Which city supplement should I buy?

[baseballfury]

Freeport!

You want Freeport. It's one of the best d20 books (of ANY kind) on the market.

 

[Mystic Eye]

Ooops, my bad, I was lead to believe that it (Geanavue) was a much smaller page count. Sorry gang, I will have to check this one out now....grrrr, something else to buy.

 

[Mark Plemmons]

CoDragon wrote this in another topic. I think it was supposed to go here...

Thanks to all who voted and replied!

The city in question should not be "riot town", but should definately have some shady areas and not be entirely a "safe haven". That's a little vague, I know. All I can say is it should fall in that "grey area" which I'm sure any published city can do with the help of a half-decent DM.

From looking at all three briefly in stores, I would say Geanuvue is the most detailed, but I don't know how much of the "Kalamarian" feel I want (btw, I'm not familiar w/Kalamar). Freeport seems alright, but I haven't bought any of the modules..how important are they? Also, Freeport is on an island and I kinda want a mainland city IMC. Bluffside stood out, I liked the city layout, the NPCs, and the generic gods. Before this poll, I was learning towards Bluffside.

Again these opinions are based only on one or two brief gaming store purusals which is kind of unfair and may give inaccurate portrayals. That's why we have enworld!

I'll be away till Sunday but keep the votes comin'! I'm making a city book purchase when I get back!

PS: I'm also a big fan of small print, which is a reason (albeit small) I like Ruins of Undermountain 1 and the Hackmaster books. High words-per-page is much more important than page count.

 

[Quickbeam]

Geanavue. I just happen to really like the KoK stuff from what I've seen thus far. I'm waiting for their release of the PG, and then I'll start putting together a campaign for that setting.

 

[Maerdwyn]

I have Geanavue, which is a great product, but doesn't, unfortunately mesh easily with my campaign world. I'm probably getting Freeport soon, but I'm also looking forward to "Seven Cities" from Atlas Games, based on how much I liked their "Seven Strongholds" book last month.

 

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

The other d20 city out right now that I have heard of is Mongoose's Skraag City of orcs. I don't own it so I can't comment on its quality.

It stinks.... reads like The Slayer's Guide To Orcs. The "city" is a crappy hand drawn map with maybe six locations on it... Not at all what anyone would expect. It looks like a barren village, not a city at all. I can't believe Mongoose bungled this one as bad as they did... particularly as it is the "flagship" title of their new Cities of Fantasy series. Their next release--Stormhaven--will probably be much better (talked to the author a bit). Mongoose tends to improve with each new release, such as the marked difference in crunchy coolness between Quintessential Fighter and Quintessential Rogue (Mike Mearls strikes again!).

 

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

I have Geanavue, which is a great product, but doesn't, unfortunately mesh easily with my campaign world. I'm probably getting Freeport soon, but I'm also looking forward to "Seven Cities" from Atlas Games, based on how much I liked their "Seven Strongholds" book last month.

I agree with you about Geanavue... But I didn't like Seven Strongholds (they weren't generic enough--I don't need weird gnomish forts or birdman forts or elven forts---just a nice selection of good and evil human forts, standard medieval designs). I am still looking forward to Seven Cities, however. Although if it is full of gnomes, dwarves, birdmen and elves, I won't be buying it. Wish so many people weren't hung up on "High Fantasy, let's pack in all the races" type settings. It would be much easier to add those in for the people who wanted them than it is to take them out for those of us who don't.

I'm hoping to check out Freeport tonight when my local store gets their UPS shipment.

 

[Arcane Runes Press]

Their next release--Stormhaven--will probably be much better (talked to the author a bit).

Yes, I hope Stormhaven meets people's hopes and expectations. I had a whole lot of fun writing it. Definately not a cuddly city, but not an absolute pit of despair either.

Question for everyone. Do all copies of Freeport come in shrinkwrap? I saw it at the store and wanted to flip through it, particularly to take a peak at the much vaunted map. Unfortunately, it was wrapped up.

 

[1StrangeFellow]

The lawfulness of Geanavue is highly overstated. Right in the middle of the city you've got an inn called the Door of Dreams that the city watch basically turns a blind eye toward as long things don't spill out into the rest of the city that was a huge, sprawling reputedly haunted manor. Now it's a place of decadence, where assassins can find assignments, the lustful can find a whore, adventurers can get duped into working against the Basalt Throne in favor of the wealthier merchant families and you should keep a sharp eye out for a knife at your back (but if you pay the staff well enough, they might just show you an escape route in the twisting rooms and halls and cover your retreat). In addition, there are references to other brothels in the city that are less high profile where the darkest deals go down. Several evil cults are trying to gain a foothold in the city.

The difference is that like a real city, the evil and chaos aren't out in the open. They don't always directly involve the 'everyman'. You have to look for these things. The city tries to preserve commerce and safety for its citizens, and sometimes has to deal with just confining the lawlessness to certain areas either within the city or without, such as in Loona.

As with any Kingdoms of Kalamar resource, you can't just scratch the surface. You have to look deeper. It doesn't come out and slap you in the face. When you do look deeper you'll find a considerable amount of inspiration for your campaigns.

I just find it humorous when people say that there's nothing going on in a city where a headless chambermaid stalks the halls of an inn with her head on a platter, cults reserve rooms for infernal ceremonies and nobles wear masks and rent cloaks so they can hire killers anonymously. This is just a small portion of the things that could be going on in one location in the city. Nothing for adventurers to do? Stiflingly lawful? What, are you only reading the first sentence of every paragraph?

 

[Kaptain_Kantrip]

What, are you only reading the first sentence of every paragraph?

When the text is as dry and boring as that found throughout most of Geanavue, well then, the answer is "yes."

The Door of Dreams is fairly well detailed, yes (a map should have been included), but it is just *one* place. Loona is mentioned, but not given enough detail to make it usable. Instead, Kenzer wants to make us buy another supplement to get Loona's details! Other nasty people and places are just given a quick mention--blink and you'll miss them. Geanavue comes across as stodgy and stiflingly lawful. A place where nothing fun happens. Even the sample fiction sets that tone, with its boring protagonist craftsman trying to get a simple meal and drink. If you want to have a rip-roarin' good time, better head elsewhere.