Dungeons and Dragons
Kingdoms of Kalamar Player's Guide
For those that are unaware, this "Rulebook IV" -- as they've rather sneakily called it (presumably Wizards sat on them when then tried to call it "Core" Rulebook, having had their fingers burned by another "big boy" in the d20 world, mentioning no names... -- is the "missing half" of the
Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign Setting Sourcebook, which, at least in its 3E version, has been available since March 2001. For your information, this earlier volume sets out one of the most detailed and thorough campaign settings of a traditional D&D world that I've encountered, but its primary focus (to some critical disapprobation) was almost entirely on the human races. Fine, that is certainly a vital part of what makes adventuring on "Tellene" (the actual name of the world, not "Kalamar") so exciting. But this new Player's Guide does a great deal to correct that perceived imbalance, and for all those who were put off the original Campaign Setting sourcebook by its concentration on history, politics, religion and intrigue in the human lands -- this is the part you've been waiting for. New Variant classes, New Prestige classes, New Feats, New Skills, New Spells, lots and lots of lovely, lovely tables... the list is almost endless. Combining the two books together you'd have the Kingdoms of Kalamar equivalent of FR, but at more than double the word count!
For the sake of completeness, I shall repeat what others have already detailed here. The book is hard-bound, 272 pages long, with the "typical" faux leather and metals clasps ancient tome look on the cover. The inside covers have a double-page spread of the map of Tellene, and for those slightly frustrated by the unclear, hard-to-read sepia-tinted version in the Campaign Setting, this is a particular relief. (After a year, I still haven't got around to unfolding and pinning up the massive rug-sized colour map that shipped with the Campaign Setting, so I refer to these inside covers a lot!).
However, those expecting full colour illustrations throughout (like the Wizards Core Rulebooks), or even the occasional colour plate of the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign Setting Sourcebook (henceforth, KoKCSS) will be disappointed. The book is B&W throughout, and also on less-expensive, uncoated paper -- a slight disappointment, but no more. Certainly the print quality and the accompanying images are perfectly acceptable, many extremely good, and besides, this volume is a little cheaper than the KoKCSS anyway, so one can't grumble.
Chapter 1 details the races of Tellene that are most suitable for PCs. Humans get much shorter shrift here than they did in the KoKCSS, but there are still brief descriptions of the six main races: Brandobians (think small, sea-faring colony-building European explorers); Dejy (spiritual, nomadic, tribespeople for the most part); Fhokki (Viking-like warrior race, largely oral culture); Kalamaran (Roman-like, educated empire builders); Reanaarian (important trading/seafaring nation); and Svimohz (cradle of humanity, African-type cultures). However, all these races and cultures are detailed far more intensely in the KoKCSS. The KokPG makes room for the demi-humans, and what a mouth-watering list they make, all with different ability modifiers of one type or another.
Hill Dwarves; Mountain Dwarves; Stone Dwarves
Dark Elves; Grey Elves; High Elves; Wild Elves; Wood Elves; Half-Elves
Deep Gnomes; Forest Gnomes; Rock Gnomes
Hobgoblin; Half-Hobgoblin (Kargi); Half-Hobgoblin (Krangi)
Half-orcs
Golden Halflings; Lightfoot Halflings
And the information is just like a massively expanded version of the D&D Player's Guide, each race in turn being given details of their lands, their relations, their religion, languages, physical descriptions, and typical personalities, much like the Forgotten Realms did, and naturally enough, quite a large debt is owed to that revered institution. (But see later). The chapter finishes with useful charts detailing the additional attributes for such characters: their ages, heights, weights and naming conventions.
Chapter 2 starts work on the various classes, and the geographical regions whence they are most likely to hail. Although there is the well-publicized oversight of forgetting the Monk, they do have the courtesy to include Psions and Psychic Warriors, in addition to all the usual standards. The concept of New Variant Classes (notice the absence of the word "Prestige" there) has met with some resistance, but personally I love the thought of expanding initial classes so that your character can be a little more special even at Level 1. It means, of course, that he doesn't need to reach the required Knowledge (_____)+8 rating required by many of the Prestige classes. And why should every adventurer start in the same class, anyway? It's not as if the local Jobcentre has aisles marked "Fighter, Cleric, Wizard" -- there must be all sorts of different paths one can take to start a life of adventuring.
