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Kingdoms of Kalamar Players Guide
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<blockquote data-quote="Morrus" data-source="post: 2009066" data-attributes="member: 1"><p>I don't usually have time to write reviews these days, but I thought that I'd set aside the time for this one.</p><p></p><p>Now, I'm not a Kalamar fan. I have most of the books (courtesy of Kenzer) but have never actually used them. In general, having read them, my opinion is that Kalamar is a high quality setting, but that it's just not for me. To be honest, I feel that that makes a review all the more telling, because reviews by self-acclaimed fans of a given publisher or product line can tend to be less objective at times.</p><p></p><p>Kenzer already have a Kalamar setting book out, and before looking at this product I must admit to having been slightly confused. It didn't take long before the confusoin lifted, however. This isn't a setting book. It doesn't tell you about Kalamar, the world, but rather gives you a great big pile of extra crunchy rules-based material for your D&D game. The "Kalamar" in the title is almost misleading - this book is as generic as they get, in the same way that Sword & Sorcery's <em>Relics & Rituals</em> is generic. Occasional references to Kalamar remind you that this is a Kalamar product but, frankly, it's clearly designed to be used by anyone. </p><p></p><p>This is a big ol' book. It's hardcover, 270 pages and pretty much jammed from cover to cover with crunchy material. It reminds me very much of the core Player's Handbook, although the interior art is black-and-white and the pages not as glossy. But none of that matters - I've never felt that art and paper type have anything to do with an RPG product - they're just so much extra icing on the cake.</p><p></p><p>The book is, essentially, a Player's Handbook for Kalamar. Pretty much every chapter from the core PHB is in there, less the character generation rules. There's a chapter on Kalamar races, a chapter on classes... well, it's probably easier if I just list the chapters:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Races</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Classes</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Prestige Classes</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Skills</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Feats</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Religion</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Equipment</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Combat</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Adventuring</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magic</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Spells</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magic Items</li> </ul><p></p><p>Now, when I say that this is a Player's Handbook, I don't mean to imply that it can replace your core rules. It can't - the d20 STL doesn't allow that. This is a setting book, not an actual game which is what the core rules comprise. However, by looking at the chapters above, you can see that much of the PHB (and some of the DMG) has been either replaced or added to - and when the KoK Player’s Guide touches on a subject, it does so thoroughly and in depth. For example, the races chapter contains 19 races which replace those in the core rules (and also includes them - humans, elves and dwarves are all in there, along with sub-races of each type). The class section is all new material (6 new core classes), and also contains a list of which classes from the core rules are relevant to Kalamar and how they fit in. The skills section essentially replaces the corresponding chapter in the core rules, with a similar skill list and descriptions which include a few extras (there's an expanded language skill which tells you just how well you can speak a language, for example), and the feats chapter is mainly new material with one or two inclusions or overlaps from the core rules.</p><p></p><p>The book contains a lot of stuff not in the PHB, however. Details on various diseases of Kalamar, fighting schools designed to tailor your character (I wasn't so keen on that section - it's just a few pages of advice on what feats/skills to choose to replicate various styles), religious ranks (including duties, privileges etc.), plus a whole slew of spells and magical items.</p><p></p><p>There are a few oddities - the appendices take up about 70 pages, and include glossaries, charts, summaries and tables; they also include a 7-page table indicating places of origin, a 13-page table listing all official feats and their source; and about 30 pages of spell-planners and character sheets. Speaking for myself, much of those 70 pages would be fairly useless in my game (I've never used a spell-planner in my life), but I guess some people will appreciate it all. I wouldn't have a problem with it except that it's 70 pages, a whole quarter of the book - and thus you're paying quite a chunk of the cover price for it all.</p><p></p><p>However, that aside, the KoK Player's Guide really is packed full of material. Most of it is very easily used in any other campaign, and the book would make valuable addition to anyone's core rulebooks. If you're actually playing in Kalamar, then it's - well, not essential (otherwise how would you have managed up until now?) - but certainly on the must-buy list. </p><p></p><p>Would I buy it myself? Well, no. It's crammed full of skills, feats, spells etc., but I personally don't find that tons of new feats or spells necessarily make for a better game. I'm a fan of new, innovative stuff that integrates to but adds to the functionality of the d20 system. But that's not what this book is about, and that's not what it's claiming to do. If you want a whole host of extra classes, feats, skills, prestige classes, spells etc. then this book delivers that with gusto.