Build a Better City? Last Thoughts on Citybooks

NOW LEAVING THE CITY
I've finally finished my reviews of Flying Buffalo’s Citybook series (spoiler: I think Citybook VI: Up Town's my favorite.). Going through reminded me how much good play material I’d gotten from those books. In the end that's my scale for a product's success- how well it informs or assists actual play at the table. In the case of the Citybooks, the best led to great adventures. Those entries shared several characteristics: interesting NPCs; a small twist; a basic premise shifted in a novel way; and several suggestions for different directions to take the material. With that in mind I have a few more thoughts on the series as a whole and on urban sourcebooks.

MAKE MINE GENERIC
I’ve had a love/hate relationship with generic RPG sourcebooks, especially for fantasy games. In the early days companies put out waves of alternate, additional, or variant products. Most of these boiled down to house rules, homemade monsters, and overly complicated new systems for niche areas (i.e. The Compleat Alchemist). Even when they presented world and setting material, it lack flavor or filled out with random tables. I ended up burned by too many early Judges Guild products. As a result I ended up avoiding many good product lines, for example Mayfair’s Role Aids line.

Instead I bought materials from particular settings and worked to adapt those (the Gazetteers, Warhammer Fantasy, MERP, Shadow World, Hârn). And by adapt I mean steal and rework anything interesting. Those books had distinct character, but at the cost of requiring serious conversion. I suspect my continual move away from detailed system mechanics over the years has come at least in part from my not caring about the details in those books. They got in the way- I wanted the premises, cultures, plots, puzzles, and characters from them. Most of the time that didn’t require knowing the stat blocks; monsters I could make up. I didn’t need the crunch of their write ups.

COLLAGE, MOSAIC, REMIX
I believe anything can be adapted- I based a fantasy campaign on Masks of Nyarlathotep and ran The Enemy Within using GURPS. Some materials, obviously, offer more hurdles than others. Different settings and systems have vastly different assumptions. Consider the ultra-low magic and brutality of combat in Hârn. I loved some that setting's details, especially the various fighting chapters of the war gods Agrik and Larani. I crammed that into a corner of my campaign world where I was already using ideas from the high mythic of Runequest and Glorantha. I’m still trying to patch and bandage that particular combination. Sometimes the assumptions arise from the presentation. Anything from ICE (for Rolemaster or MERP) tended to crazy overpower when you examined the stats. Magic items, high sorcery, and cosmic-level demons rules the supplements. For RM so much ended up represented abstractly, with numbers everywhere. There are no interesting traps or locks- they’re defined only in terms of numbers to disarm, difficulty to spot, and effects dealt. I love RM for the neat maps and cool treasure, but so much of it is useless, except for the rare setting that brings something new to the table (Gethæna: Underearth Emer).

Ironically the strength of these items lies in their specificity. Those constraints give rise to more interesting concepts IMHO than most totally generic supplements offer. That may be why I appreciate the Citybooks so much. They have limits in theme and scope which makes the entries interesting. They also give the ideas enough space to grow, making them more generally adaptable. That’s one of the huge flaws in Citybook VII- valuing quantity over quality and depth. I haven’t yet written up my reviews of the generic products Eureka and Masks, but they share some of those problems. Other generic books take a broader, almost meta-approach. I don’t need to know the population of a city broken down into hundreds of categories. I don’t need to know all of the shops. I do want a map of the city, but I don’t want/need to know what every business is. I want to be able to paint a rich picture of the place with the minimum of brushstrokes and effort.

I want to be the Bob Ross of gamemastering.

CITIES ON THE LOST HORIZION
While I like Citybook I, I really love the later volumes with strong themes. Most of these strike the right balance between focusing the material and offering ideas open enough for most games. I think more Citybooks could be produced. Certainly we’ve seen many new urban sourcebooks over the years (for example products on this list Incomplete Cities: Sourcebooks for City Building). Maybe it could be done without the “Citybook” name- perhaps as web or Kickstarter project. I still think there’s a need for strong generic projects that don’t feel generic. I’ve gotten so much excellent use out of the CB materials, I’d love to see more.

My suggestions for additional volumes:

Citybook VIII: Hub of Industry: Sourcebook focusing on the manufacturing and industrial parts of the city, bordering on steampunk in its execution (workhouses, mudlarks, the Vats, the Plant, robotics factory). These kinds of themes have grown since the CB series came out. You could consider waste disposal systems, mad scientist supplies, social welfare in the city, perhaps the Calculational Engine underground.

Citybook IX: Ivory Towers: This would contain establishments dedicated to teaching and training of all kinds. You’d begin with entries dedicated to different kinds of classic academies (Universities, Schoolhouses, Magic Colleges, Religious Schools). Next you’d have narrower and more specialized kinds of training (Thiefly Schools, Duelist Training, Hidden necromancy, Underground Medical Training, etc.). Finally you’d cover all of the secondary establishments serving those schools (Professional Plagiarists, Magical Cram Tutors, Secret Libraries, Youth Hostels, and so on). These kinds of academies are a staple of fantasy fiction, from Harry Potter to The Name of the Wind to Rats and Gargoyles.

Citybook X: Distant Places: This would be a more broadly conceptual sourcebook. Each section of the book would focus on unique establishments for different regions (desert cities, arctic cities, mountain cities, jungle cities, flying cities, etc). You would pick a couple as the most common and then have a catch-all section. Perhaps the last grouping could include high magic cities, those filled with wonder. Or you could have one covering cities catering to adventurers, the "dungeon entrance" city. These lie outside of major ruins and serve those who plumb the depths (Pavis, Parlainth, Lesserton & Mor). These would have unique establishments to aid explorers (trap smiths, map makers, item diviners, artifact counterfeiters).

Citybook XI: Otherlands: Sourcebook split into sections, each covering establishments from the cities of different races: Orcs/Goblins, Elves, Dwarves, Haflings, misc. This might be too narrow an approach- or at least it wouldn’t be useful to all GMs. It would require the editor to be really careful. Entries would have to straddle the line between being specific to that culture and also adaptable elsewhere.

CONFESSION
For the most part, the Citybook series works for me. I want ideas and plots I can easily use and reuse across a variety of games. On the other hand, I also understand gamers who need to have all of the details and mechanics laid out. The citybooks have maps for nearly every establishment, offering specifics of the layout. But honestly in the two decades+ I’ve been using these books I have never referred to or used the maps. Never.

