Here

Here

Are they the first company to publish 4E supplement?
Do they have any kind of license?

Are they the first company to publish 4E supplement?
Do they have any kind of license?

Wait a second, I thought Kenzer wasn't going with the GSL. Or did they change their mind? Or are they trying to go around it? But the preview makes explicit references to the PHB, I don't see how they couldn't use the GSL this way. Or maybe Kenzer figures their big enough to fight off WotC if the lawyers come-a suing.

EDIT: It is nice seeing a company like Kenzer doing 4e stuff, though. I'm not too familiar with the Kalamar setting, but it sounds like a nice alternative to the PoL setting, or even my own setting I'm making up.

Wait a second, I thought Kenzer wasn't going with the GSL. Or did they change their mind? Or are they trying to go around it?

IIRC, Kalamar was in a rare position of not being OGL or even d20, but an actual official 'Dungeons & Dragons' product line, logo and all, albeit not by WotC.
With the end of 3rd Edition, that licence may be over, so they need to move on.

Wait a second, I thought Kenzer wasn't going with the GSL. Or did they change their mind? Or are they trying to go around it? But the preview makes explicit references to the PHB, I don't see how they couldn't use the GSL this way. Or maybe Kenzer figures their big enough to fight off WotC if the lawyers come-a suing.

The direct link to the 16-page preview PDF is HERE, for those who are interested.

The direct link to the 16-page preview PDF is HERE, for those who are interested.

Mark Plemmons wrote:

The direct link to the 16-page preview PDF is HERE, for those who are interested.

VERY unimpressive.

VERY unimpressive.

The art in the preview is good quality. The maps are, as always, beautiful. The preview contains some small 4e crunch and a lot of good Kalamar fluff.

I must ask, what would impress you?

Here

I may just shelve my homebrew. Awesome awesome awesome!

P1NBACK wrote:

VERY unimpressive.

I'm not currently switching to 4e but if anything was going to push me, it would be the publication of new Kalamar material.

The art in the preview is good quality. The maps are, as always, beautiful. The preview contains some small 4e crunch and a lot of good Kalamar fluff.

I must ask, what would impress you?

I personally wasn't impressed with the preview (granted, I never saw 3.x Kalamar material). I thought the art was lackluster and I didn't like the mapping tool they used. The lack of detail in the maps bothered me particularly. Rough outlines of generic terrain. I want to be enticed with the possibilities of adventure! Those maps didn't do it for me.

I also wasn't too impressed with the 4E crunch I saw. The "dancer" horse mechanic seemed clunky, and I wish it had more of a "dancer" feel than some sort of half-assed rough terrain mechanic. I guess the half-hobgoblin didn't impress me either.

On a good note, the writing seemed to flow well and contained little errors that I noticed of what I read.

elnopintan wrote:

Here

SWEEEEEEET!

I may just shelve my homebrew. Awesome awesome awesome!

My one concern is that it appears that publishers may be choosing to go the route of 4e compatible under fair use. My suspicion is that Wizards didn't design a license that they intended no one to use. So the logical question is what will be their reaction to this move by kenzer, and what I expect will be revealed to be the same move by Goodman? I know hasbro's legal department has deep pockets...

Regardless of whether my concerns are spot on or fall into the 'tinfoil hat' category (beloved of Sebastion), I wish kenzer & its fans the best! More options can only be good news, and not signing the gsl preserves the chance of future ogl goodness.

SWEEEEEEET!

I may just shelve my homebrew. Awesome awesome awesome!

Are they the first company to publish 4E supplement?
Do they have any kind of license?

You don't really need a license. Technically you don't need to use the GSL to print any kind of 4e compatible material, but it's a good way to keep the lawyers at bay.

I tried to like Kalamar back when they released it for 3rd edition, but there was just something uninspiring about it. There just wasn't anything that made me say "I want to play THERE".

And now, reading through the preview, it just looks like another setting that's being adapted from 3e by inserting the new races.

I'm still hoping for a campaign setting that's designed for 4e, not just one which explains why dragonborn have suddenly appeared.

Damn that's detailed. I may have to invest in some Kingdom of Kalamar products (am I correct in assuming they have D20 products as well as the new 4E products?).

Damn that's detailed. I may have to invest in some Kingdom of Kalamar products (am I correct in assuming they have D20 products as well as the new 4E products?).

To those concerned, Kalamar is filled with details. The campaign book is not designed to fill in all those details but gives a very comprehensive overview of the whole known world (and some interesting adventure hooks for those wanting to design their own adventures). To really get the spots on the map filled in, one needs to buy the adventures. Kalamar is one of my all time favorite line of gaming books and until Golarion I ran all my games in it. It has places for horror, intrigue, high magic, low magic, psionics... a little bit of everything one might want.

Out of curiosity, how does that work legally?

Damn that's detailed. I may have to invest in some Kingdom of Kalamar products (am I correct in assuming they have D20 products as well as the new 4E products?).

