Old review.

This review is on Evael, Kingdom of the Elves, from Columbia Games. It is designed for both Harnmaster and D20. Evael is an elven kingdom on the island of Harn, the premiere setting of Columbia Games. The book is mostly sourcebook, though an adventure is included.

The product has a nice cover of an elven ranger in the woods at night. The book is 72 pages long, with each page being 8.5" x 11". There is an average amount of white space on each page, with sidebars for information. Interior art is quite nice, kind of like woodcuts. All of it deals with the information presented, which is nice. There were no typos that I remember. The pages are loose, and 3-hole punched. They are made from cardstock, and are designed to be put into a 3-ring binder. This is very nice for people who put stuff into binders, but will be a serious headache for those who don't. Unfortunately, the cover isn't hole-punched, so you'll have to do that yourself if you want to put it in with the book.

Now I will look at the content. First are some very nice color maps for use by the players. There is one for each of the four locations described within the book, as well as a fold-out 11" x 17" map of Evael and the areas immediately surrounding it. Next are 2 pages of the heraldry of the 3 main elven clans, as well as short entries about each of them. Next are 2 pages for map keys, which will be helpful to anyone reading a Harn map.

Next is a 22 page section on Evael. The history, government, and some legends are detailed. The history of the elves arriving on the island of Harn, their friendship with the dwarves, the invasions of the human barbarians, and the betrayal that caused dwarves to hate elves is presented. Information about elven immortality, trade, and the sidhe (pure elves) is also given. Dark elves and half elves are also detailed. Dark elves are merely outlawed regular elves, which is pretty much a terrible fate, as they will forever be trapped away from their kin. The status of elven art and goods are explained, as well as their religion. One interesting things about Harnic elves are that though they are immortal, they tend to forget things as they get older. Many of them can only remember the past few hundred years of their life, and must read about things they have done if they want to know what they were like before. This is pretty intriguing, and could make for some nice roleplaying opportunities. The elves also tire of Harn, and will take a ship to the Blessed Realms, somewhere to the west. The Jarin, one of the human races of Harn, are also introduced. They have certain clans who are allowed to live in the Shava Forest (Evael), and are often used as intermediaries when the elves must deal with other humans. Outsiders are not allowed into the forest, and will be escorted out. Depending on why they are trying to enter the forest, their memory will either be erased or they will develop a strong fear of the forest. They might just be told not to come back if they were merely curious. A list of the elven clans is also given.

Next are a page each for creating elven adventurers in either Harnmaster or D20. I noticed that Columbia Games has changed the ranger class, removing ambidexterity and two-weapon fighting, and instead granting archery feats. Is it just me or do most independent publishers have a better understanding of what a wilderness fighter would be like than Wizards? Ah well, it is only one of many changes. The elves are different, not having low-light vision and automatically have one level of Ranger (they start at 2nd level). They also are nearly indistinguishable from humans, and can usually only be found out by another elf. Overall, some nice improvements. Harnmaster fans will also be pleased, as this is the first introduction of elves as PC's.

Next comes a 9 page adventure which should allow normal (human) adventurers a chance to enter Shava Forest. This is the playtest part of the review, and will contain spoilers! My players were using the Harnmaster system in this adventure, though the D20 stats seem to be ok.

It seems that Lady Lelona of Yarquane was seduced by an elven bard and has become pregnant. She asks the adventurers to escort her into the Shava Forest so that she might find Eithendir, the elven father of her soon-to-be-born child. This is a complicated situation, as her father is unaware of her pregnancy, and being a noble, will not take it well. My PC's of course offered her assistance, and set off with her and her handmaiden to the forest.

They were pursued by Sir Melgar of Sageryne, a knight seeking the hand of Lelona, who is unaware she is pregnant. They managed to persuade the man to leave them be, after explaining the situation. This was a good thing, as a well-armored knight would probably defeat the group. (In Harn, only knights can wear knightly armor (chain mail or better) or wield knightly weapons... i.e. swords and such).

Feeling much better about the mission, the party entered the forest. Soon they encountered an elven patrol, who escorted them back out of the woods and told them not to return. At this time, Lelona also developed a terrible fear of the forest, and would not approach it again. The PC's then agreed to escort the lady to a nearby town.

As they neared the town, they came upon some injured travelers. The men were attacked by bandits. They helped the pair of men, only to find out that they were elves. After taking Lelona to the town, they agreed to escort the pair to Evael. Lelona had given them a locket so that they might identify themselves to Eithendir the elf. As they were traveling through the woods (after being questioned by the guards), the locket was stolen by a forest sprite. They chased it, only to come upon a dryad. She offered to give them back the locket if one of the men would stay one night with her. The elves warned the party to avoid her, but one of the brave (but foolhardy) warriors agreed. She took him into a tree with her, where he is stuck for a year and a day (but having a really good time). The next morning, the party attempted to get him back, with no success. Shrugging their shoulders, they continued on to the port city of Ulfshaven.