TOMORROW’S CITIES?
One question has been nagging at me while I’ve done this review series: could you do Citybook-style material for another genre? On the one hand, it ought to be possible. You ought to be able to create the same kinds of businesses for a Supers, Horror, Modern, or Sci-Fi game. More easily you could do that for narrower genres like Wild West, Steampunk, or Cyberpunk. On the other hand, my gut tells me that wouldn’t work. You need hooks into the actual premises of the specific game. Delta Green is very different from Buffy the Vampire Slayer despite both being horror. Ashen Stars and Diaspora are vastly different sci-fi beasts. Urban entries for one probably wouldn’t work for the other. There’s also the question of how characters interact with the urban backdrop in the different settings.

I don’t know and I need to think about what other genre Citybooks would look like. The excellent Damnation City offers a possible approach. Though it is pretty deeply steeped in Vampire, it has useful material and entries not unlike those of the CB at the back. Creating Citybooks for a particular line or setting would be easier- for example, I’d love a CB-style urban sourcebook for Changeling the Lost…

CITYBOOKS IN REVIEW

Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker 

Citybook II: Port o' Call

Citybook III: Deadly Nightside
Citybook IV: On the Road 
Citybook V: Sideshow
Citybook VI: Up Town

Citybook VII: King's River Bridge

Citybook VII: King's River Bridge: RPG Items I Don't Like

WHAT IS IT?

Sourcebook detailing people and establishments surrounding a bridge in a generic fantasy city. Intended for use with any FRPG.

SERIES WILL PASS YOU BY
With Citybook VII: King's River Bridge, we come to the end of this series. When I decided to review the Citybooks, I had to finish out some gaps in my collection. After the fire I’d been able to replace a couple of them pretty quickly. But some I’d waited on, and Citybook VII was the last one I picked up. I hesitated on that- I remembered it not being that good. Of course that was in comparison to the rest of the series, so perhaps if I tried to consider it again and read it objectively?

Some series and game lines manage to sustain their energy and creativity throughout. While they have some weak spots Changeling the Lost, Mage the Sorcerers Crusade, and Castle Falkenstein stay strong throughout. Then there’s the Gazetteer series I reviewed, which has some weaker pieces but was generally strong until we hit the last volume. That one felt like a throwaway. Citybook VII is, unfortunately, more like that. It has a couple of interesting bits but generally gives the impression that the editor and authors didn’t have a grasp on what made the other Citybooks work.

Beyond a weird shift in tone and approach in some places, there’s an unevenness to the presentation. There’s a higher page count (an increase from 92 to 112) but many more businesses presented (up from an average of 15 to 25, plus a half dozen NPC encounters). Some of the entries are short, but even the longest ones have strange filler. Lastly there’s the theme of the book. Previous volumes focused on general concepts, allowing the GM to pick and choose businesses. Citybook VII establishes the concrete location of a bridge within a city. That’s treated less as a theme and more as a specific place. We end up with half of the entries tied tightly to that location and half having nothing to do with that.

ON CITYBOOKS So what are the Citybooks? Each volume presents generic businesses, locations, and organizations for a fantasy city. The books aim to keep assumptions about the nature and form of fantasy pretty generic. Even when it deals with the cosmology of the magic, it maintains an open and adaptable approach. While the books are written without specific system mechanics, they offer guidelines for important details. Fighting, magic and so on are ranked to give the GM a clear sense of the relative power. Each entry is usually at least three pages, usually more. Most include clear maps and layouts with clear icons. An entry usually includes a basic description, layouts, NPC details and most usefully a set of scenario suggestions. NPC write ups focus on personalities and plot elements. Each book usually offers a set of links and threads to make it easy for the GM to connect different establishments together and create larger stories. These can easily be used or ignored.

PRESENTATION
Citybook VII keeps the same basic approach as the previous volumes- two columns, decently white space. The entries vary widely in length this time. Archer Books and Games is listed as the producer this time instead of Jaquays Design Studio. Editor Deborah Kerr shepherds the seventeen authors listed. Several turn in more than one entry and we have half-page NPCs scattered throughout. The maps in this volume are smaller and less interesting than in earlier volumes. The art is generally pretty average to bad. Several entries have dynamite art. Liz Danforth’s work is easily recognizable, but there’s no indication of who drew what. Earlier Citybooks identified individual artists with their entries. The cover’s more than a little ugly, with an odd shift in the logo so it doesn’t look like the rest in the series. The paper stock is decent, so that’s something? And it is longer than the other volumes…

CONTENTS
The book has four major sections, plus the oddball NPCs scattered throughout. 

Community Services: The Royal Tax Collector; The Halfling Rat Catcher’s Guild; Mildred Al Hassan’s Messengers; Mother Footcandle’s Oil Shack; The Street Cleaner; The River Raptors; The Poet’s Guild Training Centre; The Bridge Guard
Food & Entertainment: Sweeney’s Pie Shoppe; Dirty Joe’s Tavern; The Fellowship of the Moon; Ron & Don’s Chat & Chew; The Confection Connection; Orada’s Fruit Cart; Adaro’s Stew Cart; The Guzzling Gargoyle
Personal Services: Helani’s Fine Timepieces; Tunki’s Other Wear; Blind Geoffrey’s Barberie and Cauterie; Skinhold’s Boat Rental; The Clothes Chest; Teeble’s Found Goods Warehouse; Neela’s Flower Cart
Undercurrents: The Cornerstone Ghost; Fizhak’s Waifs
Bridge Encounters: Zachary Smythe (yes, really, *guh*); Chaunce Teller; Marla Adelwine; Keelat Angelo; Shecky Reenstein; Thomas Roe; Mary the Street Poet

As with the other volumes, this opens with a general editorial about how to use the book, the generic system rules, plus the map of the bridge and an explanation of the map symbols used throughout the book. The cartography takes a step back in this volume. This volume follows the tradition of some discussion of themes. But under themes it simply offers a scenario which could have appeared anywhere else in the book.

HIGHLIGHTS
Spoilers potentially here.

I have a couple of significant problems with the entries in this volume. Many of them are short, barely giving any real treatment to the ideas. Some of the longer ones had odd and goofy side bits that don’t add to the material but instead just take up space. I really look at products like these for playable material. It doesn’t have to completely flesh out the concepts, but there has to be at least some kind of spark that gets me thinking about how I’d actually use that at the table. Much of the book is meh or bogged down in unimportant details.

