After much waiting, tearing of cloth, and gnashing of teeth, Privateer Press really did manage to get the IKCG written, printed, shipped, and into my happy little hands. This was a couple of weeks ago now, and I’ve had some time to thumb through everything two or three times, so here we go:

First off, it’s huge. While the artwork is excellent, it doesn’t pad out the book as much as one might expect. There really is 400 pages worth of material in there. Secondly, it is chock-full of Iron Kingdoms. If you aren’t familiar with the Iron Kingdoms, it is a “Full Metal Fantasy” setting, by which it is meant that the setting combines an era of technological innovation and arcane development that are progressing hand-in-hand. This means 400 pages of flavor, a handful of new classes including the Bodger, Gunmage, and Arcane Mechanik, and lots and lots and lots of new rules that further bolster the flavor of the setting.

I’m a fan of the Iron Kingdoms setting. The mingling of arcane and technological , the small but well-developed pantheon of gods, the nations, the geography, the history, and the cultures all add up to a very well put-together place to run a Dungeons & Dragons game. Alchemy, wizardry, and good old-fashioned Guys In Big Shiny Armor all blend together in an age with printing presses, steam locomotices, sorcerors, and dragons. Gone are some of the sacred cows of D&D; the Orcs, the Halflings, the Half-Demons, and even the little Kobald are all gone, in an effort to keep the flavor from being dilluted. Good riddance, I say; just give me a decent variety of bad guys to keep things exciting (that’s what the Monsternomicon is for).

There are a couple of problems. There are numerous little issues that could have been cleaned up with another pass of careful editing. There were some rules that are implied but not specified (e.g. Lightning Draw is not defined in the book, nor is reference made to where you find it). The arrangement of the book appears to have been intended to create a good read, not a good reference book. I like good reads, and it helps with the initial digestion of a RPG sourcebook, but it is a reference book that I need at the table when I’m running a game. A variety of custom rules regarding magic are scattered across a couple hundred pages and the Index isn’t alway helpful in finding what you’re looking for (yes, the Pain of Healing section is there on page 276).

But do not despair! The IKCG is a great book, and at $39.99 is is a steal at ten cents a page. Go buy the book, read it cover to cover like I did, then go over to the Privateer Press Forums and give them your honest appraisal of it.