The
RPG world of D20 games has a great deal out there these days,
for the average DM to spark his or her imagination. Sword and
Sorcery's Shelzar, City of Sin however isn't just one more book
on the pile. I personally found this particular book, with the
Mithril City of the Golem book to be enough to build several
years worth the campaigns, and generate enough side stories
to create a novel. On top of that, the eNovel
Shadow Dance, begins in Shelzar, and ends in Mithril.
Unlike many RPG and D20 source books out there, this set (The
Scarred Lands) published by White Wolf, stress a great deal
on history, and NPC character themes. They create not only a
world, but an RPG culture. Consistency between the books (for
example the consistency in distances on the maps, and world
facts) was not followed up very well by editorial process, but
the books are still worth the purchase for the amount of raw
color and cultural aspect these modules can add to any D20 game.
Shelzar is a coastal trade city. A pre-Crusades Damascus (while
the old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, lies on
the south bank of the river Barada, and about 80 km inland from
the Mediterranean Sea) or perhaps a city such as Corinth would
be better, where trade and the ability to adapt and work with
many cultures at the same time earned real money. Those that
required their own values to be met every step of the way, were
lost on the side of the road, barely making enough to earn a
living.
Shelzar, is a free city, with no real standing army. The idea
that one of the countries near by might try to take Shelzar
for their own (after all it is a wealthy city) is held in check
by the need for trade to come through this port, and the knowledge
that every other country would fight against the invader, if
only to protect their trade needs.
Shelzar is to the continent's trade, what the town water-well
would be to a village. As long as no one tries to take the well
over, all get water and no one is hurt very badly. As soon as
one man or group lays claim to the well, vendettas ensue and
most of the time, the well is destroyed in the process of claim
and vengeance.
Wealth attracts, and creates all types of men and women. There
are those in Shelzar who seek higher learning, higher science,
and greater culture (probably 10 or maybe even as many as 15),
the rest are either looking to get rich, trying to get richer,
or have discovered that they have desires (and depravities)
which they seek to fulfill.
While most of the population rides the tide between these two
extremes, the extremes do exist, and are more openly expressed
than in many cultures. For the RPG Dungeon Master, the city
of Shelzar offers a wealth of ideas and RPG adventures.
The Patron Deity of this Enkili, the god of change and chaos.
Patron Deities in the lands of Scarn are more prevalent to the
game play than most RPG and D20 games. Only 150 years ago (according
to which book you are reading) the war between the Gods and
the Titans was fought on this land, eradicating cities, and
altering the landscape of the continent. These beings are only
worshipped, they are conversed with, and seen (in avatar form)
quite regularly.
Even if you don't use Sword and Sorcery's Scarred Lands setting,
Shelzar is one of those rare city supplements that you have
to find a spot for in your current campaign. Place it in an
area just off the edge of your campaign map; teleport the party
to the other side of the planet; have them discover an interdimensional
gate.
Despite
it's subject matter, however, "Shelzar: City of Sins"
is presented in a very non-sensationalistic manner. It deals
with mature themes in a matter-of-fact, non-offensive, non-exploitive
fashion. It gets its point across without graphic descriptions,
titillating illustrations, or in-your-face attitude. This is
how mature-themed RPG and D20 products should be done.
While overall I love this product, there are two things, which
keep me from giving it five stars. First, the *maps of the city.
There are only two, and they aren't very big, each barely half
a page. One map shows the various districts of the city. These
are rendered in shades of gray, so if you use a copier to blow
them up, the details become lost.
The other map has numbered key locations, which correspond
to text descriptions in Chapter Three: The City. Except some
of the locations on the map don't match up with the right district
in the text descriptions. This is not a mistake that makes good
report with RPG players or their DM's.
For example, the description for the shop of Karshi the Tailor
is included with locations found in The Souk. But the map clearly
shows his shop is not in The Souk, but in The Maze, and closer
to The Pezwahri than The Souk. It's very disappointing that
this product doesn't have a large pull-out map which can be
spread on the table during play so the characters can keep up
with where they are and where they want to go. At least a bigger,
full-page map that the DM could copy and use without having
to enlarge it. Other city supplements include these types of
maps, and I think not having one in this product is very disappointing.
Maybe it was done to keep the cost down, or maybe Sword and
Sorcery felt there wasn't room to fit in a bigger map. I think
there is some material that could have been cut out in favor
of a larger map, and the product would have benefited greatly.
The
other complaint is the absence of details on the Shelzari eroticist
prestige class. There are some key NPCs described in Chapter
Four: People of Shelzar which have levels in this prestige class.
But the class is found in another product, "Players Guide
to Wizards, Bards and Sorcerers." The text advises DMs
to ignore those PrC levels if the other product is not available,
but why rob the characters of that which makes them unique to
the setting? Again, there was some material which could have
been left out in favor of the eroticist PrC, and the product
would have been better from the RPG stand point.
(*Note: We have created a PDF Map of Shelzar and have it in
our Files section. )
The Shelzari Knife-Fighter is an interesting prestige class,
which can add color to your RPG game time. The Knife-Fighter
is unique to Shelzar, though the idea of the gladiator games
is certainly not.
Technically, gladiator games are illegal in the walls of Shelzar,
but that doesn't stop the knife pits from opening, or from the
citizens of the city to view them as the most popular form of
general entertainment.
