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The Silver Marches
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<blockquote data-quote="Khur" data-source="post: 2010364" data-attributes="member: 5583"><p><em>Silver Marches</em> shines through as the first regional sourcebook for the 3rd Edition <em>Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting</em> (FRCS). Revealed are the icy lands of the North and all the dangers that await those bold enough to venture there. Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl breathe life into the <em>Silver Marches</em> for Forgotten Realms (FR) players and provide a trove of ideas for anyone else. </p><p></p><p>Impeccably written, designed, and presented, the book meets WotC's high standards. The layout is pleasing with minimal typographic errors, and the art is dynamic--few images are lacking. Cartography is executed wonderfully in the same style as other FR products. Unfortunately, the overland map has some computer-generated imagery that looks pasted on. The fact that the maps are all on one pullout poster is very useful when reading the reference material.</p><p></p><p>The environs of this treacherous land are described in detail, from general to explicit. For some sections I needed the map to aid visualization, but I found seeds of wide-ranging plots in all of the material. Further, the more specific information added up to dozens of villages, potential adventure sites, and useful locales before I was through the first third of the volume. Coupled with an overview of the Underdark of the region, sure to be expanded upon in the upcoming <em>City of the Spider Queen</em>, there's more than enough content to whet my campaigning appetite.</p><p></p><p>While some of the inclusions seem arbitrary or ill researched, I found the weather and environmental sections very appealing and utilitarian. Dangers described covered forest fires, bogs and quicksand, altitude, and more. Most of this information is useful to anyone who wants such realism in his or her game. The weather charts are highly detailed and very handy for a DM, such as myself, who likes to use atmosphere to help suspend player disbelief. Adding such environmental challenges make "getting there" half the fun.</p><p></p><p>The flora and fauna presented are very good too. Rules for herb gathering in the wild were a welcome sight, although I was disappointed that only a few plants with herbal uses were listed. I also thought that the addition of deer and elk statistics were great, though I always wondered why these creatures didn't appear in the <em>Monster Manual</em>. Four new monsters grace these leaves and I was particularly impressed with the giant raven. Further, the encounter charts in <em>Silver Marches</em> are great compared to similar products in the FR line-even if I think some creatures (an Ibrandlin for example) shouldn't appear as random encounters. Why the Dread Warrior is on these charts at all is a big mystery, considering <em>Monsters of Faerun</em> suggests they are all but unique to Thay.</p><p></p><p>I was well pleased with the exposition on the lifestyle, politics, and settlements of the new league of the North. From Silverymoon, the areas greatest city, to Newfort, a tiny village of ex-Zhentarim settlers, all of the presented areas were fittingly described. Moreover, I found a mind-boggling amount of ideas in each section for potential use as adventures or local color. The authors took the care to present military rosters for the major settlements, which I will definitely use when war with the orcish armies of King Obould Many-Arrows breaks out in my campaign. Yet, I was sorely disappointed by the information on the Uthgardt barbarian tribes--it didn't get at the meat of their culture at all.</p><p></p><p>The NPCs of the <em>Silver Marches</em>, be they potential friend or foe, are impressive. I really enjoyed the fact that many of these characters are mentioned in the FRCS, but are expanded here. Turlang, the great treant of the High Forest was my favorite, though I must admit taking a liking to the female orc adept, Lorog, Obould's chief adviser. Those familiar with <em>The Dark Elf Trilogy</em> will enjoy the statistics of King Bruenor Battlehammer and Wulfgar, though these characters may seem underpowered to those who read their adventures. And, though they are mentioned in passing in <em>Silver Marches</em>, I recommend a trip to the Wizards website to get statistics for the Great Wyrms of the North (and other goodies).</p><p></p><p>Six new prestige classes are available to PCs in the North. While the Knight Errant of Silverymoon had a lot of flavor, I felt that many players might ignore this class due to its abilities being less favorable than advancing in a core class such as fighter, ranger, or paladin. On the other hand, the orc scout had me grinning evilly to myself and thinking of the possibility of an orc campaign with Obould's Dark Arrow Keep as the starting point. Like the orc scout, many of the classes presented can add nice texture to even non-Realms campaigns, especially if restricted to certain races. A dwarven giantkiller readily springs to mind. I did feel that the authors missed an opportunity to do the Uthgardt more justice by not adding any prestige classes, unique feats, or even spells for them.</p><p></p><p>I must say that this book is well worth your gaming dollar even before considering the fact that it has four adventures included. While most of them need a bit of development, the rest of the book provides more than enough raw material for that. Further, the sites and their inhabitants are all fascinating. One of the settings provides a climax for a story seed that appears in the FRCS description of the Moonwood--quite wonderful. "Dead Orc Pass" is the most out-of-the-ordinary, orc-inhabited locale I've seen in a long time. The fourth module of the lot is touted as a mini-campaign and it is. There's nothing like gold fever, marauding monsters, and some foes that are all too human to create a string of great gaming sessions.</p><p></p><p><em>Silver Marches</em>, strangely enough, could be as useful for those playing other campaigns as those actually playing in the Realms. The book is so detailed and rich that many ideas and settings can be lifted from its pages to just about anywhere. The lack of an index does make the product less useful as a reference. Still, I recommend <em>Silver Marches</em> to anyone who plays d20 fantasy. It's a finely polished piece of work.