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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2009113" data-attributes="member: 172">Scarred Lands Campaign Setting: GhelspadThe Scarred Lands campaign setting was one of the first to enter the scene of d20 system settings under the d20 STL and OGL. The Creature Collection, a guide to creatures of the Scarred Lands setting, made something of a splash by actually hitting the stands before the third edition D&D Monster Manual did. Though that book was somewhat inexpert due to the incomplete d20 system knowledge of the authors at the time, the follow up book to that tome, Relics & Rituals, helped polish the image of Sword & Sorcery Studios, and let d20 system fans know that the Scarred Lands setting was one to watch.Considering the considerable anticipation these early books created, it was somewhat unfortunate that an actual setting book took so long to get out an actual setting book for the Scarred Lands. This didn't stop some eager fans, who started full fledged games with just the smaller Scarred Lands Gazetteer: Ghelspad and various other books for the Scarred Lands setting.Well the wait is over. The Scarred Lands setting book is finally here.A First LookScarred Lands Campaign Setting: Ghelspad is a 256 page book priced at $24.95. This, to my knowledge, sets a record low for price/page ratios among third-party d20 system hardbounds. Further, the interior text is somewhat dense, with a conservative font and little space wasted due to paragraph or column spacing. Even considering that several pages in the back are promotions of other White Wolf material, this book is a considerable value.Except for the insides of the front and back covers, the interior of the book is black and white. The interior art includes illustrations of sample characters from each region, as well as illustrations of religious symbols, coats of arms, and other scenes related to the regions being described. Some of the art is very good, though there is some that I am not too fond of. I am not sufficiently familiar with S&SS artists to name names, but I do not like the work of the artist that uses rather wispy lines such as that of Drifting Isle denizens on page 66, nor the "sketchy psuedo anime" look such as the art of the Albadians on page 43. On the other hand, some art is very nice and detailed, such as that of the titanspawn of the Blood Steeps on page 185 and the asaatthi on page 159.The book takes the same approach to large scale maps as the Rokugan book by AEG does: it puts them on the insides of the covers. The maps on the inside covers are very colorful, and are essentially the same as the map in the Scarred Lands Gazetteer except that they detail more locations. Although they are attractive, I was really hoping for a more detailed fold-out maps like those in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting or the Kingdoms of Kalamar book, and/or more detailed regional maps within the book.There are also a number of city maps in the book. The maps are similar in approach and appearance to those in the old AD&D 2e Forgotten Realms Adventures hardbound. They are black and white and show a large scale overview of the city, with 10-20 major areas (including quarters of the city and other major details) keyed in the text.A Deeper LookThe Scarred Lands Campaign Setting: Ghelspad is organized into 6 chapters and an appendix.Chapter One: History of GhelspadThe first chapter outlines the history of the Scarred Lands campaign setting. This chapter is further subdivided into sections such as the Titanic Epochs, Ancient Empires, the Titanswar, and A State of Affairs in Ghelspad. Each of these sections outlines some of the more significant historical eras of Ghelspad. For example, the section on titans describes how each of the titans shaped the land and what sorts of changes occurred during that era.For those not familiar with the concept behind the Scarred Lands, the titans are were a group of central primordial entities with great power that created many creatures and other features of the land. Ultimately, many titans were inattentive, and oft-times, destructive of the races they had created. Gods (also children of the titans) combined their forces to track down the titans and permanently bind and imprison them. These titanic battles left the lands scarred and twisted. There are creatures who follow these titans who to the current day seek to restore some of the titans to their former glory.As with the Scarred Lands Gazetteer: Ghelspad and Divine and the Defeated, many of the passages of this chapter are presented as if they were from the perspective of various characters in the Scarred Lands. I like this for two reasons. First, it is very GM-empowering. A GM who decides he wants to add to or alter what is there is free to do so with little fear of players grousing about the contradiction, as the passages are from the perspective less-than-omniscient (and perhaps even blatantly biased) mortal.Second, it helps illustrate other points about the setting. For example, many historical records and memories from before the titanswar were lost. The retelling of many events are from the perspective of an incarnate, an order of druids who can recall memories of past incarnations of their souls. This illustrates something about the perspective of the incarnates and their importance to the setting.Chapter Two: The Gods of GhelspadThe second chapter is somewhat brief, and provides some details of the gods and demigods of Ghelpsad as well as some of the titans. The nature of worshipers of each is outlined, along with details of the faith, domains, and invocation benefits. Invocation benefits are temporary bonuses that can be invoked by a follower of the given deity, first described in The Divine and the Defeated.Alas, the new domains (and the spells that go along with them) are not described in the book; those details are in The Divine and the Defeated. This feels like something of an omission to me as I feel like this book should be the essential Scarred Lands book.The chapter also discusses the nature of magic in the Scarred Lands setting. Magic of clerics and paladins springs strictly from the gods and not the titans. More nature oriented magic such as that of druids and rangers springs for the titans and their connection to the land. Arcane magic is often associated with the titans as well, but the prevailing theory is that the titans merely discovered arcane magic vice being the wellspring of it. Overall, I found the treatment of the d20 system's arcane/divine magic dichotomy the most comfortable of any d20 system setting that does not alter one or the other type drastically.Chapter