I thought this book was fantastic. The setting is chock full of interesting locations, cities, plot hooks, and potential quests. The book did a great job setting the tone of the setting and helping GMs come up with ideas for adventures.

Some criticisms: some of the terminology (e.g. "combat advantage") are not quite 5e-standard, as are the monster statblocks. Some of the mechanics are obviously from other systems and don't make much sense in 5e, so overall the conversion is a bit spotty at times. However, since this is primarily a setting book I personally ignored/modified many of the inconsistencies and just used the gobs of awesome flavor and background in the rest of the book.

A pleasure to read, some excellent adventures anda good 5e adaption Recommended

Between the high quality artwork, the easy to follow to design, and the dozens and dozens of plot hooks, this is an excellent book for anyone looking for inspiration for a Conan or Lost World feel.

What is Primeval Thule? Primeval Thule is an RPG campaign setting of the Sword & Sorcery genre. Primeval Thule 5e is the adaptation of the said setting to D&D 5e. There are already versions for 13th Age, Pathfinder and D&D 4e.

In game terms, Primeval Thule is an untamed continent in an alternate Earth, where savage people dwell in ruins of forgotten civilizations, battling horrors that might even come from other planes of existence.

How does it feel like? Imagine Conan-meets-Cthulu. Lots of barbarians, jungles, slavery and horror.

More specifically, the setting is at an age where civilization is somewhere between bronze and iron age. The technological level of medieval Europe that most settings are familiar with is absent. Here, basic metalworking provides items of copper and bronze, complex armor (like plate) do not exist, complex weapons (like hand crossbows) do not exist either. Also, magic (both arcane and divine) is considered rare and dangerous; clerics seldom have the divine favor to be able to cast spells and few are the people that can actually read and learn spells.

So, this is all about brawny barbarians battling monsters? No, far from it. There are factions that can add substantial depth to your campaign: corrupted officials, mad tyrants, evil cults. Things can be much less straightforward in Thule.

How about the Campaign Setting Guide? Well, the Primeval Thule 5e Campaign Setting will relieve $19.95 from your wallet for a watermarked PDF.

In 273 pages of high-quality PDF one can find pretty much everything to play and run games in Primeval Thule using D&D 5e rules.

The Guide can actually be broken down in two major parts:

Chapters 1 & 2 can be used as a Player's Guide, with Chapter 1 being a transfer of the Primeval Thule Traveler's Guide and Chapter 2 having all the available PC options. Also, part of Chapter 7 has new spells available, so I guess one can add this to the Player's Guide too.

Chapters 3 to 7 have pretty much everything needed from the GM (or DM, since this is for 5e D&D) in order to prepare and run adventures in this setting. We have a complete and thorough description of Thule, additional information on factions and major NPCs as also maps and detailed description of some sites and dungeons. Furthermore, Quodeth, the City of Thieves is presented in an even more detailed manner, providing ready material for multi-level adventures in this site alone (amongst this material are also three ready-to-run adventures) . But for me, the most interesting part of the book is Chapter 4. Here we have the guidelines of the authors to all the DMs that want to run adventures in Thule. And even more importantly, these guidelines expand from Thule to other Sword & Sorcery settings and Fantasy in general.

Furthermore, in Chapter 6 we have Bestiary, with some Thule-specific monsters, like the Abominable Sloth, the Sabretooth and the Mi-Go as also some notable NPCs and other humanoids.

The overall quality received from the Guide is top notch, except from some of the art that me personally think that could be better. With the PDF of the Guide you also get a High-res map of Thule, that is excellent to print and hang from your wall. Furthermore, you also get Player Reference Cards, that actually serve as a perfect hand-out in order to immerse players to Thule even further.

What's new with Thule? What makes Thule special? Apart from the aforementioned new monsters, this is a setting that tries to incorporate elements of horror to Sword & Sorcery Fantasy. This in turn can be made with the specific design of locations, factions, NPCs and monsters, but also with encouraging of the use of madness rules, in a way pretty similar to the Out of the Abyss official module of 5e D&D.

In the players options side, there is not much new. Players get a new race, Atlanteans, the descendants of a lost empire, that are basically higher breed humans. From the other races that we know from 5e D&D PHB, we have Dwarves, Elves, Halflings and Humans. The first three each have a specific Thulean subrace and Humans have four distinct ethnic groups (plus a couple of ideas for more). Of course, the designers provide the freedom to DMs to add whichever race they see fit.

