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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenjib" data-source="post: 121104" data-attributes="member: 530">Think more creatively.  If a city is already trashed there's not much emotional investment in it for the characters.  With Geanavue you have a city that the players can feel safe and at home in and come to love.  That way when the invading legions of the Imperial Army sacks, pillages, and burns the city to the ground in it's first move to expand into the wealthy Bay, or when the evil cult living in the sewers completes an ancient ritual to swallow the city into the abyss, the players actually care a great deal more because they know the beauty of what was lost.Kalamar has a certain approach to design that I really admire.  If the city was already in the middle of a war you don't have many options with the city, right?  It's a city at war.  If it was a city in the clutches of an evil cult you likewise don't have as many options.  Instead of confining you to one story you get a setting that you can take as a DM and write your own stories with.  Furthermore, they provide so much depth and detail that you can actually figure out what would happen if the city did go to war, or if an evil cult seized power, because you know how the political and economic scenes work and the personality and goals of most of the major players.  In addition, the means for these things to happen are all built into the setting because Kenzer is really good at seeding countless little plot hooks into the book.  You have to look carefully though, because they are mentioned briefly.  This is a good thing for me, as it gives me the option to pick up on those I like and ignore those I don't like.The choice of lower character level and lower magic quantity reinforce this philosophy.  It is more easily adaptable to your needs because it doesn't push as much on you.  Like Mr. Kenzer said, it's easier to add power than it is to take it away.Geanavue (and the Kalamar setting in general) takes the more Taoist approach of the uncarved block.  In it's more simple state it is far more useful and flexible than that which is already preshaped into a fixed form.  I find that the Kalamar books tend to inspire my creativity more than any other publisher at the moment, since they make suggestions and hint at things in all kinds of different directions, and that's just the kind of approach that I like.  I prefer something that I can easily take and make my own, and Kalamar seems more flexible in this regard than other settings.I don't mean to imply that the other approach is inferior, however.  Everyone has a different style and looks to get something different out of a product.  For some people, getting something right out of the box with a big high fantasy story built in and ready to run without much work is a high priority.</blockquote>

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