D&D Gazeteers - what's good?

Momotaro · February 20, 2015, 11:44:55 AM

DriveThru is having a D&D sale over the weekend and the GAZ-series Gazeteers are on sale for £3 each.

Missed these first time round, although we had a lot of fun with the map in the Expert set. I've heard good things about them - any recommendations? Any to avoid?

Thanks,

D

artikid · February 20, 2015, 12:03:47 PM

I'd say:
Alfheim
Glantri
Rockhome
Orcs of Thar
Soderfjord,Ostland & Vestland
Ethengar
Minrothad

The rest I did not care very much for.

Shipyard Locked · February 20, 2015, 12:20:41 PM

Rockhome was kind of dull and stock to me. Nothing I haven't seen a dozen times before.

I ran a ten-session 4e campaign out of the Minrothad Guilds leaning heavily on that PDF and it served me quite well.

The Ethengar one was very inspiring and informative. Never ran it, but felt confident that I could.

K Peterson · February 20, 2015, 12:36:52 PM

It's been years since I've looked at them, but my favorites were:

Grand Duchy of Karameikos
Elves of Alfheim
Emirates of Ylaruam

jeff37923 · February 20, 2015, 02:36:17 PM

Orcs of Thar and The Minrothad Guilds are both must haves.

Frey · February 20, 2015, 03:17:05 PM

Glantri is amazing.

Then:
Karameikos
Alfheim
Orcs of Thar
Northern Reaches
Minrothad
Shadow Elves

S'mon · February 20, 2015, 04:08:53 PM

I ran an epic campaign with Dawn of the Emperors plus The Northern Reaches. Get those two, and Grand Duchy of Karameikos is a good newbie zone.

Akrasia · February 21, 2015, 12:04:48 AM

Karameikos is the best 'intro' gazetteer. It has lots of wilderness, and most of the classic "B" modules are set there.

Glantri is great, especially for mage-focused groups, but can be difficult (clerics are outlawed in the principalities).

Northern Reaches is excellent *if* you want a Viking flavoured game.

Alfheim and Shadow Elves go well together, and would make for an interesting elf-focused campaign.

Personally, I'd go for Karameikos, Darokin, Alfheim, and Glantri (plus maybe the 5 Shires), as they all overlap with each other (Alfheim actually is encircled by Darokin), and most of the best "B" and "X" modules are in that region.

noisms · February 21, 2015, 06:16:01 AM

I really like The Orcs of Thar, but fair warning: you have to accept a heavy dose of cheesy humour on top of your D&D. If you are likely to respond to punnish linnaean-style Latin names for orc subspecies, you'll love it, but if that kind of thing sets your teeth on edge you may want to give it a miss.

Soylent Green · February 21, 2015, 06:38:32 AM

Orcs of Thar is fun. I ran my most success fantasy campaign ever with it featuring a ragged, rather pathetic clan of humanoids eeking a living in a underground cave complex. Simple things like a bear making his lair at one of the cave's main entrances to the surface became major issues. A decade and more later, people still remember the bear.

I'd also call out the Poor Wizards Almanac. It gives you in one slim paperback all the hard facts from the entire Gazeteer series plus a year's worth of adventure hooks. Can't beat that for value.

Momotaro · February 21, 2015, 07:38:09 AM

Thanks for that folks!

Decisions, decisions... Glantri is getting a lot of love, Orcs of Thar isn't out in PDF yet, Karameikos has a lot of happy memories (and I still have the Night's Dark Terror module). Alfheim/Shadow Elves and Minrothad too

Probably pick a couple up to get a feel for the series, and think about whether I fancy any more...

Akrasia: take your point about building up an overlapping area.

noisms: nothing wrong with a bit of orciness

Old One Eye · February 21, 2015, 08:52:49 AM

There are also like a dozen free fan made ones which are good quality at the Vaults of Pandius.

Pat · February 21, 2015, 11:12:29 PM

Quote from: Momotaro;816824Orcs of Thar isn't out in PDF yet, ...

Yes it is.

Since you've gotten a lot of good recommendations, I'll just point out a few to avoid: Ierendi, Atruaghin, and Darokin are bad.

YourSwordisMine · February 22, 2015, 03:10:44 AM

Quote from: Pat;816950Since you've gotten a lot of good recommendations, I'll just point out a few to avoid: Ierendi, Atruaghin, and Darokin are bad.

Really? Atruaghin is one of my favorites. Why is it thought to be bad?

Rockhome and Northern Reaches are my other two favorites.

But honestly, get them all, they are all good IMHO.

Shipyard Locked · February 22, 2015, 12:43:48 PM

Quote from: Pat;816950Yes it is.

Since you've gotten a lot of good recommendations, I'll just point out a few to avoid: Ierendi, Atruaghin, and Darokin are bad.

Ierendi can work if you don't mind taking a surreal approach to a campaign based in it - It would have a vibe more like Disney's Aladdin than traditional fantasy.

Darokin's whole is not as good as the sum of its parts, yes, but some of its parts are interesting and steal-able.