Best "Known World" Gazetteers: Fluff, Not Crunch?

[Knightfall]

I'm trying to decide which of these 11 gazetteers to buy for use with my homebrew.

GAZ2 The Emirates of Ylaruam
GAZ4 The Kingdom of Ierendi
GAZ5 The Elves of Alfheim
GAZ6 The Dwarves of Rockhome
GAZ7 The Northern Reaches
GAZ8 The Five Shires
GAZ9 The Minrothad Guilds
GAZ10 The Orcs of Thar
GAZ11 The Republic of Darokin
GAZ12 The Golden Khan of Ethengar
GAZ14 The Atruaghin Clans

I want to pull the best material from Mystara for Kulan. I already have the Glantri gazetteer, Dawn of the Emperors, and Champions of Mystara. I also have the 2e Mystara boxed set for Karameikos and will likely get GAZ1 as well.

I'm leaning towards getting GAZ4 and GAZ9 because of the seafarering aspects. But I'm not sure what to expect from the GAZ references, fluff-wise. The rules in the gazetteer books aren't important to me since Kulan is a v.3.5 world.

Therefore, I want to pick the gazetteers that have the best fluff in them, which can be used in another setting. Kulan is big enough that I could find a place for almost anything but I only want the best communities, NPCs, and adventure sites.

So, tell me why you voted for a particular the gazetteer. What makes it stand out against the rest?

Cheers!

Knightfall
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Related Thread: http://www.enworld.org/forum/genera...-older-edition-d-d-products-revised-list.html

 

[havard]

Out of the ones you listed, The Elves of Alfheim, The Northern Reaches and the Golden Khan of Ethengar are the best. I consider them the most evocative in terms of the cultures and histories they present. Minrothad and Rockhome are not bad either, but they didnt get my vote this time.

Of course, the ones you already have, which are not on your list are probably the best, overall.

In general, I consider the Known World Gazetteers to be the best RPG Setting Supplements ever produced. They were way ahead of their time. These products are what made me fall madly in love with the Mystara setting from day one.

Of course, you should also check out the excellent Fan Gazetteers.


-Havard

 

[jonesy]

Ierendi and Northern Reaches are for me the best detailed cultures.

The Orcs of Thar has always been my favourite Gazetteer. It's the best monster nation I've seen anywhere, the fluff works well and is fun, and the characters are all interesting. Not sure how it would fit in what you're looking for, though.

 

[Lancelot]

You don't have a few of my personal favorites up there (Shadow Elves - for a take on "dark elves" that is completely different to the typical D&D drow... and Glantri - for Scottish liches and other madness).

However, from the list given, I'd have to go with (in order)...

• Northern Reaches - probably the single best supplement in terms of building a complete culture, great supporting materials (runes, poster map, 3D buildings), flavorsome NPCs, etc.
• Orcs of Thar - great supporting materials, engagingly humorous take on humanoids (rather than the traditional dour treatment), outstanding NPC capsules, many adventure hooks.
• Elves of Alfheim - my personal belief is that "traditional" (i.e. non-drow) elves are under-represented in D&D fluff; i.e. they live in trees, dance a lot, and use bows. Alfheim, to my mind, is the single best supplement for fleshing out the race and making them both distinct and interesting.
• Darokin - ...and given your stated goal, I reckon this is the one you want to use for your "default human land". I really enjoyed the emphasis on trade and economics; made the land feel a lot more "real" than many others.

So, here's what I would go with:

• Darokin is your default "heartland" kingdom. Mostly at peace, but troubled along the borders by...
• Thar, which is your principle antagonist. The humanoids have some depth to them (i.e. they're not vanilla eeevil... they have some legitimate grievances and have been dealt a rough hand).
• The Northern Reaches are your "border barons". Plenty of adventure possibilities there. At any one time, they could be allies or enemies. Cultists of Loki could be agitating for a civil war against the heartland nation, or a greedy jarl might try allying with the orcs to steal some of the rich timberlands belonging to...
• Alfheim, which is also a wildcard. Somewhat xenophobic, they have limited trade with Darokin, and are suspicious of both the humanoids and the border barons (with good reason). The "bad magic" points in Alfheim make excellent adventuring locations, including possible portals to the Feywild or other planes.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I'd hesitate on The Kingdom of Ierendi sight unseen. The "Fantasy Island" amusement part, vacationland aspect is far too off putting for me.

The attention to Polynesian cultures, however, was a breath of fresh air. Too bad it was buried in a distasteful overabundance of adventurer vacation sites.

I voted, from the list, for Northern Reaches. The cohesiveness was remarkable.

Second place would go for Alfheim, Rockhome, Minrothad, Darokin, in no particular preference.

 

[Wik]

Another vote for Northern Reaches. I'm still upset that it was one of my gaming products that was "borrowed indefinitely" by a player who decided to fall off the grid. It's basically a setting that looks at the Vikings in three different historical periods, and puts them all in the same place with a good reason why they're different.

It has a neat dungeon adventure, plenty of opportunities for politicking, and oozes flavour.

The Dwarven book also really caught my interest, a long time ago. I remember liking it quite a bit, but these days, I can't tell you why. So it got my vote.

I've heard good things about the Glantri one, and bad about Darokin. I don't remember which one was the "Summer resort" book - the one that was the tourism guide for silly little islands. But avoid that book like the plague - easily the worst in the series.

That being said, they're a great series, and some of the best books TSR ever did.

 

[Knightfall]

Hmm...

I think The Northern Reaches is definitely something I'd be interested in. I love anythink Viking. How does it compare to the historical reference that TSR created?

 

[Wik]

Hmm...

I think The Northern Reaches is definitely something I'd be interested in. I love anythink Viking. How does it compare to the historical reference that TSR created?

Well, the Viking historical reference is also a really good book. I loved it (the only one I love more is the Rome one, in fact). So that should give you an idea of my game leanings.

That being said, I think they're two different things. The Historical Book is trying to take actual history and present it in a way that GMs can mine it for a D&D campaign. The Gazeteer is trying to make a fantasy realm that is clearly inspired by Vikings.

The Historical book gives great societal and cultural advice; the Gazeteer gives great role-playing advice, NPCs, and specific locations. I would say that the Gazeteer is slightly better, but that they compliment each other quite nicely.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I don't remember which one was the "Summer resort" book - the one that was the tourism guide for silly little islands. But avoid that book like the plague - easily the worst in the series.

Ierendi.

 

[havard]

I'd hesitate on The Kingdom of Ierendi sight unseen. The "Fantasy Island" amusement part, vacationland aspect is far too off putting for me.

The attention to Polynesian cultures, however, was a breath of fresh air. Too bad it was buried in a distasteful overabundance of adventurer vacation sites.

Actually, if you look at it again, you will find that the adventure park aspect of the gazetteer doesnt really take up that much page space. The problem is that this is the overarching theme, which makes it seem like that's what the gazetteer is about. Digging a bit deeper though, the majority of the gazetteer is actually really good and provides plenty of adventure opportunity. I wouldnt rank the Ierendi Gaz as my favorite, but it is probably the most underrated of them all.

-Havard