Three: Nations of GhelspadThe third chapter covers the various nations that currently hold sway in Ghelspad. A basic "statistics block" is provided for each nation, including details such as the name of the nation, its population (with a percentage breakdown by race), government, ruler (including name, alignment, classes and levels, and a reference to the sourcebook describing the ruler, if any), capital, a short list of other major cities (including population), language(s) spoken in the region, major religions followed, currency types used, resources, allies, and enemies.After this stat block, each nation has a statistics-light writeup on the history, geography, flora and fauna, people, culture, crime and punishments, religion, armed forces, and cities. Some cities are illustrated and with keyed descriptions of regions of the city and significant features. Some of the more civilized cities are also provided with illustrated coats of arms.Chapter Four: City StatesAs Ghelspad has underwent some major upheavals in the last few hundred years, and threats exist that both keep them from expanding but still put pressure on the young races to cooperate and defend themselves, there are many city states that have not expanded or been coopted into full fledged nations. In truth, though, these are essentially just smaller nations and each follows a similar outline to the nations in the prior chapter, save that (of course) only one city is mentioned and/or detailed in each.It is noteworthy that not all of the cities described herein are those of PC races. The lost city of Asaatthi (a reptilian race in the Scarred Lands) is described in some detail.Chapter Five: Important Locations in GhelspadLarge sections of Ghelspad are sparsely inhabited, and many regions have unusual characteristics as a result of the titanswar. All of these locations only provide you with basic details: history, geography, and flora and fauna. Some areas that have sizable intelligent populations (some rather inhuman) have some of the other details outlined in chapter three.Chapter Six: Other Places of Note in GhelspadWhere the previous chapter provided outlines of some significant regions, there are some features in the setting that remain to be discussed. This chapter spends a few paragraphs on each of these features, from the mysterious Sapphire Lake to the forboding Wall of Bones. Only sketchy details are provided for each of these, and inhabitants are often described in inexact terms, making this chapter more of a springboard for GMs to add their own details.Appendix: Prestige ClassesThe appendix describes eight new prestige classes describing members of various organizations in the scarred lands:- Aerial Cavalier: The Arial Cavalier is an expert at fighting on aerial mount. In the Scarred Lands, this includes the harrier knights of Uria, some valraven riding paladins of Corean, and some hunters devoted to Tanil. The aerial caviler has good fighting abilities and gains class abilities that assist in fighting while mounted on a flying mount.- Brother of the Scarred Hand: These are followers of the more peaceful titans devoted to healing some damage done by the war. As divine magic (and thus healing) is the province of the gods, brothers of the scarred hand cannot use such magic. Instead, they have abilities that let them transfer their own life force to (or from) others.- Forgemasters: Forgemasters are expert craftsmen that primarily exist in the Gleaming Valley. Most forgemasters are devoted to the lawful good deity Corean. Forgemasters gain class abilities that let them invest items they create with certain blessings.- Gold Knights: Gold knights are wandering knights devoted to Corean (usually paladins)that are devoted to healing and protection. The gold knight continues spellcasting progression as a paladin, but gains improved capabilities in curing and removing diseases.- Iron Knights: Another variant of paladins of Corean, iron knights specialize in smithing and siege warfare. The iron knights continue spellcasting progression, but gain class abilities that let forge powerful weapons and assist in siege warfare.- Keeper of the Eternal Flame: These are members of the Order of Eternal Flame. This order has nothing to do with the 80's girl-band The Bangels, but is an order devoted to the good deities Corean and Madriel. They have moderate combat abilities and continuing spellcasting advancement, and have class related abilities related to the divine flame for which their order is named.- Knight of the Morning Sky: These are members of an order of knighthood devoted to the neutral good deity Madriel. The class has its own spell list and spellcasting advancement, and has class abilities strongly resembling those of a paladin, with some minor differences.- Renewer: Renwers are followers of the last remaining titan, Denev, devoted to restoration of the blasted lands of Ghelspad. They receive slow continues spellcasting advancement, and have class abilities related to restoring the landscape and fighting enemies of nature.The thing that sticks out to me here is the large selection of knightly and paladin oriented classes. I might have like to seen some less religious organizations explored, or followers of other religions.ConclusionThis is a very nice book for a very affordable price, and at last brings old and new Scarred Lands fans the details they want to run in-depth campaigns in the setting. I was pleasantly surprised to see that in a time that many publishers are pushing for higher prices, that Sword & Sorcery Studios not only did not raise their prices, but is offering more pages for less money than their previous hardbound.The Scarred Lands setting is very moody. The background has an inherently fantastic feel, as opposed to the "Europe with magic strapped on" feel that plagues many d20 system fantasy settings. At the same time, it manage to both court and transcend the d20 system fantasy conventions, making is a very compelling setting.Though the book goes into great detail about the setting, it did not have the same level of utility as campaign setting books like the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting have. Many books for setting came out before the setting book itself, and it leans heavily on those earlier books. Including more character creation information would have let it serve better as the crux of the campaign. As it stands, this is essentially a geographic and historical guide. That said, the pantheon of products available for the setting provide support that most other d20 system campaign settings can at this point only envy.-Alan D. Kohler</blockquote>

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