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Ford's Faeries |
| 2021-12-02 |
Ford's Faeries
Ford's Faeries describes itself as
A Bestiary Inspired by The Works of Henry Justice Ford And Meant for Most Old School Roleplaying Games
It is presented by "The Google Plus Old School RPG Community" and edited by Eric Nieudan of Knock fame.
It is a lovely circle we took part in: the folk tales inspired an artist, who in turn inspired us to create unique creatures, who hopefully will find a place in your games, creating more stories.
Fifteen authors created fifty-six creatures inspired by Henry Justice Ford illustration for folk tales. Some of the creatures shared the same illustration — it's interesting to try to guess what drew the attention of the creature creator.
The layout is excellent, on the left side is the illustration and on the right side are the stat blocks and the description. There's one exception, The Daring Children have a random table right under the illustration, it still feels right. I like that a creature is developed on two facing pages, no interference in the contemplation.
The stat block format is minimal, as intended, it's usable by most old school roleplaying games (don't forget the morale rolls).
The descriptions are full of interesting ideas, they match the charm emanating from the illustrations.
I'd be tempted to map creatures to authors on the blank page at the end of the book with my pen, and then to erase the author names printed under the creature names. I'd like to be surprised, to only look at the author once I've been convinced (or not) by the creature.
All in all, it's an intriguing bestiary. The coherent, consistent, frame built by the illustrations shelters those creatures and their magic.
My favourite creature is the Parley Peddler. Parley happens, some people even propose it as a service.
