Wizards Of The Coast has released the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide for Dungeon’s & Dragons, a fantastic resource that all players should pick up if they are adventuring through the officially released game materials such as the Starter Set or the adventure books such as Hoard Of The Dragon Queen or Out Of The Abyss. There is plenty of information for players and dungeon masters alike.
The release of the book underscores what problems there are with the release of the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. While I still say this book is worth purchasing I have some strong criticisms.
My biggest problem with the current edition is the lack of cohesion. There has been a staggered release of materials, from the Basic Rules to the Player’s Handbook to the Monster Manual and so on. This in and of itself isn’t bad in theory, but the time it has taken between releases meant people were adventuring with incomplete information.
Now with the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide we get what should be a complete compendium of information regarding the setting of the current Dungeons & Dragons edition’s adventures. Not quite so. Yes, we get geography (which I will get to in a bit) and information on a couple of “new” classes, but I want to first bring up an issue regarding the various factions (or organizations or secret society, whatever you want to refer to them as) that are found within the Sword Coast region.
In the Player’s Handbook…. no, wait, they are not mentioned as a possible background for characters there. In the Starter Set they are mentioned within the adventure for NPCs the recruit the players into various factions. There is no information as to what the various factions aims and goals are, however, to players and DMs are playing blind here. In the Dungeon Master’s Guide we get some information on factions, but it is incomplete.
The Basic Rules did not, when initially released, have any information on the factions. And the Basic Rules are “thicker” than the rules included in the Starter Set. As a matter of fact, the Starter Set rules are virtually pointless. The Basic Rules are available free and had more information. Not only that, but they have been updated and now not only include information about factions, but also come in two flavors – Player’s Basic D&D Rules and Dungeon Master’s Basic D&D Rules.
In the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide factions are available as a possible background for players. This sounds fine until you compare the bits of information in the different source materials. Between the Dungeon Master’s Guide, the Basic Rules and the Sword Coast Adventure’s Guide we still don’t have a complete picture of these organizations because the information differs from one source to the next.
Here is information on Zhentarim from the updated Basic Rules:
Keep in mind, this is the third version of the Basic Rules. The original Basic Rules that I had been going by did not have any mention of factions. Fortunately the Basic Rules are a free download. It would have been nice had I known they were updated.
Here is the information in the Dungeon Master’s Guide:
Keep in mind the Dungeon Master’s Guide has information on two of the five factions active within the Sword Coast region.
You would expect the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide to have a sort of combination of the two bits of information, especially since it was the most recently published. It does, like the Basic Rules, mention each of the five different factions. Here is what it mentions about the Zhentarim.
Notice how the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide has the least amount of information on an organization that is active within the region the book is to be a resource for? This is the sort of thing Wizards Of The Coast has done with the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide – we are given incomplete information.
Again I say this book is worth purchasing, but there are questions as to who is running things at Wizards Of The Coast. Why doesn’t the most recent publication have the most comprehensive information? Between the Player’s Handbook and Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide players should not need any other resources. Dungeon Masters should not have to consult the Basic Rules if the core books are available to them.
Maps.
This is my biggest problem with the book.
The realm is not only incompletely presented (more on that in a moment) but the map we get in the book gets sectioned off by the spine. Placed over what should be two pages, but it is just over one, a section of the map is lost in the fold between two pages.
Why?
Arguably one of the major points of the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide is an overview of the realm, and somehow what should be the quickest reference for players and dungeon masters for orientation within the Sword Coast and points beyond is almost pointless. It absolutely should have been presented as a fold out map. To cut off one of the centerpieces of the book is a major disappointment.
Fortunately you can purchase the full map directly from the artist. I recommend you do so. not only is it the full version of the map, it also comes in a segmented PDF to print out if you want to focus on just one area. It is a gorgeous map and full of detail. It also includes areas that are discussed in the book but not really shown.
Compare the full map as created, above, with the map as presented in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. It is a good slice, and yes, the focus is on the Sword Coast, which it is supposed to, but overall why bother with having a full map of the real if you aren’t going to show it? Why not have a download of the full map available for those who purchase the book? On top of that, why not additionally have a map of the whole continent, especially since there are brief descriptions of lands to the south and east, many of which are not actually on the map.
There are a number of smaller maps peppered throughout the geographic section of the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide. They are not present for each location, but enough of them are there to get a decent orientation of some major areas.
Aside from the map there are descriptions of various locations throughout the realm. They are given from five different characters, each with their own backgrounds and biases. This is fine, really, and if you are able to keep in mind not only what is being said but also who said it, that will go a long way.
My problem with the geographical information is how it is arranged. There is no rhyme or reason as to how things are presented. If you look at the four different paths here (the 5th is of The Underdark, so it does not show up on the map) you can see I have laid out how each presenter discusses the locations.
And yes, there are locations not present on the map that is in the book. I used the much larger, original map to track the different paths taken from each narrator. Go ahead and compare with the image of the map as it is presented in the book up above.
Also note how not every major location is discussed. Major geographic areas such as forests and mountain ranges get passing references if they are mentioned at all.
And then there is this chestnut:
It is frustrating.
That’s the key word. Frustrating.
The Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide is useful, with the geographical information being only part of what makes this a good resource. There is a bit on the economy which will help when the adventurers I am in charge of as a dungeon master venture beyond the area they are currently in. The history is also great for providing some much needed context. The section on dieties seems light, especially considering Moradin, the dwarven god of creation isn’t listed and described in with “the most prominent members of the pantheon.”
Races are present as well. While (literally, only) mentioned in the Player’s Handbook, the Sword Coast Adventurer’s guide has information on the Shield Dwarf and Gold Dwarf subraces. There is more information on the other races in Dungeons & Dragons as well that can be used to expand on characters already in play (with the DM’s approval of course). This is another decent section of the book.
As for the classes, well, it is less clear how to best fold the new information into an already established character, especially when concerning one with any spell-casting ability. There are new paths for players to choose from and it would take some serious rewriting to go back and add in some of the new abilities, but with some effort, perhaps, a new path could open up – or a new character written.
I like the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, though it should have been better. And why is Green Ronin Publishing listed as co-publisher? A number of the people involved in the making of this book are from that company. It is a bit jarring to see a full-page advertisement for another company and their RPGs in a Dungeons & Dragons book. I wonder what the Dungeons & Dragons team at Wizards Of The Coast was doing instead of working on this book.