The best entries in the Citybooks strike the right balance between the obvious and the insane insanity. I’d pointed out the repeated device used in the first five Citybooks of the ancient mage in hiding who looks like an ordinary person. That’s a decent plot- if used once. But if players keep running onto these kinds of figures seems silly. Likewise, a time-traveling hippie dragon with a floating craps game in the back alleys of the city would be goofy. On the other hand, any entry ought to move beyond the basic premise, ought to have a twist or two. If you say there’s a Royal Tax Collector, I can pretty much imagine a basic set up for that. If I then go and read the entry and it is pretty much exactly what anyone thinking about it for two minutes would come up with…well, that’s a problem. And it is a problem that hits many of the entries in this volume. They’re boring and don’t do anything with the premise- regardless of whether the premise is mundane or fantastic. At an estimate, I’d put about half of this book in that category.

I’ve mentioned in other reviews how hard comedy is in rpg materials. Not even comedy, but just being funny or at least amusing. Many of these entries shoot for that with puns and silliness. It doesn’t work. Instead it is irritating and a radical departure from the other entries in tone. Sure there were some jokes, but those were smart and restrained. Instead here we have dump names and goofiness. I have to point out The Poet’s Guild Training Centre as especially bad in this regard.

So what do I actually like? Two entries by S. John Ross have some great elements: Blind Geoffrey’s Barberie and Cauterie and Teeble’s Found Goods Warehouse. Both manage to take a simple idea and twist it into something which will look clever, colorful and potentially dark at the table. They have oddball characters, interesting unique bits and options, and decent plot hooks. It helps that they also have the best illustrations in the book. Blind Geoffrey ties into the idea of the bridge and to some of the themes from the earlier books. The last volume, Citybook VI: Up Town, had a hairdresser, but this takes that simple concept in a completely different direction.

The other entry that has potential is Tunki’s Other’s Wear, a costume shop. That one stuck with me and I assumed it was in one of the other volumes of the series. I kept wondering where it had gone or if I’d imagined it. But it shows up here and runs in an obvious direction with the concept. But somehow it does it with flourish and nice details. The ideas hold together. I’ve used it in at least one campaign and I’ll probably use it again. It has some creepy potential or can be used more as a source of humor.

OVERALL
This gets my vote as the weakest of the Citybooks. Really, you ought to buy any or all of the others before Citybook VII. I’d only recommend it to those who must have the complete set. I feel bad saying that given the strength of the other Citybooks. I would hate for someone to come to this volume and assume the rest are of this quality.

CITYBOOKS IN REVIEW

Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker 

Citybook II: Port o' Call

Citybook III: Deadly Nightside
Citybook IV: On the Road 
Citybook V: Sideshow
Citybook VI: Up Town

Citybook VII: King's River Bridge

Citybook VI: Up Town: RPG Items I Like

WHAT IS IT?

Sourcebook for any fantasy rpg detailing the elements of an wealthy quarters of a city.

SHE’S BEEN LIVING IN HER WHITE MAGE WORLD
I’ve always pictured PCs relation to the wealthy like that of a private detective’s. In that genre the PI rolls up into the houses and mansions of the rich and powerful. He’s hired help- perhaps a desperate last resort to avoid being tainted with anything unseemly. The gumshoe’s out of his element, even when the scions of the mighty try to make him feel at home. He does his job, kicks up dirt, pisses people off and in the end has to crawl back to his hole in the wall office. So the players skulk back to Nightside or Sideshow after their work is done.

That’s how I have it in my head, but many recent fantasy rpgs have allowed players to pick and choose their place in society. In Old School games you were the dregs of society, the level one filth trying to make a buck and rise up the ladder until you could afford a hovel and a horse. And there would always be mightier people above you. Point-driven systems, games which allow you to take nobility as a class, and even some random background-roll games open up the possibilities for the players.

Citybook VI: Up Town smartly delivers shops and businesses serving the wealthy of a city. It doesn’t delve into the nature of that wealth or the structures of nobility there. The concept’s open making it useful for most fantasy cities. That’s nice to see after a couple of series volumes with narrower approaches. Some of the businesses related only tangentially to the theme, but the book solidly holds together.

ON CITYBOOKS So what are the Citybooks? Each volume presents generic businesses, locations, and organizations for a fantasy city. The books aim to keep assumptions about the nature and form of fantasy pretty generic. Even when it deals with the cosmology of the magic, it maintains an open and adaptable approach. While the books are written without specific system mechanics, they offer guidelines for important details. Fighting, magic and so on are ranked to give the GM a clear sense of the relative power. Each entry is usually at least three pages, usually more. Most include clear maps and layouts with clear icons. An entry usually includes a basic description, layouts, NPC details and most usefully a set of scenario suggestions. NPC write ups focus on personalities and plot elements. Each book usually offers a set of links and threads to make it easy for the GM to connect different establishments together and create larger stories. These can easily be used or ignored.

PRESENTATION
Citybook VI keeps the same design and layout as the last couple of volumes in the series. It’s a 96-page perfect-bound softcover. We have a nice readable text design done in two columns. Jacquays Design Studio once again oversees the project. The artwork’s generally pretty good, with an OK full color cover. A few pieces of the art are really excellent. The problem is that unlike previous volumes you can’t tell who drew what. Before the artist was listed with the entry they illustrated. Here a list appears at the front, without citing which is their work. That’s a little annoying. The book also has some really large maps- taking up significant page real estate. The size of them in this volume feels a little like padding; that may be in part because I’ve never found the maps particularly useful. The book supplies two stand-alone NPCs and sixteen establishments written by fourteen authors.

CONTENTS
The book has the usual pattern of three major sections, each with a forward page.

Community Services: Marianrose Conservatorium; Amaranthine's Rest; Greenhargon's Museum; Ironshield Financial Services; The Reliquarium; and Lord Llewellyn Finster & Lord Wescott
Lodging & Entertainment: The Lost Inn; Gloriana Theatre; Harrow Downs; and Cydryn's Aerial Palladium
Personal Services: Madrigan's Fine Catering; Exeter's Antique Emporium; Haprice's Golden Scissors; Feats of Clay; Hides Alive; The Cask & Bottle; and Jasmine's Fine Jewelry (and Explosives)

The book opens with a general editor’s note on how to use the book. The next four pages lay out the generic guidelines and map keys. Half a page covers some themes/ideas for the book. Up Town turns back from the tight links and connections present in the last three volumes. There are a few cross references (including some tight links to key elements from Citybook V: Sideshow) but the connections are less pronounced. The handful of cross-establishment scenarios feels thin. As well unlike other themed volumes in the series there’s no discussion of what the wealthy quarter in the city means or how one brings that to the table.

HIGHLIGHTS
Spoilers potentially here.

