''Kanawa Land Vehicles'', subtitled "Wheels for the Possibility Wars", is a supplement published by
West End Games
West End Games (WEG) was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York City, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Its product lines included ''Star Wars'', ''Paranoia' ...
(WEG) in 1992 for the multi-genre role-playing game ''
Torg
''Torg'' is a cinematic cross-genre tabletop role-playing game created by Greg Gorden and Bill Slavicsek, with art by Daniel Horne. It was first published by West End Games (WEG) in 1990. Game resolution uses a single twenty-sided die, ''dram ...
''.
Contents
''Kanawa Land Vehicles'' lists over sixty vehicles available for use in a ''Torg'' campaign or adventure with descriptions and game statistics.
A few are horse-drawn carriages from the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
such as the
sulky
A sulky is a lightweight cart used for harness racing. It has two wheels and a small seat for only a single driver. The modern racing sulky has shafts that extend in a continuous bow behind the driver's seat, with wire-spoked "bike" wheels ...
. A few internal combustion vehicles from the first half of the twentieth century such as the 1905
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...
Coach and the 1936
Rolls Royce Phantom
Automaker Rolls-Royce has used the Phantom name on full-sized luxury cars and limousines since 1925, making it the longest-used car model nameplate in automotive history.
In the 20th century, the Rolls-Royce Phantom was a very low volume, ha ...
are also covered, but the widest range of vehicles is from the latter part of the 20th century. In addition, some high tech "science fiction" vehicles are outlined as well.
Each vehicle has its own page, and is described in detail, with precise characteristics and a schematic drawing.
The book also includes ten pages of new ''Torg'' rules that cover pursuits, accidents, maneuvers and vehicle combat.
Publication history
WEG published the multi-genre role-playing game ''Torg'' in 1990, and followed up with a variety of supplements and adventures, including 1992's ''Kanawa Land Vehicles'', a 128-page softcover book designed by
Nigel Findley, with interior artwork by Rob Caswell, Stephen Crane, Cathleen Hunter, John Paul Lona, Francis Mao, and Tom Peters, and cover art by Erik Van der Palen.
Reception
S. John Ross reviewed ''Kanawa Land Vehicles'' in ''
White Wolf
The Arctic wolf (''Canis lupus arctos''), also known as the white wolf, polar wolf, and the Arctic grey wolf, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to the High Arctic tundra of Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands, from Melville Island to Ellesme ...
'' #33 (Sept./Oct. 1992), rating it a 3 out of 5 and stated that "If you already have all the books you need, then by all means pick it up. If not, it's no great loss. I only hope that future Kanawa books achieve this level of quality."
In the April 1993 edition of ''Dragon'' (Issue 192),
Rick Swan
Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR.
His work for TSR, mostly for ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'', appeared from 1989 to 1995.
Swan also wrote '' The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin' ...
found ''Kanawa Land Vehicles'' "disappointing... ''Kanawa'' doesn't manage anything more interesting than an armored carriage or a Chevrolet Sportvan." He concluded that it was "A curiously flat effort."
In Issue 6 of ''RPG Review'', Lev Lafayette found the new rules for vehicles "particularly useful", but noted that "As with previous publications of this ilk, the page-per-vehicle is quite wasteful."
References
{{reflist
Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1992
Torg supplements