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Village Backdrop: Apia $3.75
Average Rating:4.7 / 5
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Village Backdrop: Apia
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Village Backdrop: Apia
Publisher: Raging Swan Press
by Andrea M. M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/09/2022 15:31:03

Next to many if not all Village Backdrops, Apia slumbered happily on my drive since 2016 - till yesterday when I dared to interrupt its slumber as I need a rural village for my campaign NOW! And I found to 80% what I was looking for. And exactly for that Apia and all the other Village Backdrops have been written. To be there when you need them, to spare your time in creating or adapting a settlement.

And for this I am more than happy to own it (and all the others).

More detailed reviews have been written, so no need for me to double them.

My two cents and for now - over and out!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Village Backdrop: Apia
Publisher: Raging Swan Press
by Thilo G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/17/2012 03:31:06

This pdf is 14 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page advertisement, 2 pages editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page advice for reading statblocks for novice GMs, 1 page SRD and 1 page back cover, leaving us with 6 pages of content, so let's check this out!

This pdf introduces us to the village of Apia, nestled around a river, Apia has a good location trade-wise and its sturdy buildings sport more stones, since many have been constructed with the stones from the nearby ruined castle. Speaking of which - for a long time, the town seemed to be in decline. Until a girl went missing.

From here on reign the SPOILERS. Potential players, please jump to the conclusion.

Still here? When the searching party found her in the arms of an ettercap and the creature mentioned in flawed common, that the girl's burns would need honey, the town's fortunes radically changed: Benefitting from the amount of knowledge the ettercap had on vermin, the town has since become rather wealthy, living of honey that they now may make into a healing alchemical honey. This new honey and prices for them, as befitting of a honey-based economy, are included, as are multiple locales with nice descriptions and a short price list for the inn.

The pdf also comes with d4 rumors and 6 events (though the table only says d4 - one of the rare RSP-glitches!). Now if you're getting a slightly creepy vibe from this nice, wealthy village...well. The ettercap is fully statted and her visits to town are highly regulated with ritualistic behavior of the townsfolk to help the creature control its savage urges - all while countless bee-swarms buzz about. (And yes, they come with stats... NOT THE BEEEES!) Yes. essentially, this village, with its rituals, its predominantly female population and its secrets feels like a blending of the best aspects of both wickerman movies, though human sacrifice, as of yet, is not practiced. Or is it? After all, there's rumored to be a way for persons to be mummified in honey and subsequently have their corpse turn into macabre healing items... Whether you as a DM use this information to imply cannibalism and twisted honey-based necromancy or just alien pagan rites closer to a harmonic lifestyle or a blending of both - Apia has you covered.

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are very good, though not perfect - I noticed a glitch, which is uncommon in the mostly flawless track-record of Raging Swan Press. Layout adheres to RSP's two-column standard and the pdf comes with two versions,. one optimized for screen-use and one optimized for the printer as well as a gorgeous b/w-map of the town. Speaking of the town's map: You can download an untagged version of the map as a free web-enhancement for your players, the zip also including a larger tagged version. Nice! The pdf also comes fully bookmarked. Yes! Raging Swan Press got it right this time around - the town is versatile in its usage, the crunch is iconic, the story cool and the map gorgeous. Two thumbs up and this time around, thanks to the extra map download, I also can't complain about that one. Ben Kent has created a village that oozes potential for good, evil and anything in-between, making the village a truly iconic place that can transport the sense of alienation and threat of otherness so perfectly evoked by the classic Wickerman-movie and move it into your game without falling prey to becoming a bland copy of the movie's ideas. In spite of the one minor glitch - 5 stars+ seal of approval!

Endzeitgeist out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Village Backdrop: Apia
Publisher: Raging Swan Press
by Joshua G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 12/07/2012 04:07:23

The Village Backdrop series gives that most needed of thing for any campaign that is going to do any traveling, detailed locales. Those places your PCs are going to be traveling to and through. With a genre that loves to over detail and fluff the importance of every place out there, this was one of those PDFs that I found to be refreshing, as Village Backdrop: Apia presented this village as exactly what it is, a normal place.

Apia is a village founded upon the remains of a previous settlement, built within the shadow of a castle's ruins. Born from those who originally came to loot what was left of the castle and the surrounding ruins of the previous town, and the people who seem to always be there following adventurers, a community of tents slowly built into the standards one expects to see within a village (bars, taverns, general store). That probably would have been all there was to the history of this town if not for an encounter one evening that changed everything for this village and its people.

An ettercap known as M’yxtix encountered a local child, hurt and in need of aid. Rather than following her first instincts, the realization that the villagers would hunt her down if the child fell to more harm led her to the unthinkable, she offered aid and “rescued” the child. Teaching the villagers the healing properties of honey to aid in the child's burns she ingratiated herself to the townsfolk, and was welcomed into their lives. She currently lives within the ruins of the castle with her “pets”, several large spiders. The village, since that first meeting, has become a bee-keeper central, and has rebuilt their economy around honey and it's many uses, both in culinary applications as well as as a health aid. And yes, we get a step into the fantastical there, with an alchemical honey potion, and the Mellified Man (a mummification process that turns one's remains into an uber healing component in battling poisons or disease).

Lots of cool little details here, including a table for random village events including things like a town dance, baking contests and harvest season (tied to crab-apples), and wild animal attacks. Prices for everything offered up gear wise (honeyed foods, tavern drinks, the alchemical honey), detailed interesting NPCs, a small bit of intrigue and even a matter of secrecy involving theft going on within the village all add up to one very cool little spot on the road to stop off and get to know the locals.

Bookmarks, fully linked Table of Contents and a really nice old school feel map of the village all put the finishing touches on a product I was already looking at giving a solid 5 star rating to. Well worth the price of admission, and a prime example of how to design a cool community without over doing it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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