does anyone out there use the kingdoms of Kalamar setting?

[Ice man]

my local shop does not carry a lot of material for this setting and i don't know anyone who uses any kenzer&co material...with that said i have always thought that it looked kind of interesting as an option...what do all of you think??

what about the fantasy setting from Palladium? anyone using that or elements of it as a setting for d20??

 

[Samothdm]

I only have the Kalamar Player's Guide (KPG) and Stealth & Style: A Guidebook to Infiltrators and Basiran Dancers. I mainly use them to mine them for ideas. I don't use the setting as a whole.

From what I've seen flipping through the campaign setting book at my (f)LGS, it looks very detailed (and I mean very detailed) and somewhat of a "standard" fantasy setting. By that, I mean that it supports the magic level, races, and cultural level set out in the core rules. The KPG does add new player races and classes but the races are still relatively "standard": hobgoblins, half-hobgoblins, and some variant gnome and halfling races, I think.

As a setting, it's not quite to my tastes but I have to admit that I don't use published settings whole cloth. I just mine them for ideas. Check out the reviews on the Kalamar products in the review section, and if the thread stays on the front page, sooner or later Mark Plemmons from Kenzerco will show up and give you his $0.02 about the setting.

What kind of settings do you normally like? Greyhawk? Forgotten Realms? Something different?

 

[Ice man]

currently running a home brew with ideas "liberated" from a variety of sources. I have run several campaigns based in the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk. I recently played in Dragon lance and Everquest campaigns...with our group, anything we play in is modified at least slightly (often heavily) and plot llines and races are lifted from other sources. last campaign was pretty low magic with items and heavy armor being rare, this time going for high magic, items commonly available and no deity manifestations, ever.

 

[Samothdm]

Based on what little I know about the setting, I'd say that it is probably a little more similar to Greyhawk (in terms of magic level, etc. - not in terms of "themes" and "flavor") versus Forgotten Realms (which is a higher magic level).

I'd read this review by Psion and when you're done if you want more info (which you should - try to get other people's opinions), just click on the "More Reviews on Kingdoms of Kalamr". I picked Psion's because he is a staff reviewer here and I personally tend to like his reviewer style.

You should also follow the links on that page to go back to the main Kalamar page and look at some other products of theirs.

From what I've noticed, the people who use Kalamar as their default setting really like it, whereas people that just mine it for ideas tend to think it's just "eh, nothing special". I probably fall into that last category. But, I do think that their books are well-written.

Psion, who I don't believe plays in the Kalamar world, gave high marks to the "Stealth & Style" book and I've found it to be helpful in my homebrew.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

I play in Living Kalamar in the RPGA...a great group.

I love Kalamar, own a number of books, but don't run.

Lots of good "standard" D&D material to "mine"

 

[Guillaume]

Julie, my wife who sometimes posts around here, runs a small Kalamar Campaign. We only just started so I do not know the feeling of the setting quite well yet. However, I like what I have read. It feels to me more believalbe than the Forgotten Realms somehow. True the magic level does seem lower, but a lot of stuff is open ended in this setting, leaving plenty of room for the DM to expend and add. It's a good setting if your looking for standard D&D stuff that isn't Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk. If you're looking for a departure from the standard stuff, I recommend you look elsewhere.

 

[Crothian]

you might have better luck going over to the Kenzor board that is filled with people who run the setting

 

[Acid_crash]

What's Kalamar? *puzzled look*

Oh, that's right, it's that Greyhawk clone setting released two or three years ago that reeks of boredom.

They still make that game?

 

[Mixmaster]

What's Kalamar? *puzzled look*

Oh, that's right, it's that Greyhawk clone setting released two or three years ago that reeks of boredom.

They still make that game?

Here we go. Can't get to 10 replies without a Kalamar basher!!

 

[Count Arioch the 28t]

What's Kalamar? *puzzled look*

Oh, that's right, it's that Greyhawk clone setting released two or three years ago that reeks of boredom.

They still make that game?

Well, you clone Greyhawk, you get a game that reeks of boredom, I'd assume that was to be expected.