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Twin Crowns, Age of Exploration Fantasy
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<blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2008916" data-attributes="member: 9860"><p>This is not a playtest review.</p><p></p><p>Price: $24.95</p><p>Page Count: 304</p><p>Price Per Page: About 8 cents per page, very low for this type of product.</p><p></p><p>Format: Softcover</p><p></p><p>Front Cover: Reminiscent of Core Rulebook looks, mainly a watery blue background with an anchor and ships wheel in the centre and gold metal-effect with 'jewels' indented in the metal.</p><p></p><p>Additional Page Use: A brief introduction and overview on the back cover, inside covers blank. First two pages contents and credits, last page is OGL. Also a two-page index at the back.</p><p></p><p>Internal Art: Mono art is poor to average, from six different artists. </p><p></p><p>Maps: The two small scale continental maps are basic, but scaled and with direction. Unfortunately, it does not clearly show the relationship between the two land masses.</p><p></p><p>Layout Design: Text density is fairly good, margins are average and there is a minimum of white space.</p><p></p><p>Writing Style: The writing style is very direct. Editing in terms of spelling and typos seems fairly good, though there are some significant mistakes (like a sentence remaining unfinished at the end of a chapter, and a missing description of a monster).</p><p></p><p>Whats Inside:</p><p></p><p>Chapter One: Welcome to Ptalamnar, gives a two-page overview of the different chapters and an introduction to the campaign setting of Twin Crowns, encompassing the world of Ptalmanar. At the centre of this world are two empires, their riches desired by foreign powers, and the empires' discovery of a new continent that will bring riches and further danger. </p><p></p><p>Chapter Two: Races, begins the Players' Section. Races covered are dwarves, half-elves, half-orcs, high elves, humans, the halfling-like Khesta, aquatic gilled Kithraas, feline-headed Shallorians, wild elves and wood elves. The standard races are little changed from the Core Rulebook (wood elves are considered as standard elves, there are no gnomes or halflings). </p><p>* High Elves are more combat-orientated than standard elves (proficient with one martial or exotic weapon, favored class is fighter). </p><p>* Khesta are very similar to Halflings except they gain the (new) Luck feat automatically and have a narrower focus with savinng throw bonuses.</p><p>* Kithraas have +2 Con, -2 Wis, and some water-orientated abilities, but can function fine on land. Favored Class: Any</p><p>* Shallorians have +2 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Cha. They have natural weapons (claws), bonuses to movement-skills and penalties on manual dexterity skills and ranged weapon use. Favored Class: Fighter</p><p>* Wild Elves have archery and wilderness abilities. Favored Class: Ranger</p><p></p><p>Chapter Three: Classes, looks at the standard D&D classes in the light of the Twin Crowns setting, making no statistical changes to the standard classes, although clerics gain significant power from becoming initiates of the gods. The take on each class introduces some of the geographical, political, and religious elements of the setting, giving a variety of choices of concept for most classes. Five new Prestige Classes are introduced - the Arcane Ritualist (who practices the new system for Arcane Rituals described in this book), Bounty Hunter, Diplomat, Divine Ritualist (who practices the new system for Divine Rituals described in this book), and Privateer (a legal pirate). The two ritualist Prestige Classes only detail advancement through five extra levels, whilst the others cover 10 levels as standard. </p><p></p><p>Chapter Four: Skills, introduces seven new skills: Arcane Ritual, Divine Ritual, Profession (Artillerist), Profession (navigation), Profession (Pilot), Profession (Sailor), Sea Legs, and some information on the new languages that exist on Ptalmanar. The first two ritual skills link in with the ritual system described later in the book. Sea Legs is just a variation of Balance, but for ships.</p><p></p><p>Chapter Five: Feats, describes a number of new feats that link in with the ritual system. They are termed 'Divine Feats'as most tie in with one of the deities of the setting, and can only be used by religious initiates of the specific deity the feat is designed for. Examples include Dance Macabre (if killed you immediately rise as undead), Money Is Power (sacrifice wealth to regain used spells) and Steal Feat (allows the stealing of a feat from another creature). Most of these feats have fairly high pre-requisites - e.g. Dance Macabre has a prerequisite of Character Level 12+, Money Is Power has a prerequisite of Character Level 15+, and Steal Feat has a prerequisite of Character Level 9+. Some less powerful feats have commensurately lower prerequisites.