Kingdoms of Kalamar - fill me in please

[Mark Plemmons]

Gist this:

It's a world where all Kenzer does is make a few sourcebooks and some modules...and nothing really happens unless it happens in your campaign.

In other words, it's pretty dull to me. But others like it.

Kinda harsh, Nightfall.

No, we don't plan on advancing the timeline (coming out with updates that make major changes to the setting and thus affect your group's campaign).

That certainly doesn't mean nothing happens.

 

[Mark Plemmons]

You know, I borrowed KoK from a friend of mine, and I just couldn't read it. I tried. It reads like stereo instructions.

The campaign setting sourcebook does get similar comments on occasion - though this is the first time I've heard "stereo instructions" - but it's pretty easy to explain.

Have you ever sat down and tried to read an entire 272 page geography/history book of a foreign land? It's not usually light-hearted easy reading. However, that doesn't mean that there's no adventure there.

I recommend just flipping through, picking a section and reading it, then following the "links" you like from there.

 

[Crothian]

Well, it is hard to add more then what Mark Plemmon's has. I've never played the system but as far as published setting go, Kalamar is really goo. It is firmly established and has a lot of optional books covering many areas making it easy to pick and choose what a DM or players will want. It has a very good following and the Kalamar boards on Kenzer's site are pretty active and helpful. The guys of Kenzer are also really nice people. At cons they have taken time, like an hour or so, to explain many of their books to me even when they knew I wasn't buying anything.

Kalamar has two accessories that are top notch. The first is the DM's screen. It is probably the most complete and thorogh screen I have ever seen. The second is the Kalamar Atlas. I don't play the setting, but I own the atlas. It is very cool, color, and the most impressive I've seen. It's a better Atlas the ones of the Earth I've seen.

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

Gist this:

It's a world where all Kenzer does is make a few sourcebooks and some modules...and nothing really happens unless it happens in your campaign.

In other words, it's pretty dull to me. But others like it.

Or, to put it sensibly, your hard work in crafting adventures as GM will not be thrown into chaos when the latest supplement takes published material forward a couple of years and in a direction at odds to your personal campaign.

This to me is a selling point (it's why I use HârnWorld) and is not, as Nightfall thinks a bad thing. I'd have looked at Kaslamar myself, except for the fact that people I trust say it isn't as good as Hârn.

GOM

 

[Calico_Jack73]

There are so many D&D campaigns out there now and I'm too cheap to spend that much money on just a chance.

<Begin Hijack>
Just out of curiosity have you considered Midnight? It most definitely is NOT dry. Imagine what would have happened to Middle Earth if Sauron had captured Frodo, tortured his little hobbit butt in unspeakable ways, and used the one-ring to destroy the armies of the west. You'd be playing in the aftermath as resistance fighters. It is an awesome setting and I highly reccomend it.
<End Hijack>

 

[NewJeffCT]

The campaign setting sourcebook does get similar comments on occasion - though this is the first time I've heard "stereo instructions" - but it's pretty easy to explain.

Have you ever sat down and tried to read an entire 272 page geography/history book of a foreign land? It's not usually light-hearted easy reading. However, that doesn't mean that there's no adventure there.

I recommend just flipping through, picking a section and reading it, then following the "links" you like from there.

I agree with Mark on this one. Pick up the Kalamar campaign setting and flip to a random page in the sections detailing all the nations and randomly point your finger at a spot in the page. I can guarantee you that you'll find several good adventure hooks on each page. Every time I pick up the book, I find a new possible adventure that can kick off a campaign...

 

[MerakSpielman]

It takes a while to start understanding how the nations and cultures are woven together. The guys at Kenzer did a good job.

Also, the art in the modules is wonderful. For most encounters, there is a full-page piece of art to show the players.

I love the d10000 encounter tables. Each module has some more of them. I want a book full of them, personally.

One of the greatest things about Kalamar is the Blank Slate aspect. You can do gritty low-magic, Forgotten Realms high-magic, or anything in between. It doesn't seem to adversely affect the setting at all, either way. Just getting the core books, you get a world that's frozen in time. There are a few minor wars going on, but nothing huge. The DM and players get to do it all, and take it wherever they want.

 

[BlueBlackRed]

<Begin Hijack>
Just out of curiosity have you considered Midnight? It most definitely is NOT dry. Imagine what would have happened to Middle Earth if Sauron had captured Frodo, tortured his little hobbit butt in unspeakable ways, and used the one-ring to destroy the armies of the west. You'd be playing in the aftermath as resistance fighters. It is an awesome setting and I highly reccomend it.
<End Hijack>

My tastes in D&D rule Midnight out.

Several things rule out Blackmoor. Too bad too because I bought that.

Dragonlance...bought that too. What a pile of junk. Overpriced and too far out there for me.

Eberron? Never.

Ravenloft? Too dark. Not my cup o' tea

So far this thread has pushed my interest in Kalamar a little more to the positive, but not heavily.

I already own the DM's screen because of a thread I read on here. And I'm happy with that purchase. So I might take a closer look at the Kalamar RPG books.

 

[Desdichado]

The big problem with making recommendations is it's difficult to figure out what your tastes are. You've mentioned a few things that you've liked or not liked (mostly the latter) but not explained why.

 

[Sayburr]

The "player's primer" was written to address the 'book is too dry to read' syndrome.

I really like the Kalamar setting because the five chapters of the book are like mini settings in themselves as each area is quite different.