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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gambler1650" data-source="post: 2010124" data-attributes="member: 11033">In my reviews I rarely give 1's, just as I rarely give 5's. While production qualities matter, the content is what determines a final rating. Good pictures or unique ideas won't save a product from a poor review, but it might push a good one slightly higher. Functionality first, then the flash if you please. Price is also generally taken into consideration. A quick summary of my personal ratings: 1 - Lazy, incomplete, shoddy effort. So disgusted I'm likely only to open it again to review it. 2 - Below average. Not completely unhappy I bought it since it probably has some good ideas. 3 - Average/Good. I got approximately what I expected in terms of content and quality. No major flaws and useful. 4 - Very Good. I got more than I expected. Inspired me enough to think about using it down the road. 5 - Excellent. The cream of the industry. I immediately want to use it somewhere. Excellent production values. I waffled a great deal on the final score to give this product, as it's as close to perfect as I've yet seen  in a D20 product.  One of the problems I had with it was that it didn't give any description of the unique qualities of the races in the Campaign setting. As it turns out, this is addressed in the "Scarred Lands DM Screen" supplement, which has a pretty meaty interior book with the races of the Scarred Lands and a couple of adventures.  Still, I can't help but feel that they belonged here.  A problem with that is that every continental campaign setting for the Scarred Lands would have to do the same thing, and most of the text would be repetitive.  The races are generally described at some point in this sourcebook (without the 'crunchy bits') where they first make their appearance, and I suppose that's good enough for the type of book this is.  Therefore, it does get a 5 from me.  (People will now look at my histogram of scores and say "Hey! You say you rarely give out 1's and 5's, but you have as many of those as any other score - This is true.. on here.  I have numerous ones I have yet to convert over from my Amazon reviews, most of which are 2's through 4's).PRODUCTION QUALITY: The production quality of this sourcebook is exceptional in my opinion. The cover is a brilliantly colored reproduction of the map of Ghelspad (one of the continents in the Scarred Lands setting) with the usual Scarred Lands product border.  On the interior covers of both back and front, the map is reproduced again in full color.  The map is reproduced one more time in black and white near the back, before the advertisements (some people hate Sword and Sorcery's advertisements, I tend to not mind).  The map is stylized, almost cartoon like in coloring, but beautifully done.  It's hard to describe unless you see it.  The use of white space is generally well done and the interior illustrations are plentiful but if there's a weak point to this sourcebook it's here.  The illustrations are average and don't really draw attention to themselves.Production Quality Rating: 5 CONTENT:  This book is pretty comprehensive.  About the only thing that would make it more complete would have been the aforementioned description of the races and how to create  them (ie, where they differ from the PHB races).Chapter One: History of Ghelspad - This section is interesting in that it's written for the most part from a first person point of view, of multiple individuals.  The very first part you read is from one of the supposed evil people of the Scarred lands, a Titan worshipper.  Simply, the Scarred Lands are the result of the wars between the Titans and their children, the gods.  The Titans were generally capricious, uncaring of the mortal races, and treated the world as a plaything to do with what they chose.  If they wanted to change the entire climate of an area, they did so with little care for the life there.  If they wanted to see what would happen if they tortured an otherwise happy community, they would do so.  The gods on the other hand cared a great deal about their worshippers, and naturally enough most mortals supported them when the Divine War erupted.  All the Titans were slain, save one (the Earth Mother who became a part of the land itself to help heal it after the destruction of the Titans caused all sorts of havoc on the land).  Afterwards the land was scarred with the remnants of the Titans and the Titans themselves who did not actually die but were sundered in ways to make their return impossible... without superhuman efforts by their followers (a canyon actually being the two separate halves of a Titan, flailing to try to rejoin for instance).  The taint from these elements created the Titanspawn, evil creatures bent on wrecking havoc on the divine races.  Included in this section are the rise and fall of various nations before and after the Divine War, and their languages.Chapter Two: The Gods of Ghelspad - While the Gods and Titans are described in greater detail in The Divine and the Defeated, this section is complete enough for a DM to get started in the Scarred Lands setting, with a description of how magic works in the campaign setting, special rules on the invocation benefits (if a person invokes a God's help they can receive +1 to +3 for certain skill rolls) and then information on the gods and goddesses (and Titans) themselves.  There is however, little description of the various churches and their rituals, etc.  Clerics therefore have less to go on than some other classes.  Chapter Three: Nations of Ghelspad - Each nation has the usual summary (ruler, breakdown by race, key cities, religion, currency, etc) followed by sections on history, the people, culture, geography, flora and fauna. crime and punishment, armed forces and then a short description of most important cities, and sometimes a map and key for certain cities.  Chapter Four: City States of Ghelspad - Pretty much the same format as Chapter Three, with certain parts left out depending on the city.Chapters Five and Six: Important Locations in Ghelspad, and Other Places of Note in Ghelspad - Again, a similar format to the previous two chapters, with parts left out that are unimportant.Appendix:  Prestige Classes: The only truly crunchy bits in the whole sourcebook (except for the Invocation rule and table of the gods).   Most of these have a direct connection to the battle between the divine races and the Titanspawn and appear to be interesting enough.Unlike other Campaign Sourcebooks which either give almost no information that jumps out and says "Adventure Idea!" (Kingdoms of Kalamar for me) or has almost too much which swamps you (Forgotten Realms for me), this sourcebook had numerous adventure ideas pop into my mind as I read.  Not only that, whole campaign arcs leapt into mind.  Oddly, in spite of the many ancient civilizations that were destroyed, there are very little of them actually described, mostly because the entire world was more or less remade during the Divine War I suppose.  Those areas that are described often have the annoying phrase "but none have returned alive" attached to it.  The world is in motion, as opposed to seeming balanced and awaiting a nudge from the DM to put all the potential conflicts into motion, and yet there are multiple ways that the DM could modify things.  If players want to play 'evil' characters, they could play a group determined to bring about the rebirth of one of the Titans.  All in all, the world is very colorful, the sourcebook well written, and ideas flow about as much as Kadum's blood does into the ocean where he lies chained at the bottom, his heart somewhere else.Content Rating: 4.8 (only the lack of race desriptions drags it down at all)  CONCLUSION: For yet another fantasy setting with no technology beyond the middle ages, this has one of the better and more unique combinations of concepts.  Another advantage (or curse perhaps) is the number of books already out to support this setting, fortunately none are truly needed except perhaps the Creature Collections (and even  then the unique creatures are usually described at least partially in the modules that have come out).  The Scarred Lands Campaign Screen may be considered an essential item too.  The continent of Ghelspad has things for every type of group, ancient civilizations, possibility of reclaiming territory for a government, wars, diplomatic missions, and grand campaigns involving destructive forces fused into the world itself (rather than an artifact created by some mage - though you could do that too).  Let's put it this way, I'm already sketching an outline for a campaign in this world which could end with the players having done something near the beginning of the campaign which appears wholly beneficial, but slowly becomes evident later on that it might just cause a major cataclysm (The Apocalypse Stone on a huge story arc).  I haven't even come up with a coherent adventure idea for any of the other campaign settings I've read.Overall Rating: 5</blockquote>

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