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When it came out, a lot of people noted that the sourcebook for Kingdoms of Kalamar was very sparse on mechanics and we were told that these would be in the Player's Guide. Well, they are, with a vengeance, and so is a lot more. Set up to mirror the structure of the D&D Player's Handbook, it offers up a bounty of information and mechanics specific to the Kalamar setting. While there is quite a bit that could be used for other campaigns, the book truly shines as a supplement to this world. Let's go through what's here.

Chapter 1: Races

Here we find a look at the races, both standard, new, and sub-races, tailored to the Kalamar setting. We are also offered a table of languages by geographical area, giving the two starting languages for characters from each region. Age, height, and weight tables are offered, with the latter broken down by sub-race (human and otherwise). There is also reference made to the huge "place of origin" table in the appendix which has you roll on a regional table, cross-referencing by race, to get the specific town or area you are from. There is also a page further treating names, as an addendum to what was given in the sourcebook. Everything here is very crunchy and very useful.

Chapters 2 & 3: Classes and Prestige Classes

This chapter starts with a brief treatment of the standard classes (with monks oddly omitted but psion and psychic warriors included) and the clerical domains per deity. The bulk of the chapter, however, is dedicated to the variant classes. These are alternate base classes tweaked to fit the setting. While I was skeptical of the concept going in, I found them to be pretty good. They capture the flavor of the setting and aren't over-powered. The prestige classes are also fairly good, with most being based around groups and orders within the setting, the rest being appropriate but not setting-specific.

Chapters 4 & 5: Skills and Feats

Chapter four goes through several of the "grouped skills", like Craft and Profession, and goes into more depth with individual specializations. Very nice, though some of the specialties may be a bit too specific for some (Craft: Scabbardmaker). Other skills are just expanded with new uses and applications, like using Pick Pockets to conceal the somantic components of spell-casting. One of the best things it offers, however, is the variant language system that introduces language points which are spent like skill points to increase fluency speaking a language or skill with reading and writing it. It offers granularity and more flexibility than the simply boolean approach and is well-presented and integrated with existing rules. As far as feats, there are quite a few. Some are reprints from other supplements, some are specific to certain races or background (similar to Forgotten Realms 'regional feats'), and the rest are new general-purpose feats. The lot seem fairly well-balanced and the "first level only" feats offer some interesting options for adding a unique touch to characters of a particular background.

Chapter 6: Religion

This was one of my favorite chapters. First, it gives a little more background on religion in Tellene and has three tables, one with the non-human racial names for the deities, one showing favored weapons, symbols, and divine foci, and the last offering conversions of deities from Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms. After that, we come to canon. This section speaks of the holy texts of the various faiths and offers the primary canon for each religion, with details on its appearance, cost, availability, content, and the dogma presented. It is a wonderful addition which offers depth and color to the religions of Tellene.

Chapter 7 & 8: Equipment and Combat

Chock full of alchemical products, herbal mixtures, poisons, weapons and armor. The stats of the new armor types introduced in the sourcebook are reprinted here, for completion's sake. Another notable addition is pricing for slaves, a good addition given the prevalance of slavery in the setting, and well treated. Also interesting is the addition of herbal concoctions for non-alchemical dabblers. I can think of many uses for the rangers , barbarians, and druids in my games. The chapter on combat also has a lot to offer, introducing three fighting schools with their own concentration of feats and skills, adding a lot of color to the choices fighters and other combatants make in their development. Along the same line are career paths, which are simply combat feat development paths for major military groups within the game world. Again, wonderful for color, though I wish there had been more. The chapter wraps up with a handful of new combat options.

Chapter 9: Adventuring

Starting out with detailed information on roads, this chapter quickly moves on to a nasty section on diseases of Tellene. Much more detailed than the DMG treatment, this goes into how the disease is transmitted, where it is found, and the stages of the illness, as well as the game mechanics. Very well done. The rest of the chapter deals with nobility in each of the major regions and temple rank. The system provided for the latter is detailed and I'm not sure yet how it will play, but it is nice to have an alternative system for tracking where in the heirarchy a priest is and their duties, responsibilities, and authority, separate from the class level. It also allows for non-cleric members of the clergy (paladins and monks are given as specific examples, though deities with an affinity for a particular class or profession are also widespread).

Chapters 10, 11, & 12: Magic, Spells, and Magic Items

The first offering of this chapter is the best: alternative uses for channeling positive or negative energy, one per deity. It is a very nice addition and I'd consider swapping it out entirely for the turning/controlling undead, except for the deities specifically opposed to or aligned with them. Also offered are the benefits of the divine right of kings. Any monarch or noble who has sworn loyalty to a god or gods receives their protection. It is a very well thought out system, not too overbalancing, just providing an edge to nobles fitting to their station. Chapter eleven starts by giving Kalamar specific names to replace the Greyhawk named spells in the core books. Rules are introduced for scalable spells (which can be cast at variable levels). A number of new spells and domains are given, some from other products, others specific to Kalamar. This chapter offers a number of new items (up to and including artifacts), some generic and some specific to the setting. Myself, I would have preferred more of the latter

Appendices

A lot of useful reference material, the aforementioned 'Place of Origin' table, a character sheet, and a massive spell planner. Not much else to say, really. The glossary and index are very well done.

The Long and Short

This is an incredibly meaty book and doesn't just offer a lot of the same old stuff (new feats, new magic items, etc), but also a lot of new rules (variant language system, divine right of kings, church rank) and great setting color (fighting styles, canon). Everything that should have been in here is, and a lot more besides. I found myself with no real complaints, just a desire for more of the same. I would highly recommend this book to anyone using the Kalamar setting. In many respects, I have trouble imagining not needing it. While the sourcebook provided the world in broad strokes and setting information, this book is fully of all the crunchy stuff to make it work.

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