The Staffordshire Trading Company: Works of John Williams

In the year of our lord 1674, John Benjamin Williams lay dying in London. Having travelled the world as a spy for the English Crown, he returned and lived out his remaining years as a former spy should: quietly. In his sixtieth year, old and infirm, he put the finishing touches on this, his last contribution to King and country, and perhaps his finest achievement: a book of maps.

Published by Lamentations of the Flame Princess, the Works of John Williams is a game supplement consisting, you guessed it, of a lot of maps. Set in 17th century Europe the maps represent locations and structures that existed at that time, including things such as 11th-century castles, American Indian settlements, and Ottoman dwellings. Maps are, of course, system-agnostic and therefore suitable for any game that features castles, palaces, or forts. Or farms. Or villages. Or ships. Or foundries. Or lighthouses. Or tents (yes, it has a tent in it).

Clocking in at 126 pages in a fetching A5 format, this tome contains 128 maps spread out over 114 pages. The text is minimal, but includes an index, glossary, short section on adventure hooks, and a bibliography for the boffins out there.

The author, Glynn Seal, has made an effort to make the maps as true to authentic 17^th century architecture as possible but, the source material being from the 17^th century, it seems to have been a tough job. Sadly, CAD hadn’t been invented then. Nonetheless, he knocked it out of the park because the maps are stunning.

So, what do you get? Well, the pictures in this post ought to give you a reasonable idea. Castles, churches, watchtowers, libraries, ships, and dwellings big and small. Hell, it’s even got the Taj Mahal and the Kremlin in there. The book itself is of excellent quality with heavy paper, a stitched binding, twin ribbon bookmarks, and a handsome cover. You’d be hard pressed to find a better game book anywhere. It appears to be unavailable in hardcopy at the time of publishing, but the pdf is available and is well worth snatching up.

Available on Drivethrurpg.

If you’re interested in Lamentations adventures, take a look at Magic Eater, The Pale Lady, The Yellow book of Brechewold, or Lamentations of the Gingerbread Princess. All dogs go to Hell is free on Drivethrurpg.

Resource books include the Core Rulebook and Mayhemic Missile Method.