Hunter Holy War *OP (Hunter: The Reckoning)

Yeah I know, the word "Jihad" conjures up all manner of ignorant prejudices about Islam and the Middle East. The authors made a poor choice of words when they came up with the title for this release. Nonetheless, this is probably one of the best setting books released for Hunter: the Reckoning. Part of the Year of the Scarab setting, this book takes a closer look at Egypt and the Middle East. In fact, the introduction even goes a long way towards trying to dispell western stereotypes about the Middle East (even recommending further reading and viewing for more info on Islam, Arabic culture and the Middle East), and it does a wonderful job immersing itself in Arabic and Middle Eastern culture.The first chapter introduces us to a number of Kiswah (the Arabic name for Imbued) and provides us with information on the Middle East. Theres a lexicon of terms used by Middle Eastern Hunters (all of whom share Arabic for some mystical reason; generally its held as proof that God chose the Hunters, as Arabic is seen as the language of God), as well as a basic introduction to Arabic culture. The major religions of the Middle East, such as Islam, Christianity and Judaism, are all mentioned. Then theres the "survival guide", which mentions general information on what to do, where to go and what monsters exist in Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and several other Middle Eastern countries. Chapter Two goes into the Kiswah's first attempts at working together, as well as theories on their purpose and origins, ranging from righteous Muslims who believe they were inspired by God to pre-Islamic Arab to skeptical scientists, and pretty much everything in between. It also looks at how Arab (and Jewish) Hunters view the different Creeds using Arabic and kabbalistic terms. Very nice for the setting.In the next chapter, we are given some information on the Thalmudites (walking dead), Amalikites (spirits), Adites (vampires) and Midianites (shapeshifters) after four civilizations destroyed by God. It also gives some advice on the Hunt, including advice for each of the three Virtues on how to use your advantages. The next chapter gives even more advice on working together with other Kiswah, as well as other useful things for working in a group, such as the effort to unify all Kiswah, and the issues of cultural, ethnic and religious difference. As the book points out, there is a great deal of diversity in the Middle East beyond Arabs; Persians, Kurds, Turks, Yezidis, Druze, Bahai and lots more too. In addition, special mention is made of women's roles in society.Chapter five finally starts giving us useful out-of-character information. An examination of the differences in theme and setting is given, along with some character creation guidelines. There aren't "special rules" for creating Kiswah that differ from mainstream western Hunters. What is given, though, is information on how certain Abilities and Backgrounds are going to be different in a Middle Eastern setting, along with some information on Abilities or Backgrounds that are very likely and which ones should be restricted (like Firearms and Arsenal, due to heavy restrictions on guns in many countries). In addition, an alternative look at the Creeds and Virtues is given, one which draws upon Arabic and Islamic culture. These changes are merely cosmetic, but do help establish the setting much better than the western names. In addition, a handful of new Edges are presented. Theres also a couple new systems, one for Al Ha'it (True Faith basically) and one for the Middle Eastern version of the Word (which always appears in Arabic).The book closes out with a nice little chapter of ST specific material. This chapter goes more into detail on the setting, the reasoning behind the Word being in Arabic, Al Ha'it and even the secret police of the Kiswah. It closes up with a look at the Jinn (generic term for monsters) and some Kiswah of note. But this chapter should definately be left to STs, if only for the enjoyment of the game. Overall, I found this to be a wonderful book. While I'm not a big fan of the title, it really does do a nice job removing alot of stereotypes about the Middle East. The book is steeped in Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern culture, and makes it possible for anyone to understand and appreciate the setting. I strongly recommend that Hunter: the Reckoning players and STs check out this book, if only for a change of pace and an exciting new location, and any others in the Year of the Scarab series.