After finally wrangling a paycheck out of my rather flakey employer, I finally have placed the order for my own shiny Wilderlands box.

I figured that at the price RPGnet Store was charging for it, it'd be wise to grab it now before it went up back towards standard, or god forbid, went out of print.  Somehow I doubt a box deal like this is going to suffer the same value loss the rest of the 3.5 stuff will soon.

Shouldn't you be saving up to buy some 4e stuff?

i just wait for the inevitable appearance on ebay for most gaming stuff, unless i need it to run something in the near future.  then it's off to the appropriate 'web retailer.

Quote from: beeberi just wait for the inevitable appearance on ebay for most gaming stuff, unless i need it to run something in the near future.  then it's off to the appropriate 'web retailer.

I have been keeping an eye on eBay.  They still weren't as cheap as the $35 on RPGnet, even after shipping.  Neither was Amazon, or half.com, or Noble Knight, or any of the other places I found via Google.

There are 11 used copies on amazon right now, and the new one is 20$ under msrp. I plan on buying it in May/June  for 20$ as the 4e stuff starts to come out.

Sod the potential savings you could have made at a later date, it's ordered now.

Wilderlands is a great product, one the best I've picked up in recent years. It provides just enough detail to get the brain juices flowing without insisting on the GM hewing to established "canon." Everyone I've spoken to online has personalised the setting to their own satisfaction, which the hex arrangement perfectly enables. You can add, delete or cut and paste with minimal fuss and effort. Think of it as thousands of adventure seeds intergrated into one huge coherent whole. The random encounter tables are a hoot too, allowing for all sorts of ruins, remanants and forgotten artifacts of a bygone (sci-fi) era to be unearthed.

The only real critiscism I have (and it's a fairly weighty due to the nature of the product) is the lack of an index. You'll need to sit down and thoroughly familiarise yourself with a region hex by hex to squeeze the full value out it, but if you're a map monkey like me then that's more of a pleasure than a chore. If anyone has compiled an index then please let me know. It'd certainly make quick referencing less laborious.

If you do end up liking it (and I suspect you will) then I'd also look into getting the City State of the Invincible Overlord hardback. It does for one city what the boxed set does the wilds, and is full of excellent little touches. As a lawful evil militaristic power whose street level attitude to violence and mayhem is 'look the other way' it makes for a great adventure setting. It even has orcs, goblins and ogres wandering the streets, and reminded me a little of Port Blacksand from the old Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.


Yeah, so it's a good supplement. Enjoy it.

I'm not really big on the city element.  Cities are for downtime between adventures, and the occasional intrigue.    

I might nab the Player's Guide at some point though.  

EDIT:  Which is apparently out of print.  Weaksauce.

arghh urge to buy rising...the boxed set looks outstanding!

Quote from: J Arcane... EDIT:  Which is apparently out of print.  Weaksauce.

Try here.

Quote from: DrewSod the potential savings you could have made at a later date, it's ordered now.

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Sorry, i wasn't trying to imply that he should have waited. I just can't afford it and I'm trying to make myself believe that I'll be able to get it cheap after the intro of 4e.

Quote from: AosSorry, i wasn't trying to imply that he should have waited. I just can't afford it and I'm trying to make myself believe that I'll be able to get it cheap after the intro of 4e.

No worries, I didn't mean to imply that.

And it's a great for 4E too, given that monsters, npcs and such are represented by a single stat line in most cases. In fact that's what finally sold me on it, I'm using True20 and didn't want a product that had wall to wall 3.x stats. It's almost system neutral (albeit with many of the D&Dish assumptions intact).

Quote from: AosSorry, i wasn't trying to imply that he should have waited. I just can't afford it and I'm trying to make myself believe that I'll be able to get it cheap after the intro of 4e.

I wouldn't count on it. I get the sense the Wilderlands is used primarily as system-neutral setting by most of its owners. I've heard of lots of OD&D, C&C, and True20 groups using the Wilderlands. There's very little 3.x content in the books.

Quote from: HaffrungI wouldn't count on it. I get the sense the Wilderlands is used primarily as system-neutral setting by most of its owners. I've heard of lots of OD&D, C&C, and True20 groups using the Wilderlands. There's very little 3.x content in the books.

I've looked at the free downloads (Lenap) and I can't really argue with this statement. I'm not even sure I want to use it; but I've seen enough that I know I want to see the rest. Basically, i want to make something like it, but on a smaller scale.

Quote from: AosI've looked at the free downloads (Lenap) and I can't really argue with this statement. I'm not even sure I want to use it; but I've seen enough that I know I want to see the rest. Basically, i want to make something like it, but on a smaller scale.

The Rorystone Road download is on a small scale, and has enough content to inspire lots of gaming. The city of Modron is also available as a free download. Then there's Melan's excellent City of Zothay. Between them, you should be able to stitch together a very rich - though manageable - Wilderlands campaign setting.

Melan did a city? I need to see that.