Citybook VI has few weak elements. It offers two NPCs (ala Citybook IV) with full page descriptions. They’re ok; I’d have preferred some more general city material. The Lost Inn’s the sore thumb in the book however. It feels like it was leftover from another volume and has only light connections to the wealthy quarter. Combine that with the strange connection to the Old Man of the City from Citybook V. Plus the concept’s very close to one given in Citybook IV. On the other hand, a couple of the establishments presented here fit with the theme, but don’t go far beyond their initial premise. Madrigan's Fine Catering and Amaranthine's Rest could have had a little more spice to them. They aren’t bad, just not as great as the other entries.

That makes picking the three best more difficult. I should note that this is the first Citybook that doesn’t have a disguised, hidden or amnesiac high wizard of legend stumbling around. Nice to see them skip that trope after hitting the well five times.

I’ve used Feats of Clay a couple of times, both in games set in Pavis. I love the characters and the strange premise of the shop. Joseph the potter discovers he can make nearly indestructible ceramics using his kiln. But he’s unsure why- and his worry that the process will vanish dogs his every step. The secret behind this is pretty clever and offers a neat romantic twist. Also the idea of indestructible ceramics- well you can imagine what happens when PCs realize what they have access to…

The Reliquarium and Greenhargon's Museum I consider as one entry; when I used them I mashed them together. I love the idea of a museum which itself is a living being, with the owner uncertain about the nature and secrets of it. And the concept of mundane objects of veneration is also particularly cool. I dig the thought of players having to rummage through a junkyard of the strange in order to find something they need. I had great success with this in my games and love describing the businesses.

I almost can’t decide on a third. The Gloriana Theatre offers so many plot ideas- especially if you have a Shakespearean bent. Harrow Downs is also cool and could be the source of many adventures. But I have to go with Cydryn's Aerial Palladium because it is so oddball. The owner’s floating building, exotic bodyguards and odd appearance make this one stand out. I love that Cydryn worries about adventurers, having been one himself. If they’ve come to stay with him and say they’re heading out, he’ll do his level best to convince, persuade or seduce them into staying. In my Exalted campaign, I used this as the basis for a seller of rare birds- in keeping with the flying shop.

OVERALL
This gets my vote as the strongest of the Citybooks. It may not be useful for every campaign but if you have wealthy players or a group who serves the elite you’ll find material here. Nearly all the entries keep with the theme, and all offer several unique and interesting story and plot hooks. Citybook VI: Up Town’s worth picking up if you plan to run any kind of long-term fantasy campaign set in a city.

CITYBOOKS IN REVIEW

Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker 

Citybook II: Port o' Call

Citybook III: Deadly Nightside
Citybook IV: On the Road 
Citybook V: Sideshow
Citybook VI: Up Town

Citybook VII: King's River Bridge

Citybook V: Sideshow: RPG Items I Like

WHAT IS IT?

Sourcebook for any fantasy rpg detailing the elements of an exotic and isolated city quarter populated by non-humans.

STILL SEGREGATING ’CAUSE WE INSECTS ARE TOO PROUD
The nature, variety, and density of non-human races strongly defines a fantasy setting. There’s the grab-bag approach of Forgotten Realms or Eberron with everything under the sun; the more limited but deeper approach of Earthdawn or Sundered Skies; and the exclusively human approach of Pendragon or Legends of Anglerre (for one of the settings). Citybook V: Sideshow can present something of a problem for some campaigns. More than most of the other sourcebooks, it relies on some premises about the campaign world. It is possible to shift some of the races and details, but how much work does that require of the GM and how much is lost in the translation?

Sideshow has a strong concept. Within the City, a section has become a kind of ghetto. I don’t think the book ever uses that loaded term, but it applies in the most literal definition. The most exotic and strange have been forced or dedicated to gather in a neighborhood more tolerant or at least further away from oppression and prejudices of the majority. Given that we know historically like communities and cultures clustered together within cities, especially foreign communities, Sideshow makes sense. And the term, Sideshow, loaded with unpleasant connotations has the right weight to it. This citybook is the most cohesive and thematic of the entire series. On the negative side it means that entries and ideas can be highly entangled and harder to pull out for individual use. On the positive side it creates a compelling atmosphere and deepens the individual entries.

ON CITYBOOKS What are the Citybooks? Each volume presents generic businesses, locations, and organizations for a fantasy city. The books aim to keep assumptions about the nature and form of fantasy pretty generic. Even when it deals with the cosmology of the magic, it maintains an open and adaptable approach. While the books are written without specific system mechanics, they offer guidelines for important details. Fighting, magic and so on are ranked to give the GM a clear sense of the relative power. Each entry is usually at least three pages, usually more. Most include clear maps and layouts with clear icons. An entry usually includes a basic description, layouts, NPC details and most usefully a set of scenario suggestions. NPC write ups focus on personalities and plot elements. Each book usually offers a set of links and threads to make it easy for the GM to connect different establishments together and create larger stories. These can easily be used or ignored.

PRESENTATION
Citybook V generally follows the same layout and design the series has established. The 96-page perfect bound book sticks with a clean two-column layout. It actually looks better here than in the earliest volumes. Once again the book uses a stable of artists rather than a single illustrator. Most of these are really excellent- especially Sandy Schreiber’s work. There are a few weaker images, including Ruth Thompson’s work. Paul Jacquays paints an interesting, if a little busy, cover for the book. He also returns as editor and the book’s once again listed as produced by the Jacquays Design Studio for Flying Buffalo. Eighteen authors contribute to create the 19 establishments of the book, including John Nephewand Lawrence Watt-Evans. The editors done solid work connecting the establishments and most of the details don’t seem forced. Anthology books can have wildly divergent tones, but nothing feels out of place here.

CONTENTS
The book’s split into three major sections, each with a forward page. It switches up the usual order a little bit, but it makes sense. The concepts set up in "Organizations & Individuals" impact the rest of the material.

Organizations & Individuals: The Pack; The Old Man of the City; The Sliming Path; Terrkot’s People; The Gaggle.
Personal Services: Hilkin’s Specialities & Esoterica; The Blue Maid; Riversent; Enefene; Brumar’s Workshop; Spittin’ Image; The Face Place; Smilin’ Al Crum’s Sideshow Tours; Knight’s Cranial Hospitaler; Nadorix’s Necropolis; Komtoi’s Cartage & Caravansary
Food, Lodging & Entertainment: The Panther Club; The Bottomless Keg; The Silver Pelt

A one-page general introduction sets up the basic concepts of the non-human sideshow as well as the logic behind some of the book’s design decisions. The next four pages lay out the generic guidelines and map keys for the book. Most interestingly we get a page discussing the themes of the Citybook. Some of these are alternate takes on what appears later (which seems odd) while others help orient the reader to the threads running through the book.

