Review Of World Builders Book Of Places Volume 1 By Dog Soul Publishing
-== What is it? ==-
World Builds Book Of Places Volume 1 published by Dog Soul Publishing and written by Deborah Balsam is a collection of 14 settlements that can be deposited into your fantasy genre campaign world. Each settlement is comprised of a 2 page entry. The first page includes a summary section, Places Of Interest, Persons Of Interest, and Interesting Facts. The second page is a full page map. Settlements range from small villages to large cities. I am reviewing a PDF version of the product that I purchased online then printed.
The book has a color cover and an entirely black and white interior. The book is 8 1/2? x 11? and is 31 pages in length. The last page is a note from the author. There is not a table of contents or an index.
-== What I Like ==-
Many of the settlements have very unique elements. These elements include details on specific inhabitants, an interesting locale, or possibly a particular theme. For example, there is a village that lives on a cliff over an ocean.
Many of the settlements have a slightly Asian flair that I enjoyed. It is hard to describe but I liked the feeling.
The summary section at the top is nice. It sets the tone of the entry quickly and efficiently. One thing I might have liked was having a quick blurb in the header that summarized the entry. For example, “Mvalienisu (Noble city on a lake)”. This way I could actually grab an entry during a play session and run with it.
-== What I Don’t Like ==-
The map provided with each settlement is frankly a complete waste of space. They do not include a lot of detail. I would much rather have been given double amount of settlements with no maps at all.
Another thing I would have liked to see are plot hooks for each entry. Even a couple of bullet points with one sentence hooks would have been helpful.
Another enhancement idea is to have some of the cities tie together. Maybe have one village provide goods or raw materials to another. These connections make places feel more realistic in my opinion.
-== Summary ==-
As long as the buyer understands that what they are getting is 14 settlements that can be dumped into a campaign world then you will be happy. World Book Of Places Volume 1 can be picked up at DriveThruRPG at this URL for $2.65. This price point is pretty cheap but I think it should be for what I consider to be only 14 pages of useful material.
I give it 4 out of 10 paws.
