Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms is a supplement which details a portion of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting using Oriental Adventures, and describes Kara-Tur in light detail to leave opportunity for further development by the Dungeon Master.[1]
The fantasy setting known as Kara-Tur was described in the original 1985 Oriental Adventures book.[8] A reviewer for White Dwarf called the long background section of Kara-Tur in the book, a "bonus".[8] Kara-Tur is described in the "Province Book" from the 1986 Swords of the Daimyo module.[1] The 1987 Forgotten Realms Campaign Set left the eastern half of its continent reserved for the future publication of Kara-Tur.[9] According to Jim Bambra, "While primarily drawing on Japan for inspiration, [Kara-Tur] also contains elements of medieval China and Korea."[10]
Shannon Appelcline noted that John Nephew had been contributing to Dragon and Dungeon, and that "As he continued to write for the magazines, he was also invited to contribute to larger projects such as Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms (1988) and WG7: Castle Greyhawk (1988)."[11] Appelcline also highlighted that "Kara-Tur was the first big [sic] expansion" of the Forgotten Realms that "used real-world cultures as a touchstone".[4]
Appelcline highlighted a note from Ed Greenwood, creator of the Forgotten Realms, that the major additions to the setting with real-world correlations "also include 'recastings of my largely-offstage kingdoms like Unther and Mulhorand to more closely resemble real-world historical (or 'Hollywood historical') settings.' Greenwood disagrees with the results, saying that 'the too-close-to-our-real-world additions like Maztica, the Hordelands, and Kara-Tur were a mistake in style'. He thought that they '[pulled] gamers out of roleplaying into disputes about historical details, for one thing'."[4]
The holder of rights Wizards of the Coast considers Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms among such "legacy content" that "may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time", and distances itself from such prejudices.[12]
Reviews
Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms was reviewed in issue 16 of the German RPG-magazine ZauberZeit.[13][14]
After 1990, TSR ceased publishing new material related to Kara-Tur. The setting was, however, occasionally referred to by other TSR products such as Spelljammer and Ravenloft.
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition
The setting of Kara-Tur still exists on Abeir-Toril and is often mentioned in Forgotten Realms supplements. Characters and artifacts from Kara-Tur sometimes show up in Faerûn, but beyond that there is little interaction between the continents.[citation needed]
Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition
The 2015 release of Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, a supplement, introduced Kara-Tur to the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons.[17] There is a brief description of the land along with references throughout the book to its culture and how certain classes or backgrounds might fit in there.[18]
Modules
The Kara-Tur campaign setting inspired the following eight adventuremodules (in chronological order):
Troy Denning (1990). Dragonwall. Forgotten Realms: The Empires Trilogy, Book 2. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN0-88038-919-2.
Other
Dragon #315, for information on ancestor feats and martial arts styles specific to the Kara-Tur setting, as well as updated information on the 10 empires and regions of Kara-Tur.
^Kaufmann, Amy S. (2010). "Medieval Unmoored". Studies in Medievalism. 19: 1–11.
^ abcdefgMullen, Michael (January 1988). Jaffe, Anne (ed.). "Ah, So Desu Ka? (Oriental Adventures Review)". Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer (81). Allen Emrich: 28–30.