The available classes are equally less. There is no new "Thulean" class available and from the ones that we know from 5e D&D PHB, the Paladins are excluded due to thematic clash with this setting. As for the others, it is stated that Bards, Monks and Sorcerers are extremely rare (so you may skip these options unless you HAVE to have them). The others are left pretty much the same, although I would propose some changes to all of them (but more of this later, I hope).

The big change is the introduction of Character Narratives. Character Narratives are a cross-breed of backgrounds as we've known them from 5e D&D and Prestige Classes. They give the character additional proficiences (skills or tools), link to the Setting and in some instances income and followers as the PC progresses in level. Of course, you may not use them with the backgrounds of 5e D&D or you might not use them at all, but they do provide a certain Thulean feel and they are a nice change. A Player may choose a Narrative at the start of the campaign and the designers state that this choice can be altered at a later stage, although I would be very strict about that.

We also have some new weapons, some new types of armor and of course new spells and magic items. The latter are a few, since this is generally a low-magic setting.

Would you run it then? I surely hope so. I love the low-magic setting, the dark feel and the brutality of the age. I greatly appreciate all the guidelines the designers give in order to run games in Thule and there is a wealth of information and ideas in the Guide.

I believe the greatness of a Setting Guide (and generally of products in our hobby) is measured in how many ideas you spurn when you finish reading it. And I got quite a few so this is why I'd recommend Primeval Thule 5e.

So, if you'd like to run a Sword & Sorcery Fantasy Horror Campaign, Primeval Thule is certainly for you, but it can be much more than that.

The overall package is a great buy, except i have one big problem with the map of Thule. The names of cities and landmarks are in varying sizes, with much of this context being way too small to read. When I zoom in to clarify these locations, a large majority of the location names remain unlegible.

You guys have got to release the 5e version as a book. How about a kickstarter? I'm sure you'd get funded.

This adventure, which I plan on adapting to the Forgotten Realms (by substituting locations) is very evocative of Conan stories and my all-time favorite, Savage Sword of Conan. The adventure is pretty straight forward, with lots of opportunities for role playing and scene setting, and has a very cinematic final battle. Really cool.

Awesome!

Love the campaign setting, it is new and refreshing.

Cannot wait for more 5e Thule, would love to see supplements on some of the major cities.

Extremely thorough overview of this very interesting setting that doesn't give away much, if anything to potential players, but allows them to get as hooked as the GMs that want to use it for a campaign setting.

I just backed the 5e Kickstarter for Thule and from everything I have heard from friends that have it for PF/3.5, 4e or 13th Age it is worth every penny.

A vibrant setting with varied types of play available all set in one book.

Patrick has already done a wonderful job reviewing Thule that I shall skip to some personal points and a few things that could have been explained better.

Thule does work Halflings, Elves and Dwarves into its setting with slight modification. The setting merely includes them or, more correctly, the myth of them. They can be more or less prominent depending on how the DM feels. The Halflings are presented more like pygmies. Most people of the world of Thule will probably regard them as a human variant than as a separate race.

The Narratives are interesting ideas and helpful for fleshing out a character idea; but I did not feel like they were sufficiently developed. They are a good enough idea that some expansion on them would make a great additional book, along with my next point.

Thule uses its own armor, being set in the Bronze Age. I really would like to see this developed a little better. What's included works; but a few more types could really add flavor. A "by the piece" system could work nicely since the setting is intended to have low magic. This works great with pieces because of the normal enchantment problem with a piece system.

Thule does not make any changes to the existing magic system. But magic users are rare, very rare. It would make sense that PC spell casters would become adventurers. They posses an ability that an army can not replicate. the book doesn't allude to it; but this ability could make spell casters being frequently burned at the stake or considered "valuable property" to who can command them.

One really great part about the book is that it doesn't require all of the Pathfinder books beside the basic one. There are a few references to Advanced Players' Guide; but owning it is not required. Thule would make a really good place for all of the Archetypes. Thule doesn't provide new classes. It just suggests what and how the classes from Pathfinder would or wouldn't work.

Thule makes not of changes to equipment; but I would really like to see a "Thule List". Again, its not required; but could make an excellent source book or even just a bonus "mod".

Thule really works. The authors weren't trying to reinvent the wheel. They merely wanted to move the time frame back closer to the invention of the wheel.