</p><p></p><p>Chapter Six: Equipment, looks mainly at gunpowder-using firearms but also covers stats for nautical equipment and a poison-holding blade. There is also a brief discussion of a disease that kills horses. This is a very short (4 page) chapter.</p><p></p><p>Chapter Seven: Naval Adventuring, concentrates on rules to be used whilst sailing. Subjects covered include navigation and piloting, nautical instruments, maps & charts, terrain (ocean, icebergs, rivers, etc.), weather, and ship characteristics (speed, seaworthiness, crew, etc.). A few examples of ship types are given (barque, dreadnaught, frigate, galleon. high elven man-o-war, keelboat, longship, merchantman, orcish dromon, and warship). There follows a section giving advice for running a voyage using the previous rules described in the book. The remainder of the chapter is taken up with a naval combat system detailing initiative, tactical movement, attacking, damage, armaments (including magical ones), and repairs. This seems fairly exhaustive (and a shade too complex for my liking - but my preference is for extremely simple rules, which is not a preference shared by most gamers) but gives advice on hexed maps and scale, details required crew for various combat actions (plus the time required, and DC). The skill check used to hit with a ranged attack by the ship's armaments is modified by the movement rate of the two ships, the target size and the weather conditions. Damage includes specific information on hit points for different areas of the ship (e.g. hull, deck, sails, armament and oars) and gives rules for damage to the crew after a successful attack.</p><p></p><p>Chapter Eight: Religion And Magic, begins by discussing the role and history of the twelve gods of Ptalmanar. Each of the gods is then given more detailed cover:</p><p>* Argon is a Lawful Neutral god with interest in knowledge and science in order to gain power.</p><p>* Artifice is a Neutral or Neutral Evil god with aspects of self-sufficiency or selfishness. Some gods offer two paths for followers to choose between and thus have two alignment aspects.</p><p>* Bellinger is a Lawful Neutral or Chaotic Neutral god with interest in battle, with a focus on tactics or ferocity.</p><p>* Brashtamere is a Chaotic Good or Neutral god, with interest in either joy or vice.</p><p>* Grumach is a Chaotic Evil god and is responsible for death and undeath.</p><p>* Jaad is a Lawful Neutral god with a focus on either peace or wisdom.</p><p>* The Maker is a Neutral Good god and is focussed on creation, and the opposition of evil.</p><p>* Mirenae is Neutral Good, a goddess of healing and strongly anti-undead.</p><p>* Solaron is a Lawful Good god, dedicated to truth and justice.</p><p>* Ullon is a Neutral Evil god, with focus on deception, corruption, and sacrifice.</p><p>* The Unmaker is a Neutral Evil god, opposing good and dedicated to destruction.</p><p>* The Wylds are twin gods of nature and the elements. They are Neutral in alignment.</p><p>The chapter continues with information on the worshippers of the gods and details the difference between worshippers, initiates, chosen, anointed, high priests, and divested (excommunicated). Shrines, temples, and cathedrals are then discussed, with details of how different buildings enable clerics to regain spells. There is also a limit to the number of times you can be brought back to life - five times - on Ptalmanar, and resurrection in this light is discussed - the first four character deaths simply cause the body to fade and the spirit can return to a shrine or similar place; an initiate then causes a new body to reappear and the spirit fills it (curing hp damage, disease, etc. but also losing a level). On the fifth time, if the person is resurrected they rise as undead and this act is considered evil. The chapter continues with a discussion of magical shrines and nexuses and some further information on recharging spells at shrines and temples every few days (except rangers and druids who are just required to be in a natural place) - the number of days between recharging is equal to caster level. The chapter ends with examples of various holy sects and orders, most of which ae dedicated to destruction of a concept (nobility, injustice, destruction, etc.) or a creature (dragons, lycanthropes, undead, etc.).</p><p></p><p>Chapter Nine: Spells, begins by further discussing the issues around raising the dead and death magic. 82 new spells are detailed, some of which are only available to initiates of one of the deities, through a set of domains dedicated to each one of the twelve deities. Example spells range from Aspect of the Owl (a 1st Level Druid/Ranger spell granting the target low-light vision and a +1 to Search and Spot checks per caster level) through Mend Ship (a 4th Level Wizard/Sorcerer spell that repairs ships) to Undead Horde (a 9th level spell available only to worshippers of Grumach which summons a host of wights, wraiths and spectres).