WOW
I just read Wolfgang Baur's "how to be a superstar" on his livejournal thing, and he mentions a number of times about how things need to grab you. This entry did. I'm going to explain why.
I think dismissing the government section as "boring" is wrong, and missing the point. As I was reading it, I was seeing this goody-two shoes place, full of pomp and circumstance that screams protocol, orders, hierarchy, and just plain "goodness".
Then, I read about the Wound, a place that defies everything the government stands for. I read about forced military duty upon the people, and how even then they're not holding "it" back. They're just surviving, and they don't know for how long this is going to last. It's a desperate struggle, and at its core, your basic Good vs. Evil that everybody can identify with.
This entry leaves it open so that a DM can take it so much further, and bend the obvious situation of the Good Kingdom vs Overwhelming Evil to his whim. I see the white alabaster walls being chipped away. I see fear in the citizens hearts and on their tongues as they discuss a fort that hasn't reported in. I'm wanting to invent ideas about how members of the nobility, or Common Council could be infected, but nobody knows.
I see a country that I could use as a starting point, and give the PC's a great introduction into thinking "hey, we're gonna fight evil and get treasure in this stereotypically good kingdom", but really springboard it into something Victorian, something Epic, or perhaps something entirely Lovecraftian. Who knows? Me, the DM. Nobody else. That's the way it should be.
I'd be comfortable giving this entry to my players, to read about this country and know what's going on. I wouldn't be comfortable doing that if it listed that this noble is infected, and that the humdinger artifact could stop the Wound.
I don't agree with the assessment of the only hook being "fight the monsters". I don't agree with the assessment of a "one trick pony". I don't agree with a country entry telling me everything that's going on. Players can read too. I do agree with more meat on the bones. I do agree with it being concise, and to the point.
I believe that right now, this entry gives you everything you need to take it, bake it and make it your own.
You've got my vote.
- Bryan