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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2009080" data-attributes="member: 172">Geanavue: The Stones of PeaceGeanavue is one of the first major non-adventure products for the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting after the campaign setting book. It describes the city of Geanavue, one of the many city-states that dots the easterly Renaaria Bay region. The book is written primarily by veteran D&D/FR author Ed Greenwood.A First LookGeanavue is a perfect-bound softcover book. The interior is divided into two sections. The major section is 176 pages long and contains most of the setting material. There is also a 32 page "RumourQuest" section; most of this section is comprised of perforated pull-out pages that are only printed on one size, effectively reducing the page count from the advertised 208 to 194. Even considering the virtual page count, the book is a fairly good value at 24.99, especially considering the price includes an attractive and functional full-color pull-out map.The cover has a color picture depicting a stone giant clashing with a barrel-chested fire giant with the city in the background, while a trio of human warriors look on.The interior is black and white, and has a generous helping of well done artwork. Much of the art is merely line art, but there is some nicely detailed and shaded art by artists Allan Ditzig and Thomas Denmark. Other illustrators include Matt Mitchell, CD Regan, Ed Northcott, Eric Pommer, Vatche Mavilan, Tony Parker, Tommy Castillo, David Esbri Molinas, and Jeremy Mohler.The interior text density is very high. The typeface is small and there is no gratuitous paragraph spacing or excessively large headers to cut into the word count.A Deeper LookThe book is divided into and introduction, 14 chapters, 4 appendices, plus the RumourQuest supplement.The introduction of the book isn't just a superfluous brag sheet that plagues many RPG products, it actually serves to introduce the reader to the basic facts about the city. The city is characterized by its large population of peaceful craftsman, and is well protected by a stern wall, and is built around a castle known as Castle Geana. Both castle and city are named for the founding and ruling family. The population includes humans, dwarves, gnomes and half-elves (though the introduction fails to mention the presence of stone giants, which you think would be significant regardless of their small numbers.)The first chapter is entitled "Life in Geanavue." Aspects of the daily life of the typical citizen is covered in a fair degree of detail, including the grooming habits of the populace, the values that typical citizens hold; most citizens are wary of those who grow rich quickly or without reason, those of differing religions, those who fail to join the appropriate guilds (or join but ignore the guids), and wizards and adventurers. The nature of intrigues in Geanavue is discussed, as well as adventurers the relatively rare wizards. The section discussing wizards covers a few notable wizards in the city, such as the larcenous gnome illusionist Gaini.The second chapter "Selected Attractions" describes a few prominent locations within Geanavue. The most prominent location is obviously Castle Geana. Castle Geana sits on a hill at the center of the city and is finely crafted (in part by stone giants) from huge marble blocks. Legends, layout, and history of the castle are all covered.Other sites of interest covered in the chapter include the Tower of Time (a huge clocktower attended by the city's most well-known wizard), two prominent inns, a "darkhouse" (an establishment in Geanavue that combines a gambling den with a brothel), a general description of the shops and vendors in the city, and sick-horse fountain (a popular landmark in the city).The third chapter, "the Basalt Throne", discussed the nature of the rulership of the city, the castle staff, regular and special forces that protect the city and castle and enforce the will of the lord of the city. Most notable among these are the Three Sisters (three female wizards who help watch over the city) and the Stone Fists (a small band of stone giants that watch over the city's claimed territories in the mountains).The fourth chapter "The Emerald Eagle" discusses the family Geana, the ruling family of Geanavue. The majority of the chapter is a history of the various lords of the city over the year. Also discussed are some possible pretenders to the throne and enemies of the throne.The fifth (brief) chapter covers the Castle Codex, the code of law in Geanavue. As befits the character of the city, a good deal of the laws deal with maintaining peace and trade. Special rights are accorded to nobility, and rules are established regarding succession of the rulership of the city.The sixth chapter covers the guilds in Geanavue. As craftsmen are the lifeblood of Geanavue, the guilds are very pivotal in the city. The guilds are effectively political units designed to counter the influence of the local nobility. Each guild is described in detail, including a guildmaster, icon, headquarters, and other details.The seventh chapter is entitled the Talasaara. The Talasaara are the nobility of Geanavue. The chapter depicts