The additional starting classes we're provided with here include "Basiran Dancer", basically a take on the Bard class, whose primary focus will be immense fitness and Weapon finesse -- adding the dexterity bonus to Melee attack rolls rather than Strength -- I can't help thinking of Zorro here, or an Arabic houri from 1001 Nights! "The Brigand" is ultimately a cross between a fighter and a rogue, an excellent addition with plenty of role-playing potential without the need for multiclassing, but the "Gladiator", I feel, is a bit weak and limited to be included here as a Variant class. Perhaps a Prestige class would have been better for him, but that's a minor niggle that might stem more from the way I prefer to play my games, which has little of the hack and slash about them.
"Infiltrators" are, as you might surmise, a variant rogue class who specialize more in learning and wisdom than sheer thuggery/thievery. An ideal occupation for a gnome! Think in terms of a character with a ranger's skills turned to the bad. "The Shaman" is very much the druidic priestess that you might expect from the name, although at higher levels she will gain the ability to polymorph herself into her totem spirit -- sounds like lots of fun, and it's not surprising this was the class they felt compelled to add in their adverts for the KokPG! "The Spellsinger" is a sorcerous bard, the magic comes directly from him, but only through the power of song -- an old concept, but nicely done. All these classes have their own tables and spell lists (where applicable), but I'm sorry to report that you should check on the errata list at
Kenzer & Co. to double check them, because some unfortunate errors have cropped up here, and the quick reference chart and the class specific charts don't quite match up as they should. Naughty Kenzer, but hardly unusual in this respect. Wouldn't it be nice to have a d20 product that comes out without an errata list following a couple of weeks later?
Chapter 3 details additional Prestige classes, including Alliance Merchant, Bounty Hunter; Mariner; Golem Master; Muse; Order of the Slayer (thinking Buffy? I did. Couldn't help it!); Restorer; Sentinels of Providence; Slaver (such a Kalamaran class, that one!); Vessels of Man and Warlord. To detail them all would take too long, and besides you should buy this book. (Have I said that yet? No, I don't think I have. Well, you should.) Only you can know whether these things have a place in your campaign, of course.
Chapter 4 is the Skills Chapter, where some possibly less than exciting information (Craft: Basketweaving -- Basketweaving includes the ability to make many items out of woven reeds or strips of thin wood, including (most commonly), baskets... coo, well, bugger me, who'd've thought?) is presented alongside some very exciting takes on the original skills. "
Pickpocket: Normal Use: Use the Pick Pocket skill to lift a carried item without its owner noticing or to perform sleight-of-hand tricks.
New Use: You can conceal somatic gestures when casting a spell. If an obsever's Spot check exceeds your Pick Pocket check, the person realizes that you are casting a spell..." Fabulous!
Chapter 5 is my favourite chapter of all. The Feats. Nearly one hundred new ones, and nearly all extremely good and useful, and well thought out. The great bonus is that some of these are regional feats, which if you are thinking of setting a game in the Kingdoms, are absolutely indispensible. Naturally, many of them will transfer lock, stock and barrel to home-grown or indeed other campaign settings, but they fit superbly the world they were crafted for.
A few examples:
"Born to the Saddle": Your people are practically born on horseback, spending more time mounted than on foot. Prerequisite: Born and raised in Drhokker or Dodera. Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on all Ride checks and +1 dodge bonus to AC while mounted. Special: You may only take this feat as a 1st-level character. Tremendous! I'd often argued this point with some of my DMs, making a special case that a Fhokki character brought up on a farm breeding Drhokkeran Chargers, should have some special bonus for such checks, but this feat does it for you. And there are plenty of others just like it for the different regions. It's just nice to have them written down, so you don't need to argue the toss with every character you create -- and with rule stickler DMs, that can be a great bonus! Not all are region-specific though:
Inheritance: You inherit a tidy sum of money from a wealthy family member or a patron. Benefit: You gain an additional 200 gp (or the equivalent in gems or jewelry) at character creation. Anyone fancy going shopping with Daddy's Little Rich Girl? -- I can hear the screams resulting from that first scratch on that new set of armour even now! A great idea, but terribly simple. And again, something you can take, without having to get permission from your DM first (assuming they allow you to use this book, of course!).
