Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting
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elcome to the Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting¸ a swords-and-sorcery milieu set in a Dark Ages fantasy version of the Mediterranean and the lands surrounding it! It is set a century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world¸ plunged it into chaos¸ and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters. Now¸ the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other on behalf of their masters¸ nations strive to survive or dominate one another¸ and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology.
This universal campaign setting¸ which represents 14 years of development and has roots in the early 1980s¸ is ideal for adventures of the sorts inspired by the works of Fritz Leiber¸ Robert E. Howard¸ and Jack Vance. It has deliberately been designed to be system free and compatible with any set of role-playing game rules suitable for ancient¸ medieval¸ or fantasy venues. It is the "Bible" of its world and its contents can be used either as part of a cohesive milieu or individually to enhance other campaign settings or adventures¸ and both by game designers and writers interested in authoring fantasy fiction. In that this setting was used as the playtest backdrop for games using the OGL/d20¸ Pathfinder¸ "Basic" Dungeons & Dragons and Labyrinth Lord retroclone¸ and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules¸ it is an especially ideal setting for them.
This book includes:
* MAPS of Kos City¸ Kos Island¸ the Aegean¸ and the Mediterranean.
* WORLD OF KOS¸ overview of the world¸ the impact upon it of the Great Cataclysm¸ and a timeline; sections on Languages¸ Clothing¸ Wealth & Money¸ Entertainment¸ Military Organizations¸ and Adventurer Culture.
* KOS CITY¸ an overview of the community that will be the starting point for many adventures and 50 specific places adventurers might visit in it¸ to include taverns¸ training halls¸ and temples (and which was designed to parallel the general sorts of places described in Skirmisher's Gold-bestselling City Builder ).
* KOS ISLAND¸ detailed descriptions of the island of Kos¸ what lies around it¸ of its 12 major towns and villages¸ and of 10 specific places located on the island or smaller islets in the waters surrounding it.
* LANDS BEYOND KOS¸ detailed descriptions of 16 different nations¸ brief entries on nine regions¸ and writeups on three specific places.
* ENCOUNTERS¸ 21 encounter tables - 14 nation-based and seven terrain-based - that storytellers can use for inspiration and game masters can use to determine what things characters might encounter in the course of their adventures.
* LIVES¸ 118 system-free biographies of personages who live on the island of Kos or the lands surrounding it and are mentioned or appear as characters in the related sourcebooks or stories about the campaign setting.
* RACES¸ 17 species of people native to the world of Kos¸ including Antaeans¸ Arachneans¸ Bull Centaurs¸ Cynocephalians¸ and Myrmidons (along with more familiar Humans¸ Centaurs¸ Dwarves¸ Elves¸ Gnolls¸ Gnomes¸ Goblinoids¸ Half-Elves¸ Halflings¸ Lizardfolk¸ Merfolk¸ and Orcs).
* MONSTERS¸ a section on creatures that dwell in the world of Kos and and their roles in it.
* DEITIES & RELIGION¸ a section on gods and godesses¸ their worship¸ and the ongoing war between the Olympian Gods and the primordial Titans.
* GLOSSARY of terms useful for storytellers and gamemasters using this book.
This book is a compilation of six separate volumes that were published individually - "Kos City¸"