Champions of the Scarred Lands

Rating:
Summary: Scarred Lands, Flawed Stories
Review: I had high hopes for this collection, since the setting is wonderfully rich and evocative. Unfortunately, the stories of this anthology all fall far short of their potential. It is sad to say that the best of the stories in this volume are all the most humorous ones. The ones that attempt tragedy or drama all fall woefully short, and are, often, painfully cliche.
Add this to the ABYSMAL editing (The same word was mispelled no less than three times, in the same way, in three different stories, the font size changes from story to story, and the grammer in some of the tales is terrible.)and the end product is not terribly satisfying.
All in all, this book was actually painful to try and finish.

Rating:
Summary: Setting the Right Atmosphere
Review: The publisher of Champions, Sword and Sorcery Studios, has published a successful line of role-playing products. These supplements spur the imagination and ache to be given life. In this regard, Champions of the Scarred Lands succeeds admirably.
The book is a compilation of short stories, each of which covers an intriguing fascet of the world of Scarn. Of the ten short stories, there was only one that I could honestly say was disappointing. Being one who enjoys the concept of Incarnates, the idea was wonderful but the execution fell short of being good. Despite this shortfall, this book is a welcome addition to any fantasy reader's collection.

Rating:
Summary: excellent amateur short fiction
Review: This book is based on White Wolf's D&D-based "Scarred Lands" setting, and its contributors were all fans (some even co-designers) of the game. This does not mean that you have to be a gamer to understand the book. As an Amazon customer I'm going to assume you don't game D&D but you do read fantasy, possibly including White Wolf's. If you are a hardcore RP gamer, I posted another review online elsewhere (you've probably seen it, or else you can email me for a copy). It contains more specific information and feedback for the authors. Gamers, run along now and play...
There are ten stories here, all by amateurs, eight if you skip "Journey To the Past" and "Love Incarnate" (which are not up to par). There is no theme other than that they are all set in this one world. As you would expect from WW, the stories often involve moral dilemmas and are character-driven, which is a breath of fresh air in game-grounded fiction. I have to single out "A Game of Silk and Mirrors" for being the most fun to read and "In Sunlight and Shadow" for its emotional firepower.
On the minus side, over half these tales have basic structural quirks and errors that, although I'm sure they weren't intentional (so a few have assured me), are distracting. If I had been Lord High Editor and could change one thing about this collection, I would have forced the authors to finish polishing their narratives. "No, not the whip!" - you're right, let's bring out the cat-o'-nine-tails. - But this could be a result of insufficient time. The publishing schedule in this line of WW product has been VERY aggressive; WW has attempted to establish a new game world with very few points in contact with TSR, with as much new material as possible, in the time-frame of months.
If you're a dungeon-master in a Scarred Lands campaign, you need this book for the light it sheds on NPC's. It should also prove of interest to players, and to anyone on the lookout for good amateur fantasy (no, not THAT kind).

Rating:
Summary: A Mixed Bag with Limited Appeal
Review: This collection of short stories serves as a decent introduction to the Scarred Lands setting. The Scarred Lands, more properly called Scarn, is the Sword and Sorcery company's Dungeons and Dragons campaign world. For those wishing to run or participate in a D&D game set in the Scarred Lands, this is a decent introduction to the world. Other gamers curious about Scarn may find it useful as well. Unfortunately, I can't really imagine it having strong appeal to anyone outside that rather limited group. The stories themselves are a mixed bag, in terms of subject matter and quality.

The stories, in order, are:

IN SUNLIGHT AND SHADOW - The story of a Paladin of the city of Mithril. Though hampered by mediocre writing, it portrays well enough the role of the clergy in that city.

JOURNEY TO THE PAST - This one is just godawful. Skip it. Horrible writing, no sense of a real story... the characters travel, then they fight. Then they travel some more, then they fight. It wasn't really a story so much as a description of a D&D session. Some things happened and then they stopped.

FEAST OR FAMINE AT BUROK TORN - This was the first one I really liked, though given the previous two, that wasn't saying a lot. Still, it's a pretty good story about the Dwarves in the city named in the title, and the desperate straits their society is in. Good story pacing and sympathetic characters.

THREE DREAMS OF BELSAMETH - The writing in this one is much better than many of the others, and the story is a good one. I believe this story is setting up the first trilogy of novels set in the Scarred Lands. It's not too hard to overlook the fact that the elves in this story have heat vision (Elves in 3rd Edition D&D have "low light" vision, even in the Scarred Lands). The priest is an interesting character with a major ethical dilemma. I'd be interested to see if this carries through in the trilogy.

MERRIN'S TALE - Although the writing is good in this one, the story is a little simple. It's a simple encounter where one character has to face a monster and live to tell the tale. Though it's not bad itself, it doesn't really tell us anything about the Scarred Lands, and could as well have been set in Greyhawk for all it matters.

A GAME OF SILK AND MIRRORS - This is an intriguing story. The concept of the mirrors and the secret meetings made me curious as to just why this kind of magic existed. Who were these people? Who was the good guy here? This one could have been longer to explain these things. The punchline is amusing. Don't skip ahead.

LOVE INCARNATE - Not bad, but not great. If the author is the same Stewart Wieck who was one of the key developers of the Mage game, then this is the first of the authors I'd heard of. The story left me wondering too much at the end. In that way, it was a little flawed, but to name the flaws would be to give away the story, so I won't. One thing that the author forgot is that Druids don't leave a trail in wilderness.

TIE YOUR OWN ROPE - A rescue story with a twist, involving the ratmen Slitheren (no relation to the homophonic house in the Harry Potter books). A little on the dull side, but amusing.

THE RIVER'S FLOW - This story is about an old, powerful Druid who has soured on humanity, detesting the way it forces its way against nature. A decent character exploration.

THIEF'S MARK - A story of a brusque and devil-may-care rogue who secretly has a heart of gold. Stretches the limits of suspension of disbelief, but it's a fun story anyway.

Like all collections by various beginning authors, you've got to expect some hit-and-miss stories in here. But if all you're after is a narrative introduction to the campaign world, without the game rules, then this is what you need. Don't expect too much and you may be pleasantly surprised. If you're not a gamer, this might not be a good choice.