</p><p></p><p>Chapter Ten: Rituals, introduces a new magic system for the world of Ptalmanar, which can also be used outside the setting. Rituals are more powerful than most spells, but carry some great dangers and severe requirements. A divine or arcane spellcaster requires korba (a magical silvery powder), a magical scroll that describes the ritual process (but does not disappear after use), and some time (anything from a minute up to a few days). The ritual caster must then make a skill check, with the possibility of critical failure (resulting in bad effects ranging from loss of days spells to instant death) or critical success (ranging from casting time decrease to XP gains), or may be flawed in some way (ranging from reduced effects to loss of days spells). A number of modifiers (such as additional help and sacred places) affect the skill check. A number of example rituals are given, such as Air Ship (allows a sailing ship to sail on air currents), Living Fortress (brings together plants and trees to create a fortress), Raise Atoll (creates an island in the ocean), and Ward of Mirenae (which protects large areas from undead incursions). The chapter ends with tables giving various random critical success, failure and flaw results.</p><p></p><p>Chapter Eleven: History, begins the second of the books sections - The World - and is thankfully fairly short. It gives a historical overview of some of the wars that created the political face of Ptalmanar. The last sections of this chapter look at some magical guilds, and merchant houses and companies.</p><p></p><p>Chapter Twelve: Northern Empire, covers eight areas (for each area there is a very rough historical equivalent, with mostly a 16th/17th century feel): Falia (think Germany), Novarum (think Italy), Scolia (think England), Stoneheim (amalgamation), Jarlway (think Scandinavia), Highlanders (think Scotland), The Northern Colonies - in the New World (think Canada), and The Ten Nations - set in the Old World (think US). For each area, the section looks at physical geography, history, government and politics, people and society, and major cities and towns. There is a fantasy focus to each of the areas and the rough equivalents given are purely an attempt to give you an idea of the flavour of the settings.</p><p></p><p>Chapter Thirteen: Southern Empire, covers four more geo-political areas in the same style as the previous chapter: Calumbria (think France), Estrados (think Spain), Krushkov (think Russia), and the Southern Colonies in the New World (think Caribbean).</p><p></p><p>Chapter Fourteen: Other Lands, covers eight more geo-political areas that lie outside the main Empire that is the focus of the Twin Crowns setting, and are: The Bandesh (think Lapland), Fujion (think Japan), Hallipore (think Mongolia), Juntra (think Indonesia), Magus Island (a magical island of mages), Molam (think Arabia), Tang Su (think China), and Vairo (think Egypt).</p><p></p><p>Chapter Fifteen: Adventuring In Ptalmanar, looks at the major motivations for adventures in Ptalmanar - religion, exploration, and korba (the magical powder that powers rituals). It also further discusses the unique aspects of the Twin Crowns setting in relation to adventuring: the five lives of the people of Ptalmanar, recharging spells in shrines and temples, and rituals (with some advice on balancing rituals and researching original ones).</p><p></p><p>Chapter Sixteen: Magic Items, introduces 25 unique magical items ranging from invisible hightblades, to a staff of ritual power, from wondrous items such as a Kithraas Egg Incubator to minor (ring of hopeless bravery) and major (the crown of truth) artifacts. Most of these have specific links to the Twin Crowns setting.</p><p></p><p>Chapter Seventeen: Monsters, introduces 11 new monsters specific to the setting. These include chaos trolls, dragons and drow of Ptalmanar, Argonite Golems, undead servitors, and a Corps Macabre template (a powerful zombie).</p><p></p><p>Appendices include maps of the Empires and the New World, a calendar of Ptalmanar, Ptalmanar coats of arms, an Imperial timeline, an Imperial royalty timeline, and a compendium of tables from the book.</p><p></p><p>The High Points: This is a very cohesive and interesting campaign setting. Religion, races, and places are all well-detailed and integrated with the setting without diverging too much from a standard fantasy campaign world and basic D&D rules. Though the rituals presented in the book are generally more powerful than spells, there are a number of factors that control their use, and these can be manipulated easily by the GM to limit their prevalence. Access to a ritual is much like giving a magic item to a party - the GM needs to be judicious in the control of this aspect, but if this is done, then Rituals can really add flavour to this campaign setting. I also liked the idea of having to recharge spells in a sacred or magical place every few days - this again adds flavour, whilst still allowing a few days adventuring in evil places without interruption. The introduction of the limit of 5 resurrections before irrevocable death seems an interesting idea, which would need full playtesting before a proper assessment of its implications became clear (though an assessment of its implications are discussed in the text). The existence of korba, the tension between the two empires for the riches of the New World, and the opportunities of new lands to explore offer some excellent bases for adventures and campaigns.