The Moonshae Isles Regional Guide presents an introduction to the folk (or Ffolk) and factions of the Moonshae Isles, a storied part of the Forgotten Realms. The Moonshae Isles are an archipelago inspired by British Isles mythology: Druids, fey and a lot of invasions.

I was first introduced to them, as were many others, by Douglas Niles’ book Darkwalker on Moonshae. I revisited it a couple of years ago. It’s not a flawless book by any means, but it’s a significant book: the first novel set in the Forgotten Realms. And, for all the problems with the novel, it tells a compelling tale. The setting and characters are excellent.

In the timeline of the Forgotten Realms, we’re now about one hundred years past the events of that first novel. Shawn Merwin, Robert Alaniz and Eric Menge have crafted this guide to get players up-to-date with the current state of the Moonshae Isles. They do an excellent job. The Guide uses 27 pages to detail the locations, cultures, gods and peoples of the isles. The authors have focused on giving you a sense of the history of the region and the current state of affairs. The area is full of unresolved conflicts, which makes it a great place in which to set adventures.

The “Golden Age” of King Kendrick is now history. The Ffolk, the heroes of the original book, are only just hanging onto one or two islands in the archipelago. Northmen, Fey, the Stormmaiden’s followers and the Amnese all have control of the other islands. However – and this is something I appreciate – not all of these forces are evil. Some are mercenary, some may be the good guys, and their ambiguous motives allow DMs to construct complex adventures that feature interesting interactions.

I want to emphasise how well-written the descriptions are. A location or culture may only get a few paragraphs, but they are to the point and provide an excellent overview of the importance of the feature. In particular, they provide information useful to the DM and players for using them in a Moonshae Isles campaign; plot hooks and adventure ideas abound. You’ll still have to do a lot of work to turn them into adventures, but the inspiration is here.

A further 22 pages of the work detail player options: new backgrounds and organisations to which that characters can belong. There’s a list of Moonshae names – very useful! – and a special Moonshae trinket table!

The Organisations are particularly interesting, as this book isn’t just for general play; it’s also an introduction to an Adventurers League campaign in the Moonshae Isles. Those of us who have played in regular Adventurers League games are familiar with the regular five factions – the Harpers, Zhentarim, Order of the Gauntlet, Emerald Enclave, and Lords’ Alliance. Those factions aren’t as relevant in the isles, and so seven new organisations are presented for adventurers to join. These exist alongside the regular factions, so you could conceivably belong to both an AL faction and a Moonshae organisation at once.

The organisations are:

• Defenders of the Earthmother
• Harbingers of Liberation
• Initiates of the Flame
• Kendrick Loyalists
• Moonshae Trade League
• Sarifal Faithful
• Wardens of the Deepshaes

Each organisation has a description of its goals, why characters might want to join, and its politics and resources. This information is not that detailed and is of less use to non-AL players than those playing the adventures that Baldman Games is organising.

I found the backgrounds more interesting. They are:

• Breasal Scout
• Hero of the Ffolk
• Llewyr Wanderer
• Marked by the Beast
• Northland Seafarer
• Sarifal Outcast
• Touched by the Fey

The backgrounds tend to be more specific than those you find in the Player’s Handbook, which is a good thing. I’m unsure of how “Marked by the Beast” will play; it puts a history of lycanthropy in your background, which has no real game effect but should affect your personality. Generally, however, the backgrounds provide a lot of good role-playing potential.

The layout, maps and art in the book are of very high quality, and the writing and editing likewise. As a lovely nod to the past, Douglas Niles, the originator of the Isles, wrote an introduction to the book.

The book does not feature new spells, items or monsters. I’m fine with this, but some may feel their lack.

Overall, this is an excellent overview of the Moonshae Isles. At some point, I plan to play some of the BMG adventures seen in the area, and I’m very interested in how the ideas in this book inspire the events in those adventures. If you’d like to explore a new area of the Forgotten Realms, I strongly recommend you get this supplement!