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Five Fingers: Port of Deceit
First, there's the book itself. Thinner than the IKWG and IKCG, I'd put this about the same as the Liber Mechanika or WM: Prime. Hardbound, with a gloss cover and the IK logo centered low on the cover just above the title. PP's mark is in the upper left, and there's a big picture on the cover that seems to try and display all the notable elements of Five Fingers at once. At $34.99, it's roughly half the size of the IKCG and IKWG for $5 less- 208 pages with a color map of Five Fingers in the back. So you're paying roughly $0.17 per page. The pages are black and white, with a slight gloss to them that makes reading a little difficult with direct overhead lighting- but not too bad.
Most of the book is presented as written by individuals in Five Fingers, or nearby. Each chapter has its own speaker, who is in a decent position to know what they're talking about. Up til you hit the Appendix, rules are kept separate from the text by setting them in grey callout boxes, some of which take up whole pages. Other than those, it's the World Guide style of writing- all something a character might hear or read.
Chapter 1: Hands On Experience
This is actually interesting- the Contents page refers to the chapter with the above title- but the title as given in the text is Port of Deceit. I think that might well be a revision that didn't get noticed- how many people really proofread the Contents page?
This is the history and general orientation section, again following the World Guide in general format. You get a rough idea of where the islands are and how the city came to exist- including its rather infamous patron 'saint.' The text is definitely colored by the speaker, with rambling about Thurians. However it doesn't really hurt anything- it's just something extra that helps give a feel for the mercenary company he's part of (and of course, which features later on in the book) which you would miss out on if not for the way the book's set up. Census numbers give you some idea of what ethnicities and races are found in the city- though I have to admit I wish there was more breakdown in some areas. Saying there's less than a hundred Nyss in Five Fingers doesn't help much- you could probably say the same thing about Ord. Possibly even Cygnar. Specifying there's 500 Kossites (roughly, I assume) but saying the Morridane number 'less than 1,000' seems kind of ramshackle. Surely if you can tell me there's roughly 500 Kossites, you can give me something like, '900 Morridane,' or whatever.
Still- minor gripe. It's a good setup and a history I was not expecting. It was a very useful read.
Chapter 2: Life on the Isles
I have to admit I found this part amusing, just because I picked this book up while on a trip and a lot of the info is presented as a traveler's guide to the city. Where to stay, good places to eat, how to avoid getting mugged, that sort of thing. I could easily draw parallels to real world cities, particularly some of the attitude that's offered with regards to shops and how to avoid becoming a victim of crime. There's also bits and pieces that I can quickly point at and say, "this reminds me of-" and rattle something off. The bit of story at the beginning is very much akin to the beginning of Romeo & Juliet (the play, not any movie adaptation), while the description of what people drink, the propensity of gambling, and so on make me think of Las Vegas, New York, and real world drinks (particularly one time when a coworker tried to eat the fruit out of his finished drink- man he looked unhappy at the taste).
My only 'downside' is the stated reason why the speaker came to Five Fingers. There's nothing wrong with it really- it just shows a certain level of.. well, lack of sense. He left Corvis because of the events of the Witchfire Trilogy, saying it was just too dangerous. And yet, what haven did he head for? Five Fingers. That strikes me as the equivalent of leaving the mid-US because you hate the cold, and moving to New England.
This chapter also provides a lot of info that's useful in general- holidays, festivals, and perhaps most importantly, rules for conducting a chase. It's not overly complex, but it's useful. Certainly better than the default d20 rules- there's more room for making things exciting, rather than just moving both participants their full movement and making Constitution checks to see if they get tired.
Chapter 3: Island by Island
Again we see the IKWG influence, this time in almost the exact same manner. It works, so why knock it, right? Each district on each island is presented much like the cities of the IKWG, going over population breakdowns, places of interest, people of note, and so on. It's interesting that this has been expanded a bit to include wealth, disease, crime, vigilance (how much presence the law has- such as it is) and influence. You get a very good idea as to where it's (relatively) safe to wander, and where you'll get into a fight, catch some wasting disease, or pay attention to who's in charge. Minor islands are mentioned more in passing than anything else- but when the place has a population of 12, what do you expect?