</p><p></p><p>The Low Points: There are a few significant editing mistakes, with missing information, which impinge on the quality of the book. The rituals may be subject to misuse by a GM who doesn't understand their power fully - for example, Air Ship (the first ritual in the Rituals section, which causes a normal ship to be able to sail the winds), even though it has a DC of 35, could be cast by two 1st level mages with a lot of luck, korba, and planning. Despite the advice, it seems a little too tempting to give access to several rituals, but this could seriously unbalance a campaign (the advice is to restrict access to korba if this happens). The Sea Legs skill was unnecessary and weak. A number of feats have quite powerful implications and are available at a comparatively low level - Improved Hide (which gives a +10 bonus to Hide skill checks at 6th level and stops tracking by scent) is one example. They would need full playtesting before the consequences of these feats could be properly assessed, but some seem a little unbalanced. It would have been nice to have seen visuals of all the monsters, though generally the art in the book was not up to much. I would have also expected to see a few statted-out NPCs in the geo-political sections but this was missing. I would also have liked to see a lot more information on korba - this was an idea that had a lot of potential but was not explored fully enough to be able to develop adventures from.</p><p></p><p>Conclusion: The three major new ideas introduced in this book - rituals (and korba), limited but easier resurrections, and spell recharging at divine/magical places could be used in most fantasy campaign settings and are not tied in to the setting so much that they are inextricable. They would need to be playtested by the GM before use in a campaign but could add some great flavour to any campaign. The setting itself is full of adventure possibilities. Unlike some previous campaign settings, it doesn't go overboard on the history. With additional features such as a naval combat system, some new (well-balanced) races, new spells, magical items and monsters, and some interesting new organisations that could be used in another setting with a little tweaking, this is good value for money, despite some of its glaring editing errors. I would hope that some of the potential within will be explored in future releases, particularly the political and magical ramifications of korba.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Simon Collins, post: 2008916, member: 9860"] This is not a playtest review. Price: $24.95 Page Count: 304 Price Per Page: About 8 cents per page, very low for this type of product. Format: Softcover Front Cover: Reminiscent of Core Rulebook looks, mainly a watery blue background with an anchor and ships wheel in the centre and gold metal-effect with 'jewels' indented in the metal. Additional Page Use: A brief introduction and overview on the back cover, inside covers blank. First two pages contents and credits, last page is OGL. Also a two-page index at the back. Internal Art: Mono art is poor to average, from six different artists. Maps: The two small scale continental maps are basic, but scaled and with direction. Unfortunately, it does not clearly show the relationship between the two land masses. Layout Design: Text density is fairly good, margins are average and there is a minimum of white space. Writing Style: The writing style is very direct. Editing in terms of spelling and typos seems fairly good, though there are some significant mistakes (like a sentence remaining unfinished at the end of a chapter, and a missing description of a monster). Whats Inside: Chapter One: Welcome to Ptalamnar, gives a two-page overview of the different chapters and an introduction to the campaign setting of Twin Crowns, encompassing the world of Ptalmanar. At the centre of this world are two empires, their riches desired by foreign powers, and the empires' discovery of a new continent that will bring riches and further danger. Chapter Two: Races, begins the Players' Section. Races covered are dwarves, half-elves, half-orcs, high elves, humans, the halfling-like Khesta, aquatic gilled Kithraas, feline-headed Shallorians, wild elves and wood elves. The standard races are little changed from the Core Rulebook (wood elves are considered as standard elves, there are no gnomes or halflings). * High Elves are more combat-orientated than standard elves (proficient with one martial or exotic weapon, favored class is fighter). * Khesta are very similar to Halflings except they gain the (new) Luck feat automatically and have a narrower focus with savinng throw