Oh, almost forgot-NIGHTS DARK TERROR, SKARDAS MIRROR, THE DYMRAK DREAD- classics set in Karameikos. Besides, Threshold was the starting point of my first D&d campaign[owned the red and blue boxes-damn I'm old :D ]
It is a most ingenious rewrite of the run-of-the-mill "evil elf" notion into an alien and original culture. Their calendar, religion, everyday practices and rituals form a coherent whole that is a real challenge for non-SE characters to understand.
But beyond this facade of uniformity we have the power struggle between the militaristic and expansionistic dreams of the King's cabal and the long-time project of the Shamans.
The whole concept of the Shadowelves is also nicely tied to the Blackmoorian history, and thus it pinpoints one of the most important features of fantasy elves: their long memory both individually and culturally.
The ideas of the wanderers and the adopted SE whelps is developed much further from their origins in the Thar Gazetteer, and they give wonderful opportunities for rewriting the whole Known World campaign.
Wonderful, just wonderful...
(But I can't resist giving big thumbs-up also to Darokin, Ethengar, Glantri, Karameikos and Ylaruam.)
I 'm not particularly fond of humanoids, most of all I don't like to have them as PC in a campaign, but this Gazeteer do a relly good work in detailing their stats and habits.
I like it because it is one of the less "local" Gazeteer, showing a lot of hints about far regions of Brun, and because it tries to connect the whole humanoid presence in Mystara in a single story or series of events.
Moreover, you can use the information given in this Gazeteer to describe and populate in detail any humanoid tribe/clan in the whole world. That's why I like it most...
What is your favorite GAZ module, and why?
Many Gazetteers are very good indeed.
Karameikos, as you say, is nice, but IMO Rockhome and Glantri are tied for the best GAZ award.
Rockhome does an impressive work describing a Dwarven nation exploiting the stereotypes without becoming boring, as well as allowing an almost single race/class campaign by strongly characterizing the clans.
Glantri is just brilliant, full of interesting NPCs, organizations and adventure hints -- just compare with the other wizard-ruled nation, Alphatia, which doesn't get a coverage as good as Glantri, even though DotE is certainly not bad.
Other very good GAZs, but IMO slightly less than those two, are Ylaruam, the S.E and, as said, Karameikos.
You have the dark, heathen Ostland with its proud warriors, the more modern Vestland struggling with the adoption of a new faith and a more cosmopolitan style of trade and diplomacy and then you have the barbarian Soderfjord Jarldoms, which may seem brutish at first but also have the values of individual freedom and the Thinge - the Known World's first real democracy. All pefect for an Icelandic feel of sagas and tragic but epic blood feuds.
On top of having three distinct 'viking eras' in one setting, you also have a machievellian setting unparrallelled by almost any other gaz in the series. The conspiracies for who shall rule Ostland have clear sources in Alexander Dumas' epic "Three Musketeers" books with the weak throne and the evil religious Cardinal (or in this case, Odin Cult Leader) waiting in the shadows.
It combines viking-kick-ass atmosphere with a light-hearted swashbuckling feel!!
So, yeah, that's my favourite
:-) Jesper
Also, GAZ 6 Dwarves of Rockhome is special as it was my first GAZ, and the one that got me hooked.
Håvard
If you include Gaz related items, Dawn of the Emperors was most beneficial to my campaign, and we got a lot of mileage out of PC1 and PC4.
My favourite is Gaz 5(?) the Elves of Alfheim. I love the attention paid to the elven lifestyle as well as its rich history. Also, there are lots of goodies for players as well as enough crunch for the GM too.
Håvard
I was also tempted to say GAZ 5, but while we're at it, why not just say GAZ 1-14? ;)
I'll agree with the above poster that GAZ 13 the Shadow Elves tickled my inner anthropologist. I like learning about "new and alien" cultures.
My inner as well as my outer anthropologist is fascinated by ALL of the GAZ series. All of the non-human ones are fantastic for developing those races away from the stereotypes. As for my favorite...I'd probably have to say GAZ1, mostly because Karameikos has always been a "homeland" for me and it is the one that I have used most extensively. Most of my others are in near mint condition, but GAZ1 is...um...well loved. :D
Gaz 5 (Alfheim) is enojoyable for the reasons mentioned above.
The Gazetteers for Darokin and Glantri (can't remember the #'s) have also got a lot of use from me.
I also liked Gaz 10, especially for the humanoid species, the level advancement, and the work that was done in detail for the different goblinoid races. Even if I didn't utilize the "fun" spirit of some of it, I definitely appreciated it (and if you ever played humanoids, you probably would to).
I didn't use Gaz 13 a lot, but I've always liked it, for its 'alien' culture, and its neutral slant on elves that oppose the more-typical fantasy elves.
Dawn of the Emporers has so much material that I've taken advantage of, it's definitely a favored one too.
It's certainly hard to pick a favorite.
My inner as well as my outer anthropologist is fascinated by ALL of the GAZ series.
Yeah...I got an Anthro degree, but did nothing further with it. Wish I had had more focus and goals in college. Hindsight and 20/20, well...you konw the rest.
G
On the flip side, my least favorite is the Atruaghin Clans, but mostly for production reasons, rather than potential. I think this really could have been an amazing Gaz, but for several things:
1) Reprinted artwork. The interior cover could have been used for so many things- tables, maps, etc.- but instead is given over entirely to reprinting the artwork on the NPCs from the DM's guide. Artwork is reprinted in several other areas- the World Elevator is on both the map and in the Player's Guide, and several pieces (at different sizes) are reused in both books.
2) Wrong dimensions on the map. As I and other cartographers have discovered, the map of the plateau is not quite right- in short, it's too small. Given Dennis Kauth's excellent cartography in other products, I assume that the error is not his, but rather perhaps something that came about during production, when the full size plateau wouldn't fit easily into one-half of the poster map and someone probably cut it down to fit. Again, just an assumption, but in any case the map is just missing whole chunks of land.
3) Wasted space. Did we really need full page writeups of the various NPCs? When other Gaz's got tons of more NPCs into the same space, and still managed to provide artwork as well? And did we really need a reprint of the Immortals shorthand info from the Hollow World Boxed Set? The info on the Immortals themselves was interesting and useful, but again, took up too much space.
3a) The gigantic margins. Look at the size of those margins! Compared to all the other Gaz's, Atruaghin Clans has the most enormous margins. Just think of what more could have been fit into the Gaz if it had kept the same page format as those other books! I presume it was a cost-cutting issue, but the real cost was in customer satisfaction.
Anyway, just some gripes I've had lately. Going back to the first paragraph, you might be able to deduce that I've been working on some Atruaghin Clans projects lately.
That's what makes them so great! It doesn't matter what game system you use, the gazes can be of such great use.
As for a favourite, that's tough. I haven't been able to campaign in every region (yet! ;) ) but I guess I'd have to say...
Nope. It's just too tough a question. :D
GW