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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you ever wanted to run a campaign based in a city this set is for you, February 6, 2010
This review is from: City of Splendors (AD&D, 2nd Edition/Forgotten Realms boxed set) (Hardcover)
I got this boxed set when it first came out waay back when.. Matter of fact if I remember right I got it and The Ruins of Undermountain Boxed set at the same time... and proceeded to skip 2 days of classes in college to take a long weekend so I could read through both of them.
I was in RPG heaven.
I have since run many a campaign based in Waterdeep (the city of Splendors) and can't stress enough how good this boxed set has been.
A couple of points to add.
There is a "Volo's Guide to Waterdeep" that works well with this product and can be found cheaply used. (There was a fold out/tear out poster sized map in the book, you may want to check if the map is still present if buying this product used as often it seems to be missing).
There was a "City System" boxed set that while it was meant to fit in any sort of campaign used Waterdeep maps. In fact it had like 12 or 14 huge maps each map showing but a small part of the city. If you really like the city of splendors you may want to check it out especially if you like huge maps.
FR1 Waterdeep and the North was the first product that detailed the city and lands around it. It gave a lot of information in a 64 page booklet and had a great map of the city as well.
This "city of splendors" boxed set incorporates much of all the information from the above products but the other products still work well in conjunction with this boxed set. After all only so much information can be crammed into one box so the other products still compliment this set well.
I also want to point out there was a Waterdeep hardback book put out under the 3.0 D&D rules but in my opinion it was just to brief and lacking the details stuffed into this product. While this product predates the 3.0 book (this set is based on 2.0 AD&D rules) the information contained in it is far superior in my opinion then the later book.
If you want a big fantasy city for your campaign or want to see an example of using a big city in a campaign this product is a great buy.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Magical Box of Splendors +++, August 24, 2010
This review is from: City of Splendors (AD&D, 2nd Edition/Forgotten Realms boxed set) (Hardcover)
Oldtime D&D is all about inspired imagination into deep questing. This box-set for Waterdeep, City of Splendors, is full of magical splendor itself. I have seen quite a number of RPG aids including various D&D and especially AD&D box-sets -- and this is my favorite already. "City of Splendors" includes gaming materials with incredible imaginative detail that are layered and leveled to enable a total dive into the "deep waters" of Waterdeep. Yet there is plenty of vast room for someones own imagination. Mine was directly invoked via just a thrilled look-see over the big upper and lower city maps. I could already see how the general lay-out of Waterdeep AND its great details would be not only a great base for adventurers but indeed a long-term source of in-city intrigue.
I like open field, dark forest, rugged terrain, maritime, cavern and cave settings as much as most gamers. Yet I feel that above-ground dungeons and towers are somewhat under-used, castles and chateaus quite under-used and that villas and cities are WAY under-used. Yet if someone wants to role-play ongoing adventure with fair-to-dark atomosphere and simple-to-complex intrigue it seems that at least a small city in a magical mythical medieval world will be quite natural for such questing. So if someone has a wide open portal into a large city -- that is set in the middle of a vast magical mythical medieval world -- then there are numerous enormous opportunities for questing. Also it seems yet more natural that oddly fair-to-dark facts, items and folks be found in such a large old city. Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms is just such a "large old city" -- full of many fair, dark and deep angles. And the City of Splendors is itself set in the middle of a variety of routes to further adventure into the unforgettable Forgotten Realms.
The skillful inspired artistry of this box-set is inspiring. I quite like the fun fine artwork, including the Castle poster AND a huge fold-out wall poster of a mounted warrior woman on-quest. I am well inspired when viewing the THREE substantial game booklets with their rich description and explanation of the locations, resources and personages of Waterdeep -- and the multifold stated and unstated game plot hooks everywhere. There is rich thick detail in all -- yet NOT pinned-down by rigid fixed lines -- so there indeed is plenty of room for pre-game, mid-game and post-game "angling" by GMs and PCs. In particular I much like the Adventurer's Quarter materials -- a big booklet and THREE layout-maps [of SIX such big full color layout-maps]. I use GM, instead of DM, as this box-set is NOT very AD&D dependant -- much of its great value is in its more general city, history, culture and people details -- NOT using AD&D-only stats. I happen to like AD&D resources very much -- but "City of Splendors" easily transcends AD&D and even D&D. It can be easily adopted or adapted by various closely-to-loosely related games. Most D&D, D20 or hybrid games can use "City of Splendor" as a resource or even central setting for questing +++
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8 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Waterdeep is really really HUGE!!!, March 28, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: City of Splendors (AD&D, 2nd Edition/Forgotten Realms boxed set) (Hardcover)
I spent $25 on this sucker at my local gaming store, and man it was worth it. It has one 128 page book, two 64 page books, one 24 page booklet, and six, count them, SIX poster maps of the city. Rumors say that the original map of this city was 20 feet by 30 feet, and I would believe it. A very good buy for any Forgotten Realms DM.
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