bonuses. * Kithraas have +2 Con, -2 Wis, and some water-orientated abilities, but can function fine on land. Favored Class: Any * Shallorians have +2 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Cha. They have natural weapons (claws), bonuses to movement-skills and penalties on manual dexterity skills and ranged weapon use. Favored Class: Fighter * Wild Elves have archery and wilderness abilities. Favored Class: Ranger Chapter Three: Classes, looks at the standard D&D classes in the light of the Twin Crowns setting, making no statistical changes to the standard classes, although clerics gain significant power from becoming initiates of the gods. The take on each class introduces some of the geographical, political, and religious elements of the setting, giving a variety of choices of concept for most classes. Five new Prestige Classes are introduced - the Arcane Ritualist (who practices the new system for Arcane Rituals described in this book), Bounty Hunter, Diplomat, Divine Ritualist (who practices the new system for Divine Rituals described in this book), and Privateer (a legal pirate). The two ritualist Prestige Classes only detail advancement through five extra levels, whilst the others cover 10 levels as standard. Chapter Four: Skills, introduces seven new skills: Arcane Ritual, Divine Ritual, Profession (Artillerist), Profession (navigation), Profession (Pilot), Profession (Sailor), Sea Legs, and some information on the new languages that exist on Ptalmanar. The first two ritual skills link in with the ritual system described later in the book. Sea Legs is just a variation of Balance, but for ships. Chapter Five: Feats, describes a number of new feats that link in with the ritual system. They are termed 'Divine Feats'as most tie in with one of the deities of the setting, and can only be used by religious initiates of the specific deity the feat is designed for. Examples include Dance Macabre (if killed you immediately rise as undead), Money Is Power (sacrifice wealth to regain used spells) and Steal Feat (allows the stealing of a feat from another creature). Most of these feats have fairly high pre-requisites - e.g. Dance Macabre has a prerequisite of Character Level 12+, Money Is Power has a prerequisite of Character Level 15+, and Steal Feat has a prerequisite of Character Level 9+. Some less powerful feats have commensurately lower prerequisites. Chapter Six: Equipment, looks mainly at gunpowder-using firearms but also covers stats for nautical equipment and a poison-holding blade. There is also a brief discussion of a disease that kills horses. This is a very short (4 page) chapter. Chapter Seven: Naval Adventuring, concentrates on rules to be used whilst sailing. Subjects covered include navigation and piloting, nautical instruments, maps & charts, terrain (ocean, icebergs, rivers, etc.), weather, and ship characteristics (speed, seaworthiness, crew, etc.). A few examples of ship types are given (barque, dreadnaught, frigate, galleon. high elven man-o-war, keelboat, longship, merchantman, orcish dromon, and warship). There follows a section giving advice for running a voyage using the previous rules described in the book. The remainder of the chapter is taken up with a naval combat system detailing initiative, tactical movement, attacking, damage, armaments (including magical ones), and repairs. This seems fairly exhaustive (and a shade too complex for my liking - but my preference is for extremely simple rules, which is not a preference shared by most gamers) but gives advice on hexed maps and scale, details required crew for various combat actions (plus the time required, and DC). The skill check used to hit with a ranged attack by the ship's armaments is modified by the movement rate of the two ships, the target size and the weather conditions. Damage includes specific information on hit points for different areas of the ship (e.g. hull, deck, sails, armament and oars) and gives rules for damage to the crew after a successful attack. Chapter Eight: Religion And Magic, begins by discussing the role and history of the twelve gods of Ptalmanar. Each of the gods is then given more detailed cover: * Argon is a Lawful Neutral god with interest in knowledge and science in order to gain power. * Artifice is a Neutral or Neutral Evil god with aspects of self-sufficiency or selfishness. Some gods offer two paths for followers to choose between and thus have two alignment aspects. * Bellinger is a Lawful Neutral or Chaotic Neutral god with interest in battle, with a focus on tactics or ferocity. * Brashtamere is a Chaotic Good or Neutral god, with interest in either joy or vice. * Grumach is a Chaotic Evil god and is responsible for death and undeath. * Jaad is a Lawful Neutral god with a focus on either peace or wisdom. * The Maker is a Neutral Good god and is focussed on creation, and the opposition of evil. * Mirenae is Neutral Good, a goddess of healing and strongly anti-undead. * Solaron is a Lawful Good god, dedicated to truth and justice. * Ullon is