People, Places, and Things is a modern day generic supplement, providing a set of locations, maps, personalities, and plot hooks for your game of choice. The download rates in as a hefty 75.5 MB zip file. The 82 page full color PDF also comes with a folder containing ready-to-print, large battle maps for detailed miniature action. Despite the download size, the package is worth the wait.
Detail, What Detail?
The product boasts 29 locations, suitable for most any modern game setting. Fans of D20 Modern, Feng Shui, Over the Edge, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Active Exploits, GURPS, Call of Cthulhu, or any other present day rpg can find some resources and usefulness inside. Each location comes with a full color map, as well as a corresponding battle map for tactical maneuvering and extra detail.
Each location has a variety of information included – hours of operation, proprietor, cash on hand, security, pawn-able goods, impromptu weapons, description, regulars, and scenario hooks.
The ideas, especially those included in the scenario hooks, are useful for supernatural, action adventure, or conspiracy settings. The level of detail also keeps things quite flexible – knowing what goods are pawn-able in the story provides some grit for thieving punks and having a list of possible weapons in case of an all-out brawl is pretty damn cool too. Furthermore, the detail isn’t overwhelming to the point of being restrictive – it would still be quite easy to modify these locations into a particular setting or theme as needed.
How About An Example?
The Chuckle Bucket is a comedy club on the edge of the inner city and newly renovated art district. Regulars include Jalani, a wallflower type who loves the attention, Calvin Parker, a college student who enjoys the open mike nights, and Kameron Loch, the MC and local ladies man. Burglars will find $2400 in the till, plus three to four times that in credit card receipts. A hefty chunk of $6000 or so waits in the safe. If a fight breaks out, action heroes might find a microphone stand, chair, bar stools, loose brick from the front of the store, bubblegum dispenser, or bowling pins as improvised weapons. Among the possible adventure hooks, Jalani goes missing, and it turns out – she manages the investments of several wealthy individuals. A computer hacker and sleuth can pick up the clues to her disappearance. And some folks are whispering that the owner of the comedy club might just be some sort of psychic vampire…
You can also check out the sample - http://www.secondrat.com/arclight/pptdemo.pdf
The Good
This is fun stuff! The locations are imaginative, fresh, and detailed. Each locale could be the basis for an adventure or the backdrop for a violent confrontation or crime scene. The scenario hooks are flexible and interesting. The maps are well done, ready to be printed out and slapped down on to poster board or cardboard. And heck, it’s pretty well written.
The Bad
It’s a big file to download. Even on a T1 wireless access, it took a few minutes to download the package. For folks on dialups, you’ll want to purchase the CD version and have it mailed directly to your house. The included art, while decent, is clipart style. A few of the ideas in the scenarios are a bit goofy too. While the maps are nice, you won’t get value out of them if you don’t use miniatures.
Should You Own It?
The question is simple – do you run a modern day campaign?
For $20, you get over 29 locations ready for your ongoing game. It’s worth it if you need cool locales to drop in, especially if an adventure runs shorter or longer than you thought. Each location is worth an adventure or two on its own, so if you run a scene based series in the midst of a booming city, the variety and imagination behind these businesses can be a breath of fresh air. Don’t discredit the interesting NPC ideas and extra detail either – this is definitely a worthy product!
For more information, check out Second Rat Games’ website – http://www.secondrat.com/
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