The Atruaghin Clans


The Atruaghin Clans is an supplement published by TSR in 1991 for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.

Contents

The Atruaghin Clans is a set of two booklets that detail Mystara's Atruaghin Clans, a society of five nomadic tribes loosely based on North and Central American Indian nations.
The publication consists of two booklets:
  • The 64-page booklet "Player's Guide" describes the realm of the Atruaghin Clans within Mystara. After the introduction, the book is divided into the following sections: The Story of Atruaghin, Character Generation, Shamani, Spell Descriptions and sections on the individual tribes.
  • The 32-page "Referee's Guide" outlines the history timeline, the Immortals involved in the Clans' history, some non-player characters, as well as "Totem Magic", "Atruaghin's Mystical Conveyor", and a note on how to adapt the content to 2nd Edition AD&D.
A large color map of the region is included.

Publication history

In an attempt to broaden the popularity of D&Ds Mystara campaign setting, TSR published a series of 14 gazetteers between 1987 and 1991, each focused on a different region. The last one, released in 1991, was GAZ14 The Atruaghin Clans; it contained two booklets written by William W. Connors, a large color map and an outer folder, with cover art by Clyde Caldwell and interior art by Stephen Fabian.

Reception

Writing a retrospective review for OD&Dities, R.E.B. Tongue called the adaptation of real-world indigenous culture "an excellent idea that is seldom used in fantasy RPG, and it's realisation is interesting." Tongue thought the booklets were "well-written... The interaction between tribes is well-done, and each individual tribe is well-described." However, Tongue questioned the utility of this setting, pointing out that for players more used to a traditional European feudal setting, "it might be difficult to persuade a group of players to play in such a campaign." Tongue concluded by giving this product a rating of 8.5 out of 10 for its writing and production, but only 6 out of 10 for its usefulness in a home campaign.