Review: The Nazi Occult by Kenneth Hite

Osprey Books has a long and distinguished history as a publisher of historical reference books. I am a huge fan of their product lines and many an adventure sprang from their non-fiction titles. Happily, Osprey is branching out into the gaming arena explicitly with their “Osprey Adventure” line of books.  It is a new line and they were kind enough to forward me a copy of Kenneth Hite’s latest effort “The Nazi Occult.”

Though it is a gaming supplement meant to aid game masters with World War 2 era occult campaigns (eg Achtung Cthulhu) it reads like a “straight” history book.  I know this is a common practice for gaming books to hide their gaming nature, masquerading as diaries or other found documents, but this is especially well done. Hite leverages the many occult practices of the Nazi party and weaves a compelling story that it was all real.  An SS mission to Tibet for example takes on a more arcane bent and the post-war “werewolf” saboteurs were actual werewolves!

The fact Hite has access to Osprey’s historical archives and artists adds significant verisimilitude to his efforts.  The art is up to Osprey’s usual high standards and some judicious Photoshop inserts arcane and technological artifacts into period photos.

The book, as will most Osprey offerings is short but packed with useful information. I highly recommend it for  game master wanting to plumb the depths of Nazi occult activities in a future campaign. There is even a short passage at the end that implies a sequel may be in the works for this book. I truly hope so.

Trask, The Last Tyromancer