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Is Kingdoms of Kalamar worth it?
- Thread starter Jeff Parker
- Start date
Sulimo said:
Some people think that's a great strength of the setting. It can be played without requiring a bunch of variant rules and extra stuff to get in the way. Furthermore, all of the page count of the campaign setting book is dedicated to just that - the setting. The setting is the focus of the setting book. I can't complain about that myself. Compare this to Sovereign Stone, for example, which is mostly variant rules with tiny bits of info on the campaign setting crammed here and there. Another example is Scarred Lands, for which the main world source book still hasn't come out long after we already have a large number of new rules and regional supplements for the setting.
It depends on what you're looking for really. However, with Kalamar it looks like we're about to get the best of both worlds. You can run the setting with 100% core rules, or you can get the Player's Guide and get all the variant rules and crunchy bits if that's your thing. Unlike some other settings, however, the extra rules aren't woven into the setting so deeply that you have to have them.
That said, I agree for now that for people who really like new rules the Kalamar Setting book is definitely not the best choice, although that very well may change come April. I'm not a playtester though so I guess I'll have to wait and see.
Sulimo
First Post
kenjib said:
I agree. And it even makes it more enticing for those of us who dont play 3e.
Although in the case of SL, there isnt a whole lot of new rules in the campaign stuff just the core books (like Creature Collection & Relic & Ruins). Thus, the Sourcebooks are still excellent value for people who dont play 3e (like my group who are playing a Rolemaster-Scarred Lands campaign).
Kichwas
Half-breed
Naturally I'm going to say yes.
When I play in most fantasy worlds I feel like I'm trying to bring a person into a comic book. As a result I never really feel any attachment to my characters or to the adventures.
Kalamar though doesn't do this to me. I feel like it's a world. Like if I got on a starship and went out there I might just find it. Save for the magic.
On every level it makes sense to me.
And yet at the same time it manages to be full of drama, full of tension. But the sort of tension that makes sense.
If there's a loose plot thread on a page (and it's full of them on every page) then when you read it you can understand why it's there. Why it might happen one way or another. Why the people stuck in it are stuck in it. How they all got there.
It all adds up.
It never feel contrived or pushed.
Never feels faked.
Bland?
Hardly. Sure if you only skim it or if you don't pay a lot of attention when reading it will seem bland. Because it's written in a very neutral and dry tone and has a very stale graphic design (which is not just pictures but also typography and layout) to it.
But if you read it for the details and you start to pay attention a pattern will form in each section and that pattern will weave together in the larger body of the book to give you a fully consistent setting which still feels full of wonder, excitement, drama, magic, and of course fantasy.
It no blander than the complex web of interrelations that form our own world's geopolitical mess.
When I play in most fantasy worlds I feel like I'm trying to bring a person into a comic book. As a result I never really feel any attachment to my characters or to the adventures.
Kalamar though doesn't do this to me. I feel like it's a world. Like if I got on a starship and went out there I might just find it. Save for the magic.
On every level it makes sense to me.
And yet at the same time it manages to be full of drama, full of tension. But the sort of tension that makes sense.
If there's a loose plot thread on a page (and it's full of them on every page) then when you read it you can understand why it's there. Why it might happen one way or another. Why the people stuck in it are stuck in it. How they all got there.
It all adds up.
It never feel contrived or pushed.
Never feels faked.
Bland?
Hardly. Sure if you only skim it or if you don't pay a lot of attention when reading it will seem bland. Because it's written in a very neutral and dry tone and has a very stale graphic design (which is not just pictures but also typography and layout) to it.
But if you read it for the details and you start to pay attention a pattern will form in each section and that pattern will weave together in the larger body of the book to give you a fully consistent setting which still feels full of wonder, excitement, drama, magic, and of course fantasy.
It no blander than the complex web of interrelations that form our own world's geopolitical mess.
Winterthorn
Monster Manager
When I purchased the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting last summer, and I knew very little of its earlier incarnations, I was truly surprised at its breadth. KoK is a rich and comprehensive setting that integrates politics, warfare, trade, and cultural diversity. This setting has details covering people and places, language and alphabets, celestial bodies and calendar, gods, city life and codes of law (medieval), armies, and oodles of plot teasers concerning the motives and/or personal histories of hundreds of NPCs. (There are plenty of useful reference tables too--a feature most competing products are found wanting.)
KoK is also "humanocentric". Humans rule, in most regions, and demi-humans are no more prominent than humanoids. In fact, Hobgoblins are elevated in this setting as real rivals to humans--possibly exceeding elves in demographics and military might!
Amazingly enough, it all seems to come together and "feel" like a real world. With well over 250 pages of rules-free background this sourcebook still remains generic enough for any DM to develop a campaign to their own liking. Indeed, Kenzer & Co. will not impose a running timeline upon us fans--we are given a panoramic snapshot of a vast continent and its numerous denizens... A "sandbox" for us DM's to play in
I think the fact that the variant rules are to be published as a separate document--the KoK Player's Guide--is a smart strategy. This way we separate the background from the rules. It's surely more logical to manage from the DM's point of view! (I don't want game mechanics lost among reams of setting background, a la FRCS for example... Perhaps that's just a matter of taste?)
One last aspect in KoK's favour that I think few of really look at: compared to GH, FR, and SL, the geography (see maps) and climate of Tellene is infinitely more realistic! (IMHO)
For those who are looking for a world that's more realistic, toned-down in magic, more sophisticated and less contrived, then I heartily recommend Kingdoms of Kalamar. It may not be perfect, but IMO it's worth it!
KoK is also "humanocentric". Humans rule, in most regions, and demi-humans are no more prominent than humanoids. In fact, Hobgoblins are elevated in this setting as real rivals to humans--possibly exceeding elves in demographics and military might!
Amazingly enough, it all seems to come together and "feel" like a real world. With well over 250 pages of rules-free background this sourcebook still remains generic enough for any DM to develop a campaign to their own liking. Indeed, Kenzer & Co. will not impose a running timeline upon us fans--we are given a panoramic snapshot of a vast continent and its numerous denizens... A "sandbox" for us DM's to play in
I think the fact that the variant rules are to be published as a separate document--the KoK Player's Guide--is a smart strategy. This way we separate the background from the rules. It's surely more logical to manage from the DM's point of view! (I don't want game mechanics lost among reams of setting background, a la FRCS for example... Perhaps that's just a matter of taste?)
One last aspect in KoK's favour that I think few of really look at: compared to GH, FR, and SL, the geography (see maps) and climate of Tellene is infinitely more realistic! (IMHO)
For those who are looking for a world that's more realistic, toned-down in magic, more sophisticated and less contrived, then I heartily recommend Kingdoms of Kalamar. It may not be perfect, but IMO it's worth it!
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