I'm semi-interested in both of these products.  I'm not sure if I want both.  So, I'd like people who have them to tell me some things about them.  How much is crunch?  How much is fluff?  Are there nice maps?  Are they particularly modular?  Do they suck?  Do they rule?

I just got a new job, so give me until the first-ish of April and I can do you a comprehensive WLC overview.

What the hell is the first one?

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditWhat the hell is the first one?

Bard's Gate is the city book put out by Necromancer.  It has ties to their Temple of Abysthor module.  Other than that, its a pretty generic fantasy city.  I found it to be a bit dull and just recently sold it on ebay.

Bard's Gate is a city supplement by Necromancer Games.  It was one of the earlier announced products by them, around 2001 I think, but it didn't get released until last year.

If you're a Necro fan and you've ran their early adventures (Crucible of Freya, Tomb of Abyssthor and Rappan Athuk) its an excellent sourcebook to have as it ties a lot of things together.  Obviously its not as comprehensive as WLC nor Ptolus (neither of which I have so I'm going off of second hand info).  Nor is it as detailed as City State of the Invincible Overlord as not every shop, inn, tavern, etc is detailed for you; just some of the major ones.

There are some annoyances: The maps are okay, nothing earth shattering.  It still has the Necro technique of listing the NPC's separate from where they're first mentioned, with no page references to help you out.  As a Necro product I half-expected the city to be grimer and grittier like the CSIO but it has more of an Italian Rennaisance look and feel.  The physical book itself feels kind of flimsy -- I haven't put it through the wringer yet but my guess is it won't hold up.  I could be wrong on that though.

So if you're already a Necro fan then I'd most certainly pick it up.  Otherwise take a look at a copy first if you can.

Quote from: GabrielI'm semi-interested in both of these products.  I'm not sure if I want both.  So, I'd like people who have them to tell me some things about them.  How much is crunch?  How much is fluff?  Are there nice maps?  Are they particularly modular?  Do they suck?  Do they rule?

I realize that this is overdue. . . so. . .

WLC High Points

• Gorgeous poster maps.
• Lots of fun, interesting, fluff.
  
• Largely generic (no world-setting), which means that you can drop it into nearly any setting.

WLC Low Points

• No index or comprehensive ToC, which creates mad issues with locating things quickly.
  
• Poster maps contain numerous editing errors.
• No 'in-line' stat blocks. All NPC stats are contained in the Appendix.

Overall, it's a great product for mining ideas, but the organization issues make it totally impractical to attempt referencing it during actual play.