them as idle rich landowners with a penchant for starting confrontation for the joy of it. The chapter spells out privileges afforded to the Talasaara, most of which are priveledges regarding the justice system of the city.The chapter also has a complete roster of the Talasaaran houses, including the current head of the house as well as the heir, other prominent members, aims of the house, and allied houses.The eighth chapter, "The Dangerously Wealthy" describes the merchants of Geanavue who have attained considerable wealth, but for whatever reason are unable or unwilling to take the steps to join a noble family. Such individuals and families are often considered dangerous because they tend to use their influence and wealth to influence politics in the city. A few important such individuals are covered in some detail, and many additional families that fit this category are listed in brief.The ninth chapter, "The Holy Houses" discusses the most influential churches and religions in Geanavue. Unsurprisingly, the most influential church is that of Geonoa the Peacemaker, and its high priest is one of the most powerful characters in the city. Other churches are described as well, including some less that welcome faiths that have been attracted by the prosperity of the city. Each church is described in detail, including prominent clergy and the church's role within the city.The tenth chapter, "The Promenade", is a rather descriptive in nature. It describes the sights in Geanavue that a pedestrian might view while strolling through the city.The eleventh chapter is entitled "Undercity Features." The Undercity is the maze of sewers beneath the city of Geanavue. The sewers are purportedly frequented by dangerous creatures. The chapter describes a number of locales in the Undercity sans game text. The DM can use these description as a basis for running adventures in the Undercity.The twelfth chapter is entitled "Geanavue in the Shadows". It describes the nature of crime and law enforcement in Geanavue, including the organization and powers of the watch. As a sleepy peaceful trade oriented city, Geanavue may seem like easy pickings. However, the watch is competent and only a few subtle and competent thieves enjoy an extended career. General details are provides for the few notorious career thieves at large.Geanavue produces many trade wares, but is not a seafront city. For trade traffic, Geanavue relies on the port town of Loona, described in the thirteenth chapter. Loona is a poorer, more chaotic town than the city of Geanavue. The chapter describes the nature of the city, and prominent sites and figures.The final chapter, "Adventures Arising", provides a number of rumors and adventure seeds as starting points and inspiration for DMs running a game in Geanavue.Appendix A is a short story set in Geanavue entitled "A Slip of the Knife."Appendix B is details 2 new spells relating to Geanavue, Sarmar's Coin Beacon (which makes a metal object into a magical tracer) and Taatiir's Tearing Talons (an attack spell made infamous by a mage that tried to take over Geanavue.)Appendix C contains statistic blocks for many (not all) of the NPCs mentioned in the book. Some of the NPCs use feats and skills out of the Kingdoms of Kalamar Player's Guide. The NPCs appear to be mechanically sound, and make good use of NPC classes and multiclassing to realize the various character concepts.Appendix D is a Glossary of some of the important people or places in Geanavue.The RumourQuest section contains many pull out pages which are meant to be cut into cards. Each of the cards contains an event or a conversation that the PCs notice. The cards are sorted into various packs that the DM may mix and match. The various packs are focussed on different topics. For example, there is one to familiarize characters with politics in the city, one to introduce them to the undercity, and even one that involves the characters in the Coin of Power series of adventures by Kenzer & Co. Overall, this seems like a simple method to help the DM introduce the players to the city.ConclusionWhen I first was introduced to the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting, it reminded me of the Harn setting in that it seemed like the sort of setting where the focus is more personal and less grandiose. Geanavue fits that same feel very well. The great amount of detail devoted to the city makes it an ideal setting if you wish to run a game that is a bit more on a personal level.The nature of Geanavue is a bit less nuts-and-bolts that other city settings for the d20 system. This may be less than optimum if you already have an idea what you want to do with the game and just need a city to do it in. However, if you don't, Geanavue provides a very intrigue rich environment to run adventures in, and the rich nature of the background is likely to build an affection in players who play in the setting.Although Geanavue is made for the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting, there should be very little problem using it other conventional D&D campaign settings. Geanavue is an independent city with few attachments so strong that they could not easily be ignored or replaced.-Alan D. Kohler</blockquote>

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