Here they met Eithendir, who was not pleased when he learned that Lelona was pregnant. He had his own problems, as a valuable elven mask necessary for a play he was in was missing. After some investigating, the party found that a Jarin boy who picked up masks in need of repair had accidently taken the mask. From him, they learned that a sailor had helped the boy carry some stuff to the toy shop. Going down to the docks, the boy identified the man on watch as the sailor. The party wisely got the elves involved, so that the ship was searched. They discovered the mask in the private chest of the Charis, the watch captain. He fought them, wounding several characters, before being taken by the elves. Eithendir was pleased, and the PC's are now waiting in Evael as he finishes the current 30 day run before the play is over, after which he will return to Lelona.

The adventure is nicely paced, with minimal danger to the characters if they are played cautiously. Many opportunities to explore are present, and several outcomes are described. Even if the PC's convince Eithendir to come back, he will only do so after his play is done at the elven amphitheater. This will give them 30 days to see the sights in Evael. Overall, I liked it. There was a lot of room for improvisation, and adventure suggestions are given throughout the text.

After the adventure comes a 6 page section on the city of Elshavel, the capital of Evael. A brief history and look at the laws of the city are given. A keyed map is presented, with a number of the city clans and people described. There is a full page description of one of the clans and their house. Everything else gets a paragraph or so.

After this comes an 8 page description of the elven port city of Ulfshaven. The history and government of the city is briefly described, and a gm's map is shown. The city's inhabitants are described, with each clan house getting a paragraph or so. Then 2 pages are given to the Homeward Sail Inn, which caters to foreign sailors and the native Jarin. A detailed map of the inn is also included. A description of one of the games made popular at the inn is given, as well as a small picture of its gameboard. Some nice details of the city are included, though there is a lot of room for expansion.

The next section is about Pesino, an Earthmaster site located within the forest. The Earthmasters were a mysterious race who lived on Harn about 15,000 years ago. All anyone knows about them is that built Maya-like temples, and created powerful magical artifacts. This section is 14 pages long. A history of the site is given, as well as a GM map. The various buildings are each given a paragraph description. The site is guarded by the elves, who will not allow people to explore without permission from the king. A human mage and her attendants have been at the site with permission for the last few years investigating it. They will not hesitate to turn in trespassers. There are many tunnels in the area, as the Earthmasters apparently lived underground. This is stated as an option for adventurers to sneak into the area. The Ulhakar Dae Pesino, the major pyramid, is given multiple pages of short descriptions, as well as numerous maps. The Hall of the Saurians and House of Gossamer are each given a page. The site is full of powerful magic, and would make an ideal dungeon crawl for powerful adventurers. There are no wandering monsters, but hints that the ancient serpent men or maybe a dragon still live somewhere underneath the area are given.

The last section is about Bejist, another Earthmaster site near Evael. It's not on the area map, but is south-east of the Forest (I have Harnworld so I know where it is). This site doesn't really fit with the elves at all, but it is nearby, and provides a very good adventuring locale. A brief history is given, as well as a GM's map. The site is presently being used by a cult of Naveh, who have a temple there. The site is remote, with the barbaric Pagaelin tribesmen living throughout the area. The Naveh temple is given a couple pages. Naveh is the god of nightmares and assassins, and is outlawed throughout most of Harn. They will be very dangerous opponents, and will have to be dealt with by explorers. A 3 page section on the Earthmaster building is given next. It is very magical, and is the current location for the demon-possessed old elven king. This place can be campaign upsetting, which is given as a warning by the authors. The first floor has portals to a variety of locations on Harn, while the second floor houses Daelda (the elf king). The portals on the second floor lead to different planes, including earth, Midgaad (Middle Earth), and the Blessed Realms. Unfortunately, dealing with Daelda will be very dangerous. Also, the room traps people who are powerful mages, which could imprison visitors. After this comes a history one why the Nahevans are here. They were instrumental in infecting the old elven king with the demon spirit hundreds of years ago. Many of them were slain, but one survived to write down where the king was hidden. A priest read this manuscript and created his own sub-cult to find the demon. They are unaware of where Daelda is, believing him to be buried somewhere at the site. More information is also given about the Naveh religion. The Herth-Akan is described. It is used for rule-breakers or enemies of the cult. The victim must survive for 3 days, being pursued by 7 cultists (who are assassins). If he survives, the cultists must commit ritual suicide. Needless to say, very few people survive this ritual. A sample priest is given stats (in Harnmaster and D20), though Domains and a regular D20 write-up are not. Just use the Death domain. A very brief description of the Pagaelin barbarians follows this, with a typical hunter given stats (in Harnmaster and D20). After this is a credits page, then the D20 license.

Overall, this is a really nice book. It details an interesting elven realm, which should be fairly easy to import into most campaign worlds. There is a lot of information packed in here, and the adventure is pretty good. The only problem I could see people having with it is that it is loose-leaf. I recommend this product to anyone who is in need of an elven kingdom.