Kingdoms of Kalamar Atlas (Dungeons & Dragons)

Excellent source book. Brings all of Tellene up close. If you play Kalamar - you need this.

A beautiful book with over 100 pages of full-color maps of the "Kingdoms of Kalamar" campaign setting. All of the pages make up a portion of the map of Tellene, the world setting where Kalamar is based. This is fully compatible with Dungeons & Dragons (D & D) 3E and 3.5, and any future editions, because it is rules-light. It is just a very well designed atlas with a lot of information that will be playable and useable for years. One of the best features is that almost everything is reality-based. If you see it on the map in Kalamar, there is likely a real-world equivalent, or something comparable.

I recently reviewed the Kingdoms of Kalamar campaign setting book, one of the most detailed and comprehensive settings I've come across in 25 years of role-playing. Kenzer & Co., not content to rest on its laurels, have also provided a thorough and thoroughly enjoyable Atlas for the Kingdoms of Kalamar. The Campaign book came with two, large fold-out maps. The Atlas takes those maps, breaking them down into dozens of full page sections, and within each section, further divides them into grids which detail all of the cities, towns, and village within each tiny map section. Were shown a greater detail of the terrain and topography as well. About the first two-thirds of the book are dedicated to these full page maps. From there we get into the appendices. These further define and shape the Kingdoms of Kalamar and the continent of Tellene. In Appendix A we get new maps which provide information on common trade routes, ocean currents, trade winds and air pressure systems, mineral deposits, industry, grain production, military deployments, and more. Appendix B provides notes on pronunciation throughout the realms, Appendix C details the various land categories such as mountains, swamps, hills, lakes & rivers, etc... Other appendices delve into the various languages spoken on Tellene and where they are spoken. The last appendix charts every known city, town, village, or hamlet along with their population. Combined with the Campaign setting book, this makes a wonderfully detailed world for players to adventure in. The designers have managed to give the GM a diversified and vigorous world, uniquely faceted, and yet ready for the GM to provide his own special touch. The maps are extremely well made and beautifully colored. The topography is accurate as well as the various notes on things like weather and currents. Few designers would think to include these items into their worlds. This is a handsomely illustrated 240 page hardcover book. A must have if you own the Kingdoms of Kalamar Campaign setting. Well done!

Kalamar is the best game setting out there, but I was never satisfied with the maps in the Core book. This Atlas takes care of that. Basically the main map is sub devided into 100 or so beautifully rendered tiles with a scale of 1" = 25 miles. There are also a bunch of maps with trade routes, wind patterns, food production etc. Why only 4 stars? I would have liked to see a globe with the unknown continents. I was a little upset that there were no temperature, flora or rainfall data, but then again I'm a map geek. Keep in mind that this book is all about the maps, if you are looking for a game aid or adventure ideas, look elsewhere.