Streets of Zobeck has been unleashed upon the world by Open Design this week. It’s an adventure anthology of 7 Pathfinder adventures for levels 1-10 set in the city of Zobeck in the Midgard world. But that’s not all, it details drop in locations and stand alone NPCs as well as feats, traits, spells and gear for your gritty inner city gutter rat. The majority of the maps are by Gill Pearce, but I got to work on one of the lairs of villainy – the Old Stross Bathhouse:
It’s always a treat to get to work up a large environment like this, and the isometric perspective allowed me to throw in a few stylistic touches. The bathhouse is based on the old Roman baths in Bath so there’s some great reference material out there.
I love the idea of rethinking old tropes, and one of the things that caught me about this location was that it was totally off the beaten track of most rpg city encounters. Why should a mafia boss kick his heels in some filthy tavern or down in the sewers? Crime bosses like a little luxury, and certainly have the wealth to support it. So why not have a meet or a drop in a bathhouse? When I saw this I sketch come in I thought of the scene in Golden Eye when Bond meets Xenia Onatopp in a Russian sauna. As an encounter area it offers up lots of opportunities – towels can make it hard to conceal a weapon or spell pouch. The steam from the hot pools provide concealment and the sound of rushing water muffles clandestine conversations. I hope you enjoy using the Old Stross Bathhouse for your illicit affairs.
If you want to run some inner city mayhem and intrigue, check out the Streets of Zobeck anthology. I’ll see about getting a proper review up later this week.
