Good book overall. I like the whole celtic/viking feel of the Moonshaes and this gives me more of what I like. I just wish they had expounded upon things more instead of giving the bare bones. The maps are GREAT, but it would have been nice to get maps of the dwarven realms of the Undershaes too. The cover art on the front was great but the back cover was wanting. Inside the art, not including the maps, went from lack luster to plain.

I joined an Adventurer's league game set in the Moonshea Isles. All my previous settings had been in the Forgotten Realms . I was very interested and this source book was recommended. I’m very glad I got it as the lore inside it helped me create a character that fit into the landscape. I have since moved on to organizing AL and being a DM for the adventures in the Moonshea Isles. I do not regret this purchase and have referenced it many times. It is laid out in a clear and easy to find manner. It is not necessary to play in the moonshea adventures but it adds an additional layer of immersion to play.

In short, this is a top-notch supplement that you should get if you are even remotely interested in the Moonshae Isles or if you are thinking of running any sort of Arthurian/ Celtic fantasy setting.

A little bit of background, I have always hated the Forgotten Realms, I always thought of it as a vanilla setting, I thought magic was too high and silly, NPCs were overpowered and the ideas and tensions in the main setting were dumb and bland, like lacking a theme or inspiration and being more of a kitchen sink of stuff that do not make sense next to each other. However, I had read a little bit about the Moonshae Isles somewhere during 4e and got curious about them.

Enter this supplement. I got it on a whim while browsing this site and ended up reading it cover to cover in an afternoon. Loved it! Very thematic, Arthurian style setting with lots of conflicts that are waiting there to be tackled by adventurers. Super evocative descriptions that are short, but convey the feel of the place very beautifully. Interesting places for characters to come from, and lots and lots of stuff to do. To boot, the writing of this supplement is superb, evocative but also concise enough to get you going. I also found the framing device (the narrator and her story) very cool, original and inspiring.

The only negative aspect that I can think of is that there are a couple of minor copy errors in the text, a couple misplaced words or so, but nothing that gets in the way of the content (so 5 stars for me).

On the plus side, I appreciated immensely the attention the publishers put in the layout of the book, the celtic knots, the fonts used and the unified feel of the book really work with the text to transmit the mystery, wonder and possibilities of the setting.

I think one of the best qualities of this supplement is that it is clearly written with the DM in mind. I did not feel I needed to grind through pages and pages of boring history without consequence. On the contrary, the text is there to provide a good idea of what you can do with the different places and factions and respects your time as a reader. Lots of potential for adventure in a very evocative setting ready for adventure. The book also provides super useful player backgrounds and organizations that are there to help you jump right in. Wonderful lists of names for characters you can use, trinkets and other interesting stuff you can grab and use right away. After my read, I got plenty ideas for my game and now I am very much looking forward to running some adventures in the Moonshae (which I will conveniently locate in some other place with less baggage).

Congratulations, this is a fantastic supplement and I am happy I got it!

Great sourcebook for Forgotten Realms games that move into the islands. Has more information on the most reclusive organized elves in the Realms. Got the POD version; solid softcover book. The factions in the guide work well into an Acquisitions Incorporated campaign; lots of competing organizations.

The campaign guide revived one of the greatest areas lost in the mist beyond the sea of swords in FR. Turned to be my favorite area, my favorite lore, my favorite home in D&D! The Rising Shadows campaign is the best campaign ever written - and collaborative, how cool is that? - with a lot of richness, lore, epic, filled with tears and laughts as the Moonshae are build upon. The diversity of races, culture and culture is incredible and fits all we would love to see in a campaign.

Not to say how beautiful the art is, the maps and of course - the material of the campaign guide. Truly something impossible not to fall in love with. Maybe it is because of the faerie magic.

Outstanding regional guide, with just the right level of detail, chock full of evocative details and potential hooks for character generation or DM inspiration in designing adventures. Very highly recommended.

Loved this and the approach to telling the story. I would highly reccomend this if you are looking for this type of material.

Excellent guide, made me excited to run some Moonshae Isles adventures. I particularly loved the Chapter 1 framing narrator's story. Great use of sidebars and map focusing.

This is an oustanding supplement. The setting is outstanding--classic D&D with its own unique character. The information on locations, player organizations, and new player options are perfect for running a coherent campaign with plenty of intrinsic motivation for PCs. Production wise, the maps in the book are perfect.

I really enjoyed reading this source book, and it has me energized to create and play characters and adventures in the Moonshaes!

This product marks the second release of a 'guide' for the new regions opened up for Adventurers League, the previous one being by the people of Gameholecon and the Border Kingdoms. At 57 pages, this guide is smaller by about half on the Border Kingdoms one, however in terms of information this product does as much if not more than the Border Kingdoms version.

Firstly, the cover is quite majestic depicting a beautful tower with a dragon waiting outside. Douglas Niles the creator of the Moonshaes gives a foreward which is a nice touch and we are then treated an overview of the Moonshae as well a very particular and layed out Contents.

Chapter 1 is the overview of the Moonshae and it's actually something that the Border Kingdoms guide noticeably needed also. THe people found in the Moonshaes are listed , where they might be found (in terms of the racial mix) we are given concrete information on the local Pantheon. I can't stress how important this is to players who want to create a character who feels like a local. (but more on that later). One thing I really loved about this section is that it DOES reference more current Realms History with information on some spellplague effects.

After this section we are given details on the Islands that make up the Moonshaes as well as up close maps of the locations. These are great, and the maps are their formatting near the text that is referring to them make this spot on in terms of presentation and access. There is a lot of information here ... so much in fact Im sure Ill reread it several times in the future and find out new facts, because you dont absorb it all the first time.

The guide then moves on to Chapter 3. Player options.

Honestly I'd love to underline those two words, because honestly they deserve to be. We move from the Lore to perhaps.. a different kind of lore. Lore that is given firstly in the form of Backgrounds. THe Backgrounds on offered are keyed to the kinda of 'roles' you would see in the Moonshae and its obvious they are because of the language used. Each background comes with a table for bonds and flaws and the standard background variety is present. This is a GREAT edition because it helps the player make a choice. Sometimes when presented with some much .. forest.. its hard to pick a single path through that forest and these backgrounds do a great job in making that so. Marked by the Beast stands out to me.

This is followed by a section on names. If you didn't know the Moonshaes were originally modeled on the Anglo-Celtic traditions of 'England, Wales and Ireland' (although to me more Wales/Ireland). Thus we are given a table of names to go along with that premise. Whilst only the Ffolk and Northlanders are given such tables, we are also treated to a pronounciation guide (always useful!). There is a then a trinklet section with a wide variety on offer.

Moving towards the end of this guide, we have 'Player organisations'. Which in effect are faction like premises for the Moonshae Isles. They simply give a purpose to some characters or a way to get some notoriety/fame in the Moonshae. Its hard to know what to make of them without seeing them in action. Still a very welcome addition.

57 pages just wizzes by with this product. It has a lot of information to put across and it does I think in a way thats far more conducive to players than the Border Kingdoms Guide (the only thing I have as a Comparison). The mapping is great, the font size easy to read and just the little sidebars and hidden nuggets of information are worth it to find them. Credit must be given to the authors and editors of this product. It honestly made me evaluate the Border Kingdoms guide in a bit of a negative light because there is so much 'extra' stuff here to use .. even if the other Guide is almost double the size.

One thing Im still not sure of with this product though is who it is pitched to exactly. I come from an era of gaming where a product was often just for dms or just for players. 5e has destroyed that foundation for me , so like the BK Guide I will see that is for both.

A definite buy!