''Stormhaven'' is a role-playing game supplement for ''

Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes ''Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes'' (''MSPE'') is a tabletop role-playing game designed and written by Michael A. Stackpole and first published in April 1983 by Blade, a division of Flying Buffalo, Inc. A second edition was later published ...

'' published by

Flying Buffalo Flying Buffalo Inc. (FBI) is a game company with a line of role playing games, card games, and other gaming materials. The company's founder, Rick Loomis, began game publishing with '' Nuclear Destruction'', a play-by-mail game which started th ...

in 1983.

''Stormhaven'' is a setting for ''

'' that draws heavily upon

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

of the 1930s and 1940s, including references to

Walter B. Gibson Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897 – December 6, 1985) was an Americans, American writer and professional magic (illusion), magician, best known for his work on the pulp magazine, pulp fiction character The Shadow, and as a ghost-writer ...

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by American magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by Gibs ...

, and

Lester Dent Lester Dent (October 12, 1904 – March 11, 1959) was an American pulp-fiction writer, best known as the creator and main writer of the series of novels about the scientist and adventurer Doc Savage. The 159 Doc Savage novels that Dent wrote ove ...

Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a polymathic scientist, explorer, detective, and warrior who "right ...

. The titular Stormhaven is an estate located on Savage Island off of

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...

in Vermont owned by Kenneth Allard, the president of Allard Technologies, and guarded by high-tech security. Allard has invited visitors including notable people in the technology field, celebrities, and eccentric characters with connections to the family of Allard. The supplement comes in a folder that contains an 8-page booklet of maps, and a 56-page book of scenarios and character descriptions.

Reception

In the March-April 1984 edition of ''

Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' (Issue No. 68),

Aaron Allston Aaron Dale Allston (December 8, 1960 – February 27, 2014) was an American game designer and author of many science fiction books, notably ''Star Wars'' novels. His works as a game designer include game supplements for role-playing games, sev ...

gave ''Stormhaven'' a thumbs up, saying, "I'd recommend you buy ''Stormhaven'' if you run ''MSPE'' or ''

Espionage! ''Espionage!'', subtitled "The Secret Agent Role Playing Game", is a spy role-playing game published by Hero Games in 1983. Description ''Espionage!'' is a role-playing game set in the present day where players take on the roles of modern secret ...

'', and would especially recommend it to aficionados of the hero pulps. Gamemasters of other contemporary RPGs, such as ''James Bond'' and ''Top Secret'', should give it a look-through. It's fun." William A. Barton reviewed ''Stormhaven'' for ''

Different Worlds ''Different Worlds'' was an American role-playing games magazine published from 1979 to 1987. Scope ''Different Worlds'' published support articles, scenarios, and variants for various role-playing games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Rune ...

'' magazine and stated that "In short, I give my highest recommendations to ''Stormhaven'' for all who enjoy modern role-playing - with potential twists - and especially ''MS&PE'' fans." In the February 1985 edition of ''

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

'', Arlen Walker praised the high production values, as well as artwork. Walker also liked the separate book for maps, which meant

gamemasters A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, storyteller, or master of ceremonies) is a person who acts as a facilitator, organizer, officiant regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer r ...

did not have to flip back and forth between scenario description and map. Walker also complimented the character descriptions: "The major characters in this book are all completely fleshed out. They come equipped not only with complete descriptions and statistics, but each also has a reason for being on the island and a personality which will guide the character’s interaction with the player characters." Although Walker found this a very strong supplement for the ''MSPE'' system, he also thought the material could and should be easily be adapted to other modern roleplaying systems. He concluded by giving a strong recommendation: "Stormhaven gets my vote not only as the best of 1983 but also as one of the half-dozen best of all time. If you role-play in the modern era, regardless of the system, this one’s a must!"

Awards

''Stormhaven'' was awarded the

Charles S. Roberts Award The Charles S. Roberts Awards (or CSR Awards) is an annual award for excellence in manual, tabletop games, with a focus on "conflict simulations", which includes simulations of non-military as well as military conflicts. From its founding in 1975 ...

for "Best Roleplaying Adventure of 1983".

Reviews

*''

Adventurers Club The Adventurers' Club was a themed nightclub in Pleasure Island (Walt Disney World Resort), Pleasure Island at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was styled after a private club for world travelers and explorers and was set in 1937. The walls of ...

'' #3 (Spring, 1984 Digest)

References

{{reflist Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes Origins Award winners Role-playing game adventures Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1983

Contents

Reception

Awards

Reviews

References