[RPG]: Earthdawn: Players Compenium, reviewed by Lev Lafayette (5/3)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13063.phtml

Lev Lafayette's Summary:

Beautiful presentation and good setting. A generally good game system, but with a few serious kinks, some rather mainstream foci, but also with many interesting features.

Go to the full review for more information.

[JongWK]

Are you planning to review the GM Compendium?

[Mataxes]

A slight clarification, as it appears there is a typo in the review.

Windlings are 18-inch tall winged beings, not "18 winged" beings.

They only have one set of wings, generally depicted as double wings much like a dragonfly or similar insect.

Other than that, thanks for the review!

[Wyvern76]

Once again one is confronted by a fantasy map that simply does not make any geographical sense, caveats concerns oceans of fire notwithstanding.

What, besides the oceans of fire, do you think doesn't make sense?

(And for the record, "notwithstanding" means the opposite of what you've used it to mean. Your sentence as written basically says, "The map doesn't make any geographical sense in spite of the oceans of fire.")

Wyvern

[Droogydroog]

Heh. It's funny you should say the map "makes no geographic sense" when it's clearly based on the Ukraine.

[Lev Lafayette]

Originally Posted by JongWK

Are you planning to review the GM Compendium?

Yes, most certainly.

Originally Posted by Mataxes

A slight clarification, as it appears there is a typo in the review.

Windlings are 18-inch tall winged beings, not "18 winged" beings.

Indeed, I noticed that as well! 18"-winged beings is what should have been written.

Other than that, thanks for the review!

No problem. It was a pleasure reading it. It is quite a solid piece of work.

Originally Posted by Wyvern76

What, besides the oceans of fire, do you think doesn't make sense?

Rivers that flow up and around elevations, or for that matter, flow without the effects of gravity.

(And for the record, "notwithstanding" means the opposite of what you've used it to mean. Your sentence as written basically says, "The map doesn't make any geographical sense in spite of the oceans of fire.")

You misunderstand me; I accept the oceans of fire as being a fantasy plot device (and a very good one at that); that part *does* make sense to me.

Originally Posted by Droogydroog

Heh. It's funny you should say the map "makes no geographic sense" when it's clearly based on the Ukraine.

Only if one considers the borders of land to the sea and, to a much lesser extent, the Dneiper. In terms of the lay of the land it's pretty wacky.

[Droogydroog]

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Lev? We looking at the same map? 'cause it makes a fair bit of sense to me (natch, I'm probably much more familiar with the setting than you are), and it bears a fair resemblance to the Ukraine.

[Lev Lafayette]

Originally Posted by Droogydroog

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Lev? We looking at the same map? 'cause it makes a fair bit of sense to me (natch, I'm probably much more familiar with the setting than you are), and it bears a fair resemblance to the Ukraine.

Compare the relief map of the Ukraine with Barsaive Province

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ukraine_topo_en.jpg

Most (OK, all) rivers in the world it flow from highlands to lowlands and the Dneiper is no exception. The various rivers in Barsaive Province do not follow this principle, which I must say, is actually infuriatingly typical of fantasy maps.

[Droogydroog]

Except they /do/ flow from highlands to lowlands. If I may:

The Serpent River's starts out in the highlands to the north and west, passing through the valleys and collecting mountain runoff and emptying into Lake Ban, from where it splits off to the Aras and Scarlet Seas. Granted, it would be easier to see if the map was in full relief, but its apparent from reading the other sourcebooks. A better question might be the presence of jungle at those latitudes (better seen if you have a map of the whole Selestrean Basin, as in the Theran Empire sourcebook), but the answer is simply the presence of Death's Sea creating a tropical climate in the area.

[Lev Lafayette]

Originally Posted by Droogydroog

Except they /do/ flow from highlands to lowlands.

I must say that map provides significantly more detail than the one in the Player's Compendium and it does make more sense. It would still require Eidolon to be on much higher land than than the valley between the Sytha and Throal ranges...

*sigh* Poor ol geography is a much neglected science...

Of course (realising an hour after my post) there is one rive in our world which occassionally flows "backwards" with significance and regularity; the Mekong.