Ptolus is billed as the most deluxe RPG product ever released, a claim which it delivers on in spades. The packaging and price of the Ptolus product is probably overkill if the DM's intent is simply to mine the book for some campaign ideas, but that's an issue of product format rather than a...
The "freebies" that you are referring to are actually an 8.5 x 11" envelope attached inside the back cover of the book (yes, it still comes with the book - yes, it's really part of the book). The CD is in there along with ~25 pages of campaign handouts and reference materials, such as: 1) a...