</p><p></p><p>I can't give this a perfect 5. But it's certainly above average. It's solid and respectable, without really showing any flair. It does the job well, covers all the ground required and doesn't put a step wrong (other than the 70-page appendix). I'm trying to think of an analogy here, but coming up short - I don't know much about cars, but something like <em>Spycraft</em> is your d20 Ferrari while the KoK Player's Guide is the reliable car you commute to work in every day and which has never once let you down. Don’t think of it as a Kalamar product - think of it as the second half of the Player’s Handbook.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Morrus, post: 2009066, member: 1"] I don't usually have time to write reviews these days, but I thought that I'd set aside the time for this one. Now, I'm not a Kalamar fan. I have most of the books (courtesy of Kenzer) but have never actually used them. In general, having read them, my opinion is that Kalamar is a high quality setting, but that it's just not for me. To be honest, I feel that that makes a review all the more telling, because reviews by self-acclaimed fans of a given publisher or product line can tend to be less objective at times. Kenzer already have a Kalamar setting book out, and before looking at this product I must admit to having been slightly confused. It didn't take long before the confusoin lifted, however. This isn't a setting book. It doesn't tell you about Kalamar, the world, but rather gives you a great big pile of extra crunchy rules-based material for your D&D game. The "Kalamar" in the title is almost misleading - this book is as generic as they get, in the same way that Sword & Sorcery's [i]Relics & Rituals[/i] is generic. Occasional references to Kalamar remind you that this is a Kalamar product but, frankly, it's clearly designed to be used by anyone. This is a big ol' book. It's hardcover, 270 pages and pretty much jammed from cover to cover with crunchy material. It reminds me very much of the core Player's Handbook, although the interior art is black-and-white and the pages not as glossy. But none of that matters - I've never felt that art and paper type have anything to do with an RPG product - they're just so much extra icing on the cake. The book is, essentially, a Player's Handbook for Kalamar. Pretty much every chapter from the core PHB is in there, less the character generation rules. There's a chapter on Kalamar races, a chapter on classes... well, it's probably easier if I just list the chapters: [list] [*]Races [*]Classes [*]Prestige Classes [*]Skills [*]Feats [*]Religion [*]Equipment [*]Combat [*]Adventuring [*]Magic [*]Spells [*]Magic Items [/list] Now, when I say that this is a Player's Handbook, I don't mean to imply that it can replace your core rules. It can't - the d20 STL doesn't allow that. This is a setting book, not an actual game which is what the core rules comprise. However, by looking at the chapters above, you can see that much of the PHB (and some of the DMG) has been either replaced or added to - and when the KoK Player’s Guide touches on a subject, it does so thoroughly and in depth. For example, the races chapter contains 19 races which replace those in the core rules (and also includes them - humans, elves and dwarves are all in there, along with sub-races of each type). The class section is all new material (6 new core classes), and also contains a list of which classes from the core rules are relevant to Kalamar and how they fit in. The skills section essentially replaces the corresponding chapter in the core rules, with a similar skill list and descriptions which include a few extras (there's an expanded language skill which tells you just how well you can speak a language, for example), and the feats chapter is mainly new material with one or two inclusions or overlaps from the core rules. The book contains a lot of stuff not in the PHB, however. Details on various diseases of Kalamar, fighting schools designed to tailor your character (I wasn't so keen on that section - it's just a few pages of advice on what feats/skills to choose to replicate various styles), religious ranks (including duties, privileges etc.), plus a whole slew of spells and magical items. There are a few oddities - the appendices take up about 70 pages, and include glossaries, charts, summaries and tables; they also include a 7-page table indicating places of origin, a 13-page table listing all official feats and their source; and about 30 pages of spell-planners and character sheets. Speaking for myself, much of those 70 pages would be fairly useless in my game (I've never used a spell-planner in my life), but I guess some people will appreciate it all. I wouldn't have a problem with it except that it's 70 pages, a whole quarter of the book - and thus you're paying quite a chunk of the cover price for it all. However, that aside, the KoK Player's Guide really is packed full of material. Most of it is very easily used in any other campaign, and the book would make valuable addition to anyone's core rulebooks. If you're actually playing in Kalamar, then it's - well, not essential (otherwise how would you have managed up until now?) - but certainly on the must-buy list. Would I buy it myself? Well, no. It's crammed full of skills, feats, spells etc., but I personally don't find that tons of new feats or spells necessarily make for a better game. I'm a fan of new, innovative stuff that integrates to but adds to the functionality of the d20 system. But that's not what this book is about, and that's not what it's claiming to do. If you want a whole host of extra classes, feats, skills, prestige classes, spells etc. then this book delivers that with gusto. I can't give this a perfect 5. But it's certainly above average. It's solid and respectable, without really showing any flair. It does the job well, covers all the ground required and doesn't put a step wrong (other than the 70-page appendix). I'm trying to think of an analogy here, but coming up short - I don't know much about cars, but something like [i]Spycraft[/i] is your d20 Ferrari while the KoK Player's Guide is the reliable car you commute to work in every day and which has never once let you down. Don’t think of it as a Kalamar product - think of it as the second half of the Player’s Handbook. [/QUOTE]
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