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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KDLadage" data-source="post: 2008182" data-attributes="member: 88">updated on 22-NOV-02OK... First the skinny on this book. What do you get? <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A very nice full color map (paper is a bit thin, but seems to be holding up)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A nice quality staple bound volume with a thick cover (has the shields for the nations on the inside, much like I remember the old Greyhawk book)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A two-page history of the Scarred Lands (pretty much a reprint of the stuff found in every S&SS product)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A three page history of Ghelspad written in a nice, conversational tone.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A two-page b/w map of the Scarred Lands -- oddly, sans scale</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A fifteen page look at the nations and city-states</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A nine-page look at the topography</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A seven-page look at the organizations</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A seven page look at the cosmology</li> </ul>Overall, a very good value for the money. Now, first I will cover what I liked about the product, and then dive into the negatives.GOODThe book is high quality. For a staple-bound, 48 page book, the pages are good quality paper, the cover is sturdy and the typeface is one that is easy on my eyes. Very well done. The writing is generally high quality and, as has become a S&SS tradition, does not answer nearly as many questions as it asks. This means that the product provides a lot of plot hooks, without telling you what the outcomes have to be. I really like this. This is the canvas, not the painting. Much of what you find here integrates very well with the hints that have been thrown about in the earlier S&SS products (Creature Collection, Relics and Rituals). The books is filled with ideas. A very good product for the money. The artwork, although simple and fairly (well...) non-descript, does not detract from the value of the book, and seems to fit into the text being presented. Not too bad.BADThe book made a few poor choices in layout. For example, the shields are watermarked under the national description and are so faint as to appear to be simple gray shield-shaped blobs. Some things are left completely unanswered. For example, there is a valley listed in the Creature Collection under Forsaken Elves known as "Virduk's Promise" and after reading through this book and examining the map rather closely, I still do not know where it is. This is not necessarily a bad thing -- as a DM, I will put it where I need it, I suppose, but it seems rather strange. (In the end, I have discovered that this area is not even on this continent).The nations have population breakdowns by percentage, but no figures. I know, therefor, that Ankila has a 79% human population, but have no idea how many people this is. I supposed I can fudge these numbers too, but it seems like a rather glaring omission. Some of the cities listed in the book, do not appear on the map. A minor nit, but I'd like to have a feel for where these places are as I read about them in the other books. Overall, I say that this is a good product, I did not waste my money by any means at all and I would gladly buy it again (in fact, I may -- I am thinking about having the map matted...)HARDBACK?The Ghelspad Hardback book is coming in 2002... so this is just a taste... sort of like the Greyhawk Gaz and the Living Greyhawk Gaz... I just hope that the jump in material is as great.</blockquote>

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