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| Copy #122 of the Warlock! Black Edition |
I thought for a while about whether I should post this, as it could almost seem like gloating. However, I've reviewed every other Warlock! release so why should this be any different? However, my focus will be more on what the book is like (TL;DR: Lovely. Expensive but Lovely,) and how it differs from the originals.
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| Old style print inside. |
I'd had a busy few weeks with work and convention preparation, so I'd neglected swinging by the Fire Ruby Designs Discord Server for a while. When I did, I saw pictures of this black, leather-bound, copy of Warlock! adorned with a ribbon and wrapped in a bright red slipcase. Reading further, I saw that it was a collaboration between Blackoath Entertainment and Fire Ruby Designs, a limited print run of 200 book that brings together the core book and the Kingdom background supplement. I followed the link, winced at the price and decided not to get it.
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| The Black Edition contains the core book, Kingdom and some elements from Compendium 2. |
About a week later, my resolve broke and I ordered a copy. The next day it was announced that only ten copies remained and they'd gone to Exalted Funeral. They sold out pretty much as they were announced.
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| Grim Biskerstaf, twinned with Liverpool(*) |
My copy arrived and it is without question lovely. The cover is soft to the touch, the paper and cut make the book feel handmade and old; the refreshed layout evokes a book from the end of the nineteenth century rather than the typewritten manuscript from the late 1970s/early 1980s that the Print-On-Demand versions evoke. The only niggle I have is that the spine text runs the opposite way to that on the POD editions. But that's a minor thing.
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| The Black Edition in its slipcase, lectern not included... |
The rules here probably give a good feel for what a revised edition of Warlock! would look like. The Pluck stat, and related Shock, Fear & Terror effects from Compendium 2 are included, along with the Reputation rules. Talents aren't, which is a surprise as they're now core rules in Warpstar! If you want a feel for what the rules are like, there are links to my original reviews at the bottom of this post.
So is this worth the $80 that Exalted Funeral charged? Possibly not, but if you like lovely feeling books, then this won't disappoint. Bear in mind that you'd need to spend £60 plus postage for the three books included to get the same content, so maybe the price isn't that far off. But it is lovely.
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| The new layout style. |
If you want a copy, you'll need to find it second hand. Good luck.
16 May 2021
(*) In the sense that my take on the City has that vibe and my first game was modelled on the sit-com “Bread”.
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