Geanavue, The Stones of Peace, is also a good early buy (it was written by Ed Greenwood). Also the Friends and Foes books are excellent buys at any time.

Unfortunately, the 3e/d20 Kalamar books were licensed under the D&D brand name and Kenzer is not allowed to publish or sell them anymore. Nevertheless they are still to be found on ebay and amazon. I would recomend starting with the campaign book and the Player's Guide. Then buy a couple of the adventures. From there I would get the Atlas, Dangerous Denizens and the Villain Design Handbook.

Geanavue, The Stones of Peace, is also a good early buy (it was written by Ed Greenwood). Also the Friends and Foes books are excellent buys at any time.

Panda-s1 wrote:

Wait a second, I thought Kenzer wasn't going with the GSL. Or did they change their mind? Or are they trying to go around it? But the preview makes explicit references to the PHB, I don't see how they couldn't use the GSL this way. Or maybe Kenzer figures their big enough to fight off WotC if the lawyers come-a suing.

No, this 501-page setting PDF does not use the GSL. You don't need to use the GSL to create 4E-compatible products, as long as you don't tread on WotC's legal territory (similar to how a computer company makes a game/virus program/etc that runs on a Windows PC without asking Bill Gates permission...). Fortunately, David Kenzer is a lawyer, and knows what to do (or avoid doing).

The direct link to the 16-page preview PDF is HERE, for those who are interested.

I'm not trying to offend anyone with my opinion. If you are a fan of Kalamar, and you see potential in this product, by all means, go for it.

I personally wasn't impressed with the preview (granted, I never saw 3.x Kalamar material). I thought the art was lackluster and I didn't like the mapping tool they used. The lack of detail in the maps bothered me particularly. Rough outlines of generic terrain. I want to be enticed with the possibilities of adventure! Those maps didn't do it for me.

I also wasn't too impressed with the 4E crunch I saw. The "dancer" horse mechanic seemed clunky, and I wish it had more of a "dancer" feel than some sort of half-assed rough terrain mechanic. I guess the half-hobgoblin didn't impress me either.

On a good note, the writing seemed to flow well and contained little errors that I noticed of what I read.

Panda-s1 wrote:

Wait a second, I thought Kenzer wasn't going with the GSL. Or did they change their mind? Or are they trying to go around it? But the preview makes explicit references to the PHB, I don't see how they couldn't use the GSL this way. Or maybe Kenzer figures their big enough to fight off WotC if the lawyers come-a suing.

No, this 501-page setting PDF does not use the GSL. You don't need to use the GSL to create 4E-compatible products, as long as you don't tread on WotC's legal territory (similar to how a computer company makes a game/virus program/etc that runs on a Windows PC without asking Bill Gates permission...). Fortunately, David Kenzer is a lawyer, and knows what to do (or avoid doing).

---
Daniel M. Perez
Highmoon Media Productions
The Gamer Traveler Podcast
The Digital Front Podcast

I do have a question for you Mark. What kinds of mechanics are in the pdf? Do you just have some rules for races and sub-races and channel divinity feats, or do you also have new classes, paragon paths, and feats?

Chapter One: Races of Tellene does include rules suggestions for ways a DM can create races (like the half-orc) and subraces (like the deep gnome) that don't exist in the current PHB. I didn't want to create new rules for WotC's common humanoid races outright, since they'll probably appear in a PHB 2 or similar supplement.

Aaron Whitley wrote:

Damn that's detailed. I may have to invest in some Kingdom of Kalamar products (am I correct in assuming they have D20 products as well as the new 4E products?).

Yep. The Kingdoms of Kalamar Atlas, for example, is one of the finest gaming products I have ever purchased. Kalamar is an amazing setting.

There's a lot the wife and I really liked about d20 Kalamar, but it was incredibly hampered by a distinct lack of editing. (A major NPC is described as both genders only a couple of pages apart, for instance). While I appreciate that Kalamar is now 'spinning off' for 4E, and I expect a nice product, I really hope that - this time around - Jolly and Co. are more careful with the material.

There's a lot the wife and I really liked about d20 Kalamar, but it was incredibly hampered by a distinct lack of editing. (A major NPC is described as both genders only a couple of pages apart, for instance). While I appreciate that Kalamar is now 'spinning off' for 4E, and I expect a nice product, I really hope that - this time around - Jolly and Co. are more careful with the material.

Just when I was getting that warm happy feeling ...

Did you ever actually OWN the d20 version? I said, it was good and liked a lot of it, but the awful editing was a killer. Since the preview looks to largely be a lift of the older books (complete with very simple font and layout), I'm hoping that there was effort placed in the editing...

Jeeze.

Please, drop the ball, guys. Both of you.

I never really went for Kalamar. I remember flipping through the Atlas at my FLGS and thinking this was really pretty. How is it distinct from other detailed settings? What makes it special, beyond the sheer amount of information available on the world?

