After nearly 2 decades, the Avlis Sourcebook is here

[Grunt]

Pages are missing that sheen/feel of my 3rd edition books, but the don't feel copy paper cheap..more like construction paper or a thick letter bond.

Small gripe 1: I like the cover, it's also solid construction (feels as tough as my 3rd ed. books) but the spine has a totally different font than the front cover. It looks like Arial or Verdana or Tahoma (the Windows trilogy of everyday use). The simplicity of that font might make it easier to find the book in a stack of them, but it looks quite plain.
Small gripe 2: Artwork is gritty, and I like it. It reminds me of some of the old RIFTS artwork. However, one of the pics under magic specialties seems out of place. The dude is wearing sunglasses.
Small gripe 3: NO INDEX

For me, a lot of the reading encompasses things I've already known about Avlis (good, it's the heart of what makes the world what it is), and some things that don't exist in Avlis online (also good). I've jumped around in the book a lot.

A shame that the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons, residing on paizo, found "absolutely nothing" to recommend about the book. But hey, everyone's a critic.

[Hamlet]

I would like to highlight something he says there, "The world as it is described has a great deal of fantastical history but no plot hooks." Well, I concur. In parts the writing is like a geography text book, in my opinion a bit too much on the matter-of-factly tone. And no, I cannot write it better, but I still feel obliged to point this out.

[Grunt]

It's a setting sourcebook, though. The stories are up to you and your players.

[itsabughunt]

It's a setting sourcebook, though. The stories are up to you and your players.

I agree. They were trying to fit the overview of an entire world into a single book. That isn't an easy task, though they did an outstanding job of it.

This has definitely been a great Christmas gift for me.

[Pathos Street]

Setting sourcebooks usually have example plot hooks related to the setting. Like an entry for Zvidureth might have something as simple as a couple sentences along the lines of "People in Zvidureth have been getting sick lately. Some think it may just be a seasonal illness, but others are blaming Verossans, sereg, and even demons for causing the malady."

These are useful in two ways. One, they give an idea of what sort of things a group of PCs might encounter in a given area. But more importantly, they paint little vignettes that illuminate the ways denizens and factions of the gameworld world might interact.

[Pathos Street]

And setting sourcebooks also usually have minimal actual game rule information... that's usually segregated to a second sourcebook, usually a "player's guide" analog with more detailed race/class/spell/etc. information.

[Hamlet]

Thank you for the clarification. :-)

[Nob]

While I appreciate the supportive notes, I have to admit that the writing in the current incarnation of the sourcebook isn't what we're actually capable of doing. As Orl noted we're going to work on the mechanics side first, then do a general revision of the book to live up to our own standards.

A2's wiki entries on say the Seven Cities or the gods present a decent example of how we could (or might) expand on the information and make it more useful as a setting book. (Though they will not serve as a template, still trying to nail down what exactly would go into the revised chapters)