I finally made it around to picking this product up in preparation for a campaign that is starting up shortly. This is the bar for all city book supplements to meet. With the city of Kaer Maga brought to life this book was an excellent read with interesting districts, factions, people and geography.

See my full review at The Iron Tavern - Review: City of Strangers.

Kaer Maga - City of Strangers is one of the best setting books of any game that I read in the last several years.

It is PACKED with great ideas, odd little facts, adventure hooks, interesting organizations ....

The writing is superb and the locale would merit a much more detailed treatment like one of the classic box sets from the early 90ies - owing to its format the book falls a little short on art / mapping and in many cases more detailed elaborations would have been great. Sadly, that will probably not happen. Still: Get this book!

I would love to give this product the 5 stars that it would deserve based on the detail and creativity compacted into its pages. Sutter really pulls out all the punches to create a unique, but still fantasy-based, city of oddities. However, the product needs a lot more visual aids to make sense of the city's structure.

The city is not just surrounded by a wall, but is mostly made of a giant thick wall structure ringing a smaller core area open to the air. Within the wall's expansive breadth are enclosed city districts that typically reach up to 8 stories. At least, that is what I gather from the description. Unfortunately, the few bits of art within the piece don't seem to reflect this description and actually create more confusion for me. We have a single map of the ground floor, which is helpful in some matters, but not in the understanding of the entire city's structure.

I don't think we need several maps showing all 8 levels - in fact, I don't think that would help. However, adequate artistic representation - perhaps an overhead shot or some kind of cross section of part of the wall - might have solved this problem.

Ironically, the map of the Undercity is excellent, one of the best visual representations that I've seen of an elaborate underground structure. I wish such pains had been taken to show the actual city itself.

I know I've spent the majority of this 4-star review complaining, but I became increasingly frustrated by the high quality of the writing being unmatched by the visuals. I knew Kaer Maga to be a great place because of the details, but I felt like I wasn't really grasping the overall structure of the setting.

City of Strangers doesn't seem like one of those products that's likely to get a second printing due to the specificity of its subject. However, if one were to come about, I hope some of the art would be replaced with something with more clarity. Then I would be happy to come back and give this the 5 star review it would deserve.

Kaer Maga is something different, something almost unique, original, fresh and complex. James L. Sutter has done something here that has to read to be believed. A city based on a functional system of near anarchy, one that has survived for so long that it precedes the timelines of the campaign setting. The book only scratches the surface of what is possible in a single location. I've reread it three or four times now and feel confident that it is one of the best RPG books I've ever read. Even if you never buy another item in the campaign setting line,even if, for some reason, you dislike Golarion this book will not be money wasted. It is not without flaws; It should have a higher page count; It has a remarkably small amount of interior art; The maps are rough and not nearly representative of a city that is largely housed within it's massive multistoried walls. None of this however detracts
from what is actually here, a setting that is as remarkable as Planescape or Eberon or Darksun yet strangely not as divergent from the soul of Pathfinder.
City of Strangers shows what Paizo is truly capable of, it's strength led me to subscribe to the Campaign Setting line, for fear that something, like this, might slip under the radar and I'd miss something great.

This is the least standard Companion; it is a complex web of tidbits and oddments and strange wonders. This makes it one of the most interesting. Check out my full review: City of Strangers

This book is amazing and interesting, one of the best settings I have came across in years.

To-date I've never seen a real need to review a Pathfinder Chronicle products; that has changed with The City of Strangers. I just can't leave this book alone. Paizo has put out good and great products in the past, but this book represents one of my favorite settings produced by any game company to-date. Between a city that provides ample opportunity for any group, and the undercity that defines the "mega-dungeon", the opportunities for a GM to play out an entire campaign in a single city abound. There's no kidding around though, this city is grown-up. You will not find it a "traditional" fantasy setting, and the themes are certainly more adult than anything Paizo has produced to date (except maybe The Hook Mountain Massacre).

I seriously cannot say one negative thing about this product and strongly suggest everybody consider it for their gaming library, even if they enjoy making their own worlds. The material is just that good.

I'm still learning about Golarion but so far, this is my favorite location/city/geographic area. Think high fantasy meets Mos Eisley. You have a very eclectic interesting city perfect for urban adventures with enough unique locales to provide numerous campaigns. Plus, underneath the city is a huge, wild and crazy megadungeon. It's a setting that lets you be wildly creative without your ideas feeling out of place. I hope Paizo continues to support Kaer Maga with a continuous line of modules and/or additional supplements.

Every page of this beautiful looking product is packed full with awesomeness. After reading about four pages I already imagined how I could lure my players to Kaer Maga while I was still sucking up word for word of the wonderfully designed and written content.

I never normally review Paizo items, simply because of bias, however, in this case I wanted to tell people on the boards just how good I think this product is.

I can remember reading the original Vault of the Drow as a lad, and being amazed. I wanted to run adventures in the teeming city and vault, take characters through the souks and alleys of the drow, and do so right away. It was more than just an adventure, it was inspiring, a product whose use would outweigh its price a thousand fold. My battered old vault still sits before me now, to use as inspiration when it's needed.

I got the same thrill from reading City of Strangers.

Make no bones about it, this is Pathfinder grown up. The city is no place for the young to venture into, but for those of us who like our fantasy a little darker, this could be one of the most perfect settings ever. If the vertical, teeming city itself doesn’t take your breath away, the numerous districts, all of which are written in tantalising details – begging for more exploration – will. These could each become sites for numerous adventure paths in their own right.

Couple this would some incredible radical thinking and invention – I for one will never think of trolls the same again – and some great crunchy rules, encounters and suggestions, and you have a product that, like Vault of the Drow, is going to useful for years to come.

My only regret is that I’ve just started a Hot War AP as a change of pace, and now I’m thinking about wrapping that up quickly so I can unleash Kaer Maga on my players.

So, if you’re a fan of dark fantasy, and like your settings a little on the Styes side, check this product out, it is inspirational.