Nov RPG Book Club: City of Brass

[Varianor Abroad]

Good question. I would say slightly better on the setting side than the adventure side (because it's so wide open), but it's pretty good at both. There are many detailed locations in the city and outside. (I particularly like the line to get in.)

 

[Treebore]

I like it better as a setting because just roaming around and playing in the setting will inspire tons of adventure hooks.

 

[Qualidar]

I started reading with the first book (the setting book), and put it aside to delve into the Pathfinder RPG Beta rules. When I finished them up I really didn't feel like going back to the setting book, so I skipped ahead to the adventure book.

I. LOVE. IT.

I've never been a big fan, or even a "fan" really, of anything from Necromancer that I've read (which is an admittedly small sample)*. I just didn't get what all the fuss was about. Now I get it: the adventures in City of Brass are loose enough to run with, creative, evocative as hell, and have just the right quotient of twisted I'm looking for. I can't wait to actually run these for some people.

Now that I'm actually invested in it a bit more I'm eager to get back to that setting book, as well.

EDIT:* that's not entirely true. I did really like that one with the ravens that I can't recall the name of now. That was quite good.

 

[Psion]

I've never been a big fan, or even a "fan" really, of anything from Necromancer that I've read (which is an admittedly small sample)*. I just didn't get what all the fuss was about. Now I get it: the adventures in City of Brass are loose enough to run with, creative, evocative as hell, and have just the right quotient of twisted I'm looking for. I can't wait to actually run these for some people.

Don't forget to tune in to the City of Brass PbP I'm starting over at CM.

 

[kensanata]

I wanted to use this book, and started using it around level 10. The campaign ended around level 15. My players did not (!) like the City of Brass, and I have mixed feelings about it. You must be in a certain state of mind to run it, and I guess I didn't have it.

First small things I didn't like: Finding appropriate stat blocks in the back was very aggravating. Reading some of the entries inspired me to interesting scenes, but for my players, it seemed like all these awesome adventuring locales that were off-limit and full of very, very powerful foes. So they didn't go there. The only thing they liked was buying magic items (since I had controlled magic items available to the group for the first nine levels). The maps were uninspiring.

I think reading some of the inspiring entries (the wooden tower with the wizards at the top, the bathhouse run by salamanders, the hidden temple of Orcus in the sewers, the kobold kitchen assassins) but failed to produce an interesting adventure. Maybe due to my players not really engaging because they felt so out of their league.

If you plan on running with this box you need to be aware of these issues.

 

[Jack99]

I am so hoping I get this for Xmas tomorrow!

 

[carmachu]

I am so hoping I get this for Xmas tomorrow!

Dont you have to wait two days? Its only the 23rd....

 

[Jack99]

Dont you have to wait two days? Its only the 23rd....

24th in my country. Early Xmas FTW