Post originally by Phil at 2005-02-19 01:58:18
Converted from Phorums BB System

Bought the print copy. Background is OK, though I find the Skandian Kingdoms unlikely in the extreme and the Alkasas mind bogglingly unbelievable ... but that's personal preference, I guess.

What I find completely unacceptable, especially as it is being sold separately as if it is worth spit, is the gross inaccuracy of the endpaper map.

I know a reasonable amount about Roman Britain, and, frankly, the Britain shown on the map is a fantasy.

The River Thames flows into the Wash, hundreds of miles north of where it actually flows into the Thames Estuary. Londinium is placed on this fantasy river, north and west of Camulodunum (Colchester) instead of south and west. Camulodunum is about about 3-4 times further inland from the coast than it actually is, too.

Luguvallium (Carlisle) is placed on the coast of the Solway Firth instead of 10+ miles inland. Corstopitium, and important logistic base for the Wall garrison, is shown far north of the line of Hadrian's Wall (the Solway Firth-Tynemouth line) and far to the west of where it actually is.

Calleva (not "Cavella") Atrebatum, modern Silchester, is 10-15 miles further south than it should be. Dubris (Dover) is sited where Rutupiae (Richborough) should be (i.e. many miles north of where it actually is).

Corinium (Cirencester) is shown south and west of where Nerva Glevensium (Gloucester) should be, rather than south and east.

I am sure if I had my Atlas of the Roman World handy rather than downstairs in storage I would be able to point to similar gross and inexcusable errors for other places ...

Sure, almost no one who buys this will know what inaccurate fantasy the British portion (at least) of the map is (except for the blatantly obvious error of the siting of London and the Thames), but it is *so* obvious that it is inexcusable.

Which is sad, as the production quality of the book overall is the best I have seen for many years, and would hope that many other publishers would emulate (its far better, for example, in physical quality, then GURPS 4e corebooks, though Magic and Fantasy have improved).

I am not sure I see the point of *yet another* rule system, especially as some of it seems confusing (the examples sometimes don't make sense or actually contradict the rules, or seem to ... not all the time, mind, just often enough to be bewildering) and it doesn't seem unique or interesting enough. But that's minor, these days.

The map, however, *really* gets my goat.

Sorry for the rant.

Phil