It's also worth note that there's little asides of Legends & Lore much like in the Monsternomicon, with different levels of knowledge providing more in-depth info. Little things that are also worth note are shrines- little places where you might hear about and if you can make the proper offering and prayers, you might get a short-lived boost. It's nice- nothing too powerful, but it adds a bit of local mythology and lore that's useful. The significance of a particular statue, or why there's all those shells and sharks' teeth in front of the altar. I'd certainly encourage similar things elsewhere- possibly even extending things into notable cathedrals and the like. There's something fitting about going to the Sancteum to pray before a major confrontation, rather than just meditating in your hotel room.
Chapter 4: Crime & Industry
Here's the equivalent of Chapter 2 of the IKWG- the breakdown on what people do, what you can get, who controls what, crimes, newspapers, and so on. Of course, this being Five Fingers, things are a little different than in the IKWG.
The chapter starts out with law- which gets about as much space as is fitting for its existence in the city. Which is to say, not much. Next, crime has a large and colorful writeup that explains all sorts of ways to break the law properly, including when not to and when the lack of official law is not necessarily the lack of all governing bodies. Some just prefer dispensing punishment with a knife rather than a gavel. Annoying the High Captains may very well be much worse than the Watch.
Next up- industries. Not surprisingly, gambling, drinking, and prostitution are first out of the dock, with pit fights not far behind. Next is what you'd generally consider 'real' industries, with discussion of locally-produced products, exports, and the supporting industries that keep the island running. I was interested to learn that sugar's a significant part of the same, given the islands are not overly conductive to farming- but then it's used for making rum. So I suppose my surprise was a bit early.
Costs of doing business- taxes and bribes. At times you'd think they're the same thing. Of course, this isn't true. Bribes you offer someone money- taxes are much closer to extortion. Then there's graft, or skimming. Taking in extra cash and not telling your employer about it. Overall it's just more money moving from person to person.
The High Captains get a description, as do the gangs and syndicates under their command. If you've seen the stat blocks in No Quarter, this shouldn't surprise you- it's a simple way to quantify the gangs, including their numbers, level of organization, and rituals. To say nothing of their available cash. These are the ones that will likely provide the most opposition to a Five Fingers campaign- the gang wars and enforcers that are going to face the players. Useful- but if you intend to make use of any gang, I'd strongly suggest fleshing it out from what's in the book. It's the difference between someone saying, "Yeah- that's twenty miles east of here, more or less. Can get there by the highway," or them saying, "Go up three roads and take a left, keep going til you hit the construction, then once you see the end of that take the first right..."
The remainder of the chapter is devoted to rules- reputation (useful not only for the criminal underworld, you could use the same system for other things), gang wars, and the beginner's guide to starting a criminal empire. Arguably you might never need to show this to players. But it's all there, just the same. And might be useful to give your PCs ideas for how to gain a reputation.
Chapter 5: Intrigue, Power & Influence
Ah, you knew it was coming- this is the basic writeup of the movers and shakers, and how they affect each other. The prominent strings that get pulled, as it were. What's Cygnar's interest? Does Khador have any agents in the city? What's the deal with Cryx? Is the Order of Illumination here- after all, the Thamarites are supposed to be in some cave. And then there's the Fraternal Order, Cult of Cyriss, and more. If they're a power player in the world, they're addressed here. If they affect the Ordic crown, they're here. Some areas are more fleshed out than others- and it's all in-character so there's areas that are just question marks or described as unreliable. But it's certainly useful. After all, who would expect a monk of the Order of Keeping to be here to... well, you'll see.
This is a very short section, really- but it doesn't have to be overly long. There's also some discussion of the mercenary companies that live in Five Fingers, some of which play the part of the law. Again, stat blocks much like the gangs.
