So, I guess I'm an oldskooler, but I remember reading Roger Moore's article "A Green Hell: The Amedio Jungle" and being impressed as hell with it. I'm a veteran of some of the US military's adventures in Central America, and it jibed well with my experiences there.
So, along comes Dungeon Magazine's Adventure Path series and both of them place cities (large, cosmopolitan cities) in the Amedio. For those that don't read Dungeon, these modules run from 1st to 20th levels along a common theme over the course of 10-12 installments in the 'zine.
So, what do folks think of having Cauldron and Sasserine placed in a spot that is supposed be hell on Oerth and politically dominated by Redfellas (Scarlet Brotherhood)?
Yes, there has been lots of discussions concerning this elsewhere. However, also having spent some quality time in Central America (specifically not with the Military), I differ with many. Cauldron reminds me of San Cristobal de Las Casas in Chiapas or Antigua in Guatemala. Both are reminscent of the climate/setting rather than the colonial feel, though I suppose one could quantify both as WoG colonial towns. Sassarine reminds me of Vera Cruz in a similar manner. The population is very diverse and in many ways foreign to the rest of the region.
I will agree that the rest of the area is hell on earth. To be candid I found the jungle to pleasant compared to the limestone scrublands of Yucatan. Both places required rising in the morning and checking boots, bags, and equipment of all sorts for deadly creatures, including but not limited to Snakes, Spiders and Scorpions.
Also, I have to say, I ran a party thorugh the 1st section of the AP, and they liked it as much as any adventure in memory.
Whether its good or bad as an adventure in the abstract is a different discussion from whether or not its the right adventure/setting for that locale in the World of Greyhawk. You can certainly have large jungle cities, but Sasserine's one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the Sheldomar region if you take the source material literally. And the background given doesn't justify a city like Antigua or Vera Cruz.
I think the only major complaint I have is trying to make the cities too racially inclusive. Dwarves, halflings, gnomes, & elves, just don't seem to speak of remote jungle settlements to me. The only reason they're there is to allow players easy access to pc races.
I'd probably go for a racial mix similar to the Hold of the Sea Princes with maybe a few extra dwarves in Cauldron to take account of its proximity to the mountains, although quasi-civilised humanoids might be more likely in that region.
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