a Neutral Evil god, with focus on deception, corruption, and sacrifice. * The Unmaker is a Neutral Evil god, opposing good and dedicated to destruction. * The Wylds are twin gods of nature and the elements. They are Neutral in alignment. The chapter continues with information on the worshippers of the gods and details the difference between worshippers, initiates, chosen, anointed, high priests, and divested (excommunicated). Shrines, temples, and cathedrals are then discussed, with details of how different buildings enable clerics to regain spells. There is also a limit to the number of times you can be brought back to life - five times - on Ptalmanar, and resurrection in this light is discussed - the first four character deaths simply cause the body to fade and the spirit can return to a shrine or similar place; an initiate then causes a new body to reappear and the spirit fills it (curing hp damage, disease, etc. but also losing a level). On the fifth time, if the person is resurrected they rise as undead and this act is considered evil. The chapter continues with a discussion of magical shrines and nexuses and some further information on recharging spells at shrines and temples every few days (except rangers and druids who are just required to be in a natural place) - the number of days between recharging is equal to caster level. The chapter ends with examples of various holy sects and orders, most of which ae dedicated to destruction of a concept (nobility, injustice, destruction, etc.) or a creature (dragons, lycanthropes, undead, etc.). Chapter Nine: Spells, begins by further discussing the issues around raising the dead and death magic. 82 new spells are detailed, some of which are only available to initiates of one of the deities, through a set of domains dedicated to each one of the twelve deities. Example spells range from Aspect of the Owl (a 1st Level Druid/Ranger spell granting the target low-light vision and a +1 to Search and Spot checks per caster level) through Mend Ship (a 4th Level Wizard/Sorcerer spell that repairs ships) to Undead Horde (a 9th level spell available only to worshippers of Grumach which summons a host of wights, wraiths and spectres). Chapter Ten: Rituals, introduces a new magic system for the world of Ptalmanar, which can also be used outside the setting. Rituals are more powerful than most spells, but carry some great dangers and severe requirements. A divine or arcane spellcaster requires korba (a magical silvery powder), a magical scroll that describes the ritual process (but does not disappear after use), and some time (anything from a minute up to a few days). The ritual caster must then make a skill check, with the possibility of critical failure (resulting in bad effects ranging from loss of days spells to instant death) or critical success (ranging from casting time decrease to XP gains), or may be flawed in some way (ranging from reduced effects to loss of days spells). A number of modifiers (such as additional help and sacred places) affect the skill check. A number of example rituals are given, such as Air Ship (allows a sailing ship to sail on air currents), Living Fortress (brings together plants and trees to create a fortress), Raise Atoll (creates an island in the ocean), and Ward of Mirenae (which protects large areas from undead incursions). The chapter ends with tables giving various random critical success, failure and flaw results. Chapter Eleven: History, begins the second of the books sections - The World - and is thankfully fairly short. It gives a historical overview of some of the wars that created the political face of Ptalmanar. The last sections of this chapter look at some magical guilds, and merchant houses and companies. Chapter Twelve: Northern Empire, covers eight areas (for each area there is a very rough historical equivalent, with mostly a 16th/17th century feel): Falia (think Germany), Novarum (think Italy), Scolia (think England), Stoneheim (amalgamation), Jarlway (think Scandinavia), Highlanders (think Scotland), The Northern Colonies - in the New World (think Canada), and The Ten Nations - set in the Old World (think US). For each area, the section looks at physical geography, history, government and politics, people and society, and major cities and towns. There is a fantasy focus to each of the areas and the rough equivalents given are purely an attempt to give you an idea of the flavour of the settings. Chapter Thirteen: Southern Empire, covers four more geo-political areas in the same style as the previous chapter: Calumbria (think France), Estrados (think Spain), Krushkov (think Russia), and the Southern Colonies in the New World (think Caribbean). Chapter Fourteen: Other Lands, covers eight more geo-political areas that lie outside the main Empire that is the focus of the Twin Crowns setting, and are: The Bandesh (think Lapland), Fujion (think Japan), Hallipore (think Mongolia), Juntra (think Indonesia), Magus Island (a magical island of mages), Molam (think Arabia), Tang Su (think