Tell me about Iron Kingdoms

[sniffles]

I am finding most of the description quite appealing. I don't mind not being able to raise/resurrect characters, and the divine magic limitations sound quite interesting to me.

Now if only I knew someone who would run a campaign for me to play in - I am *not* GMing this thing!

 

[Geron Raveneye]

Which books do you need to play the setting?

Well, if you want it 3.5-compatible and don't mind reading through two books totalling 800 pages, you'd be best served with the Iron Kingdoms Campaign Guide and the World Guide. For a DM, I'd also recommend the Monsternomicon and for a first-time adventure the Witchfire trilogy.

For a player, the Campaign Guide would suffice. There is still the Lock & Load: Character Primer out there, but that one is 3.0, doesn't have the campaign-specific base and prestige classes, skills or feats, and is missing about 85% of the campaign information and athmosphere the Campaign Guide has.

For a good impression of the setting, check out the Privateer homepage http://privateerpress.com/ironkingdoms/default.php . You get a short summary of the nations, the deities, the races, a handful of rules, and a few short stories that detail aspects of the Iron Kingdoms setting.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

PS ogruns (or whatever they're called) are kind of broken for their level adjustment.

Ogrun are not quite as broken as some think, but very clumsily worded. An Ogrun does not start with an extra hit die in the sense of an extra level, but a single die of extra hit points, sort of like a variant of the Toughness feat. Over all I would say that they deserve bit higher level adjustmant, but only one level, so that a 1st level Ogrun counts as a 3rd lvel character rather than a 2nd level, and that only a maybe. Remember Humans in the IK also get some extra abilities (and liabilities) by region, including ability modifiers and bonus feats. So it is not quite a level playing field with the standard D&D races.

I very much like the setting, being a fan of steam. One of the plotlines that has risen a few times in my game is the expansion of the railroads. Eventually the IK will be united by rail, but for now it is a source of conflict.

The Auld Grump