This is the launch issue of a journal which manages to be far more than a company newsletter on behalf of publisher Silver Gryphon Games. Naturally, the articles revolve around company product but that is not all - it is worth a read in its own right!

From the outset, a pattern is established with several regular columns and reviews by both staff members and outside contributors (after all, they cannot really review their own product!), which are intended to appear in every issue as well as company news. The opening 'Behind the Scenes' serves as an introduction to Kevin Rohan and Ben Overmyer, the partners at SGG. A 'Sidebar' provides commentary on current ongoing projects.

Next comes the 'Meeting of the Minds' column which opens with a history of the company to date. Looking at what Kevin and Ben have done so far, there's an interesting analysis of their different approaches to the philosophy of game design and how that affects both the ways in which they develop games and the nature of the final product.

When all's said and done, this is a company newsletter and so next come details of product that's about to become available. Appetite whetted, on to the next of the intended regular columns - 'Unorthodoxy Unleashed' - which will look at more unusual ways of going about things in role-playing. The inaugural column looks at the use of human shields in combat - a terrorist favourite, but has it a place on the game table? Could do, if the character/NPC using the human shield is inclined to be unscrupulous! Some general ideas for how to administer the use of human shields are given, general enough that you will be able to apply them to whatever ruleset you are using... and there's a note that of course the shield does not have to be human, depending on the races to be found in your game world.

Next, the staff reviews, with Ben giving his take on Dungeons & Dragons 4e and Kevin looks at Mongoose's RuneQuest. It is interesting to see how a game designer looks at games, although gamers being a creative lot, there's a bit of a game designer in all of us! This is followed by another of what will be a regular feature, Wellstone City Update. (Wellstone City is the default location for SGG's Æther RPG, by the way.) In this one, we find out about a medical practitioner catering to the needs of the sort of patient who doesn't want to answer any questions about just how he got that gunshot wound, he just needs treatment. (Sounds like most player-characters I know...)

The next item is a review of the Æther system by a guest reviewer (Brennan Bishop) who has been involved with playtesting and has seen the system evolve, which gives him some interesting insights. Next, an interview with an artist, Tony Guaraldi-Brown - whose work, naturally enough, features in SGG product. And that's it, apart from a character sheet for the aforementioned doctor in Wellstone City, just in case he's going to feature in one of your games.

The whole thing is slick and well-presented, with interesting content... especially as it's free. Much more than an advertisement for SGG's own product!

Return to Silver Gryphon Monthly: October 2008 page.

Reviewed: 4 March 2010