HIGHLIGHTS
Spoilers potentially here.

When I look at the entries I notice they break into two types. On the one hand, you have concepts that really work with the idea of the non-human nature of the characters. Not just that they are non-human, but the specifics of their culture, racial identity, strengths and limitations. On the other hand, you have entries where you could easily change out the characters or even make them human and the concept would remain the same. For example, The Bottomless Keg, could easily have a different mix of races among the NPCs there. There’s only one detail- that the husband and wife proprietors come from traditionally opposed races- that relies on that. Otherwise, it is actually a fairly mundane establishment…well, except for one of the characters being a secretly disguised powerful wizard. AGAIN. At this point I have to wonder if this is an inside joke for the Citybook series, as everyone so far has had a hidden legendarily powerful evil or formerly evil wizard.

I think generally the entries which embrace the specifics of the races their dealing with are stronger. However there’s something good in just about everything in this book. Even the weakest entry got me thinking of a couple of adventures I could build from it. I’d say the three that work least for me would be The Bottomless Keg I mentioned above, for feeling too generic- Brumar’s Workshop shares this problem. The Panther Club feels focused on the description of a new fantasy race, rather than providing an interesting establishment. Instead the Club feels like a generic way to show it off. Finally The Silver Pelt ends up a little too obvious. The idea of a werewolf butcher is a cool one, especially for exotic meats. However the presentation is unsubtle. The NPCs have the last name “Silver” and they look human although hey operate in Sideshow, etc. I should also mention that the book goes heavier on the connections than the earlier volumes, but GMs should still be able to use the entries individually.

The Sliming Path by John Nephew is one of the best. It presents a non-human revolutionary group. The membership of that group and their methodology present an interesting challenge for players. You could shift that organization or even parts of it just slightly to create serious dilemmas for the PCs. I like that the key members all have very different sense of what a non-human revolution means. They can work together now, but in when you look closely they have ultimately incompatible philosophies. That will lead to interesting choices down the road.

I also really like The Pack, a criminal guild suited to the strange environs of Sideshow. They offer a unique adversary and one requiring serious problem solving on the part of the players. The NPCs given are interesting, and the scenario hooks in this entry offer unique adventures.

There are so many other really strong pieces in this one- many that I’ve used with great success: Spittin’ Image, Knight’s Cranial Hospitaler, Hilkin’s Specialities & Esoterica…pretty much every one I haven’t mentioned has awesome ideas in it. But the best concept in this book, for me, is the Old Man of the City. That’s a great adversary, with complex motivations and easily tied into many plots. I actually used him more as an abstract force in my campaign (personified in another NPC, Nadoriz from Nadorix’s Necropolis). Essentially there’s an immortal figure cursed to live in the city until it finally is destroyed. The Old Man works to bring terror and destruction here, but often his plans have the opposite effect. Still he can cause some damage, making him a serious threat. With some tweaks to suit my campaigns, he became a fixture in many plots I ran.

OVERALL
Citybook V: Sideshow is one of the best of the series, and one of my favorite generic fantasy supplements. I love the ideas here. Many of them can be tweaked and repurposed for different settings, or with slightly changed races. Some of them can’t be, but mostly because they have such of strong idea to them. I really enjoy this book. If you’re running a fantasy campaign which includes a significant non-human population, you'll find this useful.

CITYBOOKS IN REVIEW

Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker 

Citybook II: Port o' Call

Citybook III: Deadly Nightside
Citybook IV: On the Road 
Citybook V: Sideshow
Citybook VI: Up Town

Citybook VII: King's River Bridge

Citybook IV: On the Road: RPG Items I Like

WHAT IS IT?

Sourcebook detailing travel-related businesses, organizations and people for use with most fantasy rpg cities.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOU MIGHT MEET
I’m always curious about the behind-the-scenes for various game lines. When I reviewed TSR’s Gazetteer series, you could see the influence of difference freelancers on the project. As opposed to the in-house lines, those products each had a unique character. You could also see attention shift away from the line in the final books, projects which could have been interesting with more time and attention. Citybook III came out in 1987, but Citybook IV: On the Road didn’t appear until August of 1990. Given how fast companies turn out supplements and products these days, that gap looks enormous.

The other big change is in editorial direction. Mike Stackpole’s listed as a contributing editor, but the main force behind this book (and the next two in the series) is Paul Jaquays. In fact, the book's listed as produced by the Jacquays Design Studio. They also produced the Central Casting series for Flying Buffalo.

Citybook IV: On the Road’s a strange beast. It’s an interesting fantasy supplement, but isn’t exactly an urban sourcebook. It feels like they had a number of pieces lying around and tried to assemble a coherent whole. In doing so they moved a little away from the intent of the Citybooks. The supplement does offer a number of city-based establishments, but deals more with travel and transport between cities. Twenty-four pages of the 96-page book present NPCs. These full page write-ups are interesting, but they’re divorced from the focus on particularly urban materials. Citybook IV has a number of weaknesses, but the good and interesting outweigh the missteps. Mostly.

ON CITYBOOKS So what are the Citybooks? Each volume presents generic businesses, locations, and organizations for a fantasy city. The books aim to keep assumptions about the nature and form of fantasy pretty generic. Even when it deals with the cosmology of the magic, it maintains an open and adaptable approach. While the books are written without specific system mechanics, they offer guidelines for important details. Fighting, magic and so on are ranked to give the GM a clear sense of the relative power. Each entry is usually at least three pages, usually more. Most include clear maps and layouts with clear icons. An entry usually includes a basic description, layouts, NPC details and most usefully a set of scenario suggestions. NPC write ups focus on personalities and plot elements. Each book usually offers a set of links and threads to make it easy for the GM to connect different establishments together and create larger stories. These can easily be used or ignored.

PRESENTATION
Citybook IV follows the design of Citybook III, but the layout and spacing has been handled much better. The text remains dense, but touches have been added for clarity (better use of whitespace and image framing for example). Instead of a single artist, each entry has its own with several images. Most of these are strong (Richard Thomas, Liz Danforth) while others are weaker (Rick Lowry’s NPC illos in particular). But generally the art’s good and serves its purpose- GM’s wanting NPC images will be able to use much of what’s offered here. The cover image is also pretty fun. Fourteen authors contribute to the thirteen business entries and 23 NPCs. There’s more difference in tone and presentation in this book than the previous volumes. However, given the open nature of the theme, that makes sense.

