main cities of the United Kingdom. For each, he adds narrative ideas linked to the known legends of those places. We thus discover that on a hill south of Dublin there is a house in which particular noises can be heard, as if an animal was trapped behind the walls or that, just outside Cardiff, there is a thermal spring infested by the spirit of a woman who drowned in it.
Great attention is given to the city of London. Among the materials, there is a wonderful map by Francesca Baerald and Christian Granath and details about places and legends.
This makes the context in which the characters move extremely vivid and real. And if that wasn’t enough, some personalities who, through history or literature, inhabited the UK in the nineteenth century are also detailed.
For each of these NPCs, a brief biography is provided as well as the date of birth and death, guaranteeing a substrate on which to build meetings and encounters. In this way, it will be possible to insert, for example, W.B. Yeats (a well-known Irish poet) but also Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Vasesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland, as can be seen from this review, does not only address the human world but, with the same care, describes the parallel worlds that are around it. Among the thick and porous pages, it is possible to find the description of Tìr Na Nòg and Annwvyn. There are also descriptions of fairy places such as stone circles or fairy rings.
The Apollonian Society
Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland provides a chapter dedicated to the history of the Apollonian Society through the centuries, starting with John Dee, scientist and astrologer at the court of Queen Elizabeth I.
Among the pages that mix myth and history, we discover that John Dee, Sir Walter Raleigh (known adventurer and courtier), and Sir Francis Walsingham (head of the Queen’s secret service), together with Cambridge academic Edmund Spenser, appear to be the founders of the London Society, called the Apollonian Society.
Over the centuries, the London Society changed its appearance and members, binding itself to the Order of Artemis (presented in the basic manual) thanks to Christer Bonde, who was Swedish ambassador from 1656 to 1657.
Members of the Order of Artemis from Scandinavia (but not only) know that they can find a safe place in the Apollonian Society. Some people regard the two organizations as one while maintaining different names.
Rose House, the London Headquarters of the Society
Just as the Order of Artemis has its headquarters in Castel Gillencreutz, so the Apollonian Society has its headquarters in Rose House. It is a three-storey stone building in Aldermanbury, once owned by Sir Francis Walsingham.
The building provides everything necessary to the members of the Society; it contains in fact a well-stocked library, an infirmary, and even a small armory.
There is more though; Rose House has a butler: Hawkins, a peculiar figure who, unlike the butler of Castel Gillencreutz, does not seem to age and has been running the house seemingly effortlessly and alone, for longer than any of the Society can remember.
Who or what Hawkins is is left to the discretion of the master, although Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland does provide a good number of hints.
Review of the New Archetypes and New Vaesen of Mythic Britain & Ireland
As you can see in this review of Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland, the volume presents three new archetypes for the construction of player characters: Athlete, Entertainer, and Socialite. Just like in the basic manual, the archetype allows you to create the character in a few simple steps. The dynamics of creation, in fact, do not present any differences and the new archetypes can be easily integrated even in an adventure in the Scandinavian peninsula.
Likewise, in this splendid expansion, several new Vaesen are presented, linked to the myth and tradition of the United Kingdom. Among these, we find the Leprechaun, the Dullahan, the Boggart and the Glaistig.
However, let’s not forget that the Vaesen have different declinations depending on the place where they live. The manual, therefore, provides a practical and very clear “conversion” of the fairy creatures already encountered in the core manual, adapting them to the stories and folklore of Victorian England.
Three New Stories
The last part of Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland contains three new playable stories (The Old Meg, The Llantywyll Incident, and The Hampstead Group) and in this review I will try to tell you about them without spoilers.
Each of the three stories maintains the structure already seen in the basic manual, outlining the plot, the conflicts, the scenes, the places and the NPCs with skillful care and attention. Just like The Dance of Dreams, these three adventures have an average length of between twenty and thirty pages and follow the narrative structure already seen.
All the scenarios use as a narrative hook a written invitation addressed to the Society of which the characters are members. Although humans are always closely involved in Vaesen‘s stories, the main antagonists are the fairy creatures. However, the adventures do not have a single possible resolution to look for; in fact, the adventures are open to different approaches which can also lead to non-violent conclusions.
Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland Materials Review
Free League never disappoints me. The quality of Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland materials is superb. Its cover maintains the same pleasant roughness of the basic manual and the solidity of the product is undoubted; the paper is thick and porous and the illustrations stand out making everything vibrant and vivid. There isn’t a page that doesn’t deserve to be shown; all the illustration would deserve a frame and a place of honor on the walls of my home.
The maps are wonderful and perfectly contextualized with respect to the historical period in which the game is played. They are of a slightly inferior quality to those present in the core manual, but undoubtedly beautiful to present at the game table.
Moreover the handouts of the three stories included in the manual are printed on the same rough and porous paper as the main volume.
Conclusions of the Review of Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland
As you can see from my review, Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland is a higher-quality manual. It is elegant and perfect for transporting players into that gothic horror mood already seen in the basic manual.
Vaesen: Mythic Britain & Ireland is a perfect expansion manual for this game world. Not containing the rules of character creation or game mechanics, it requires the core rulebook; however, if you already have the first volume, you will certainly appreciate this magnificent expansion.