Terry K. Amthor

The Cloudlords of Tanara is a supplement for the Rolemaster game, serving as an introduction to the Iron Wind setting. This particular supplement details a region known as Tanara, an isolated area in which four disparate cultures have developed, and into which a fifth group has emerged that threatens to throw the somewhat stable relationship between the other four into chaos.

In the space of forty-eight pages, the supplement gives an overview of each group, some material concerning outside groups (Loremasters and Navigators specifically), a couple of short adventures, and some background regarding local legends and artifacts, including a particularly nasty potential opponent for any PCs adventuring in the region.

The book delivers a lot of information in a small amount of space - the only negative is that the material seems rushed due to the severe space limitations imposed by the page count. A fuller treatment of the region and the individuals who populate it would have significantly improved the book. The other problem is that there is very little guidance concerning how to interweave the various setting elements provided into interesting adventures - the provided adventure areas are clearly much too difficult for beginning players to take on, and if successfully dealt with, eliminate much of the usefulness of the area as a setting for adventure. Finally, while quite brief, the material is oddly overly detailed in some less than useful ways (do we really need to have a map showing the areas through which various beasts roam) while being annoyingly incomplete in others.

On the whole, a good GM could make something very interesting out of the material provided, but he will have to do a lot of legwork himself first, which undercuts the usefulness of the book as a published supplement.… (meer)