CONTENTS
The book breaks into two major sections. The first, “Travel Services,” presents entries similar to the previous volumes. The second “Wanderers” presents NPCs. Those establishments in the first section can be broken into two groups, those that offer city business (or at least which could be placed in a city) and those exclusively on the road. The NPCs are of various types- oddly not all of them “wanderers” as the section would suggest. All of them have secrets, making them more useful for the GM.

In City: The Fellowship of Blessed Companions; The Halfling House; Dimensions Unlimited; Drakkonstar Express; Freehold Municipal Caravanserai; Dr. Gopp’s Emporium of Medicinal Wonders
On Road: Forgeway Inn #46; The River Drake; Vrigelian’s Roadside Shrine; Houndsteeth Border Garrison; The Rapids at Crumbling Skull Rock; Tsalini’s Stopover Station; The Great Dragon

There’s a one-page general introduction which explains some of the editorial decisions; one page by Mike Stackpole on roleplaying and working with cities; two pages explaining the generic description system for entries; two pages of map keys; and one page on travel in a fantasy world. That last article’s interesting, but doesn’t really develop the ideas. It raises some questions, but ultimately feels a little like filler or an attempt to justify the theme. For an interesting take on the topic, I’d recommend Jean Verdon’s Travel in the Middle Ages.

HIGHLIGHTS
Spoilers potentially here.
Of the “In-City” Businesses, some don’t live up to their potential. They set up some ideas, but then there’s no twist to them. The concepts play out in the most obvious way (Dr. Gopp). That’s strange because most of the entries provide several scenario hooks. A GM will find some cool ideas, but will probably have to work hard to get them to work. The Fellowship of Blessed Companions, for example, has details I’ve not heard before, but I’m still not certain how you’d bring that to the table. It requires a particularly gullible PC to be played out the way the entry suggests. In my experience players are significantly paranoid, meaning you have to go another route.

My favorite of this set would be the Drakkonstar Express. I love the idea of a hobbit and his pet dragon carrying packages and messages across the land. The concept has charm, it isn’t overly complicated and it suggests a number of easy story entry points. I also like the Freehold Municipal Caravanserai, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. It offers a few sketches of caravans, but it needed to go further in one of two directions. Provide the GM with more of a sense of how a caravan is handled in the city- trade groups, markets, lodging, etc. if not that, then more numerous and expansive examples of caravans and the characters involved. Citybook II: Port o’ Call handled this well with the different ship entries, the same could have been done here. A third section of just caravans could have been added (and some of the NPCs snipped).

Most of the “On Road” businesses have a pretty static location. They could be used with any city. They offer a few good ideas, though again a couple feel uninspired. But some offer much bigger ideas that tie into travel and to city affairs. My favorite (and probably my favorite from the book) is the Forgeway Inn #46. I love the idea of chain of inns- and the characters and plots behind this offer plenty of room for development. The Forge family became a major element in one of my campaigns. From just a few pages I was able to put together many sessions worth of adventures.

Finally, the NPCs. Hmmm…these are an incredibly mixed bag. Each is given a full page, and most entries have an illustration as well. There’s a public knowledge section, and then truth. Of course the “ancient evil wizard hidden/reborn/amnesiac” device returns. Each NPC also has a set of scenario ideas. Some of these characters could be found on the road, but many should really just be considered urban NPCs. I’d say of the 23, about eight stand out for me. I’ve used most of those in campaigns. A couple have really interesting scenario hooks. But many of them didn’t seem all that great to me. And a couple of them made me roll my eyes and almost forget there were good ones at all.

OVERALL
I’m torn about this book. I’ve used some of the ideas presented here with great success. But I really had to pick and choose to find those story elements. It feels weaker than the previous entries in coherence, theme and presentation. The NPCs could have been a book by itself (ala Masks). I also find it a little grating that several of the entries refer to elements and characters from the previous Citybooks. I didn’t mind when the previous books had internal connections between entries and stories. However, I don’t like the suggestion that the GM needs to go buy another book to get the most out of a generic sourcebook. While Citybook IV: On the Road isn’t the weakest of the series, gamers hunting down these books should probably start with some of the others.

CITYBOOKS IN REVIEW

Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker 

Citybook II: Port o' Call

Citybook III: Deadly Nightside
Citybook IV: On the Road 
Citybook V: Sideshow
Citybook VI: Up Town

Citybook VII: King's River Bridge

Citybook III: Deadly Nightside: RPG Items I Like

WHAT IS IT?

Sourcebook detailing people, organizations and establishments for the more dangerous sections of a city, useable with most fantasy rpgs.

HEADING OFF
Jathan Alley.

That’s the phrase our group uses to describe the bad parts of any city. It’s named in honor of the party thief who never bought any skill with Streetwise and yet used to go and wander off by himself to “stir up trouble” in town. Invariably his bloodied body would turn up on the party’s doorstep later.

It points at one of the factors that makes me really love a good urban setting, especially for a fantasy campaign. If my group found themselves hip-deep in a dungeon crawl and I suggested that perhaps they might split up…well, that would never fly. They would stick together like glue, backing each other up. But if I can get them into town, they will fly in every direction- going off to take care of business, follow up on clues, talk to important NPCs. Alone. Without any back-up. Not realizing social dangers can be just as potent as physical ones.

Citybook III: Deadly Nightside covers the darker corners of fantasy cities. And I expect the areas PCs will most likely be interacting with. I’m reminded of Lanhkmar and Sanctuary, both dangerous places with no true “good” sections. CB III hits its mark and offers plenty of trouble for your players. It also takes a slight turn to offer a more connected Citybook, with strong plot ties between the various entries.

ON CITYBOOKS So what are the Citybooks? Each volume presents generic businesses, locations, and organizations for a fantasy city. The books aim to keep assumptions about the nature and form of fantasy pretty generic. Even when it deals with the cosmology of the magic, it maintains an open and adaptable approach. While the books are written without specific system mechanics, they offer guidelines for important details. Fighting, magic and so on are ranked to give the GM a clear sense of the relative power. Each entry is usually at least three pages, usually more. Most include clear maps and layouts with clear icons. An entry usually includes a basic description, layouts, NPC details and most usefully a set of scenario suggestions. NPC write ups focus on personalities and plot elements. Each book usually offers a set of links and threads to make it easy for the GM to connect different establishments together and create larger stories. These can easily be used or ignored.

