Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2010271" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtest review.Please note that this review contains some spoilers in the discussion of Chapters 8 and 9. Streets Of Silver is a city sourcebook for the Twin Crowns campaign setting from Living Imagination.Streets Of Silver is a 312-page mono softcover product costing $29.95. There is very good use of space in terms of font, margins and white space with just a 1-page ad in the back of the book. The artwork runs from average to good, with a particularly evocative front cover showing gargoyles crouched on ledges and winging their way over a lamp-lit city waterway. Maps are basic but clear, except for the scale, which is so minute as to be mainly unreadable, and there are no compass directions. This is not true of the colour map attached in the back of the book, where scale is readable and compass direction given - this makes a useful resource for both GMs and players. Writing style is good, as is editing, with only occasional minor errors (the most amusing one in a section regarding a ritual that destroys all plants in an area - "If left completely fallow, wild pants will begin to invade the barren area").Streets of Silver deals with the metropolis of Parma, located in the Duchy of Parma on the Novarese Coast (part of Living Imagination's Twin Crowns setting). Parma resembles one of the cities of mediaeval Italy, and the information given has an authentic historical resonance, despite no mention being made of sources of inspiration.IntroductionThis short intro outlines the contents of the book and gives some advice for conversion to other campaign settings, which mainly gives a list of the fields of influence of the deities of the Twin Crown setting. There are also a few paragraphs of in-character flavour text giving an overview of the city.Chapter 1: GeographyThis short chapter gives an overview of the Duchy of Parma, concentrating mainly on the cities and towns that hold most of its population. The entries give both general information on location, population, and trade, and a few adventure seeds encapsulated within the description. There is also a two-page map of the area surrounding Parma.Chapter 2: HistoryI find long histories fairly boring so I was pleased to see this chapter was fairly short, giving a general overview of the founding of the city, the destructive Thieves War about a hundred years ago, the background of the war of succession that closely followed, and the history of the Duke of Parma, a khesta named Elghin, who acceded when he was adopted by the previous human Duke, and now puts his plans for rebuilding Parma into practice.Chapter 3: GovernmentThis looks at the government structure of Parma - the duke and the nobility, the senate (which proposes and passes the laws of Parma as well as economic investment in new projects), the ducal council (which looks more at administering the law, and controls trade, building, works of art, and military control), the Parma Nationale (the police force of Parma), and the local naval base. There is also a section on the laws of Parma with a table showing crime and punishment.Chapter 4: CultureThis chapter begins with the year's calendar for events in Parma, including elections, carnivals, and holy days. There is a simplified list of social status from highest to lowest, a discussion on Parman greetings, table manners, and rules for polite conversation (and social faux pas). There is also a section on vendetta, with details on how these wars between important families start and develop. There is further information on Parman dress, and art and theatre. The next section looks at the economy of Parma, with a table showing the trading prices for imported and exported goods, and shipping and passage fees. The chapter ends with stat blocks for gondolas and the Parman fishing vessel in line with the rules from Living Imaginations 'Broadsides' product.Chapter 5: OrganizationsVarious churches are represented in Parma and the religious organizations that run these churches are described at the beginning of the chapter - arcane organizations such as the College of the Magi and The Magus Guild are also described. A couple of mercenary companies are covered, before the rest of the chapter outlines the main mercantile groups in Parma, including a semi-secret smuggling cabal.Chapter 6: New RulesThe chapter begins with four 10-level prestige classes:* Courtesan - gains an increasing ability to charm others, with good Reflex and Will saves, and a Rogue's BAB & HD.* Inspector - 1st-level entry point for this PrC is a bit odd, with four skills at 4 ranks each, the Alertness feat, and the ability to cast two divination spells. A 1st-level spellcasting character should be able to meet this requirement with a reasonable Intelligence score. This 'prestige' class gains various investigative powers (including an arcane spell list up to 5th level) and acts as the only honourable members of the otherwise corrupt police force of Parma.