If you don't want to wait for Argos & Zingara which will come out in the next couple of months, I highly recommend Aquilonia and Across the Thunder River. There are the city-books Shadizar and Messantia, but the former has been criticized a lot and no one mentions the latter much.
I can absoluetly recomend Accross the Thunder River and Stygia as two truly excellent setting books. Really top notch stuff. Aquilonia is also a good book. I think that both Messantia and Shadizar have gotten a bit of a bum deal, I think that the decision to do them in box-set format rahter than supplement format probably hurt the final product. Still, not the best products I've ever seen.
i makes no sense if your players are great fans of the black kingdoms or kithai and you are buying across the thunder river. think about your future campaign plans and buy what makes the most sense. but it's a great campaign / setting book anyways and is value for money.
i like "aquilonia" but won't recommend it as necessity because it's nice but not spectacular (and you can improvise much of it with the information in road of kings).
STYGIA is a great source for ideas and adventure
same goes for RUINS OF HYBORIA (you can always find a ruin for your actual gaming location and can throw it in the game). not really a "setting" book but extremely useful !
the two city boxes are "nice" (remind the map problem!) but after the scenario(s) perhaps your players never visit this area again...so you have bought it for "one shot".
I agree that Shadizar could have been a lot better. At least Messantia didn't preclude Argos and Zingara. A full book about Zamora would be high on my list, as would one covering Turan. There's a lot of material for Vincent to work with, whatever gets done next.
Personally, I liked the Shadizar. Of course, that is the thief/rogue in me talking.
Okay, it's a bit rough and we all know about the problems with the maps (try running the adventure as it is and explaining how you go from the Maul to the Craftsman district without going through the merchant district)... but it has still been a big help to me in my campaign, which I have split between Shadizar and Arejun. Aside from drawing a bit of material from the pastiches, I fail to see any serious flaws with the product.
I second the call for a book specifically about Zamora though. I know there's little practical difference between Shadizar and Arejun (hell, they get mixed up on the Hyborian maps half the time) but given how many pastiches and oriiginal Howard stories are based on or around that area (Tower of the Elephant and possibly Rogues in the House and God in the Bowl) it would just make sense.
Oh, I didn't hateShadizar, not by a long shot. I've gotten good use out of it. But the information it gives about Zamora could be greatly expanded on. And Turan especially deserves a full book.[/i]
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