Iron Kingdoms Character Guide: Full Metal Fantasy, Vol. 1 [Hardcover]

Iron Kingdoms (Author)

Book Description

Series: Iron Kingdoms | Publication Date: July 1, 2004

Embark upon a journey into the realm of "Full Metal Fantasy," a land where battle-hardened characters gird themselves in scarred mail and metal and take up their saw-toothed blades and smoking forgelock pistols, where steamjacks belch ash and stream upon the battlefields and the cobbled streets of cities and strongholds, and where steam power is fused with arcane might. This is the official Iron Kingdoms character guide, with new and exciting character classes and prestige classes, heaps of new skills, feats, weapons and gear. Expansive details on magic and mechanika, and new races like Gobbers, Ogrun and Trollkin. To make full use of this book you also need the D&D Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Writers: Rob Baxter, Brian Gute, Joe Martin & Doug Seacat Other Writing and RPG R&D Contributors: Brain Brousseau, Colin Chapman, Jason Dawson, Chris Gunning, Brett Huffman, James Maliszewski, Martin Oliver, Phil Reed, Bryan Steele, Jon Thompson & Michael Tresca

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Privateer Press (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970697066
• ISBN-13: 978-0970697066
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,015,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The crown jewel of D20 fantasy, October 22, 2004

By 

Scott Owen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Iron Kingdoms Character Guide: Full Metal Fantasy, Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

When reading the Iron Kingdoms Character Guide it is important to keep in mind that the Iron Kingdoms setting is not Victorian steampunk. Comparisons to Eberron are also inevitable, however, the Iron Kingdoms is not a place that advances magic to its natural conclusion. This is a gritty, dangerous world immersed in a low-tech industrial revolution. Yet it is still considered a fantasy setting... magic, monsters, undead, and dragons (rare and powerful dragons) are some of the classic elements that define it. Firearms and steam power enhance the setting as well, but a good sword arm is still as important as ever. If you prefer a setting full of happy gnomes and cute little fairies you should turn away now. Everyone else, read on. This is a big book, so it's a big review.

General overview: The Iron Kingdoms is the collective name for the major countries of western Immoren. These nations arose after overthrowing their Orgoth oppressors centuries ago. Currently, nationalist pride threatens to send the entire region lurching into war once again. But on the Nightmare Isle of Cryx, Toruk, the Dragon King, crafts even more terrible schemes with the malevolent patience of a god.

World setup: The IKCG includes an overview of the Iron Kingdoms, as well as history, geography, astronomy, and even a calendar system. There is also considerable space devoted to cosmology and religion. This includes all the major pantheons, the nature of souls in the Iron Kingdoms, and special abilities for characters devoted to a specific aspect of their faith. Sidebars throughout the book reveal additional bits of fluff and rules material. I believe that the IKCG's ability to immerse reader in to the world of the Iron Kingdoms is, without a doubt, the book's strongest point. This is still a book designed with the player in mind, however, so much of the background information is introductory in nature. The upcoming Iron Kingdoms World Guide will contain additional in-depth information about the setting.

Artwork: It is the imagery that truly brings this world to life. You've seen the cover- it's downright gorgeous, and with just a glance it defines the setting's feel: chunky, gritty, and dangerous. The IKCG is black and white on the inside, but it's chocked to the gills with beautiful, moody art just the same. On a very small minority of pages, however, the ink seems to have come out either a bit too light or too dark.

Production Quality: The hardcover binding seems pretty solid, and mine has been holding up fine so far. The editing is fantastic. I've been able to spot only a handful of typos and errors, and the organization and layout is generally quite good. On the other hand the quality of the paper is adequate, but not great. The pages of the IKCG are relatively thin and do not have the smear-resistant coating of the Player's Handbook or similar books. This is probably to keep page count up and retail cost down, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Player Races: There are 12 different human ethnic groups to choose from, each with each with its own unique history, attributes, and optional ability adjustments. Dwarves and Elves have been slightly modified to better suit the setting. There are four new races: Gobbers (goblins), Ogrun (large, powerful humanoids), Trollkin (troll-like humanoids, IK style), and the Nyss (winter elves). Half-elves are technically available as a player race, but they receive no entry. Half-orcs, halflings, and gnomes do not exist at all.

Character Classes and Prestige Classes: All of the core character classes are available for play. Most have been slightly modified to better fit the setting. The Ranger, however, has been completely overhauled and renamed the Scout. There are four new base classes: the Arcane Mechanik, a wizard who fuses magic with machine; the Bodger, the quick fix expert; the Fell Caller, a trollkin-only class that utilizes that race's powerful shouting ability; and finally the Gun Mage, a sorceror-warrior who can channel magic through pistols. Seven new prestige classes are introduced as well: Battle Chaplain, Blackclad, Mage Hunter, Pistoleer, Rifleman, Second-Story Man, and the mighty Warcaster.

