Hero Games' Hudson City: The Urban Abyss

[Crothian]

ON THE MEAN STREETS....

Welcome to Hudson City, pal. Better watch your step. Only the smart and the lucky survive around here. Hudson City: The Urban Abyss describes the (in)famous Pearl City in all its gritty detail, from the glittering skyscrapers of Bankhurst to the grimy, sin-filled streets of the Strip. It's the perfect setting for your Dark Champions adventures!

Hudson City includes:

—a history of the city from its founding to the present day

—detailed descriptions of all the major neighborhoods in Hudson City, including locations and people of note

—a review of city government and services, from the mayor's office to the cop on the beat

—a who's who of Hudson City society and the underworld, with plenty of enemies, adversaries, and rivals for your PCs to encounter during their adventures

—dozens of NPCs, ranging from average joes to powerful crimelords

—gamemastering information and advice

—numerous city and neighborhood maps

Make sure you've got enough ammo and are ready for anything... the mean streets of the urban abyss await!

Stock #: DOJHERO601
ISBN: 1-58366-037-2
176-pg Trade Paperback, Perfect Bound
Retail: $26.99
Author: Steven S. Long
Artists: Klaus Scherwinski (Cover), Various (Interior)
Available Now!

 

[Sketchpad]

Hudson City

Hudson City: The Urban Abyss

First off, let me say that this is not a d20 book; rather it’s a setting for Hero Games’ Dark Champions genre book for the Hero System. That being said, this book is an incredible sourcebook for anyone wanting a city to run modern or post-modern campaigns in. At 278 pages, this healthy tome is quite the bargain. Not only do you get a fully detailed city, but you also get various residents of the city and a score of maps so your players won’t get lost while wondering the streets.
While a brief section, chapter one gives the reader an introduction to the “Pearl City”, covering its history through the ages. From it’s founding in the early 1800s to the situation today, this chapter gives a great historical overview.
One of the two largest chapters, chapter two brings the reader into the city. Starting off with city stats that includes sports teams, population and even “average sunny days per month”, the chapter gives essays on typical weather and modes of transportation within the city. Delving into each neighborhood, the reader is treated to area maps (which complement the city map at the beginning) and given details like shops, landmarks and places to go while “on the town”. With over 25 areas covered in detail, it’d quite easy to determine an exact area where an adventure may happen … right down to the street names and possibly even the address. Finishing up the chapter is some information on local politics, giving stats for the mayor of Hudson City, as well as other city officials and stations.
Chapter three is appropriately titled “A Day in the Life”. Within this chapter, the reader is introduced to all the normal, day-to-day livings of the citizens of Hudson City. Need a radio station that may have alarming news alert? There are 13 to choose from. How about a local school that a character’s younger sibling attends? There are public, private and even suburban schools to choose from. Anything that a character could encounter is covered within this chapter.
The law is the subject of chapter four, giving details on the Hudson City police department, as well as the judicial system, fire department and even a brief coverage on vigilantes. Also included are essays on police corruption, information on the local penitentiaries and even some information on response time. Rounded out with some stats for members for the various departments, this chapter proves to be incredibly useful for any GM.
In direct opposition to the last chapter, chapter five covers the various criminals of the city. From organized crime to gangs to costumed criminals, this chapter touches on all the major criminal influences in Hudson City. With some of the major players statted out, this chapter easily proves to be as useful as the last.
Chapter six covers areas that are consider “hot spots” or places of interest for anyone coming into the city. Detailing areas like “Little Egypt” or “Avenue of the Elms”, there are plenty of places for heroes to interact with. This chapter seemed like a good feature to me because it adds a bit of a hometown feel.
The last chapter of Hudson City is dedicated to gamemaster information. Included within are sections on adapting Hudson City to other genres, a “GM’s Vault” that describes some of the inner workings of the other chapters, and a bevy of NPCs that may be used as Allies and Enemies. For fans of Dark Champions, it’s within this chapter that introduces the fifth edition version of the Harbinger of Justice, one of the more infamous characters from the first Dark Champions supplement.
Add to this information Hero Games’ usual penchant for a detailed index, some great maps of heroic cartographer Keith Curtis and a street finder and you have a great product that could easily be adapted over to any system and any genre.
As an added bonus, Hero Games has supplemented the book with various goodies, offering a “Hudson City Encyclopedia”, “Hudson City Bar, Grill and Restaurant Guide” and “Hudson City Neighborhood Reference Guide”. These three PDFs are available on Hero Games’ website under their Free Stuff banner.

 

[Jay Murphy1]

I've taken Hudson City over and use the book as my game's campaign city - Capitol City. The game I have been playing is not even a Champions game. Its an original supers universe using MEGS as the game system. Point is, if you have a good idea what you want your grim, east-coast city to be like, the Hudson City source book has a lot for you. You and your players still have to make the places listed on the map interesting, but the book does a great job providing a solid framework for creating hard-hitting modern superhero roleplaying. Treat it like your personal city phone book which is not to hard to look through. My copy is highlited and written on everywhere with campaign notes. I guess this is what I like best about Hudson City, it feels more like a workbook than a sourcebook!

 

[BigJackBrass]

checks calendar

 

[DrunkonDuty]

It's one of the few Champions books I don't own. Perhaps it is time I bought it.