Monday, July 1, 2019

Citadel of Nordvorn

Apologies to the author but I dont know how to do those accent marks,
I have had this book for awhile but held off on review since my DF GM may use it.
For that reason I skipped a lot of the book but got enough to give the reader an idea on it. I will be reviewing the PDF here, hard copy not arrived yet (If I even ordered one).

First Off, This is a Pretty Book.

Its well laid out with an old timey theme and many Norse words. Those make it hard for someone like me to read and remember the content but it has a glossary early on, good table of contents, and a really nice categorized index. I generally prefer the typical GURPS layout with its more textbook like fonts and color scheme but the author chose a nice variant here.
Text is mostly black on a vanilla like background (some kind of off-white) with various colors and fonts for emphasis and organization. It has a kind of 80's or 90's look to it but is much more readable and easier on the eyes than many from that time period.
Chapter headings are a sword pointing one way and the book title a sword pointing the opposite way, alternating every other page.
There are several good maps and nice art scattered throughout.
I think most people will be pleased with the appearance, and it is readable even to my bad eyes.

Nordvorn (Northwatch)

This first chapter describes a large settlement and includes a lot of background information for the setting. Included are holidays, climate and personages.

After this are two towns, each with their own chapters and described in good detail. I skipped most of this in case my GM decides to use it but looked at enough to appreciate the work and detail that went into this book.

After that are more descriptions of various areas, the main adventure, bestiary and NPC writeups.
From the forward the adventure is basically a social one and involves two lovers and a lot of rivalries. Something like Romeo and Juliet or West Side Story. But with dragons and magic.

Two Items of Note

There is a short section of rules for duels by taunting. I liked this section, would have made a good Pyramid article, and I hope something similar shows up in a Bard Denizens or Social Engineering book.
Also is a good section on random village generation.

Summary

I really liked this book and look forward to more in the setting.


No comments:

Post a Comment