PRESENTATION
My new copy of CB III is the second printing- with a slicker, more flexible cover. The first printing had stiffer cardstock and unless I’m really mistaken, a slightly expanded layout. The second printing/edition(?) seems to have condensed the introductory elements. The layout remains mostly the same as the previous entries in the series- two columns, with small margins and text abutting illustrations tightly. Strangely the book gives up on the sans-serif font used in the first two in favor of a slightly smaller serif font that looks like Times. Liz Danforth provides an ok cover illustration but dynamite interior illustrations. She opts for all inked and dark line images instead greyscale figures. These reproduce better and look awesome. Randall G Kuipers supplies the maps for the second edition. These are generally good, except that the grey graph paper background on these are printed darkly, making them more difficulty to read. Mike Stackpole returns as sole editor of this 96-page volume. Sixteen authors offer 18 establishments. Some are gaming greats, like Allen Varney, Warren Spector and James Peters. Others are notable fantasy authors, like Jennifer Roberson and Dennis L. McKiernan.

CONTENTS
Citybook III forgoes the section divisions of the first two volumes. Although the table of contents does divide the book into three parts, these lack overview pages dividing them. This volume opens with a really tight introduction, in incredibly tiny text. It points out a new tact this book takes- more explicit and numerous connections, references, and overlaps between establishments. That actually makes the book feel more coherent, and doesn’t detract at all from the usefulness. GMs who want to just use a single business will find it easy to pull one out. But GMs using more of them will discover value added content in these ties. Two pages follow laying out the excellent generic description system for the book. Strangely the map key pages of the previous volumes don’t appear here. I have to wonder if that’s a change with the second edition.

The Good: The Singing Frog Sanctuary; The Prodigal’s Lantern Mission; Karig the Stalker; The Bloodmoon School; Sagacity; The Cock and Bull Gaming Club; Nightside Inferior Court; The Sewers; The Well of Justice
…The Bad: The Haansfolk; The Undercity; The Big Fish Gang; The House of Infinite Dreams
…and the Deadly: The Steel Man; Dimdaniel’s Gate; The Yellow Poppy; Sutaka’s Beasts and Beauties; The Shadow Riders

HIGHLIGHTS
Spoilers potentially here.
This book offers a great diversity of types than the previous two, or at least less “classic” shops and businesses. Several are groups and organizations operating in this part of the city- power brokers and forces the players could easily come into contact with. That allows for the awesome device where the players cross an individual only discover they’re tied to a much more dangerous force. I’ve used most of the entries from this book across several campaigns, with some reappearing in different forms. Nearly everyone has great hooks and plot elements. In the past I’ve found the presentation of the inns and taverns a little bland. However The Singing Frog Sanctuary presented here works. It has great and rich NPCs, unusual entertainments and a few odd details that give it enormous character. I’m hard pressed to choose a weakest entry. Perhaps the The Cock and Bull Gaming Club and The Shadow Riders, neither of which I’ve used for a game yet.

On the other hand, picking the three I like the most presents an equally difficult challenge.

The Bloodmoon School offers a neat place for combat training. Fighters, duelists, rogues and the like can be entertained and hooked by offering them a kind of dojo. Even if you’ve not using detailed rules on training time, mentors and study, places like these give warrior characters a sense of place comparable to a Thieves Guild or Wizard’s School. The Bloodmoon School has some great hidden plot hooks. Players will obviously be intrigued by obvious strangeness of the school’s master Re’esh. His backstory could easily set up a whole campaign arc. If there’s any weakness to the entry, it comes from the return of the “hidden” evil wizard device. It works better here, but we’ve seen that a couple of times already in the series.

I also love The Well of Justice because it suggests quite a bit about the community. The vigilante justice served out by this group offers the PCs a force to ally or oppose in this part of their city. The complexity of the set up offers many plot ideas. I love the background and color developed here with “The Sackers” almost like a group of mysterious street-level supers. Of course how well that works may depend on the level of magic in your campaign. It also dovetails nicely with my favorite NPC in the book, Karig the Stalker, a bounty-hunter.

Finally The Steel Man is awesome. The author’s note says that Stackpole “produced this variation on the idea of an Assassins’ Guild because…he has a hard time imagining assassins tolerating the bureaucracy needed for a true Guild structure.” What we get it a deadly organization with a supernatural origin, operating by mundane means. The Steel Man and his people ought to be scary. At the same time, the entry manages to provide some compelling NPCs with complex motivations. When I used this in a game, I actually added a few Lovecraftian notes to this particular set up.

OVERALL
Again the editor manages to bring together a dynamite collection of material, useful for any GM doing a fantasy campaign with any amount of urban exploration. All the entries read well and the connections between them feel natural and unforced. This is one of the best of the Citybook series. It offers more gritty and street level material- further away from the high wizardry and the fantastic of some campaigns. But a great deal will still work with that. But generally there’s the feel of a of low-level o low-power game; at least a game where the players have to struggle for resources and mundane threats still offer them a challenge. In some level-based systems (Rolemaster, D&D 4e) players rise to a point in levels quickly where these kinds of issues might seem too prosaic. Citybook III: Deadly Nightside’s the perfect sourcebook for those who love a dark and dangerous urban labyrinth.

CITYBOOKS IN REVIEW

Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker 

Citybook II: Port o' Call

Citybook III: Deadly Nightside
Citybook IV: On the Road 
Citybook V: Sideshow
Citybook VI: Up Town

Citybook II: Port o' Call: RPG Items I Like

WHAT IS IT?
Sourcebook presenting establishments for a port city, useable with most fantasy rpgs.

TALES TO TELL BACK ON SHORE
The first Citybook seems to have been intended as a one-off supplement, at least that’s the sense I have from the tone of the introduction. While the first volume took a classic or even generic approach to the establishments presented, Citybook II: Port o’ Call takes on a theme. We'll see that for the rest of the series, with each volume loosely tied to a central concept. So now we have a book of revolving around ports, ships and maritime atmosphere.

I’ve had a couple of significant port cities in my own fantasy campaigns. One of was a fantasy/steampunk version of Al Amarja set in Ierendi; the other a threshold city in a Dragon-Blooded campaign. Plus I’ve taken groups through ports in published settings (Corflu from Glorantha, Bozisha-Dar from MERP). I tried to offer some of the feel of a port, but I don’t think I delved into those elements deeply. I’ve run skyship campaigns, but I never a game where the players spent significant time on the ocean in a conventional ship. I've skipped on pirate or exploration games. Perhaps because of that, I’d dismissed Citybook II. I recall looking at it on the shelf and not buying it. When I decided to review this series, I had to hunt down copy of this. I quickly realized what a mistake it had been to skip this. Port o' Call is a solid entry in the series, with some idea I wish I’d seen years ago.