New Feats and Skills: There are over 62 new feats specific to the Iron Kingdoms setting. Included in this tally are several Society feat trees, which have tougher prerequisites, but offer powerful long-term benefits for a character belonging to that organization. New skills include Creature Lore, Jack Handling, and several specialized Craft skills.

Weapons, Armor, and Equipment: There are a few new types of armor as well as a wide variety of new weapons and firearms. This includes odd yet cool weapons like barbed warcleavers, mechanical flails, shield guns, and clockwork rifles. Imagine all the strangest Renaissance period weapons you ever heard about and kick it up an extra notch.

Magic and Mechanika: An entire chapter is devoted to the nature of magic in the Iron Kingdoms. This includes new and revised spells as well as revised cleric domains and powerful new uses for the Craft (Alchemy) skill. There are also rules for construction of mechanikal items, which largely replace the purely magical items of other settings. I found that while these rules are thorough, they are not organized in a particularly user-friendly fashion. It took me a few readings to wrap my head around the finer points. Finally there are some profiles for the semi-sentient armored constructs of the Iron Kingdoms, the Warjacks, as well as a section discussing the use and creation of Warcaster power armor.

Because the IKCG is such an excellent book it is hard to write a review of it without sounding like a fanboy. However there is one more quibble worth noting. The IKCG occasionally makes small references to Privateer Press products that are either out of print or simply don't exist yet. Some critical DM resources like the Monsternomicon and most of the Witchfire Trilogy are inconveniently out of print pending an update to 3.5. Others, like the Liber Mechanika, were announced years ago but still have no release date in sight. The IKCG itself also experienced numerous delays. Just keep in mind that while Privateer Press always produces material of the highest quality, natural erosion occurs at a faster rate than their RPG release schedule. These product gaps probably won't affect players much, but depending on the type of campaign it may require some additional resourcefulness from the DM. Patience will also help.

Ultimately, however, the tortoise can be forgiven if he wins the race. The Iron Kingdoms Character Guide is a winner, pure and simple. If you like the idea of steam-powered fantasy, do yourself a favor and check it out. I strongly recommend it.

The IKCG uses the D&D 3.5 rules.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truely fantastic mix of magic and technology in an RPG, August 14, 2004

By 

J. Moulton "jcmoulton2000" (Lakewood, Co United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Iron Kingdoms Character Guide: Full Metal Fantasy, Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

I bought this book because about three years ago Privateer Press made a three part premade adventure called the Witchblade Triology. It was the most orginal and detailed premade adventure for the d20 system I used to date. The setting for this wonderful story full of gothic cities with advanced robotics and orginal mages and heroes was placed in a region called Iron Kingdoms.
Now three years later we have the Iron Kingdom Character Guide that will give any credible gamer the info to start a unique and exciting game that will bring people to gaming tables. The book itself is huge!! (Nearly four hundred pages of writting.) The art in it is incredible and the design and lay out is eyecatching to say the least. It is hardback and the cover sums up the story quite well.
Inside you will find new 20 level classes such as the gun mage (mages that channel magic energies through guns), bodgers( wild eyed inventors and mechanics that have mystic powers of making robotic devices work by abusing them physically and verbally), mage hunters ( elves that hunt manyly human mages that are creating problems with magic), and other creative classes in addition to basic d20 classes. New armor, new weapons, new spells, new clerical domains, and deities all of which are orginal and not cheesy or ripped off.
If I had any problem with the book it would be that it would be nice to see these gorgeous illustrations in color. But they are so good that I still say the book is worth your money. I would recommend these book to anyone that likes Final Fantasty VII, Dungeons and Dragons, and fans of the comic Battle Chasers.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Impressive!, April 12, 2005

By 

Rodney Demo "DM Moorbius" (Canaan, Me United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Iron Kingdoms Character Guide: Full Metal Fantasy, Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

Okay since everybody has written alot about the book already I'll give the "bullet points." The book has a very diverse feature of races which I found as a breath of fresh air. The rules and added classes are well written and easy to understand. The new weapons and armor are interesting along with a truck load of information of the iron kingdoms. I'd say it even rivals Forgotten Realms in history and culture. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is due to magic creation section, you thought the DMG was tough this took me about a 5th reading and compairing the two books to figure it out. This section of the book was the only unflowing part but other than that I would HIGHLY recommend getting this book.

If your looking at Eberron I'd look here first. Eberron doesn't even come close!