I have been working on the Alpha testing of the new Conan Game, have been playing Conan from Mongoose, the Conan books from GURPS and play the Conan MMO. I have been looking for a good "Sword and Sorcery" campaign world that is not tied to the Howard Foundation. I have either purchased or done extensive research on at least 20 systems and this is by far the best.

Good work guys! Keep it up!

The setting looks amazing, and this guide dispelled any doubts about my desire to pick up the setting for 13th Age. I look forward to incorporating it into my homebrew campaign.

I would almost recommend not purchasing the Traveler's Guide and instead just buy the campaign setting.

This book is awesome! I cannot believe that I have waited for so long to and hesitated to buy this gem of a setting book for any edition of the world’s favorite d20 rolling game.

Seriously I only bought this book this evening, and skimmed and read through the book in large parts for three hours this evening, since I could not stop reading and being fascinated by the effort and thought the authors put into this book. I am still that thrilled and somewhat hyped that I had to put some first thoughts down. This Setting and Campaign guide is pure sword and sorcery glory at its best, with decent artwork, maps, campaign arcs and even Adventures. The background is rich and vivid, and it nicely fits Elves and Dwarves into a conanesque background. All the facts are more or less edition neutral, and, if relevant, clear guidance is provided how to translate a story or game effect into the mechanic of the edition of your choice.

Now I do know, there has been some critique as to the compatibility of this product with 13th Age - that's why I hesitated for a long time to buy it. Now that I've seen it: yes, the classic 13th Age Elements are there. It has the Icons in it, it has the backgrounds, it has Monsters, Cultists and evil Sorcerers with stats in it. As mentioned before: the setting is edition neutral - for anyone who knows 13th Age and or the other editions of the d20 rolling game it is almost impossible not to get the mechanic right.

To sum up: Might there be some tinkering to do? Yes, some. Is there more tinkering to do than in any other 13th Age product for your table at home? Most probably not.

Seriously if you love 13th Age OR love Sword & Sorcery this is a must-buy.

I am a huge fan of sword and sorcery, I love the blood and the guts, the horror and mystery, and especially the larger than life heroes like Conan. This book covers it all. The time and effort put into the maps, and lore and history are astounding. I recommend this book to anyone his is tired of the same old, drab settings that seem to permeate the RPG world.

I buy a lot of RPG products. I do my research ahead of time, and so I generally know what I am going to get. I am not above taking risks these days, and trying projects out of the blue with very little information. Luckily I have the income to test the waters outside of my comfort zone. As a result, I have found a lot of games/products that were not my cup of tea, not realized well, or just bad. On the other side of the house, I have also discovered some truly awesome gems. Products like Midgard, Spears of Dawn, Ehdrighor, and New Fire were so good that I am in awe. Great concepts - perfectly realized. Again – these gems are RARE, but when I find one it is worth every middling to poor product I otherwise gamble on.

Let me be clear - Primeval Thule is a gem. Ambitious of scope. Beautiful illustrations and layout. Really fantastic writing. Extremely well designed. It is what I would call an A+ product. You should really check it out.

So what is Primeval Thule all about? I will quote the book’s first chapter page:

“It is a land of deep jungles and golden seas, mysterious and unexplored.

It is a land of knife-edged mountains and deadly glaciers, trackless and forbidding.

It is an age when humankind is a young race, newly arisen on an ancient and monster-haunted Earth. Mighty cities and sprawling empires rise and fall, weaving a tale of great deeds and epic tragedies that will be lost and forgotten by the peoples who came later. Even the land itself is fated to fall beneath the numbing cloak of endless winter, burying the triumphs and defeats of this vanished age beneath miles of ice.

But for this glittering moment in the slow dream of time, Thule lives—and it is a fierce, cruel, splendid, and marvelous moment indeed.”

Primeval Thule starts off with a great overview of the setting. You will really get a feel (and you will get excited) about the setting from reading this section. In short, Primeval Thule from a thematic perspective is just about the best RPG setting to take on the “bronze age Sword and Sorcery with Mythos overtones” genre I have ever seen. I would take the description a step further and describe it as: “a Sword and Sorcery land which has been overrun by the Mythos”. Its inhabitants hang on the teetering edge trying to survive a strange shadow-haunted land that is slipping from their grip. This chapter covers the setting, 25 core adventure hooks, topography (from Fjordlands to Tundra to the ever encroaching haunted glaciers - which just might be … alive), cities, culture and life, languages, religion and cults (everything from Mithra, Ishtar, Nergal, Set, etc to the range of Mythos Great Old Ones.). Lastly comes a primer on the continent’s history. This chapter is where you really start to SEE the setting.