* Mendicant - gang leader or crime boss, another PrC with a low (3rd-level) entry requirement and abilities that enhance their ability to run an organisation.* Shifter - a consummate actor who gains magical abilities to enhance their performance (as well as helping them in their alternative role as a spy or assassin).The next section introduces eleven new rituals for use with Twin Crowns' ritual rules. These include Foul Land (renders a square mile of land infertile for a decade) and protection from scrying (which permanently blocks magical scrying). Two new creatures are also given - the insidious Milano Cat and the odd Pulley Golem. Two new magical items - potion of invulnerability and a minor cursed artifact, the Bloodstone Ring, which makes an appearance with one of the NPCs later in the book.Chapter 7: Neighborhoods Of ParmaThis chapter constitutes the meat of the book at over 160 pages and is essentially a detailed gazetteer of Parma. Each location use a template that covers the following aspects:* A location identification code to find it on the accompanying neighbourhood map (unfortunately this does not also relate to the larger colour map in the back of the book).* A Star Rating (from 1 to 5) giving a comparison with other establishments in Parma.* A gp rating giving an idea of the amount of wealth generally found in the building or location.* The number of occupants (including transients such as customers or guards/employees, and permanent residents)* Size and number of rooms* Wares (types of items or services to be found)* A description, giving further information on the locationChapter 8: Below The SurfaceThis chapter gives eleven shortish adventure ideas exploring the dark underbelly of Parma. It includes concepts such as a foreign spy ring whose intelligence source is cunningly hidden in a gift of magical statues, the subversion of a prominent magistrate using a magical poison to further the ends of a cult cell, and a vendetta between two rich merchant families focused on support of two opposing entertainment ensembles. Each adventure idea covers two or three pages and is quite well fleshed out, including a few paragraphs on the adventure background, a plot overview, and PC hooks. Some of the adventure ideas may contain further information such as a new poison, some information on the gargoyles of the Piazza di Courtilay, and other information to help develop the adventures.Chapter 9: Behind The ScenesThis 50-page chapter uses the format of the gazetteer in Chapter 7. However, for each location, a secret is given (from minor information such as the location of a locked wall safe behind a painting and its contents to significant detail such as the activities of the nefarious Mithral Guard under the Donjon) as well as brief stats for the major NPCs to be found at each location. This effectively provides the GM with further plot hooks and allows the information in Chapter 7 (which could be made available to players) to be clearly demarcated from the GM-only information in this chapter.Chapter 10: NPCsThis chapter gives stat blocks for the NPCs introduced in Chapter 8. These stat blocks seem fairly OK with a few minor mistakes (such as giving a rogue a longsword as their main weapon with no weapon proficiency feat, and the penalty not applied to their attacks). There is no additional information on their background or personality here, above and beyond that offered in the adventure ideas in Chapter 8 or at their locations elsewhere in the book.Conclusion:This is an interesting and detailed look at a bustling and decadent port town. In many ways, it reminded me of Freeport: City Of Adventure, in that it contains a mixture of detailed gazetteer and adventure hooks with some new rules to suit the setting. The splitting of the information between player and GM has its advantages and disadvantages - on the one hand, the GM can freely show a player relevant information or know that he can safely impart information from certain chapters; on the other, finding all the relevant information about one location (general information, secret information, adventure idea, and NPC stats) can be quite tricky and would need some organisation pre-game by the GM to ensure she can access the correct information easily and quickly in-game. The lack of index in the book exacerbates this disadvantage. Highly recommended for those running a Twin Crowns campaign, this accessory can still be of great benefit to anyone wanting to add a detailed port setting to their medieval fantasy campaign. The major question mark as to its success would be that it is similar to Freeport in its tone and type, and will probably suffer because of it, but Streets Of Silver stands on its own and should actually appeal more to those looking for a greater historical influence or an Italian feel. Better presentation and an index (and possibly linking the location codes to the colour pull-out map) could have earned the book top marks.</blockquote>

Verification