Chapter 6: The Shadows
This is, for all intents and purposes, the Thamarite Chapter. It makes it very, very clear just what the Thamarites are up to, what they know, what they don't know, and who they have their hooks set into. It's rather stunning just how much power is discussed here, for all that the rest of the book details the power of the High Captains. Much as Morrow is owed fealty in the Iron Kingdoms while people pledge to kings or queens, so too does Thamar carry as much sway, if indirectly.
Maybe the best thing about this chapter is the simple fact that it provides an excellent example of how you can have an undeniably evil organization that at the same time is something you could live with- if you ever wanted to play a Thamarite in a game, this is an excellent example of the mindset that would let you do it while remaining cohesive with the rest of the group. If you ever wanted to have Thamarites in the game that were more than baby-eating insane necromancers and arsonists, this works. There's a level of... practicality you just don't see anywhere else when dealing with evil religions. My hat is off to Privateer and the writing staff- this is by far my favorite chapter and I will be using this as inspiration for years, if not decades to come.
Chapter 7: Adventure in Five Fingers
This is the part of the book that's DM Only. You get a lot of information that's not available to the narrators, things that help flesh out rumors and whispers, or correct things. it's all stuff that, if you decide to use it, makes for excellent additions to the rest of the volume. Furthermore, the rules for how the stat blocks are used is very helpful- there's much more info on things like what a 'Moderate' disease level means and how to use that in game.
All of this can really be used outside Five Fingers, to the point that if you're going to center a game around a particular city I'd strongly suggest getting this book and using the format and framework provided to flesh things out- delineate districts, figure out prominent points of interest in each, add in stats for disease, vigilance, and so on, to get a good handle on things. Very useful stuff. Heck- if you have the time I'd say do this for all cities you know your players will visit. Then tell me how you got that much free time.
Appendix
This is a section notable in that it's pure crunch, more or less. You get the revised Spy/Agent prestige class, the Malefactor of Thamar and the Enforcer prestige classes, a bunch of feats (some Five Fingers specific, others more general- the FF specific stuff I'd bet you could easily adapt elsewhere), and then a very handy listing of where to go to buy things in Five Fingers, cross-referenced by page number.
Your players want to buy a gun? How good a gun? The best? Check out Firearms/Ammunition, quality 4, that'd be Gabson Fine Rifles and Sidearms, on Bellows Island. Maybe they just want a decent tavern? How about Blaggard's Manse on Crane Island? Info on page 76.
Summary
This is an excellent book, even if you never set foot in Five Fingers. You might not use everything if you avoid the city, but it will still prove useful for handling cities in the Iron Kingdoms in general. If you head into Five Fingers this is going to offer a lot of useful detail, and a good amount of adventure opportunities without ever opening another book. If I ever ran a game outside the IK, I still might find it useful for setting up cities for game play. As I was reading this book I was itching to play a character in a Five Fingers game- or any city, really, just because of the opportunities to enjoy it. Second Story Man all the way, it just sings for such a character. To say nothing of assassins, street toughs, backalley sorcerers, and more.
I'd also like to note one thing I didn't mention above, but which I think I should- the Rigs. The Rigs have a special place in my heart because a long while back I decided I wanted to set up an urban terrain board where models could move from one side of the board to the other without every touching ground. There'd be all sorts of impromptu building, rope bridges, and more- all designed with that in mind. A city above the city. I loved the idea. I still want to do that- even if I no longer have access to the tools to do it right. Well, the Rigs are exactly that, plus some. A giant maze of ropes, nets, ramshackle buildings, bridges, and the like all suspended above the city itself, and filled with gobbers and bogrin. It's just... it's the sort of thing where I could annoy a DM, unintentionally, just because I'd never hit street level. Easily my favorite thing in the book.
And now that I've written somewhere around 2600 words (or one 12-word sentence for every page in the book), I think I'll stop.
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