Chapter 6, Religion, will probably only be of interest to those planning on running or taking part in a campaign set on Tellene. It lists this particular campaign setting's pantheon in great detail (in addition to the exhaustive information in the KoKCSS), including their sacred religious texts, the name of the gods for the demihuman races, the tenets of the faith, and some useful conversion tables of Forgotten Realms Gods to the appropriate Kalamar version.
Chapter 7, Equipment, details some specific roots, poisons, salves and potions native to Tellene, and rather fascinatingly some details about slaves. You initially wonder at the inclusion of that here, because it seems so out of place, but then suddenly you think of the idea of "possession", and of course, it makes perfect sense. Many new weapons such as leaf blade, bear claw, ball arrow, etc, are detailed here, as well as details of Kalamar's region specific armours: the cord armour of Svimohz Shamans, the lamellar armour of the world's tropical regions.
Chapter 8, Combat, I can't help feeling has been included because there is a chapter called this in the original Player's Guide, and they seem to have been using that's layout as a template. Some details of Fighting Schools, and career path progressions within them will be very useful for DMs, but I can't help but wonder in their inclusion in a "Player's Guide." There are four new combat options tacked on the end, Kick, Shield Disarm, Throw and Unbalance, but clearly these would not have warranted a chapter of their own, but it's good to have them.
Chapter 9, Adventuring, ah yes, definitely following the pattern of the original PG. However, this chapter has much more right to be here. Diseases, Perils of the Road, Nobility, Temple advancement, Punishments... all the stuff you wouldn't know where else to look for is here.
Chapter 10, Magic. I just know some of you have come straight down to this bit. Shock, horror. Kalamar is a "low magic world", how can they have a chapter about spells and magic and stuff. Well, basically, this quoted statement is rubbish, nevermind how often you'll hear it. Yes, there aren't Level 45 wizards stalking the countryside in Kalamar, but then Kalamar's big attraction is the "reality" of the setting. A contradiction in terms, naturally, for a fantasy world, but yes, the culture, history, politics, intrigue, and nature of the world give you plenty of other things to concentrate on, and not just the hack and slash, spell "kaboom" or other products -- notably, of course, Hackmaster! That other staple of the Kenzer world. [Oh, but that is so not me! A shame, because I won a Hacklopaedia of Beasts in a recent competition... but that's by-the-bye, of course...]
Back on track. Pretending that there is no or limited magic in the world of Tellene is completely wrong, however. There are 43 deities, for starters. There's going to be a great many clerics out there as a result of that. And coupled with the new feat of "Channel Positive Energy" in Chapter 5, there's a better reason than ever to be one. The energy that make would use to Turn or Rebuke undead can be channelled now into a different outcome now, depending on which god/goddess you worship.
For example, clerics of the Guardian can knock open manacles and doors in a 30ft radius around you (Irrepressible Freedom). Clerics of Rotlord can infect people with the "fen waste" disease in a 60ft cone (Plague). Worshippers of the Church of Endless Night (The Dark One) can cast a Blanket of Darkness. Gorgeous...
The chapter finishes with some details about "Divine Right" -- a cool concept that allows the nobility to have benefits from the gods, just because of their position in life (Baron, +2 on Saves against charm effects, uncanny dodge, Noble Bearing {a feat}; King: Immune to poison, cannot be duplicated, damage reduction 10/+1). Naturally, were the Royal personage to offend in some way, then the protection might be removed, and then, well, who knows...
Chapter 11, Spells. Far too much here to list in detail. Scalable spells, new domains, and new spells are all there for the taking. But, oh, it's so much more than that. This is an encyclopaedic knowledge of everything that's come before in the D&D world. Nearly all the domains of the Forgotten Realms are included in the listings, as well as those from the original PG and, indeed, Defenders of the Faith. In alphabetical order. I'm amazed it's legal, but apparently they've done it, but it certainly is useful! This one book contains just about everything you would ever need in addition to the original PG.
But it's not all about clerics. Plenty of brand new spells for wizards, sorcerors, and, of course, the new variant classes introduced earlier in the book. All nicely detailed, and plenty of fine illustrations to liven things up. Too many to go into here, but quite a few are combat-oriented, which should please many.