</p><p></p><p>This review was originally written for <a href="http://www.unitedplaytest.com/gamingfrontiers/index.html" target="_blank">Gaming Frontiers</a> on 09/25/02.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Khur, post: 2010364, member: 5583"] [i]Silver Marches[/i] shines through as the first regional sourcebook for the 3rd Edition [i]Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting[/i] (FRCS). Revealed are the icy lands of the North and all the dangers that await those bold enough to venture there. Ed Greenwood and Jason Carl breathe life into the [i]Silver Marches[/i] for Forgotten Realms (FR) players and provide a trove of ideas for anyone else. Impeccably written, designed, and presented, the book meets WotC's high standards. The layout is pleasing with minimal typographic errors, and the art is dynamic--few images are lacking. Cartography is executed wonderfully in the same style as other FR products. Unfortunately, the overland map has some computer-generated imagery that looks pasted on. The fact that the maps are all on one pullout poster is very useful when reading the reference material. The environs of this treacherous land are described in detail, from general to explicit. For some sections I needed the map to aid visualization, but I found seeds of wide-ranging plots in all of the material. Further, the more specific information added up to dozens of villages, potential adventure sites, and useful locales before I was through the first third of the volume. Coupled with an overview of the Underdark of the region, sure to be expanded upon in the upcoming [i]City of the Spider Queen[/i], there's more than enough content to whet my campaigning appetite. While some of the inclusions seem arbitrary or ill researched, I found the weather and environmental sections very appealing and utilitarian. Dangers described covered forest fires, bogs and quicksand, altitude, and more. Most of this information is useful to anyone who wants such realism in his or her game. The weather charts are highly detailed and very handy for a DM, such as myself, who likes to use atmosphere to help suspend player disbelief. Adding such environmental challenges make "getting there" half the fun. The flora and fauna presented are very good too. Rules for herb gathering in the wild were a welcome sight, although I was disappointed that only a few plants with herbal uses were listed. I also thought that the addition of deer and elk statistics were great, though I always wondered why these creatures didn't appear in the [i]Monster Manual[/i]. Four new monsters grace these leaves and I was particularly impressed with the giant raven. Further, the encounter charts in [i]Silver Marches[/i] are great compared to similar products in the FR line-even if I think some creatures (an Ibrandlin for example) shouldn't appear as random encounters. Why the Dread Warrior is on these charts at all is a big mystery, considering [i]Monsters of Faerun[/i] suggests they are all but unique to Thay. I was well pleased with the exposition on the lifestyle, politics, and settlements of the new league of the North. From Silverymoon, the areas greatest city, to Newfort, a tiny village of ex-Zhentarim settlers, all of the presented areas were fittingly described. Moreover, I found a mind-boggling amount of ideas in each section for potential use as adventures or local color. The authors took the care to present military rosters for the major settlements, which I will definitely use when war with the orcish armies of King Obould Many-Arrows breaks out in my campaign. Yet, I was sorely disappointed by the information on the Uthgardt barbarian tribes--it didn't get at the meat of their culture at all. The NPCs of the [i]Silver Marches[/i], be they potential friend or foe, are impressive. I really enjoyed the fact that many of these characters are mentioned in the FRCS, but are expanded here. Turlang, the great treant of the High Forest was my favorite, though I must admit taking a liking to the female orc adept, Lorog, Obould's chief adviser. Those familiar with [i]The Dark Elf Trilogy[/i] will enjoy the statistics of King Bruenor Battlehammer and Wulfgar, though these characters may seem underpowered to those who read their adventures. And, though they are mentioned in passing in [i]Silver Marches[/i], I recommend a trip to the Wizards website to get statistics for the Great Wyrms of the North (and other goodies). Six new prestige classes are available to PCs in the North. While the Knight Errant of Silverymoon had a lot of flavor, I felt that many players might ignore this class due to its abilities being less favorable than advancing in a core class such as fighter, ranger, or paladin. On the other hand, the orc scout had me grinning evilly to myself and thinking of the possibility of an orc campaign with Obould's Dark Arrow Keep as the starting point. Like the orc scout, many of the classes presented can add nice texture to even non-Realms campaigns, especially if restricted to certain races. A dwarven giantkiller readily springs to mind. I did feel that the authors missed an opportunity to do the Uthgardt more justice by not adding any prestige classes, unique feats, or even spells for them. I must say that this book is well worth your gaming dollar even before considering the fact that it has four adventures included. While most of them need a bit of development, the rest of the book provides more than enough raw material for that. Further, the sites and their inhabitants are all fascinating. One of the settings provides a climax for a story seed that appears in the FRCS description of the Moonwood--quite wonderful. "Dead Orc Pass" is the most out-of-the-ordinary, orc-inhabited locale I've seen in a long time. The fourth module of the lot is touted as a mini-campaign and it is. There's nothing like gold fever, marauding monsters, and some foes that are all too human to create a string of great gaming sessions. [i]Silver Marches[/i], strangely enough, could be as useful for those playing other campaigns as those actually playing in the Realms. The book is so detailed and rich that many ideas and settings can be lifted from its pages to just about anywhere. The lack of an index does make the product less useful as a reference. Still, I recommend [i]Silver Marches[/i] to anyone who plays d20 fantasy. It's a finely polished piece of work. This review was originally written for [url=http://www.unitedplaytest.com/gamingfrontiers/index.html]Gaming Frontiers[/url] on 09/25/02. [/QUOTE]
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