Pyramid Review
Seven Civilizations (for d20 System)
Published by Atlas Games
Written by Rick Neal & Keith Baker
Art & Graphic Design by J. Scott Reeves
96-page perfect-bound black and white book; $19.95
The arrival of a title from Penumbra, Atlas Games' d20 System is always a welcome one. They are invariably thoughtful, intelligent, and useful, as well as restrained in tone and layout. Which is what this latest supplement, an addition to the "Seven . . . " series, exactly is. Previous entries have tackled in turn subjects as diverse as Seven Cities, Seven Strongholds, and Seven Serpents, but with Seven Civilizations, the subject is fantasy cultures.
Seven Civilizations aims to present seven distinct and interesting cultures and societies, each easily slotted into almost any fantasy campaign with little fuss or indeed impact upon the world around them. This it does in the usual well-organized and easy-to-use fashion expected of a Penumbra title. Each section in turn gives an overview of the civilization, placement suggestions where it could be located, its history, notable locations and personalities, how to play a character from said civilization, and two or three adventure seeds. Interspersed between this is Scott Reeves' cartography and illustrations, all pleasingly and fittingly executed. Backing all of this information up is an index that is actually split into indices that in turn list the communities, feats, magic items and spells, personalities, and miscellaneous entries to be . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: July 22, 2005
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