BLUF: This was written for "Strands of Fate" and uses terminolgy from Spirit of the Century. It is compatible with other versions of Fate if you are willing to work really hard to make it so.

The Reedwater Campaign would work quite well as a fantasy strand for Strands of Fate. The NPCs are well thought out. The sand box is truly full of wonderful ideas and maps. However, don't expect to understand how to use this product at first glance without understanding how Strands of Fate plays. For those of you coming from Fate Core or FAE be prepared to be very confused. To use the magic users in the game you need to understand the magic system presented in Stands of Fate. To use the skills you need to understand the skills from Strands of Fate.

Each NPC has 10 Aspects! (Strands of Fate only has 6 so that seems quite odd). Sticky aspects are referred to something in Spirit of the Century.

I'll give this three stars because it is a good campaign for Strands of Fate, but it will not work straight of the box for other Fate systems.

EDIT: Now I am not sure it will work quite right with Strands of Fate either.

Excellent quality here from the plot to the characters. I am impressed by the sketches too - the artwork alone is worth the purchase! I enjoy the magical elements, from the fey to the creatures big and small. This is a detailed world that offees much adventure ahead!

My first impressions were of a high quality product, interior design is clean and well presented. This has a abundance of crunchy background fluff allowing great potential for a sandbox game. NPC's are well detailed and offer great oppurtunities for repeated inclusion in games. The adventure included in this product is a great introduction to the setting and is easily expanded by a GM to include side treks.

All in all a stunning first product from a new company and offers a historic setting for Fate that seems to be unique and not yet covered.

So when I look at this I thought wow! The campaign book looks good it's well presented and there's bags of NPCs and adventure ideas. The best way to describe the campaign is a mix of Ars Magica and Strands of Fate it's particularly focused on the local fae and how they interact with the church, wizards and the significant NPCs.

Void Star Games Strands of Fate is mentioned in the open gaming license copyright section, which is a stat based version of Fate (the average Joe has 2 in each stat so conversion to Fate core is easy). It doesn't require Strands of Fate to play, and the only rules knowledge which might confuse is the use of (P) at the end of the occasional aspect which can be invoked for the appropriate circumstances without the expenditure of a fate point.

I love Strands of Fate however it's painfully lacking on campaign material the stuff that's out there all seems to be science fiction. While Ars Magica is much better for source material the available the source books focus on tribunals and the grand scale but lack the small-scale NPCs which brings life into a campaign.

So what does Reedwater bring into this mix; well the clever use of descriptive aspects breathes life to the NPC's. The significant ones have a description, tactics and goals. Also if they have any feats/stunts that are fully described along with the stats of any equipment. I particularly like how many of the NPCs can easily be expanded into their own mini adventure. Also a great deal of effort has been made in conveying the strangeness of the fae and their deadly capricious nature, who appear to be the campaign's main protagonists (and foils). What it doesn't provide is some grand overarching plot where there's a villain behind the scenes who directs everything and as soon as he is dispatched the campaign finishes. It's best that the referee decides on these things and there's plenty of NPCs which could fit that slot.

About 50 pages is devoted to the Arcane Guild (Covenant) of Reedwater and it's strange intrusion into the fae realm (Arcadia). All of the wizards are well detailed and at least one player if not all of them will be playing wizard (Ars Magica style). To top it off there’s a 40 page adventure which gives the referee a flying start to a campaign which can only grow, providing the author produces the 99 cent adventures and the occasional campaign book promised on the back pages.

My advice is that if you're considering running a mediaeval fantasy game in Fate (particularly Strands of Fate) then seriously consider buying this PDF. Also if you have an Ars Magica game based in the Rhine tribunal or the Greater Alps tribunal then it might be worth checking it out, it's a gem of a sourcebook.