China), and Vairo (think Egypt). Chapter Fifteen: Adventuring In Ptalmanar, looks at the major motivations for adventures in Ptalmanar - religion, exploration, and korba (the magical powder that powers rituals). It also further discusses the unique aspects of the Twin Crowns setting in relation to adventuring: the five lives of the people of Ptalmanar, recharging spells in shrines and temples, and rituals (with some advice on balancing rituals and researching original ones). Chapter Sixteen: Magic Items, introduces 25 unique magical items ranging from invisible hightblades, to a staff of ritual power, from wondrous items such as a Kithraas Egg Incubator to minor (ring of hopeless bravery) and major (the crown of truth) artifacts. Most of these have specific links to the Twin Crowns setting. Chapter Seventeen: Monsters, introduces 11 new monsters specific to the setting. These include chaos trolls, dragons and drow of Ptalmanar, Argonite Golems, undead servitors, and a Corps Macabre template (a powerful zombie). Appendices include maps of the Empires and the New World, a calendar of Ptalmanar, Ptalmanar coats of arms, an Imperial timeline, an Imperial royalty timeline, and a compendium of tables from the book. The High Points: This is a very cohesive and interesting campaign setting. Religion, races, and places are all well-detailed and integrated with the setting without diverging too much from a standard fantasy campaign world and basic D&D rules. Though the rituals presented in the book are generally more powerful than spells, there are a number of factors that control their use, and these can be manipulated easily by the GM to limit their prevalence. Access to a ritual is much like giving a magic item to a party - the GM needs to be judicious in the control of this aspect, but if this is done, then Rituals can really add flavour to this campaign setting. I also liked the idea of having to recharge spells in a sacred or magical place every few days - this again adds flavour, whilst still allowing a few days adventuring in evil places without interruption. The introduction of the limit of 5 resurrections before irrevocable death seems an interesting idea, which would need full playtesting before a proper assessment of its implications became clear (though an assessment of its implications are discussed in the text). The existence of korba, the tension between the two empires for the riches of the New World, and the opportunities of new lands to explore offer some excellent bases for adventures and campaigns. The Low Points: There are a few significant editing mistakes, with missing information, which impinge on the quality of the book. The rituals may be subject to misuse by a GM who doesn't understand their power fully - for example, Air Ship (the first ritual in the Rituals section, which causes a normal ship to be able to sail the winds), even though it has a DC of 35, could be cast by two 1st level mages with a lot of luck, korba, and planning. Despite the advice, it seems a little too tempting to give access to several rituals, but this could seriously unbalance a campaign (the advice is to restrict access to korba if this happens). The Sea Legs skill was unnecessary and weak. A number of feats have quite powerful implications and are available at a comparatively low level - Improved Hide (which gives a +10 bonus to Hide skill checks at 6th level and stops tracking by scent) is one example. They would need full playtesting before the consequences of these feats could be properly assessed, but some seem a little unbalanced. It would have been nice to have seen visuals of all the monsters, though generally the art in the book was not up to much. I would have also expected to see a few statted-out NPCs in the geo-political sections but this was missing. I would also have liked to see a lot more information on korba - this was an idea that had a lot of potential but was not explored fully enough to be able to develop adventures from. Conclusion: The three major new ideas introduced in this book - rituals (and korba), limited but easier resurrections, and spell recharging at divine/magical places could be used in most fantasy campaign settings and are not tied in to the setting so much that they are inextricable. They would need to be playtested by the GM before use in a campaign but could add some great flavour to any campaign. The setting itself is full of adventure possibilities. Unlike some previous campaign settings, it doesn't go overboard on the history. With additional features such as a naval combat system, some new (well-balanced) races, new spells, magical items and monsters, and some interesting new organisations that could be used in another setting with a little tweaking, this is good value for money, despite some of its glaring editing errors. I would hope that some of the potential within will be explored in future releases, particularly the political and magical ramifications of korba. [/QUOTE]
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