Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure/Cd Game (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition : Mystara Campaign)

Rating:
Summary: The best boxed set with context and History ever
Review: Okay, maybe the title is a bit much but that's how I really feel.

If you are keen on having a frontier kingdom that has a lot of unexplored territory, it can work very well. Additionally, the adjacent realms have large cities so you can always do city and diplomatic missions there.

Jeff Grubb, the main designer, is usually pretty good with his works and he did a great job on this one. Here are some of the highlights:

(1) Great maps of the realms and greater realms;

(2)family tree of the royal line with so so pictures;

(3) tons of info on the topography;

(4) uniqute and tantalizing History of the two racial groups in this game who are based on Historical slavs and Latins;

(5) info. on the beast men

(6) audio CD with short adventure; 2 more short adventures included;

(7) overall review of the political scenario;

(8) wonderful historical review; great overview of some legends known only to the DM;

(9) info on class level crimes and fines or punishment;

(10) slavic family details; some who scheme against the new king;

(11) a listing of the big names in back with pictures for some; includes their powers and abilities, as well as their politics, motivations and popular quotes.

(12) a summary of the nearby countries and what is generally known of them;

(13) details of major settlements with laws covered; ruler and population.

Overall, a great box set for those who want more help and History with their campaign.

Rating:
Summary: An incredible start
Review: The much-acclaimed Karameikos set is perhaps one of the best ways to start off a fascinating campaign in a world that is as much based on wit and diplomacy as base hack-and-slash. Two low-level adventures are provided in complete detail (with CD support, which I did not find too useful), but the prize catch in this set is the enormous volume of Karameikos history, language, and culture, which completely describes the minute details of the this Kingdom in the Known World. The art is colorful and realistic, and the text is quite masterfully written and is very believable in places. Although the sound CD is not of much help during normal gameplay, it is a great source of sound effects not normally available.