Next, the book dives into character. Races and ethnicities are covered completely. Everything from Atlanteans (remnants of the sunken isle and it’s colonies), humans (Dhari – noble savages, Kalay – northern natives, Lomari – dark skinned folk who emigrated a couple of generations ago, and Nimothan – scandinavian ancestors), Thulean dwarves who delve to deep and awaken beasties of a Mythos nature, Thulean elves who are fading and watching their “Rivendells” being devoured by haunted glaciers and mythos creatures, and even Thulean Halflings. Classes (Pathfinder in my case) are reviewed to show the Thulean lense in which the classes are flavored. Then come Narratives – which are a lot like Backgrounds in 5e. They really introduce the flavor of the setting by focusing on story concepts to engage your characters (of pretty much any class) into the setting. Write-ups include: Atlantean Noble, Bearer of the Black Book, Beastfriend, Dhari Hunter, Free Blade, Corsair of the Golden Sea, Guardian of the Nine, Ice Reavers, Initiate of the Mysteries, Jungle Trader, Katagian Pit Fighter, Occult Scientist, Panjandrum, Quodethi Thief, Sacred Slayer, Sooth-sayer, Star-Lore Adept, and Tribal Outcast. Lastly we get a quick overview of major villains and forces at work against the PCs. At no time in this chapter did I feel that clunky tension you often find when combining a cool setting with a favorite ruleset. Instead I felt the rules were part of the setting (I wish all campaign settings were as successful). This is where you begin to FEEL the setting.

Next up is the Gazeteer, which provides a lot of detail on the continent of Thule, and is rife with adventure hooks. From Imystrahl , City of the Black Lotus – to darkest Dhar Mesh – to Ikath, City of Serpents – to Thran, City of the Black Circle – to sinister ruinsoverrun by mythos beasties, to haunted head-hunter filled forests, to mountain tops where the MiGo swarm and hunt, to desecrated former Atlantean colonies lost to the wilds waiting to be rediscovered, and so on and so on. The writing throughout the chapter is evocative and dripping with flavor - and it carefully fleshes out the setting with just enough detail to flesh it out, while leaving the exact right amount of unknowns to make it YOURS. You can tell this setting was written experienced game designers - products like this show you how perfectly a gaming book can be put together. Each section is filled with details, plot hooks, and the illustrations that ooze into your soul. This is where you start to get DIZZY on the setting and its possibilities.

After the Gazeteer we get the chapter on the Thulean Campaign. This provides a wealth of information on running a Thulean game. Everything from encounters, to character names, to using Narratives, to details on Cults and other threats.

Next up was a city gazeteer for Quodeth - one of the major city states in Thule. Similar to Conan's Zamora it is a cesspool of intrigue and danger - again, with great writing and the right amount of detail. It covers the city, wards, factions, etc. This is where you have become DRUNK with Primeval Thule and start planning your campaign!

Then you get a few of adventures (“The Tower of the Black Flame”, “The Cavern of the Golden Tears”, and “The Scent of Jasmine”). Most of the time when adventures are included in "core setting" books, I find them weak, brief, and not meaty enough to ever really consider using them. Absolutely not the case with these. These adventures were fantastic and WILL get played. Great intros to the setting and the style tone. By the time you made to this part of the book, these adventures really convey the tone in which you will run this setting - again with just the right amount of detail.

There is a small bestiary of unique beasties and Mythos entitles written in the ruleset of the Thule book you purchased (Pathfinder, 13th Age, or 4e - I am hoping a 5e is on the horizon once 5e's silly OGL status gets worked out). Would have like a picture of each creature – but that is this product’s only nitpick. I would have loved to see a pic of a MiGo hunting. But they did include winged apes, so I am okay! The art throughout this product is gorgeous and evocative. They spared no expense on the art.

Finally we have a rules system specific chapter (mine was Pathfinder), which fills in some of the unique details regarding using your particular ruleset with Primeval Thule.

IN CONCLUSION - to me this is pretty much a perfect product in my eyes - something that does not come along often. I can't recommend it enough. I don't write many reviews - but I felt compelled to do so. If I had a gripe at all, it was that I totally missed out on this kickstarter and I really want a hardback copy of the game. The kickstarter looks to have had a deluxe version that I really really REALLY want to buy - but as with all kickstarters - once the time runs out you are out of luck.

Folks - go and buy this bad boy right now. Really. It is that good.