''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, Flying Buffalo, Inc. A second edition was lat ...

'' 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 the p ...

in 1983.

''Stormhaven'' is a setting for ''

'' that draws heavily upon

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rha ...

of the 1930s and 1940s, including references to

Walter B. Gibson Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897 – December 6, 1985) was an American writer and professional magician, best known for his work on the pulp fiction character ''The Shadow''. Gibson, under the pen-name Maxwell Grant, wrote "more than 30 ...

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by 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 writer Walter ...

, 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 over ...

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 doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights ...

. The titular Stormhaven is an estate on Savage Island on

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

in Vermont owned by Kenneth Allard, president of Allard Technologies, and guarded by high-tech security. Allard's invited visitors include notable people in the field of technology, celebrities, and eccentrics with ties to the Allard clan. 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 Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consid ...

'' (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, severa ...

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

Espionage! ''Espionage!'' is a role-playing game published by Hero Games in 1983. Description ''Espionage!'' is a system of modern espionage rules that use the Hero System. The rulebook (64 pages) covers character creation, skills, combat (melee and firearms ...

'', 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." In the February 1985 edition of '' Dragon'', 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, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are m ...

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 the historical wargaming hobby. It was named in honor of Charles S. Roberts the "Father of Wargaming" who founded Avalon Hill. The award is informally called a "Ch ...

for "Best Roleplaying Adventure of 1983".

Reviews

*''

Adventurers Club The Adventurers Club was a themed nightclub in 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 the club were covered with artifacts and pho ...

'' #3 (Spring, 1984 Digest) *''

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'', '' Ru ...

'' #37 (Nov./Dec., 1984)

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