I bought this book as soon as it was released over two years ago. I am a World of Greyhawk fan from way back in the early 1980s, and I tend to pick up everything I can about the setting. I also bought the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, but comparing the two books is not really fair, so I won't do that. I want to review this Dungeons & Dragons Gazetteer on its own.
First off, it must be understood that this book is not really a World of Greyhawk sourcebook. It is a basic introduction and primer for the default D&D 3rd Edition setting. Nowhere in this book will you find the phrase "World of Greyhawk." This book refers to the setting as "The D&D World." It is treated as the general backdrop for the core D&D 3E rules, open for Dungeon Masters and players to detail and expand as they need and want. And this is a good thing.
New players to the D&D game can pick this book up for ten bucks and immediately start a campaign using the three core rulebooks. There is just enough setting detail in this book to let a DM place a first adventure, tie in some overarching plots, give his players a feel of place and history, and build to his taste. This is a base for building; not a completed structure.
Overview of the Whole Book
The cover is obvious on this review page. The book is 32 two-column pages. There are nine black-and-white illustrations, none larger than a half-page. Images in a book are often even more subjective than the text, but I think these illustrations are at least decent and fit the feel of the book. The outside borders of the pages look like faded gray parchment with runes written on them. A nice look without being obtrusive.
The map included in the book is small; it folds into quarters to fit inside the pages. It is not the map shown on the cover of the book. It is good in that all the cities and towns from the text are shown in their locations, but because the map is so small, it looks crowded. And to exasperate things, the map is mostly dark colors. I tried photocopying this map, to zoom in on areas for writing in roads and villages, but the copy comes out dark. (And yes, I know how to use a photocopier well.) You can't tell land from sea on black-and-white copies. If a DM wants to make detailed additions to the map for his campaign, he'd have to redraw his chosen area. You can't even trace on blank paper over this map. It is an attractive map, but not at all functional for a DM running a campaign on it.
Chapter One: The D&D World
This chapter introduces the concept I mention above -- this is the bare-bones description of a campaign world open for DMs and players to detail and expand as they see fit. This section lightly mentions the overall planet and geography, naming Oerth, Oerik, the Flanaess, and the two moons. The world calendar and seasons are discussed very briefly, and two tables list the standard days of the week and the months of the year for the world.
Chapter Two: Timetable of History
Two and a half pages quickly explain the history of the land of the D&D world. The Great War and the Twin Cataclysms have a few paragraphs. There is light coverage to the founding of Keoland and the Great Kingdom, mention of Iuz, and a little detail on the Greyhawk Wars. This chapter ends with "Recent Developments" and "The Flanaess Today." Though year dates are mentioned throughout this history chapter, there is no organized table or timeline. There is no mention, even in the end section, of what is the current year. All a new reader would know is that the timeline is beyond 589 Common Year (the last date mentioned in the "Recent Developments" section).
Chapter Three: The Flanaess
This is the core of the book. The 55 major states of the Flanaess are listed here with basic information needed to get a feel for the lands.
Each listing includes the realm's. . .
Name: common name and proper name
Ruler: full official title
Government: structure and function
Cities: major cities with their general population abbreviation (as listed in the Dungeon Masters Guide)
Resources: materials produced
Population: no actual population figures, just the percentage distribution of the common races
Law: the general alignment of the law of the realm
Allies: other nations and organizations
Enemies: other nations and organizations
Following the above information are a couple paragraphs laying out the general situation in the state. This description is undetailed, but evocative to the imagination. I believe the intent was to set up the feel for the realm, but leave plenty of room for a DM to create the substance. This lack of exacting detail (in the listing and description) gives the DM a general landscape for placing his dungeons, towns, and castles. Allowing the DM to make this setting his own is a good thing.
Also in this chapter are sidebars for 5 gods to add to the standard D&D pantheon listed in the Player's Handbook. Al'Akbar, Iuz, Sehanine Moonbow, Pholtus, and Rao each have information similar to what you get for the standard gods in the PHB and DMG including their domains.
Chapter Four: Geography
This chapter covers the major terrain features of the lands. 32 forests and jungles, 13 mountain ranges, 21 hill lands, 3 island chains, 27 lakes and seas, 31 rivers, 9 swamps and marshes, and 6 wastelands are listed. Most of these descriptions are only a few sentences long; the larger areas or the most important features have a paragraph or two. Just enough information to possibly set up an adventure idea or a plot hook. The on-the-ground detail is left up to the DM.
Chapter Five: Power Groups
This final chapter of the book gives information on the influential organizations of the Flanaess. The Circle of Eight, Horned Society, Knight Protectors of the Great Kingdom, Knights of the Hart, Knights of the Holy Shielding, Knights of Luna, Knights of the Watch, and the Mouqollad Consortium are each given a few paragraphs. Again, like with all the previous information in this book, these listings have just enough meat on the bones to give a DM a feel for the topic without laying out a whole menu.
Conclusion
The text itself is mostly clean and concise. Only one major editing goof did I find: the listing for the Good Hills is missing completely. There are a couple of blank spots (at chapter ends) where another illustration could have fit, but this is not jarring. Otherwise the book seems well edited and laid out.
Taken at face value for what it is intended to be, I think this is a good book. It should serve its purpose for new D&D 3E DMs and players very well: to introduce them to the base game world, and to give them a good canvas to start painting their own adventures. It is not a textbook for the World of Greyhawk.
But the map can be a problem. It is passable for showing exactly what is in the book as written, but a DM can't expand its detail without redrawing it himself. And with its small size, the DM has to show the players half the continent just to point out one kingdom or forest.
I give the Dungeons & Dragons Gazetteer a 3.5 star rating. If the map were better, I would give it 4 full stars. If you are looking for detailed information on the World of Greyhawk go for the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. But if you are just looking for a starter set to build your own campaign details on a good, solid pre-made chassis, this is good.
Quasqueton
