Review of San Angelo: City of Heroes

This book is huge, and packed with text and line art. The size and scope of the project is more impressive when you consider it is one of GRG's first products of professional standard. The cover, binding, layout and text equal the best material quality Palladium Publishing has ever offered and, as a Hero System product, excels in usefulness.

San Angelo is a generic West Coast city, an obvious combination of existing urban environments. The pages detail its existence from the area's very first settlers, to the present and even provide campaign suggestions for past and future, though the vast bulk of the material concerns the present. And what a present it is. Forces not yet totally understood have brought about the creation of super villains and super heroes. San Angelo is at an apex of such activity and the citizenry could not be more in love with their heroes' celebrity.

Details abound; there is a great deal of research, love and anal-retentiveness evident in these pages. Persons of super and mundane proportions are provided colorful descriptions and campaign hooks. Nothing is left unexplored, which can be a flaw. There is so much information here, maybe too much. Too much to use, too much to ignore, it is "someone else's campaign" and a large well planned out one at that. Smart gamers will be able to use, adapt and enjoy part or all of it. Less creative gamers will be happy to have such a complete world to game in, even if it is just one city. The compulsive and power gamers may become overwhelmed by the thought of disturbing such a perfect setting with anything but perfect PCs and perfect adventures.

This is a purchase any super hero rpg-er who is looking for urban adventures in a four-color world will find worth the dollars. Others will find a great deal of useful parts but the sum may not justify the expense. Hats off to the author and GRG for such a complete project.