The Good: As usual, some great ideas. I love the new races, especially the Morgane, and the Hidden Folk are a great twist on elves. The Knights of Solomon could make for tremendous antagonists or even an interesting campaign option.

The Bad: The book suffers from trying to cover too much with too little space. Whereas the first API Worldwide book made Canada feel PACKED, Europe comes across kind of anemic in comparison.

For a full review, go to: http://mostunreadblogever.blogspot.com/2010/08/tommys-take-on-api-worldwide-europe.html

(Crossposted at the Grand OGL Wiki)

API Worldwide: Europe by Third Eye Games is a 90-page campaign supplement for the Apocalypse Prevention Inc. system. It retails for $9.99 at Rpgnow and is probably available at other vendors as well. While the cover indicates that this is a European sourcebook, there is not enough space to cover all the European countries in detail and instead provides good detail on the London home base of API and an overview of European sites that fall within their jurisdiction.

The book covers England in detail as well as provides background on many of the larger European countries as well as they current mystical or political entanglements as well as important locations. Two items from this section that I particularly liked were the mystical location known as the Hall of Dreams located in Budapest and the Bridez of Dracula, a folk rock group of Taylari who are touring Romania. There are a lot of adventure hooks scattered throughout this first section of the book.

This book expands the API’s involvement with other groups. It provides details on the history and formation of API, their interaction and acceptance of demon agents, and provides statistics on four major players in the API organization including it leader Jonathon Nisbett. In addition to the API they provide details on other organizations that either support the API like the magic-based Rosicrucians, hinder the API like the Inner Cabinet (selfish in all ways) or the Knights of Solomon (with an opposing view of what salvation means). There are also a couple of couple of organizations that could conceivably fill either role depending on the circumstance and I think I like those ones the best as they will provide greater ambiguity in what the heroes should or should not be doing that is so necessary for increasing the tension in the game.

For those looking for crunchy bits there are new pieces of equipment, oath magic, magic items and a handful of classical monsters as well as the new primary races of Chirons (centaurs), Fauns, Hidden Folk (possessing elves), and Morgaines (soul-eating outsiders which can perceive the intricacies of fate). The product ends with a module for agents to undertake from the London office. Now I should be very clear that I like that Third Eye Games included an adventure. In a world where fewer and few rpg modules are being created it is nice to see a small adventure included with this sourcebook. The thing that strikes me as strange about the included module is that it is not very Euro-centric. It doesn’t include any of the new power groups or any of the new primary races and the majority of it takes place in an alternate adventure. It seems to me that you’d want the adventure to include many elements from the sourcebook. That said there is nothing innately wrong about the module and it could serve wells as a 2nd or 3rd API Europe adventure. I think as a 1st mission it may have too dire of straights for new players.

There a couple of editing gaffs here or there like the common (page XXX). But they are few and far between. Overall, API Worldwide: Europe looks to be a very solid book for GMs looking to set their adventures in Europe or work out of the London branch.