ON CITYBOOKS So what are the Citybooks? Each volume presents generic businesses, locations, and organizations for a fantasy city. The books aim to keep assumptions about the nature and form of fantasy pretty generic. Even when it deals with the cosmology of the magic, it maintains an open and adaptable approach. While the books are written without specific system mechanics, they offer guidelines for important details. Fighting, magic and so on are ranked to give the GM a clear sense of the relative power. Each entry is usually at least three pages, usually more. Most include clear maps and layouts with clear icons. An entry usually includes a basic description, layouts, NPC details and most usefully a set of scenario suggestions. NPC write ups focus on personalities and plot elements. Each book usually offers a set of links and threads to make it easy for the GM to connect different establishments together and create larger stories. These can easily be used or ignored. (from my Citybook I Review)

PRESENTATION
The 116-page perfect-bound supplement sticks mostly to the design of the first volume of the series. I have a copy of the first printing, with a more rigid cardboard stock than Flying Buffalo later used. They also print on the inside of the cover, adding two extra pages. Noted fantasy cover artist Carl Lundgren provides a well-executed but generic cover image. Liz Danforth returns with the majority of the art duties. Her art shows up better this time. In the last volume her soft pencil sketches washed out. Here they look sharp and she alternates between those and darker, inked images. Steven Crompton and Dave Helber assist on art duties, primarily as far as I can tell on diagrams and maps. It is worth noting that the art in the book offers a diversity of genders, body types, and ethnicities. It does a much better job of presenting a diverse place than many more modern books.

Layout and text design follow the same solid two-column approach as the last volume. However the text size has shrunk, so there’s much more material here. The maps look good, driving the text design in many places. Liz Danforth and Mike Stackpole edited the collection which has 22 entries, written by 21 contributors. Notably we have an establishment written by Dave Arneson and one by Charles de Lint.

CONTENTS
As with the first volume, Citybook II divides the entries into sections:

Lodging and Entertainment: The Brass Orchid Tavern, The Longtooth Lounge, Macauley’s Gambling House
Personal Services: The Gateway, Doc and Sardin’s Warehouse, Sails of the Everpresent Journeywind, Ew’s Wood and Bone Shop, Cap’n Bill’s Bait Shop, Jensen’s Exchange, The Pearl Trader
Food Services: Robab’s Fish Market, The Scotch Woodcock Fishery
Community Services: The Customs House, The Temple of Aroshnavarapata, Van Iversen’s Lite, The Mariners Fellowship House
Ships and Boats: The Golden Princess, The Sweet Lady, The Narwhal
Chance Encounters: The Blue Light Gang, Garsen’s Tower, Artemus the Lucky Sea Captain

Beyond this, we get some general material. There’s an introduction which offers a nice overview of some of the common lingo for ships and sailing. It also suggests some ways in which the material can be used and adapted for different games. My favorite bit is where the editors respond to some apparent criticism of the earlier volumes- that the key symbols for beds and like on the maps weren’t period accurate or of the right scale. As the editors say “The reason for this convention is that what is on the map is a symbol, , and what has been chosen for the symbol is something that is easy to recognize.” Twenty years later and they would have been responding to this kind of trollish and idiotic criticism on their website…

The book lays out the map keys clearly. The generic system for describing NPCs remains the same and it works. The book lacks an index, but has a solid table of contents. One page at the end offers suggestions for connections across various establishments. One is a scenario that feels more than a little contrived. The other offers some interesting what ifs that set up events which have fallout across the different locales. I prefer the former.

HIGHLIGHTS
Spoilers, potentially here.
Several of the entries in this book take a conventional approach and simply run with it. For example, Cap’n Bill’s Bait Shop pretty much is what it is- and I like that. The GM has room to make it deeper or more complicated, but I appreciate a place done as a kind of solid example of the lives of people in the city. In the other direction something like the Longtooth Lounge (by Arneson) throws a lot of different magical and political complications at the wall. It holds together, but just barely. There are a couple of places in the volume where I found myself thinking that X or Y detail could be cut and maintain the same tone. We have the fallback to the evil wizard in disguise/amnesia trick that we’ll see in just about every volume for example.

Four establishments remain in my mind after reading- keeping me thinking about how I might use those stories. Sails of the Everpresent Journeywind I didn’t expect much from, but the backstory on the owner is dark and tragic. Cursed with immortality until she completes a quest- at which point and even worse fate awaits her. And then there’s her wizard lover who has been trying to find a way to remove the curse. He’s kept himself alive through magic but has begun to grow senile. It really got to me. Their story loosely connects with The Temple of Aroshnavarapata. That’s another great bit, with some interesting divine twists. GMs will have to figure out how the cosmology of that fits with their world. I like the idea of a god who has lost his place trying to figure out a way back in- the same god who cursed the sailmaker.

Two other establishments have nice domestic stories which make for great NPCs. Van Iversen’s Lite offers some hooks into the political life of a city. It could be used as great motive, especially if the PCs befriended those characters. On the other hand, Robab’s Fish Market presents a domestic story crossed with a magical one. It didn’t go in the direction I expected. The various NPCs have strong desires and motivations, with some secrets they want to keep. The material’s structured well enough that I could immediately see several different ways to play that out. I should also note that the presentation of very different ships- along with their crew and deck plans is awesome. If fits with the book and presents a resource a GM could use over and over.

There are a couple of clunkers in this volume; The Pearl Trader, for example, really doesn’t go anywhere. But generally each entry offers at least one interesting story, and most offer more.

OVERALL
I love the movement of the Citybooks to themes. Connections appear within the various establishments, easily used or ignored. Citybook II: Port O’Call handles port setting well- shifting the material to match those needs (for example, presenting ships & crews). It holds together even better than the previous volume. Having so many different authors acts as a strength, rather than a weakness. Each brings solid and inventive ideas to the city. I also think the material here could easily be combined with the “Barran the Monster Hunter” scenario from one of my favorite modules, Strangers in Prax. Most of the material here could be added to any great port city setting from Waterdeep to Umbar to Marienburg.

CITYBOOKS IN REVIEW

Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker 

Citybook II: Port o' Call

Citybook III: Deadly Nightside
Citybook IV: On the Road 
Citybook V: Sideshow
Citybook VI: Up Town

Citybook VII: King's River Bridge