- Joined
- Mar 14, 2021
Holy shit those comments (all about a year after the original post was made).
MOD POST
The review itself?
Coyote and Crow is the first book from Coyote and Crow LLC, a native American owned and staffed RPG publishing company. The primary conceit is uniquely native American.
In the 1400s a near extinction level event occurs when a large asteroid hits the earth resulting in a period of "nuclear winter" that disrupts civilizations and almost wipes out humanity. Humans persevere and survive through it but, as a result, world civilizations are disrupted to the point that Europe never colonizes the Americas. Instead, native civilizations recover and flourish into the near future.
The asteroid also brought alien resources to this planet, including a symbiote that lodges in the eco-system and, when consumed in high enough quantities, causes genetic cross-over between the consumed and the consumer resulting in transfer of behaviors and abilities.
I am going to preface this review with some caveats. I am not native American and although I have known a few natives who have been kind enough to share some of their culture with me. I have an interest in other cultures and have read some about the horrors of European occupation, but I know just enough to know my own ignorance. Thus, this is a European descendants take on what I think is a deeply personal native American project.
The book opens with the telling of the story of the event and its consequences as a native American might tell it— how the Great Spirit left for a time and left Coyote and Crow in charge of the world. It is a lovely story that sets a great tone for the rest of the work, striking a balance between humor, explanation, and education.
The book follows with a section of advice to players, both native and non-native, and again strikes a nice balance between individual respect and encouraging players to learn from each other.
Then the meat of the book arrives, the details of the initial setting. Based on a real colonial trade city, the city of Cahokia which is based on a real world pre-colonial trading city on the banks of the Mizizibi river (the pre-colonial name of the Mississippi.)
In our world Cahokia was the largest trade city in the central US in its day, and in Coyotoe and Crow it has continued to grow and prosper becoming a setting as interesting and complex as any typical European city. Indeed, we can see echoes of the typical European "city adventures" setting and issues of many traditional RPGs, but reinterpreted in a uniquely native manner.
One of the stand-out cultural differences between the native future and our European based present and future is that the culture is totally comfortable with the co-existence of scientific and spiritual understandings of the world and such outlooks exist in a symbiotic harmony that European cultures have mostly lacked. There is much that we westerners can learn from the imagined society of Coyote and Crow.
The book itself is lovingly produced. It is beautiful in artwork and layout while simultaneously being well organized and easy to read. The main text is extremely well written, with lovely sidebars that explain places where the history of the world of Coyote and Crow touches that of our own and where it does not.
It has larger type than is typical in an RPG which is something my aging eyes appreciate. The binding is top quality and, all in all, it makes a standout addition to my personal RPG library. This is a book made to last and enjoy for a lifetime.
I have many nights reading ahead of me to get through all 484 pages but reading it is a pleasure, not a chore.
The game system itself was created by the game creators but can be categorized as a "roll and keep D12 dice pool." Ofcourse, thats just the base mechanic. The meat is how the game uses this to weave its characters and world. This too was created with careful and loving thoughtfulness.
To summarize: Coyote and Crow is simply a beautiful work of art, story telling, and game design. When I am done reading it will take an honored position in my game collection and go to the top of my "want to play" list.
In the 1400s a near extinction level event occurs when a large asteroid hits the earth resulting in a period of "nuclear winter" that disrupts civilizations and almost wipes out humanity. Humans persevere and survive through it but, as a result, world civilizations are disrupted to the point that Europe never colonizes the Americas. Instead, native civilizations recover and flourish into the near future.
The asteroid also brought alien resources to this planet, including a symbiote that lodges in the eco-system and, when consumed in high enough quantities, causes genetic cross-over between the consumed and the consumer resulting in transfer of behaviors and abilities.
I am going to preface this review with some caveats. I am not native American and although I have known a few natives who have been kind enough to share some of their culture with me. I have an interest in other cultures and have read some about the horrors of European occupation, but I know just enough to know my own ignorance. Thus, this is a European descendants take on what I think is a deeply personal native American project.
The book opens with the telling of the story of the event and its consequences as a native American might tell it— how the Great Spirit left for a time and left Coyote and Crow in charge of the world. It is a lovely story that sets a great tone for the rest of the work, striking a balance between humor, explanation, and education.
The book follows with a section of advice to players, both native and non-native, and again strikes a nice balance between individual respect and encouraging players to learn from each other.
Then the meat of the book arrives, the details of the initial setting. Based on a real colonial trade city, the city of Cahokia which is based on a real world pre-colonial trading city on the banks of the Mizizibi river (the pre-colonial name of the Mississippi.)
In our world Cahokia was the largest trade city in the central US in its day, and in Coyotoe and Crow it has continued to grow and prosper becoming a setting as interesting and complex as any typical European city. Indeed, we can see echoes of the typical European "city adventures" setting and issues of many traditional RPGs, but reinterpreted in a uniquely native manner.
One of the stand-out cultural differences between the native future and our European based present and future is that the culture is totally comfortable with the co-existence of scientific and spiritual understandings of the world and such outlooks exist in a symbiotic harmony that European cultures have mostly lacked. There is much that we westerners can learn from the imagined society of Coyote and Crow.
The book itself is lovingly produced. It is beautiful in artwork and layout while simultaneously being well organized and easy to read. The main text is extremely well written, with lovely sidebars that explain places where the history of the world of Coyote and Crow touches that of our own and where it does not.
It has larger type than is typical in an RPG which is something my aging eyes appreciate. The binding is top quality and, all in all, it makes a standout addition to my personal RPG library. This is a book made to last and enjoy for a lifetime.
I have many nights reading ahead of me to get through all 484 pages but reading it is a pleasure, not a chore.
The game system itself was created by the game creators but can be categorized as a "roll and keep D12 dice pool." Ofcourse, thats just the base mechanic. The meat is how the game uses this to weave its characters and world. This too was created with careful and loving thoughtfulness.
To summarize: Coyote and Crow is simply a beautiful work of art, story telling, and game design. When I am done reading it will take an honored position in my game collection and go to the top of my "want to play" list.
The only review by them.
On general topic I notice they currently have a banner about the Maui fires. Nothing about the Israel/Palestine shit. How badly is their reaction to that gping?
