Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Tell me of Kingdoms of Kalamar
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Azgulor" data-source="post: 3455628" data-attributes="member: 14291"><p>The Kingdoms of Kalamar is a terrific setting. It's built around 5 human cultures along with the usual D&D assortment of creatures. It's built upon the premise of doing what I consider the "drudgery work" of GMing for you. Nations, cultures, languages, geographic features, etc. are done very well. As a GM, I'd rather spend my time on adventure plots, ground-level detail of villages and towns, and NPCs than trade routes, political structures, cultural details, etc.</p><p></p><p>The default assumption written into the campaign setting is one of low- to moderate- levels of magic. This is not a "High Fantasy" setting by default. Kenzer Co. wisely realized that it's easier to amp up the fantasy/magical elements than it is to pare them back. It leaves the setting open for the PCs to be the center stage heroes. There are no Elminsters or uber-NPCs in every kingdom, city, and village.</p><p></p><p>The setting is also strong in an area that most settings are weak: maps. There is a Kalamar atlas that is a GM's dream of setting map detail. Accurate distances, roads, major settlements, resources by region, etc.</p><p></p><p>Often described as "Greyhawk done right", Kalamar allows for easy importation of just about any D20 adventure. I replaced the default pantheon of gods (which is very well done) with the pantheon from the Book of the Righteous without any issues. There are two kingdoms which are feudal realms common to the default Middle Ages-with-magic of most D&D products. There is also a region of city states that support a more free-booting, swashbuckling style of play. There are also enough tweaks to keep it fresh and different. The setting's namesake, for example is a feudal realm of Middle Ages technology but depicts a Roman-like state where the empire didn't fall into (total) decline.</p><p></p><p>What Kalamar is not, however, is sexy. This is the root of the "very dry" comments you'll see when Kalamar is discussed. Almost every page of the campaign setting has plot hooks for a GM to utilize, but they don't have the layout or artwork that cause them to jump out at you. Kalamar has multiple themes and supports multiple campaign styles. This breadth can also be its weakness in that it doesn't have a central theme for a GM to latch onto.</p><p></p><p>As a setting, Kalamar can easily support low-magic, swords-n-sorcery, or historical fantasy out of the box. I use the Conan OGL rules for my Kalamar campaign. It could easily support A Game of Thrones, Iron Heroes, Grim Tales, or True 20 campaigns. High magic campaigns can be done, but the GM has to bring those elements to the setting.</p><p></p><p>Azgulor</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Azgulor, post: 3455628, member: 14291"] The Kingdoms of Kalamar is a terrific setting. It's built around 5 human cultures along with the usual D&D assortment of creatures. It's built upon the premise of doing what I consider the "drudgery work" of GMing for you. Nations, cultures, languages, geographic features, etc. are done very well. As a GM, I'd rather spend my time on adventure plots, ground-level detail of villages and towns, and NPCs than trade routes, political structures, cultural details, etc. The default assumption written into the campaign setting is one of low- to moderate- levels of magic. This is not a "High Fantasy" setting by default. Kenzer Co. wisely realized that it's easier to amp up the fantasy/magical elements than it is to pare them back. It leaves the setting open for the PCs to be the center stage heroes. There are no Elminsters or uber-NPCs in every kingdom, city, and village. The setting is also strong in an area that most settings are weak: maps. There is a Kalamar atlas that is a GM's dream of setting map detail. Accurate distances, roads, major settlements, resources by region, etc. Often described as "Greyhawk done right", Kalamar allows for easy importation of just about any D20 adventure. I replaced the default pantheon of gods (which is very well done) with the pantheon from the Book of the Righteous without any issues. There are two kingdoms which are feudal realms common to the default Middle Ages-with-magic of most D&D products. There is also a region of city states that support a more free-booting, swashbuckling style of play. There are also enough tweaks to keep it fresh and different. The setting's namesake, for example is a feudal realm of Middle Ages technology but depicts a Roman-like state where the empire didn't fall into (total) decline. What Kalamar is not, however, is sexy. This is the root of the "very dry" comments you'll see when Kalamar is discussed. Almost every page of the campaign setting has plot hooks for a GM to utilize, but they don't have the layout or artwork that cause them to jump out at you. Kalamar has multiple themes and supports multiple campaign styles. This breadth can also be its weakness in that it doesn't have a central theme for a GM to latch onto. As a setting, Kalamar can easily support low-magic, swords-n-sorcery, or historical fantasy out of the box. I use the Conan OGL rules for my Kalamar campaign. It could easily support A Game of Thrones, Iron Heroes, Grim Tales, or True 20 campaigns. High magic campaigns can be done, but the GM has to bring those elements to the setting. Azgulor [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Tell me of Kingdoms of Kalamar
Top