Player's Guide - Rulebook IV (Dungeons & Dragons: Kingdoms of Kalamar)

Rating:
Summary: Strong worthwhile book
Review: Another in the line of excellent books from Kenzer, this book has a lot to offer. It gives you more background on playing characters in Kalamar, including some more information on playing various demi-humans. For those who want still more rules, they have some new classes (we have a very effective Brigand in a current campaign) as well as some new spells, a comprehensive list of clerical domains and a whole lot more. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent even for non-KoK, some errors however
Review: Kingdoms of Kalamar is a campaign setting from Kenzer & Co, the makers of the Knights of the Dinner Table. This book however, although aimed for the KoK player, is most useful for a regular D&D player. Why?
- a lot (I mean a lot) of new feats anybody can use
- several variant core classes like the Gladiator or the Infiltrator that can easily be used in other campaigns
- new prestige classes (like the Golem Master)
- canons (holy books) for Kalamarian faiths. They are written up very generically, so they can easily be used in FR/GH or wherever
- new equipment: poisons, alchemical items etc
- a lot of spells
- how to make rulers more powerful
- gaming rules for clerical hierarchy

The book suffers from some errors, mostly editing and playtesting. The art is sometimes irritating and some 'crunchy' bits have already appeared in other books. I, however have found this book to be of excellent value.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent even for non-KoK, some errors however
Review: Kingdoms of Kalamar is a campaign setting from Kenzer & Co, the makers of the Knights of the Dinner Table. This book however, although aimed for the KoK player, is most useful for a regular D&D player. Why?
- a lot (I mean a lot) of new feats anybody can use
- several variant core classes like the Gladiator or the Infiltrator that can easily be used in other campaigns
- new prestige classes (like the Golem Master)
- canons (holy books) for Kalamarian faiths. They are written up very generically, so they can easily be used in FR/GH or wherever
- new equipment: poisons, alchemical items etc
- a lot of spells
- how to make rulers more powerful
- gaming rules for clerical hierarchy

The book suffers from some errors, mostly editing and playtesting. The art is sometimes irritating and some 'crunchy' bits have already appeared in other books. I, however have found this book to be of excellent value.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book, Great Setting.
Review: This is a great book with tons of information that you can put into any D&D setting. It is geared toward Kalamar, but is written so generically that you can insert the information contained in this tome into any D&D campaign.

Classes: This book takes the Dungeon Master's Guide's advice and takes the initiative to create variant classes. These range from more specific versions of a class with cool abilities (like the Gladiator and Shaman) to classes that combine existing ones into exciting new classes that are much different than the old ones (like the infiltraitor). These classes are as flexible as the old ones and are fairly well balanced. Also are new prestige classes that cover specific jobs (Mariner, Muse) and a few of the many orginizations on Tellene (Sentinels of Providence, Alliance Merchant).

Feats: Absolutely tons of new feats in this monster. New types of feats like the Enhanced Familiar feats (which give your familiar better abilities like a higher intellegence or the ability to speak) and regional or race-based feats which you can only take at first level help shape your character to exactly what you want and brings the game back to roleplaying.

Religion: This book details the canons of each church. Although these are specifically related to Kalamar gods, they can be adapted to fit any setting. In addition, this book gives ideas on how clerics can advance through the church and very basic game rules like time spent and how to advance to the next level and what you get at each level.

Other rule stuff: The equipment section isn't too terribly exciting but it does give a shot at pushing the edge. Included are (some) new weapons and rules for slaves. The most exciting part is the new alchemical mixtures that will get you thinking of your own and are all interesting in their own way. Their is repeat in the domain section, but not a large amount. The new spells are kinda cool, but what is really nice is the scalable spells. These are kind of like Wheel of Time spells where you choose the level it is cast at.

At the end: The white pages. If you are thinking telephone book when I say that you are on the right tracks. In these are a comprehensive list of all feats and spells (divided up by class) in all official D&D products and where they can be found. These can then be copied to use as a spell sheets. Also back here is a gigantic Place of Origin table. Only useful if you are playing Kalamar but it is non-obtrusive and only takes 7 pages.

To close, this is a great book for all D&D players and DMs alike. If you don't have it yet, I recommend you pick one up.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent even for non-KoK, some errors however
Review: This player's guide is great and has uses even if you don't play in a Kalamar campaign. The main reason I bought it was for the list of alternate uses for skills as well as the list and description of various Crafts, Knowledges, and Professions. The variant core and prestige classes can be inserted into most campaigns. There is a lot of reprint material in the Feats and Spells section, but I think the new material out weighs the material I've seen before.

Rating:
Summary: Great Guide
Review: This player's guide is great and has uses even if you don't play in a Kalamar campaign. The main reason I bought it was for the list of alternate uses for skills as well as the list and description of various Crafts, Knowledges, and Professions. The variant core and prestige classes can be inserted into most campaigns. There is a lot of reprint material in the Feats and Spells section, but I think the new material out weighs the material I've seen before.