MonsterMash
First Post
The background, this was the first setting published for D&D predating Greyhawk. It was published in a number of parts with the City State of the Invincible Overlord and Wilderlands of High Fantasy coming first followed by a number of other areas such as the Fantastic Wilderlands Beyonde, City State of the World Emperor and detailed settings like the Shield Maidens of Sea Rune. It is a classic Sword and Sorcery setting with sci-fi elements which can be easily modified or ignored by the GM, think in terms of Howard, Leiber, Clark Ashton Smith and Edgar Rice Burroughs as the inspiration.
This is also the first setting I used as a GM, or Judge as it should be with Judges Guild products, and I freely admit to having a bias on this score which meant this review was always likely to take the form of a rant or a rave. Read on to find out which.
I actually class this as a part playtested review as I have been using the Rorystone Road download for my campaign, and I doubt you could manage to finish all of this in a lifetime. If you want a sample there is a chapter download for Lenap available at the Judges Guild.com website as well as the fan material and Rorystone Road download.
Content
Opening the box you find 18 maps (double sided unfortunately) and two books. The first book contains the Introduction, which has what rule content is needed, largely advice on wilderness movement, creating the judge's own encounter tables and a set of tables for random ruins and relics. The introduction also includes the judge's history of the Wilderlands. The second chapter covers using the map booklets, and has some cross referencing to other Judges Guild and Necromancer products. Each numbered chapter describes the map of the same number. Descriptions of settings which are inhabited have a Technology Level as an addition to the standard DMG description, with a note on the important individuals for that location and a brief description that often gives an immediate adventure hook. The main resources for a village or town are also noted. The levels of NPCs are generally low compared to 3e expectations and it would often be recommended that a Judge used slower than standard levelling to avoid the PCs overwhelming a particular area, there are some very high level NPCs, but these are figures like the World Emperor that players are unlikely to directly encounter.
Judges are encouraged to change, add or delete material to suit their campaigns with it being noted that each 5 mile hex contains many more encounters or locations than the ones detailed in the two map booklets, which is why the random ruins table is provided and the Judge is encouraged to create their own encounter tables. The area covered is around the same as the Mediterranean sea so is large, but not a complete world, but given move distances is not excessively large or small.
The feel is old school where sites are as they are not tailored to the party level so there can be an EL2 encounter in one hex and an EL15 encounter in the next, players need to use gather information to be forwarned and be prepared to run where necessary. The setting is also far from PC as there is slavery as a common factor and there are the lightly dressed amazon warriors and some locations are also noted as having brothels.
Chapters
Some sample entries follow
5124 Blackspell(Village): Conventional; AL N; TL 4; 200gp limit; Assets 5,375 gp; Population 860 (Able bodied 215); Mixed(halfling 66%, human 20%,wood elf 10%, gnome 2%, noble elf 2%); Resources: Market.Authority Figure: Culwane the Winged, male halfling LG Ftr3.
Important Characters: Frudoc, male halfling CN Rog3 (boatwright); Rego Gamblas, male halfling NG Ftr2/Rog2 (pearl merchant). Located on a bluff overlooking the bay, the village of Blackspell has grown since the first group of halflings settled here many generations ago. The natural shelter provided by a small harbour has allowed it to prosper as a centre of trade and the nearby forests have provided an excellent source of shipbuilding material over the years. In recent years some of the sailing vessels traveling this region have reported seeing large expanses of sea weed in certain areas where the winds grow still and the waves settle down.
1332 Monkey Isles (EL varies): These islands are overrun by bands of roving monkeys who attempt to steal all small items they can get their hands on. Searching an monkey nest reveals an average of 2d20gp, 1d4 gems, 1d4 mundane items and a 5% chance of a random magical item. The only thing keeping the monkey population upon the isles in check are scores of boring beetles.
Layout and art
Page numbering for the books is continuous so that book 2 starts at page 217, the layout is clear with about 95% of the page used for text with a narrow border down the outer edge of each. There is not a lot of art in the books due to the sheer volume of content. The art is generally very good with the illustrations usually matching the area where they are placed.
There is a Frank Frazetta picture used for the cover of the box and both books, which is a great fit for the feel of the wilderlands setting.
The maps are clearly laid out, but have been noted as containing a number of mistakes which are being detailed in the errata thread on the Necromancer Games message boards. Cities, villages and towns, and citadels and castles are shown on the map, but other types of setting are not (Lairs, ruins and relics). Each map has an adjacent area on the reverse.
The box appears to be sturdy and is completely filled by the maps and booklets so there is no space to store other products in there. It is better quality than the old TSR boxes used to be.
Using it with other products
You do not need the Player's Guide to the Wilderlands or City State of the Invincible Overlord to use this product, but they are useful. Pretty much any module or city could be slotted into one or more of the areas, with there being threads on the Necromancer Games boards discussing this.
Pluses:
Negatives:
Downloads:
There are players and judges maps, support documents and adventures available from the Judges Guild website. Too many really to list, but there are plenty of extra things whatever a judges requires with a personal favourite being the Tomes rules.
Overall
I think this is the best campaign setting I have seen published, ever, including such good ones for previous editions such as Al-Qadim, Mystara, etc. Highly recommended. I give it a 9 for content and a 9.5 for style.
This product was Ennie nominated for Best Product, Best Setting and Best Cartography showing that I'm not alone in regarding it as a great product.
This is also the first setting I used as a GM, or Judge as it should be with Judges Guild products, and I freely admit to having a bias on this score which meant this review was always likely to take the form of a rant or a rave. Read on to find out which.
