Monday, December 19, 2011

The Book Of Ebon Bindings -Random Thoughts & Such Part1



My excperience with Book of Ebon Bindings is thus I feel that it is one of the greatest "in game" pieces of role playing material written. The book gives all of the background of  the religion of Tsolyánu & the 48 planes beyond. This isn't for the faint of heart. Those who aren't mature or don't understand should probably stay far away.  This book has an emphasis on demonology, summoning, demon abilities, and banishment rituals. No game mechanics. Later re-printed in a larger format, with a black cover, by TOME.


The red version of the Book of Ebon Bindings 
The Black Version of The Book of Ebon Bindings  - The 2nd printing from 1991



From Rpg Geek: 

The Book of Ebon Bindings is a supplement for roleplaying in M. A. R. Barker's world of Tékumel. The 82 page book begins with an introduction to the religion of Tsolyánu, its deities and cosmology, magical arts, the planes of being and the creatures thereof. The remainder is a translation of The Book of Ebon Bindings, a complete and detailed text on the subject of Tsolyáni demonology.


Samwise7 did a review of the book, I watched it over weekend & it covers most of the book in far better detail then I could. I think he did a great job.

                                               
Part II goes over one of the major rituals of the book as well. It really gives a good feel to how the book really presents a very good solid backdrop to the world & magical arts of Empire of The Petal Throne. Notice the number of adventure hooks sprinkled throughout here. Notice the detail & presentation.

Demonic Powers presents -
Demonic Powers from the Book of Ebon Bindings is a handy reference to all of the abilities of the Lords of the Demon Planes. There is no need to go flipping through your books to find the definition of abilities such as “Abcission” or “Colliquation” or even “Metagrobilisation” – these powers are listed and defined, along with all of the rest. This article is a necessary reference for game masters and players alike and is useful for every Tékumel campaign. 6 pages. This book is free Here

The book itself can be purchased right Here
For those running a Human Space Empire Game or Empire of the Petal Throne this is a must have. The sheer detail is incredible & it could possibly be used for other systems & varied encounters. The level of work that went into this book is massive but the book itself isn't. The adult nature of the book can make it seem well odd as it pile
s weirdness on top of weirdness. The only other game book that has this level off oddness is Carcosa.
The book of Ebon Bindings isn't for everyone but its one of my favorite books for any setting & well worth checking out if your an Empire of Petal Throne dungeon master. 

3 comments:

  1. I've got the black cover version myself. I've always thought it was pretty cool, but as you say, not for everyone.

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  2. So why is it that there hasn't been another, similar book like this produced prior to Carcosa? There's like a space of thirty years in-between...

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  3. I've also got the black version of this book. Trey its definitely not for everyone.
    Well Garrison, I believe because of cost & research involved. Empire of the Petal Throne has a core group of gamers to it. The only books I know that come close to this level of detail are the Realms of Chaos books by Games Workshop put out in the early 90s. I also think that "adult" themed games don't sell as well. Thanks for the comments & part two is coming up tomorrow!

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