The Low Country by Skip Williams is a role playing game supplement published by Schwalb Entertainment for use with Shadow of the Demon Lord. This is part of the Lands in Shadow series which detail various parts of the official Urth setting.
This is an 8 page PDF that is available from RPGNow for $2.49 but which was purchased at the reduced price of $1.72 during a sale. Around a quarter of the first page is the Credits; the rest is content.
The supplement starts, as is customary for the series, with a brief overview of the halfling-occupied Low Country.
New Roots gives a history of the region, which was also covered in the halfling sourcebook, Uncommon Courage. How halflings first left when the Kalasans started conquering what became the Empire, then returned after problems with the centaurs in the region they had settled. At this time, Low Country was largely unoccupied except for garrisons and the halfling elders proposed a deal with the then-emperor where they would develop the region into farmland in exchange for sending food to the Empire. Low Country is now the breadbasket of the Empire.
A Varied Land has a map of Low Country, as well as of a typical halfling village, and a description of its geography and a few points of interest.
Politics covers Low Country’s relationship with other provinces and powers. The halflings have reaffirmed their loyalty to the Alabaster Throne in Caecras, despite the emperor’s death, so as to avoid conflict. The internal politics of the region, both human and halfling, is also covered.
Society explains how social ties work for halflings in Low Country. The Kinless are halflings who have severed, or had severed, their kinship ties and most non-halflings are considered such outside of the towns unless they can claim protection for a human lord or belong to Queen Kayrodil’s court.
Major Players has four major NPCs of Low Country. Two are halflings, one the newly appointed Warden for external affairs and the High Elder of one of the ridings. Baron Drucas Galeron is the wealthiest and most powerful human landholder, and a potential king should he be so inclined. Queen Kayrodil Leafwhite rules the fey of the area.
Next are sections on various matters; Daily Life, Economy (land and food), Law and Justice (humans maintain law in the towns, halflings without), Defense and War (a current major concern) and Gods and Superstition (the Cult of the New God only really exists in human town; halflings follow the Old Faith and practice witchcraft).
Finally, Adventures in Low Country has a number of adventure hooks for the province.
The Low Country in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and, despite its length, these would have been appreciated. Navigation is poor. The text maintains a two column full colour format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a couple of colour illustrations as well as the maps, all custom. Presentation is very good.
The Low Country expands the brief overview of the region given in the core rulebook, although there is still room for more expansion with only eight pages of content. No area or subject is covered in great detail; instead more general coverage is given. There is enough to run some material in the province, but a GM will need to flesh it out more, especially as no settlement is covered in any great detail. The Low Country is an okay expansion of Urth, but it could be more detailed, and it can be found by clicking here.
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