Chapter 12 adds plenty of new magic items for inclusion into your world, a few favourite examples would include:
Chain Shirt of Sinking: When immersed in water, this suit of armour gives its wearer a -20 circumstance modifier to her Swim checks. The chain shirt provides a +2 enchancement bonus to AC when the wearer is on land. Whenn fully submerged in water, however, the bonus becomes -2. A remove curse spell allows the wearer to remove the item. Bwahahahahhaaah! Why has this idiotic, evil DM smile about providing a "free" Chainmail +2 suit of armour just before the room with the water trap in it, spread across my face...?
Fey Robe: This sheer garment is both comfortable and atterctive. The wearer gains a +4 circumstance bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks made in woodland settings. He can also use locate creature
and speak with plants,
each once per day.
Well we're only up to page 205, and it's still miles until the end of the book.
What's left. Well, in a sense, one of the most useful features of the book.
A 7-page glossary -- you're confused by all the gods' names? Don't be.
The Kenzer-invented d10,000 table of origins (the same system that they use for their random encounter tables in the adventures. Why do we need so many numbers? Well, let's just try. I rolled a 6, a 4, a 7 and a 5. 6475: In the Young Kingdoms that would give me a Human from a Rural Thorp in the Korak region, or a Rural Hamlet inhabiting elf from the Kalalili Forest, or a Halfling from the Imomena Hills, in the Ozhvinmish region of the Svimohzish Isle. It's all in the detail, you see. And one roll (or rather four), does it all very quickly.
A fabulously quick reference list of every feat (including original PG, Kalamar PG, Songs and Silence, Forgotten Realms, Oriental Adventures, Tome and Blood, Defenders of the Faiths, Masters of the Wild, Magic of Faerun, Dragon Magazine, Sword and Fist, Psionics Handbook... are you getting the idea. Priceless. 13 pages of the stuff in about the smallest typeface they could get away with, without resorting to giving away a free magnifying glass away with the book!
A 2-page Character Sheet for the Kingdoms, which is also available as a download from the forums of their website.
Character Sheet Right click (Mac: Ctrl + click) and save to disk for best results
28 pages of Spell Planner: Memorized boxes; Level; Spell Name; Type; Components; Casting Time; Range; Target/Effect; Duration; Saving throw; SR; Source
Unbelievable. Exactly what they did with the feats above. Every spell from every KoK and WotC book, I shan't repeat the list, but you'll get the idea.
That only leaves the index, but what a hoard! Fed up travelling to conventions with everybook you possess -- take this one, and you'll have a reference to just about every spell and feat you could wish for! This (as long as you have the original Player's Guide as well (and, who, reading this, does not?) contains just about everything a player (and many, many DMs!) could actually wish for in a single reference book.
I'm not saying that it's worth buying for this composite chart alone, but you know what? It
nearly is! Coupled with the fact that the material prior to this glossary part is so exceptionally excellent, well written, laid out and accessible, I cannot see my way to giving it any less than the full five, even though I did have one or two minor niggles (see above). Even if you're the sort of person that staves off buying anything from outside the WotC stable, you should pick up this volume. It's far classier than many of the original supplements, and contains much of that information anyway.
If you're the sort of person that can't hold more than one fact in your head at a time, you're probably the sort of person that thinks too much detail makes the Kingdoms of Kalamar "bland" and "boring" -- I've seen it said! -- then even you should consider buying this for its composite nature and gathering of sources.
If you're already playing a game in the Kingdoms of Kalamar, then I can't believe you haven't got a copy of this book already!! Stop playing and go and get it right now. I mean it.
In short, I can't praise this book highly enough. Value for money is about the best you could hope for, to boot! It is perfect for the sort of campaigns I like to run, and to play in, which I appreciate doesn't necessarily mean it would suit everyone. However, if you like roleplaying replete with detail, then the Kingdoms of Kalamar would welcome you with open arms. If you are mostly a player, then you could get away with only purchasing this book, but if you happen to have the funds and fortune to possess both the Kalamar Player's Guide
and the Campaign Setting Sourcebook, you are fortunate indeed. Not even when human lifespans are extended to the length of elves will you run out of material for your campaigns! Thumbs up for this one, Kenzer. Great job!!