City Builder Volume 2: Craftsman Places is the second in a series of 11 complementary books that will help guide Game Masters through the process of designing exciting and compelling urban areas and places within them for their campaigns. It is not specific to any particular game setting and is designed to be compatible with the needs of any ancient, Dark Ages, Middle Ages, Renaissance, or fantasy milieu (18 pages, $1.99, SKP E 0805). It was written by authors Michael J. Varhola and Jim Clunie.

City Builder Volume 2 is currently available for download at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow. A coupon for a reduced-price download of the book is available through the Daywalker Bonus Content section of this Forum (contents of which are visible only to people who are both registered on the Forum and logged in).

Contents of this book include:

* An Introduction that describes the scope of the series and how to use the material in this volume;

* Individual sections devoted to detailed descriptions of Armories, Arsenals, Blacksmithies, Clothiers, and Jewelers; and

* One or more Adventure Hooks tying in with each described sort of place.

This download includes both low-resolution screen-friendly and high-resolution printer-friendly versions of the book and its cover.

Other volumes in this series currently available include include City Builder Volume 1: Communities.

Skirmisher Publishing LLC has just released A Brief History of Gnolls: Anthropophagy and Emeralds from Wales to Wisconsin and Beyond (26 pages, $2.99, SKP E 0803). This unique and entertaining volume traces the history of the title fantasy creatures in literature and gaming, from when they were first introduced nearly a century ago up through the present.

A Brief History of Gnolls is currently available for download at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow. A coupon for a reduced-price download of the book is available through the Daywalker Bonus Content section of this Forum (contents of which are visible only to people who are both registered on the Forum and logged in).

Features of this book include two entertaining quasi-academic essays by writer Paul Haynie that examine the literary history of Gnolls; an appendix containing the 1912 Lord Dunsany short story that first introduces the creatures in question; and illustrations by artists Jon Kaufman and Sidney Sime.

A Brief History of Gnolls is the first in a series of similar books that will be devoted to other sorts of fantasy creatures with origins in folklore and literature, such as Orcs, Ogres, Goblins, and Trolls.

To comment on this article or the book it is about, go to its page on the Skirmisher Forum.

Skirmisher Publishing LLC has released the first four volumes in its new City Builder series, a collection of 11 complementary books that will help guide Game Masters through the process of designing exciting and compelling urban areas and places within them for their campaigns. The series is not specific to any particular game setting and is designed to be compatible with the needs of any ancient, Dark Ages, Middle Ages, Renaissance, or fantasy milieu. It was created and written by authors Michael J. Varhola and Jim Clunie.

City Builder Volume 1: Communities includes an Introduction that describes the scope of the series and the contents of the upcoming volumes; a section on the Characteristics of Communities that examines small communities, towns, cities, and special-purpose communities like military bases and plantations, along with regional and racial influences on the development of communities; a section on Buildings; a section on the Physical Characteristics of Cities that includes discussion of fortifications, lighting, and conditions on, above, and below city streets; and a section on Disasters.


City Builder Volume 2: Craftsman Places includes an Introduction that describes this volume and how to use the material in it; individual sections devoted to detailed descriptions of Armories, Arsenals, Blacksmithies, Clothiers, and Jewelers; and one or more Adventure Hooks tying in with each described sort of place.


City Builder Volume 3: Entertainment Places includes an Introduction that describes this volume and how to use the material in it; individual sections devoted to descriptions of Carnivals, Menageries, Museums, Parks, and Theaters; and one or more Adventure Hooks tying in with each described sort of place.


City Builder Volume 4: Professional Places includes an Introduction that describes the scope of the series and how to use the material in this volume; individual sections devoted to descriptions of Guildhouses, Hospitals, Mages’ Lodges, and Training Halls; one or more Adventure Hooks tying in with each described sort of place; and an appendix on Guilds that describes such institutions and includes a series of tables for randomly generating their characteristics and specific regulations.

All of the currently available books in this series are available for download at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow. Coupon for reduced-price downloads of the books are available through the Daywalker Bonus Content section of the Skirmisher Forum (contents of which are visible only to people who are both registered on the Forum and logged in). All downloads in the series include both low-resolution screen-friendly and high-resolution printer-friendly versions of the books and their covers.