This message, which appeared on the Kenzer & Co message boards a few years ago, is probably the best arguement for the merits of the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting ever...
0ghma says:
This questions frequently appears on the boards, so I’m going to take a stab at answering it. Of course, you can always link to Dave Kenzer’s essay, but he’s telling why you should buy his product, and eloquently so. I have no stake in Kalamar financially, so here is my perspective. There are other good opinions on other threads, because of the frequency of this question.
First, however, let me start by telling you a little about me as a DnD gamer. I’ve been playing DnD since 1977. I’ve played a smattering of settings from Greyhawk to Forgotten Realms, not going too far into the more esoteric settings like Maztica, and playing a lot of home-brews both as DM and as a player. I played 1st edition through the publishing of 2nd edition DnD, and jumped to 3e as soon as it came out. I’ve played other RPG’s, notably GURPS, but have generally preferred DnD. As a DM I generally like medium magic campaigns that are more low- than high-fantasy, though I enjoy epic campaigns. (Epic in the sense that the players actiosn can save/destroy the world). I like campaigns that matter.
About a year ago, I started looking for a new setting to play in, having played too much in Greyhawk, and though I like the detail of Forgotten Realms, I’m uncomfortable with the high power/magic level of the NPC’s. I looked around a lot before settling on Kalamar. My review of settings got truncated, though, when I found Kalamar, because I started focusing on it to the exclusion of others.
The first thing I noticed about Kalamar was how it treated the gods and religion. Kalamar gives a pantheon which is worshipped by all races. There are no demi-human gods, so while the pantheon is large, it’s only one pantheon. Many settings give you their pantheon plus a pantheon for each of 5-8 races, sometimes sub-races too. That’s a lot of gods. Kalamar’s creation story is consistent and well-outlined. (I’ll return to consistent and well-outlined, as this is a theme of Kalamar).
Kalamar’s detail on religion is impressive. You get what different cultures call each god, you know how the clergy worship them, you know what gods are allied and opposed, and clerics get abilities which are unique to each god without destroying the cleric class as a whole. It’s consistent and well-outlined.
Next I went on to the setting itself. The setting is detailed without being directive. You are not told how to run the world, you are given the setting as your canvas. Kalamar has the countries, races, history and geography of the world of Tellene well-described and with an internal logic to it that is rare in a published setting. Again, it’s consistent and well-outlined.
Human sub-races are enthologically explained, without giving in-game bonuses to different races. Humans are all the same under the skin. Many human Earth cultures are mirrored, from the Fhokki (northern barbarians) to the Svimohzians (African cultures), which gives a comfort level for many players. It doesn’t get “out-there” with races like genasi and half-celestials. To me this is a good thing. I’d like to decide whether I’m going to allow a race with a higher ECL than one, not be told it’s an integral part of the setting. It allows for psionics without requiring it. (The golden halflings’ favored class is psion, but I house-ruled it in my campaign to be bard because I don’t want psionics).
The geography and the history of Kalamar are so well intertwined you begin to realize how weak other settings are in this respect. Knowledge of how terrain affects culture helps a DM get a grasp on the setting and there are no geographic oddities, such as a desert plunked in the middle of a swamp. If you decide to purchase the Kalamar Atlas, you find it’s even more detailed, with helpful appendices and charts. The world of Telllene makes sense.
The Kalamar Players’ Guide adds classes unique to Kalamar and further details the setting from a players’ perspective. It adds spells and further details how religion is played in Kalamar. It details the Channel Positive Energy feat, which allows a cleric to use a turn attempt to do a deity-specific effect, which I think is very cool. There are prestige classes and more in-depth descriptions of the races.
I am disappointed with some things about Kalamar. There are times when some errors creep in to the published versions that surprise me. They forgot a domains chart for the gods in the Campaign settings book. It was in the text, so you could read each god and find each domain, but there wasn’t a handy chart. The races detailed in the Player’s guide leave out some abilities which appear to be assumed. (Elves’ use of bow and sword, for example.) Many publishers have this problem; it’s not unique to Kenzer. However, this concern is offset by what is perhaps the best part of the Kalamar setting.
The Kenzerco Kalamar boards.
This group of Kalamar users is knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and helpful. They are the best reviewers of Kenzer’s Kalamar products, and they are quick to find inconsistencies. Once found, Kenzer responds amazingly quickly, sometimes within a few minutes. The aforementioned domains list was up within a week of publication. It is an astounding example of a shared love of a setting by the publisher and it’s users. It is as important to me as the quality of the setting. I can post questions about an adventure and be directed to a compiled list of comments by those who have run it, what happened in it, and how they administrated certain events. Rules clarifications and good-natured debate add immeasurable to the enjoyment I get out of the setting.
I chose Kalamar because it’s well-outlined yet not too detailed. It lets me run the campaign I want, and it will let you run the campaign you want, even though they may be different. It’s well-supported, with source books and adventures coming out at least every month. Updates, errata, and revisions are done quickly. Players have input into the publishing process and what their needs as Kalamar users are.
Welcome to Kalamar!
As a personal aside, I've played various systems since D&D's highpoint in the early 80's and have had more fun in the Kalamar setting, both as a player and as a DM, than I ever did in GreyHawk, The Forgotten Realms or any of the dozen or so other game systems I've explored. What follows is my personal opinion on what books really help expand the Kalamar setting, both for players and DM's.
MUST HAVE -
Kalamar Campaign Book
Kalamar Players Guide
Thats it. Two freakin' books and your ready for all the adventures you could ever want or stand. Now if you want additional "flavor", and I do mean flavor as the Kalamar books consistently provide more flavor to the setting than needless "crunch", check out...
The Kalamar Atlas
Dangerous Denizens (Tellene exclusive creatures)
Goods & Gear (the ONLY equipment guide you will ever need for ANY D&D setting!)
Friends & Foe 1&2 (Race books detailing the Gnomes/Kobolds and Elves/Bugbears of Tellene)
Blood & Shadows (Dark Elves done right at last
)
Fury in the Wastelands (Race book for Orcs. Possibily the best book ever written on a "cannon fodder" race)
Strength & Honor (Race book for Hobgoblins. If you like Klingons, you'll love this book)
Villian Design Handbook (Finally a way to create villians who actually make sense!)
Stealth & Style (A guide to the Basarin Dancer and Infiltrator variant classes, chock full of flavor!)
Geanavue, Loona, Abuleok Coast (Three different books detailing cities or regions of the world of Tellene. Any can easily be ported to a different setting and has tons of flavor)
Any of the Kalamar adventures. (Range form so-so to excellent, but always have details which further expand upon the setting)
And the best part for new players is that since Kalamar is often a overlook "jewel in the rough" many game shops offer their products at a discount due to slow sales! So head out and grab some of the best setting avalible today and get bragging rights over your friends by being the one to introduce them to it!