I actually class this as a part playtested review as I have been using the Rorystone Road download for my campaign, and I doubt you could manage to finish all of this in a lifetime. If you want a sample there is a chapter download for Lenap available at the Judges Guild.com website as well as the fan material and Rorystone Road download.
Content
Opening the box you find 18 maps (double sided unfortunately) and two books. The first book contains the Introduction, which has what rule content is needed, largely advice on wilderness movement, creating the judge's own encounter tables and a set of tables for random ruins and relics. The introduction also includes the judge's history of the Wilderlands. The second chapter covers using the map booklets, and has some cross referencing to other Judges Guild and Necromancer products. Each numbered chapter describes the map of the same number. Descriptions of settings which are inhabited have a Technology Level as an addition to the standard DMG description, with a note on the important individuals for that location and a brief description that often gives an immediate adventure hook. The main resources for a village or town are also noted. The levels of NPCs are generally low compared to 3e expectations and it would often be recommended that a Judge used slower than standard levelling to avoid the PCs overwhelming a particular area, there are some very high level NPCs, but these are figures like the World Emperor that players are unlikely to directly encounter.
Judges are encouraged to change, add or delete material to suit their campaigns with it being noted that each 5 mile hex contains many more encounters or locations than the ones detailed in the two map booklets, which is why the random ruins table is provided and the Judge is encouraged to create their own encounter tables. The area covered is around the same as the Mediterranean sea so is large, but not a complete world, but given move distances is not excessively large or small.
The feel is old school where sites are as they are not tailored to the party level so there can be an EL2 encounter in one hex and an EL15 encounter in the next, players need to use gather information to be forwarned and be prepared to run where necessary. The setting is also far from PC as there is slavery as a common factor and there are the lightly dressed amazon warriors and some locations are also noted as having brothels.
Chapters
- • Introduction
- • Using the Map Booklets
- 1. Elphand Lands
- 2. Valon
- 3. Valley of the Ancients
- 4. Viridistan
- 5. City State of the Invicible Overlord
- 6. Tarantis
- 7. Desert Lands
- 8. Barbarian Altanis
- 9. Ebony Coast
- 10. Lenap
- 11. Isles of the Blest
- 12. Isles of the Dawn
- 13. Sea of the Five Winds
- 14. Ghinor
- 15. Silver Skein
- 16. Ament Tundra
- 17. Ghinor Highlands
- 18. Southern Reaches
Some sample entries follow
5124 Blackspell(Village): Conventional; AL N; TL 4; 200gp limit; Assets 5,375 gp; Population 860 (Able bodied 215); Mixed(halfling 66%, human 20%,wood elf 10%, gnome 2%, noble elf 2%); Resources: Market.Authority Figure: Culwane the Winged, male halfling LG Ftr3.
Important Characters: Frudoc, male halfling CN Rog3 (boatwright); Rego Gamblas, male halfling NG Ftr2/Rog2 (pearl merchant). Located on a bluff overlooking the bay, the village of Blackspell has grown since the first group of halflings settled here many generations ago. The natural shelter provided by a small harbour has allowed it to prosper as a centre of trade and the nearby forests have provided an excellent source of shipbuilding material over the years. In recent years some of the sailing vessels traveling this region have reported seeing large expanses of sea weed in certain areas where the winds grow still and the waves settle down.
1332 Monkey Isles (EL varies): These islands are overrun by bands of roving monkeys who attempt to steal all small items they can get their hands on. Searching an monkey nest reveals an average of 2d20gp, 1d4 gems, 1d4 mundane items and a 5% chance of a random magical item. The only thing keeping the monkey population upon the isles in check are scores of boring beetles.
Layout and art
Page numbering for the books is continuous so that book 2 starts at page 217, the layout is clear with about 95% of the page used for text with a narrow border down the outer edge of each. There is not a lot of art in the books due to the sheer volume of content. The art is generally very good with the illustrations usually matching the area where they are placed.
There is a Frank Frazetta picture used for the cover of the box and both books, which is a great fit for the feel of the wilderlands setting.
The maps are clearly laid out, but have been noted as containing a number of mistakes which are being detailed in the errata thread on the Necromancer Games message boards. Cities, villages and towns, and citadels and castles are shown on the map, but other types of setting are not (Lairs, ruins and relics). Each map has an adjacent area on the reverse.
The box appears to be sturdy and is completely filled by the maps and booklets so there is no space to store other products in there. It is better quality than the old TSR boxes used to be.
Using it with other products
You do not need the Player's Guide to the Wilderlands or City State of the Invincible Overlord to use this product, but they are useful. Pretty much any module or city could be slotted into one or more of the areas, with there being threads on the Necromancer Games boards discussing this.
Pluses:
- Setting in sufficient detail to run games, but not prescribe a GM's options
- Adventure hooks everywhere
- Easy to integrate other products
- Clear layout with little wasted space
- Frazetta cover
Negatives:
- Sources for all the creatures are not clearly indicated
- Some entries do not match between the maps and the books
- Double sided maps
- Books have identical covers so need to be opened to find which is which.
Downloads:
There are players and judges maps, support documents and adventures available from the Judges Guild website. Too many really to list, but there are plenty of extra things whatever a judges requires with a personal favourite being the Tomes rules.
Overall
I think this is the best campaign setting I have seen published, ever, including such good ones for previous editions such as Al-Qadim, Mystara, etc. Highly recommended. I give it a 9 for content and a 9.5 for style.
This product was Ennie nominated for Best Product, Best Setting and Best Cartography showing that I'm not alone in regarding it as a great product.
