But don't just take my word on it, here are reviews by other people taken from the Kult-List:
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Player's Companion: An interesting if somewhat incomplete resource. There are extensive
character creation notes, 17 new archetypes, 5 Children of the Night archetypes and ideas for
integrating them into a campaign, 25 new disadvantages, 12 new advantages, 5 new dark secrets,
33 new skills, expanded martial arts rules, a new character sheet and an equipment section. It is
the last which is incomplete as descriptions are given for weapons which they do not provide
stats for. A minor but irritating point. Overall a somewhat useful supplement and worth getting despite it's
problems.
Metropolis Sourcebook: This is one I recommend if you ever plan to send your players beyond
the Illusion. It includes sections on: how to get to Metropolis (via a number of scenarios
provided), descriptions of the various parts of the urban sprawl (Living City, Ruins,
Underground, Labyrinth, Machine City, Memory Banks, Primal Sea, Clockworks, City of the
Dead, Mirror Halls), descriptions of the Palaces (Demiurge's Citadel, Binah, Hod/Samael,
Netzach, Geberah, Kether, Malkuth, Tiphareth), the dead palaces (Yesod, Chokmah, Chesed),
descriptions of various NPCs and creatures, a full listing and description of the Tarotica (very
useful if you plan on running the adventure Taroticum), and scattered throughout are numerous
mini-adventures (most of which are quite deadly for the PCs- not for the faint of heart). The major complaint I have is that it deviates from the cosmology presented in the rulebooks. Personally I find the original ideas far more appealling and use them in my campaign.
Legions of Darkness: This sourcebook provides more background on the Death Angels and the
Archons and their motivations, plans and bases of power within the Illusion. As a background
resource it is useful for the GM but you may find that it does not have many direct applications
for your adventures. Lictors, Forgotten Deities and the Awakened are also detailed as are Black
Magic, Children of the Night (Lorelei, Jackels), Gaia (an interesting alternate dimension that is
'bleeding' slowly into the Illusion) and a new jailer (the Pazuzu collective insect consciousness). This is probably the best supplement that has been put out for Kult.
Beyond the Boundaries: This covers in detail the Lores of Death and Time & Space. There are
also new Archetypes (Cynical Occultist, Satan Worshipper, Sect Leader, Seeker, Traditionalist),
small rule sections for Alchemy, Astrology, Numerology and Voudoo plus a list of artifacts.
This is only of use if you plan to allow your PCs to have access to the various Lores. If you do
not than the rules in the Kult Rulebook (1st Edition) should be sufficient. The most annoying part is that it is
hard to read (multiple small fonts with backgrounds that obscure the text). Esthetically it is probably one of the best looking supplements I have seen for any game.
Heart, Mind & Soul: This is in ther same format as Beyond the Boundaries and covers the
Lores of Passion, Madness and Dreams. The two really ought to have been combined into a
single package. Because they did not a lot of the beginning parts of the two are repeated. The
Cabbalah, Tarot and Symbolism are described and new Archtypes introduced (Witch, Neurotic
Sexmage, New Ager, White Conjurer, Natural Talent, Rebel). Overall I was disappointed in
these two supplements but if you are a completist or intend to use Lores extensively in your
campaign they can be of use.
Fallen Angels: This is a good adventure that can be used with almost any experience level of
group. It contains descriptions of New York and Children of the Night (Nosferatu, Jackels,
Cannibals , Seraphim) which are useful for running an ongoing campaign based in that city.
There is enough investigation, interaction and action to satisfy almost any PC group. The
beginning of the scenario is guaranteed to freak-out most PCs as they wake up covered in blood
(including in their mouths) with no idea of what happened to them the previous evening. Perfect
paranoia. It can be easily integrated into an ongoing campaign.
Taroticum: This adventure takes place in London, England and makes extensive use of the
Lores. It is an interesting scenario but it is hard to integrate into a campaign due to its use of a
'prequel'. The PCs play a group involved in a sacrifice in the past and are given characters to run
for this introduction. Then the action jumps forward to the present and the scenario carries on.
They are of course, reincarnations of the earlier characters. This can make for an interesting
'one-shot' adventure but linking it to other scenarios will take some effort on the part of the GM.
Judas Grail: is, in my opinion, a much better adventure than Taroticum. I agree that trying to integrate the players into the opening story line was difficult but this kind of problem does not exist in Judas Grail. The adventure can be smoothly integrated into an ongoing campaign with very little effort, although as I mentioned earlier it is deadly and should not be attempted by starting new PCs. Unless you are particularly vicious! The adventure is fairly linear with some investigative options which can lead in a few directions. Although the idea is based loosely upon the Grail legends, it is most definitely a Kult twist on the theme. The main players from the legend are present, but they are not quite what you may have read in Malory. The supernatural is present from the very beginning but it starts off small and builds up. As was earlier mentioned, the adventure is not for the faint of heart. The climactic scene will result in the deaths of many a PC as the powers they are up against are far from being lightweights. A sample from the opening:
BACKGROUND
...history, like reality, is a lie. The tales of the past have been twisted, perverted, and rewritten to
form a prison of false belief which gives strength to the Illusion.
