AZADMERE: KINGDOM OF THE DWARVES, OVERVIEW.
"Azadmere: Kingdom of the Dwarves" (Henceforth "Azadmere"), is published for with Columbia Games, 'Harn' generic fantasy setting. Released shortly after the "Encyclopedia Harnica" magazine ceased publication, "Azadmere" consists of reprinted articles from the first and last issues of the magazine.
As with all of the 'Harn' material the book is divided into independently numbered articles, which were supposed to be removed and placed in a 3-ring binder to form the "Encyclopedia Harnica". In this book, the articles are:
Azadmere (10 pages): This article is covers the city-state of Azadmere, a keyed map of the Outer City, where Azadmeres' human population lives is provided along with an outline map of the Dwarven populated Inner(underground) City. The main gateway to the Inner City is also mapped.
Khuzdul (4 pages): Everything the GM needs to know about the Khuzdul (dwarves) can be found here, history, psychology, crafts and religious beliefs.
Habe (6 pages): Habe is the feudal seat of Baron Gyndael Kophar, leader of Azadmere's human population. The settlement of Habe is mapped, along with the Baron's keep and the towns' only inn.
Zerhun (10 pages): The last of the books four articles covers the mighty fortress of Zerhun and part of the supporting village of Pedwar. Other segments of the article deal with Fana, a dwarven mine lost to the Gargun (Harnic Orcs) 600 years earlier, the great road (Silver Way) that leads from the city of Azadmere to Tashal, capital of the Kingdom of Kaldor and finally a 'Nessie' like creature (Daranog) that supposedly lives in Lake Arain, along the shore of which lies the Kingdom of Azadmere.
AZADMERE: KINGDOM OF THE DWARVES, COMMENTS.
"Azadmere" along with "Evael: Kingdom of the Elves" are the modules that cover the island of Harn's two non-human states. The are the weakest of the published kingdom modules because they lack significant internal tension and are thus destinations rather than adventure locations in their own right.
In "Azadmere", the internal tension is limited to a slow burning dispute between the Baron of Habe and the Crown Prince over control of the revenues of the village of Pedwar, which lies just behind the Zerhun fortress and forms the first 'port of call' for outside traders.
However there is a considerable external threat, the Gargun. The kingdom as a whole can be viewed as a gigantic castle, with Zerhun forming the outer gate, Habe the gatehouse leading to the 'inner courtyard' and the walled city of Azadmere forming the 'keep'. This 'castle' is under siege by the Gargun who have lairs all around the kingdom and periodically launch raids into Azadmere. The most dangerous of these lairs is at Fana, the Gargun there can raid the Silver Way, threatening the traders who carry dwarven goods south to Kaldor where they will be traded for much needed grain.
The GM can thus use the kingdom as a base of operations for various 'Orc Bashing' scenarios, but once that has palled there is little to keep the players interested beyond attempting to resettle the abandoned village of Urelt or fishing for the Daranog in Lake Arain.
The maps and illustrations are up to Columbia Games usual standard, which is to say high. One minor exception is the picture of Habe Keep which leads off the article on that settlement, which contradicts the map of Habe by showing the keep on the upstream side of the bridge.
While not the highpoint of the Harn line, 'Azadmere' is at least still available from Columbia Games and can probably be found in those gaming shops that stock 'Harn' material.
AZADMERE: KINGDOM OF THE DWARVES, VERDICT.
While not the best of the 'Harn' products, it is something that can be used by the GM, provided they are willing to put in some work expanding upon the material presented.
Review Summary