Most knife pits are in warehouses or cellars, but there are
some which have a more open existence, such as the one in the
eBook Shadow Dance, Vangal's Edge, which holds matches twice
a week.
The attraction of the Shelzari Knife-Fighter says a great deal
about the general mind set of the citizens of Shelzar. Very
few have any interest in sword duels, or watching helpless victims
being mauled by savage beasts. The one-sided game doesn't appeal
to their nature, nor do one shot kills. The citizen of Shelzar
enjoys a battle between evenly matched opponents, where death
is not the goal, but certainly a large risk. Boxing doesn't
give enough threat (or blood for that matter), wrestling is
much too slow.
Most of those who look for fame in the pits, don't live very
long. Those that do however are famed, and highly prized by
the citizenry. The wealthy want to be seen with them, fighting
over whose party they will attend, and often pay great sums
to grace their homes.
The Shelzar book as the RPG class for the Knife Fighter, though
it is in 3.0 form, not 3.5. We are kicking around the idea of
developing the D20 3.5 classes ourselves, and if you would like
to help, talk to us in the forum.
Courtesans are also highly prized in this city, and offer far
more to their patrons than mere sex. They are sought after for
the distractions they provide, for the imaginative view points
they offer, and for the wealth of information most of them have
regarding human nature, elven lore, and dwarven law. There is
really no limits to what such companions can offer the patron
whose day is weighed down with business squabbles and trade
agreements. And of course there is the sex.
Where there is wealth, there are thieves. In Shelzar, the world
of the rouge is multi-leveled, even in comparison to most RPG
and D20 games. The Sa'an Crime Cartel exists inside the Old
City, a more militant, and organized crime group that has far
reaching influence in most of the major cities of Scarn. This
group is often the bane and reason for more noble minded rogue
classes. They are the rich who gain from the suffering and exploitation
of the poor. Self serving, despite the occasional publicity
offering, or public display of charity, they seek to bring sections
of the cities under their complete control, and to hold public
officials in check. Blackmail, coercion, racketeering, loan
sharking, and gambling houses are all within their weekly agendas.
Outside the walls of Old City, the Cutpurse Guild makes its
way through the vast underworld of Shelzar. They are growing
in numbers, and influence, though a great many of them have
little knowledge of just how vast the underworld of Shelzar
stretches.
The Cutpurse Guild however has many friends on many levels.
There are sections of the city where chasing a thief from the
Cutpurse Guild will attract the wrath of generally honest citizens,
and some bruises from those who aren't so honest. Saving homes,
feeding the poor, insuring that children are safe, and widows
are looked after, is not uncommon from this gang of thieves.
Many members of the Guild have suffered for their efforts as
well.
Shelzar is a city of contrasts. Those that first arrive are
blinded by the obvious layers of wealth and decadence. The open
display of nudity and even occasional sexual acts often convience
the visitor that Shelzar is a city without real meaning, other
than the meaning of the moment. Shelzar does little to discourage
this first impression. She knows what she is about, and if dropping
a curse word in polite conversation will arouse you, and distract
your thoughts from the real game, then far be it from her to
hold back.
Further down the depths of Shelzar's underworld are two groups
who rarely clash, but are well known to those in the know,
and equally feared by the most powerful men and women across
the land of Scarn.
The
Ancients, a group of assassins so skilled that even kings and
demi-gods are aware of the danger they pose, resides in the
depths of Shelzar. Finding them may be the last thing you ever
do. The Ancients are not to be trifled with, and hiring them
is not easy, nor an inexpensive process. While much is said
about the Ancients, little is really known. Their presence in
Shelzar is not known by many. Even those who live in the underworld,
and have far reaching networks of spies, do not know of their
presence in this city. To most people, the whereabouts of the
Ancient's lair is not a question they need answered, or even
one whose answer has value. It is likely something one would
hope to forget as soon as they learned this information. What
good is it anyway? You know where they are laired. So what?
Still, there presence and close proximity to a city like Shelzar
adds an influence which even the council and major traders of
Shelzar do not fully comprehend.
At the other side of this dark scale are the Shadow Walkers,
whose major presence in the City of Shelzar often has its own
influence. Like the Ancients, they have little to do with the
day to day actions of the population or the upper influences,
yet they are there, and they are felt.
Shadow Walkers have little desire to know more than they do
about the Cartel, the Government, the Ancients or even the Guilds.
They follow more global concerns, and are in a deadly vicious
war with the Penumbral Lords. This secret battle has been waged
for over a century. Vicious, and without quarter, the Shadow
Walkers and Penumbral Lords fight to the death whenever their
paths cross. Occasionally this war spills out into the streets,
and the citizenry is caught up in a world that they only suspected
might exist.
So while the visitor to Shelzar may be blinded by glitz and
the erotic dance of Rie, Courtesan and Eroticist, there are
currents roaring under the soft skin of Shelzar which can sweep
him away in the blink of an eye.
So
whether your RPG interest is in the Scarred Lands, or just looking
for a city to add real spice to your RPG or D20 game, Shelzar
is a great book to add to your collection. A bit of change here
and there, it could fit any D20 game, from modern, to ancient,
after all, every world and every socity has a City of Sin.
Want more on Shelzar? Looking on Scarn.com for Shelzar or Elaine
will lead you to many story type pages that deal with Shelzar,
and the shadow world of Drendari. The eNovel Shadow Dance is
focused on life in Shelzar for the better part of the first
half.