I never really went for Kalamar. I remember flipping through the Atlas at my FLGS and thinking this was really pretty. How is it distinct from other detailed settings? What makes it special, beyond the sheer amount of information available on the world?

I never really went for Kalamar. I remember flipping through the Atlas at my FLGS and thinking this was really pretty. How is it distinct from other detailed settings? What makes it special, beyond the sheer amount of information available on the world?

Then there is the intangible - it is detailed without presenting a ponderous amount of fluff text. The feel of the world and the details of its inhabitants are conveyed in a way that can be easily digested and understood. It does not contain the kind of bloated details that can weigh down most published settings.

It really is one of the best settings available for any RPG.

I would actually say that Kalamar's generic-ness was a strength. Many campaign settings are so set on being distinct that they were unusable for anything that wasn't produced by that company. Fer instance, I love Arcanis, but it's so specialized that it's hard to run even a simple adventure from Dungeon Magazine there.

Like I said above, though, it felt maybe a little too generic. It was a world filled with orcs and dwarves in which we could play a game involving orcs and dwarves.

So that's really the s%@~load of detail that people go for when purchasing Kalamar, while still preserving this sort of "make this setting your own" feel about it. Correct?

So that's really the s&~@load of detail that people go for when purchasing Kalamar, while still preserving this sort of "make this setting your own" feel about it. Correct?

The direct link to the 16-page preview PDF is HERE, for those who are interested.

How soon will print on demand be ready?

Mark Plemmons wrote:

The direct link to the 16-page preview PDF is HERE, for those who are interested.

Mark,

How soon will print on demand be ready?

Congrats on coming to a way to make a 4e product.

I've just been introduced to 3.x Kalamar, and slowly digesting books, and waiting on a pair I won on E-bay. I love Goods and Gear

What, if any is open content of the 3.x books?

crosswiredmind wrote:

Mark Plemmons wrote:

The direct link to the 16-page preview PDF is HERE, for those who are interested.

Mark,

How soon will print on demand be ready?

I'd guess by the end of next week, but that's not 100% certain. Depends on the schedule of our production manager.

Got the pdf and liked it, It's basically the same as the 3.0 books with any mechanics converted to 4e. That said I only got it so I's have an electronic copy to use with my 3.5/PRPG games. The Atlas sections looks on a quick glance to be unchanged from the print edition.

I love Kalamar, but there's no way I'm paying that much to what amounts to a handful of feats, the half-hobgoblin, and a few monsters plus a smattering of equipment. It's good for someone jumping into 4E Kalamar, but practically everything else is a reprint of 3.0/3.5 Kalamar stuff I already have.

crosswiredmind wrote:

Just when I was getting that warm happy feeling ...

Or, KER-EIST!

Did you ever actually OWN the d20 version? I said, it was good and liked a lot of it, but the awful editing was a killer. Since the preview looks to largely be a lift of the older books (complete with very simple font and layout), I'm hoping that there was effort placed in the editing...

Jeeze.

Mark Plemmons wrote:

crosswiredmind wrote:

Mark Plemmons wrote:

The direct link to the 16-page preview PDF is HERE, for those who are interested.

Mark,

How soon will print on demand be ready?

I'd guess by the end of next week, but that's not 100% certain. Depends on the schedule of our production manager.

Oh man, is there an estimated price for the print copy? I might have to get my hands on this book.

You can always console yourself with the PDF version in the meantime, though... :)

Panda-s1 wrote:

Mark Plemmons wrote:

crosswiredmind wrote:

Mark Plemmons wrote:

The direct link to the 16-page preview PDF is HERE, for those who are interested.

Mark,

How soon will print on demand be ready?

I'd guess by the end of next week, but that's not 100% certain. Depends on the schedule of our production manager.

Oh man, is there an estimated price for the print copy? I might have to get my hands on this book.

No definite price point yet. Looks like the print version won't be out until end of July or maybe early August. Our production manager is in the Army reserves, and in a few days he's got to go away for a couple of weeks.

You can always console yourself with the PDF version in the meantime, though... :)

There's an early module with a fox-were that has a detailed history of how she got cursed. I have to find it in storage.

I will have to get the new book if I ever hope to play Kingdoms of Kalamar at conventions again.

There's an early module with a fox-were that has a detailed history of how she got cursed. I have to find it in storage.

I took the Kalamar plunge today and ordered the PDF. What can I say? I love settings!

To celebrate the occasion (and because Keep on the Shadowfell has been run into the ground by my players), I'm going to a run a 4e conversion of The Root of All Evil on Saturday!

I liked the Lost Tomb of Kruk-Mu-Kalai, and the treatment of the Hobgoblin nations.

I thought that the southern continent book looked pretty good, but never got around to getting it.

i have the 3.0 guide and the player's guide. like the gladiator class.

Goth Guru wrote:

There's an early module with a fox-were that has a detailed history of how she got cursed. I have to find it in storage.

That was released for D&D 3E as Aldriv's Revenge.