In my opinion, Emer is more about three things
- large trade cities (Sel-Kai and Kaitaine, a few others to a lesser extent)
- huge sparsely-settled or unsettled areas (Uj, Khum-Kaan, Onar, Rael, even most of Tai-Emer)
- two continent-spanning empires (the Masters of Emer in the Second Era, and the Aldaron Empire in the Third Era) that shaped the ethnic, cultural and religious composition of the continent but crumbled completely, leaving only mysteries and ruins.
I like Jaiman for the many different cultures that are stacked in a relatively small continent, and the historical interactions that naturally came from proximity. I also like that there are several major villains that loom just over the horizon and are known to everyone - the Master of Ulor and the Dragonlord, at the very least. I like how the local politics are dynamic because of that proximity. I like how you can go from relatively safe and advanced Rhakhaan (late medieval according to Hurin, late Renaissance according to me
) to ruined Saralis (that probably looks like post-Third Northern War Arthedain in most places, except in the south) by crossing a large lake. I like how Rhakhaan shows Laan at their highest and most arrogant (if you except far-off Clycallah in Gaalt).
I like Emer because of the layered history and the space. Everything is huge - from metropolises to jungles and deserts, and you stand in the crumbling remains of the mightiest empires the post-Interregnum world has known
and even some that came and wend *during* the Interregnum
. This is where the Gods fought at the decisive moment during the Wars of Dominion. There is this everpresent feeling that everything, no matter how mighty, crumbles in the end. There are no "obvious" villains (there *are* villains, but they are not obvious). I like how Namar-Tol shows Loari at their highest and most arrogant.
I like both. I wish other continents were described with as many tasty, crunchy details as those two.