In the period of history that mankind has named the 'Dark Ages' two primal forces warred
against one another. The consequences of their battles have echoed down through time like
ripples in a pool. The Dark Ages were a time when the envoys, lictors, and razides, followers of
Archons and Death Angels alike, faced each other in open warfare. Chief among the combatants
were the envoys of Chagidiel and Chokmah. Each the antithesis of the other, they fought for
spiritual control over mankind. Given aid by the envoys and razides of other Death Angels,
Chagidiel's envoy, Artos, moved ever closer to becoming the victor in this bloody confrontation.
But victory was not without a price- a price neither victor nor vanquished aws willing to pay.
As the battles became progressively more brutal, the veil between Illusion and Reality began to
tear. Increasing numbers of followers on either side became Awakened. Fearing they would
lose control over the eternity of humanity, a pact between the warring forces was made. It was
agreed that the Illusion must be maintained at all costs. Thus was one of the biggest Lies forged.
All that had been written during that time aws sought out and destroyed, years upon years of
human history banished to the flame, to be rewritten in such a way that the Illusion would be
strengthened. Artos, the envoy of Chagidiel, became Arthur, a heroic king who brought
Christianity to the pagan nation of England. So too were the envoys of the other Death Angels
reborn through the writings of scribes and bards. With the control of the church came the
control of these writings.
The vanquished were not forgotten either. Mordred, the envoy of Chokmah, has managed to
keep his name throughout history, but, as is the burden of the fallen, his true nature and purpose
were twisted and perverted beyond recognition.
...delving back into these dark times, when she too was present, an envoy of Malkuth has set in motion a plan to free mankind from his prison.***
That ought to wet your appetite for more. It is a well written, if exceedingly deadly, adventure which may give away more about the True nature of Reality than you may wish to let your players know.
***this is, of course, copyrighted by Target Games AB 1996.
Purgatory: Sadly I am a completist. For this sin I went ahead and purchased Purgatory ($9.95
Canadian). It is hard to read, the size is awkward for my bookshelves, it is little more than an
NPC folder for Nepharites and I can see little of practical use with the possible exception of the
three pages on the Lore of Death Spells of interacting with, or saving someone from, Purgatory.
The latest offerings have been a disappointment. The two Lore books should have been put
together to avoid repetition and the Purgatory bit should have been combined with other
campaign material into a larger sourcebook instead of making the money grab on poor sods like
myself.
Kult: Second Edition: Well I finally got the time to pick up and read the Second Edition, yea
the thesis is over with!!! (by the way if you ever want a good setting for Kult, Haiti is the place
for you! You can learn more about it in the Academia section). Overall I am pleased with the
new edition but there are some rather annoying points. The main one is the obvious lack of an
editor. Tenses are wrong and plurals are misused throughout the text. There are misspellings
(eg. pg 140 killid instead of killed) this sort of thing should have been easily solved with a quick
spin through Spell Check.
The cover, in my opinion, is a major step down from the cover of the 1st Edition but the interior
artwork has been improved, even if it is all black & white.
Overall it seems to be primarily a mix of 1st Ed. and the Player's Companion. The Martial Arts
have been changed again! The damage for weapons is done differently, but only in the combat
section. If you look at the creatures described, many of them retain the old damage system
instead of the new DEF number. This inconsistency is somewhat troublesome as the GM either
has to play a hybrid of 1st and 2nd Ed. or come up with the DEF numbers him/herself.
In spite of these personal pet peeves, the 2nd Ed. is, I feel, worth the expense.
The GM Screen: This has lost much of its usefulness as many of the charts on it have changed
between the two Editions. The differences are as follows: The 'To Hit' modifiers have been
pared down ; there is, of course, no 'Damage Effect' modifier tables or 'Wound Severity' table ;
the 'Armor Save' table has been changed ; the 'Wound Effects' are no longer used (the PCs will
be thrilled about this one!) ; the 'Flunked Attack Rolls', the 'Range' and the 'Aiming/Random Hits'
tables are no longer used ; which leaves you with the 'Action Results', 'Equipment Availability',
EGO Throw Modifications', 'Effects of Shock', 'Reactions', 'Physical Changes' and 'Time/Action'
tables as still useful. A 2nd Edition of this, therefore, is sure to come.
But don't just take my word on it, here are reviews by other people taken from the Kult-List:
More Reviews
Kult Page