Nyarlathotep
Explorer
"People of the Realms" (version 2.0.0) is the first volume of books describing the "Umbragia - Realms of Shadow" setting published by Jagged Edge Games. It is available as free download from this site, so it can't be beaten in the "value for money" category. But don't be fooled by the "for free", this is definitely professional work that compares favorably to many commercial publications.
An added bonus is that you can discuss the contents of this book with designer KDLadage and other contributors and players on the ENworld forum (just look for the Umbragia discussion list): feedback and contributions are explicitly wanted.
Content
The document consist of 48 pages, including the front cover and OGL. The first section summarizes the various racial abilities used throughout the document for easy reference or use in your own game world (all introduced game mechanics are open game content under the OGL).
The book then introduces the nineteen sentient races inhabiting the Umbragia campaign world. Each race comes with a description of its physical characteristics, psychology and social or political role, as well as game statistics. This is accompanied by a drawing of the race and mood-setting "quotes" by various Umbragian characters.
What makes these races special is that they are not modelled after the "classical" fantasy races found in most fantasy RPGs (Elves, Dwarves, etc.). It was the stated goal of Umbragia's designers to avoid such cliches and create something original. IMO they have succeeded.
The races span a wide spectrum of attitudes and goals, from the primitive to the sophisticated, the ruthless to the caring and the impulsive to the patient. I don't want to spoil your fun in reading it yourself, so no details here. Let me just say that I personally found them both believable and promising. And even if you don't intend to base your campaign in Umbragia, all of them could easily be adapted for use in other worlds.
As for game balance, there are level adjustments given for each race, ranging from -2 for the weakest to +2 for the strongest. If you disagree with this evaluation, you could simply change it to fit your preferences, but it seems consistent to me (though I haven't play tested it yet).
Artwork and Presentation
The book's cover sports some interesting fonts and one of the drawings from inside. It is not very colorful, but thus looks good even if printed in monochrome.
The interior artwork consists of the nineteen illustrations of the races, which I consider very good. They are not only nice to look at, but also fit the descriptive text very well and help to form a mental image of the races.
The document is set in the usual two-column layout, putting game statistics and in-character quotes in separate boxes. Also, each race has two opposing pages reserved for itself, which makes it easy to find something (unlike a certain core-rulebook).
An added bonus is that you can discuss the contents of this book with designer KDLadage and other contributors and players on the ENworld forum (just look for the Umbragia discussion list): feedback and contributions are explicitly wanted.
Content
The document consist of 48 pages, including the front cover and OGL. The first section summarizes the various racial abilities used throughout the document for easy reference or use in your own game world (all introduced game mechanics are open game content under the OGL).
The book then introduces the nineteen sentient races inhabiting the Umbragia campaign world. Each race comes with a description of its physical characteristics, psychology and social or political role, as well as game statistics. This is accompanied by a drawing of the race and mood-setting "quotes" by various Umbragian characters.
What makes these races special is that they are not modelled after the "classical" fantasy races found in most fantasy RPGs (Elves, Dwarves, etc.). It was the stated goal of Umbragia's designers to avoid such cliches and create something original. IMO they have succeeded.
The races span a wide spectrum of attitudes and goals, from the primitive to the sophisticated, the ruthless to the caring and the impulsive to the patient. I don't want to spoil your fun in reading it yourself, so no details here. Let me just say that I personally found them both believable and promising. And even if you don't intend to base your campaign in Umbragia, all of them could easily be adapted for use in other worlds.
As for game balance, there are level adjustments given for each race, ranging from -2 for the weakest to +2 for the strongest. If you disagree with this evaluation, you could simply change it to fit your preferences, but it seems consistent to me (though I haven't play tested it yet).
Artwork and Presentation
The book's cover sports some interesting fonts and one of the drawings from inside. It is not very colorful, but thus looks good even if printed in monochrome.
The interior artwork consists of the nineteen illustrations of the races, which I consider very good. They are not only nice to look at, but also fit the descriptive text very well and help to form a mental image of the races.
The document is set in the usual two-column layout, putting game statistics and in-character quotes in separate boxes. Also, each race has two opposing pages reserved for itself, which makes it easy to find something (unlike a certain core-rulebook).
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