[.ca] Mysteries of the Moonsea (ISBN 078693915X)

Not a core book:
This is not a core book but an adventure book. If you are looking for a book with info and descriptions do not get this one because all you will get is a lot of short adventures. The adventures are not bad though. I rated this book very poor because it is seriously mislabled, therefore the information they are trying to sell is false. It may be a mistake but I felt cheated.

Amazing, better than I'd expected:
I admit I didn't think I'd want this book, but I'm glad I got it. I was hesitant because it's different from what I'd expected: it's not yet another gazeteer (although I like those). It's much more material. It is an a series of overviews and "quests" (adventure sites) in and around areas like Zhentil Keep, Mulmaster, and other city-states. There are loads of maps, NPCs, encounters, that sort of thing. They start at around 1st level and go all the way to 18th. As you go along they provide relevant information to that setting. For example, remember the nobles that worship a Sphere of Annihilation? They're fleshed out, and given a PrC to boot. It's taken City-state by City-state. It's set in the area north of Myth Drannor, South of the Bloodstone lands, West of Thay and East of Anauroch. Oh, and Zhentil Keep is right in the middle. Yeah, so imagine what kinds of corrupt city-states would grow there. Then make the temperature really cold. This is your setting, so you can use just about all the FR stuff you've been buying. What it is not is: 1) another gazeteer with Prcs and spells and magical items. In fact, a recent trend is to use what you've obviously alreday bought for FR in context (so the FRCS, Core books, etc.). It's for the DM, obviously as it has locations info in it. Players get to play in it. 2) A Campaign book: while you could use them in one, it's not a cohesive story. The PCs could stumble across the various abandoned sewer tunnels, ruined temples, slaver caves, and wizard towers from Cormanthor, but they don't need a timeline. It's good for parties that like to create their own problems, or for sites when they go north from the Dales or wherever. Don't think adventures: the new words are "quests" and "campaigns", to tell the difference (both are adventures). The Art: is fantastic. Check out the High Blade of Mulmaster, btw. What Could Have Been Better: This was a little hard. I think the one part I would have liked to see more of was Zhentil Keep and the Citadel of the Raven. They have the temple where Fzoul Chembryl lives, but it's all one level. Also, they have his one-bedroom apartment (which means I have better gear than the Chosen of the deities of Tyrants) and that room isn't particularly... devious or developed. Where are the multiple levels of the keep? Where are the sneaky rows of statues that transform into golems? He's got paintings, but do they summon the forms of anti-paladins? no. Just one secret door and a bunk bed off to the side of Same thing with the citadel of the Raven: it's a three-page affair with broad strokes: 1) barracks for the guards, 2)manshoons tower (manshoon lives here). Manshoon and Fzoul are major FR figures, on par with Elminster and the Symbul. I would love a book that is a mapped-out famous location like that. Not a dungeon, but a lair or fortress that characters would actually build with the resources of the black network and high-level spells. Why? My PCs need to rescue kidnapped NPCs from the tower, and to get there they have to sneak through the building. There IS a cool wizard's tower elsewhere in the book (several in fact), so if I need to I can whip up a much better tower of Manshoon. Also I know of other books to get them from if I need them. HOWEVER: those are four pages of an otherwise awesome book; they are still servicable. Also, the other parts of the book are the focus as it is. It's an excellent sourcebook for adventures, and has lots of CRUNCHY BITS YOU CAN USE in it.