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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2008909" data-attributes="member: 18387">Geanavue: The Stones of Peace is the first major sourcebook to be released for the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign Setting.  Geanavue is a 176-page softcover book (with 32-page RumourQUEST insert) that has a full color cover and black and white interior.  Layout is two-column with no obscuring backgrounds or unusual fonts.  It has a cover price of $24.95 US.Included with the book is a large foldout poster that has a color map of the city on one side and a map of the city's sewer system on the other.  While the map has a few errors on it, I thought it was extremely attractive and I would love to hang it on my wall if I didn't plan on actually using it during play.  Maybe Kenzer can offer a version for just such a purpose? Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms, wrote Geanavue.  There are neither planar portals nor guilds of wizards within this city's borders, however.  Geanavue sticks firmly to Kalamar's low-magic setting.  The book is certainly reflective of Mr. Greenwood's style and whether you like it or not is a matter of taste.  I found it to be easy reading and a welcome change from some of the awfully dry stuff that I have read in other books.Geanavue is divided into fourteen chapters with four appendices.  Chapters are devoted to the city's lifestyle, attractions, rulers, history, laws, guilds, wealthy elite, religious institutions, sewers, law enforcement and crime.  There is also a chapter devoted to Loona, a rough and tumble dockside town that is located nears the city.One chapter I especially liked is entitled Promenade.  The Promenade chapter is presented as a 'walking tour' of the city's various areas.  I can't remember if I have ever seen a chapter like it in another city sourcebook, but after reading it, a GM should be able to visualize the city much better than simply by reading descriptive text.  This should in turn help him to better bring the city to life for the players.Geanavue is a prosperous and basically law-abiding city that was built on hard work.  For that reason, players may find it a little boring at first if they are used to wilder locales.  On the other hand, it should provide them with a relatively safe haven between adventures and the GM can easily spice the city up with more magic and mayhem if he wishes.Geanavue does have its share of excitement, however.  The city's enormous sewer system begs to be explored and a chapter describes each of the major areas of it that are shown on the reverse side of the city map.  The detailed information on Geanavue's many guilds and wealthy families (known as Talasaara) should also provide the GM with plenty of ideas for intrigue and adventure.  Finally, the nearby dockside town of Loona should be an excellent place to visit for PCs that are looking for trouble.One unique touch that Mr. Greenwood has applied to Geanavue is that several of the terms for common things in the city are written in Merchant's Tongue.  For instance, a city gate is called a 'dolaar' and a house is called a 'hau'.  There is not so much of this as to become irritating, but there is enough of it to give the city additional flavor.  On the other hand, I found some of the NPCs' vowel-ridden Reanaares names downright unpronounceable.  How the heck are you supposed to pronounce names like Raarakiir or Saamuut anyway?My biggest disappointment with Geanavue is that the dockside town of Loona is not mapped or detailed extensively.  The short chapter on it makes the place seem exciting, but I wanted more!  My only other wish would have been for some detailed maps of a typical inn, guild house, etc.The RumourQUEST system is interesting.  The way the system works is that a variety of rumors are grouped into one of six 'packs' based on a common theme.  The actually rumors are on perforated cards that the GM can hand out or that the players can randomly draw.  The only problem that I can see with the system is that the GM will really need to do his homework beforehand if he decides to just let the players randomly draw them.  A clever GM could even seed the rumors into his own flavor text and the players might never know what parts are his own and what parts he is pulling from the cards.I haven't touched on nearly all of this excellent sourcebook, but as you might have guessed, I really like Geanavue and I think it is well worth the cover price.  It is generic enough to plug into your home campaign if you don't play in Kalamar and still has enough of it's own flavor to be unique.  I applaud Mr. Greenwood and everyone at Kenzer involved in the book's production for a job well done.If you are interested in learning more about Geanavue: The Stones of Peace, a <a href="http://www.kenzerco.com/rpg/kalamar/geanavue_preview.php" target="_blank">web preview</a> of it, complete with a 14-page PDF excerpt and a JPEG of the city map, has been posted on the <a href="http://www.kenzerco.com/" target="_blank">Kenzer and Company</a> website.</blockquote>

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