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For those of you who haven’t noticed the company’s dozens of awards, groundbreaking products, and consistent excellence, that means that this accessory more then lives up to the high standards the company has set for itself.
As one might expect, “Denizens of Freeport” is a rogue’s gallery of colorful NPCs from Green Ronin’s popular Freeport campaign setting/city. Though the book presents dozens of potential allies and enemies for Freeport based heroes, the majority of the characters can be transported to other settings with only the most minimal changes. But besides the universal nature of most of the NPCs provided, perhaps one of the product’s most interesting qualities is the sheer number of neutral and commoner type personalities. Often overlooked, these characters are some of the most lively and intriguing folk presented, assuring that a party’s next trip to town will be an adventure unto itself. In addition, “Denizens of Freeport” includes several new magical items, character abilities, feats, and statistics accessible and clearly marked as open game content.
“Denizens of Freeport” opens with a brief introduction by Green Ronin president Chris Pramas who summarizes the usefulness of the book and gets to say “yaaarrrr!” Mr. Pramas hits the nail on the head noting the near infinite number of adventures these characters could inspire as well as the usefulness of having a cool NPCs ready on demand. He also mentions that a player in desperate need of a characters could draw one from the variety of levels and classes presented within, but to me that seems like a bit of a stretch. Though one might get lucky and find just the right class at just the right level they were looking for, I don’t know many players who would be content playing Janis Hawthorne the fruit seller, or if I’d let a PC be Gitch, the goblin fire marshal, for even just an evening (though I’m sure it’d be interesting). But all in all, Mr. Pramas accomplishes his goal, prefacing the text with a relevant, readably brief, and appropriately piratical introduction.
The main portion of “Denizens of Freeport” is, of coarse, concerned with “Denizens of Freeport”. The book presents sixty-nine different character entries written by Keith Baker, Bret Boyd, Elissa Carey, Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Steven Creech, Jesse Decker, Gareth Hanrahan, John Kasab, Brian E. Kirby, Jennifer Kirby, Jim Lai, Todd Miller, Brad Nieder, Patrick O’Duffy, Charles W. Plemons III, Chris Pramas, Rober J. Toth, and Chris Wilkes, but with the number of cohorts, familiars, pets, etc. described along with many, the actual number of fully stated NPCs is significantly closer to one hundred. Each of the sixty-nine main characters adhere to a strict format: a stat block (with full explanations if any changes to the normal rules have been made), background, personality, physical description, and three to eleven plot hooks. Each character takes up roughly one page, though some spill over to as much as two, and is always accompanied by a appropriate black-and-white portrait. But layout aside, Green Ronin has produced some remarkably clever characters using a relatively basic format.
Paging through “Denizens of Freeport”, one is sure to run across something they didn’t expect. Rather then just being a collection of patch-eyed pirates (not to say that there aren’t one or two) the accessory truly runs the gambit of races, levels, and classes, and often in some quite unusual ways. Half-orc aristocrats, halfling druids, elven barbers, half-elves with split personality disorder, the list goes on and on, not to mention the several monstrous races described as having found their niche in Freeport. While each entry presents something thought-provoking at the least (downright ingenious at best) one or two deserve special mention. Author Keith Baker has done some fantastic work in this accessory, contributing (among others) Portia Poorbelly, the world’s fattest halfling, and the Irontooth clan, a family of “noble” half-orcs, each character being worthy of and potentially inspirational to dozens of adventures. Patrick O’Duffy has also truly exceeded the call to creativity, offering readers Cuttleback, the illithid pirate (yes, a mind flayer pirate!), and Tamiel Deepkiller, a fallen elven monk able to turn into a stingray, both being villains of such unique potential that I know they’ll be terrorizing my campaign’s seas as soon as possible. But besides merely doing impressive things with standard races and creatures Green Ronin has also drawn on their extraordinary library of previous extraordinary works, tying several characters in with those presented in Freeport: City of Adventure and even Jade Dragons & Hungry Ghosts. Surprisingly though, no creatures from their more fiendish works rear their heads in this product, though I’m sure that’s perfectly fine with the populace of Freeport.
But besides the characteristic high quality of the writing, “Denizens of Freeport” also enjoys (and compliments) Green Ronin’s first-rate art and layout. As mentioned, each of the main sixty-nine characters is accompanied by a black-and-white portrait, a necessity (and an ambitious undertaking) for a collection such as this. Artists Ilya Astrakhan, Toren “Macbin” Atkinson, Drew Baker, Marcio Fiorito, David Griffith, Chris Keefe, Britt Martin, Chris Martinez, Micheal Phillippi, and James Ryman do amazing things to bring each character to life and with a variety of styles, while Wayne Reynolds creates a very appealing, classy, and appropriately busy front cover. Generally I’m not a big fan of significantly different styles apparent on facing pages or of standardly sized or block artwork, but somehow Green Ronin pulls it all off here. Perhaps it’s the strictly adhered to character format, but impressively the relatively simple layout works perfectly. Michael Phillippi’s work also deserves to be singled out here (my apologies if I have the artist wrong), his rich, dark style is (as always) impressive throughout, especially on unique characters like Cuttleback and Captain Spooky. Also, annihilating any trace of white-space, headlines from Freeport’s “The Shipping News” (as seen in Freeport: City of Adventure) subtly create a few alternative plot hooks and update readers on some of the city’s most recent news, overall, a very cool idea that’s nicely presented. Also, Green Ronin offers a good deal of Open Game Content nicely marked in shaded boxes that are both easy to read and easy to find, unnecessary, but considerate and another fine touch.
Unfortunately, despite the dozens of virtues “Denizens of Freeport” presents, a few issues do exist. Most prominent, and a real surprise considering Green Ronin’s usually meticulous standards, is a noticeable problem with editing. It’s never anything too jarring or that affects the text’s usefulness, but more then once a word does appear to have been misplaced or even omitted. Also, a few of the pictures are a little on the obscure side, more then once a piece of art depicting several characters makes it difficult to discern who is who, even with a description nearby. Some of the more minimalistic pieces in “Denizens of Freeport” are also a change from Green Ronin’s usually rather classy standards and I personally hope that they’ll not become a regular addition to the company’s products. But overall, these qualms are minor at best and are offered only as constructive criticisms (and so I don’t sound like a complete fan-boy).
In general, “Denizens of Freeport” is impressive and a worthy addition to both Green Ronin’s and one’s personal library of products. Though the book probably won’t revolutionize your game its characters promise to add an invaluable amount of flavor while the plot hooks assure that any campaign will be a good deal more interesting. But even better (a trait all too often lacking from role-playing products) “Denizens of Freeport” is truly entertaining and enjoyable to read. It’s a rare novel (and an even rarer game text) that you literally don’t want to put down, but “Denizens of Freeport” is assured to keep you amused and, probably more then once, laughing out loud. Overall, despite any problems, “Denizens of Freeport” scores an easy 5 out of 5 stars for both style and substance.
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