The Zobeck Gazetteer is a 50 page setting guide from Open Design. Zobeck is an independent city that can be placed in any fantasy campaign world and features kobolds, gypsies, and clockwork creations. The Free City of Zobeck is also used in Kobold Quarterly articles, which is an excellent gaming magazine.
One of the most unique things about this product is how it was created. Open Design began as an experiment in RPG patronage. Instead of being contracted to write an adventure for a publisher, Wolfgang Baur
decided to write an adventure for a group of patrons. If enough interested people put money toward a project, he would write it for them. But patronage is more than just pre-ordering a product. Being a patron means helping to shape the final product. Not only do patrons help select what the adventure will be about, but they get to provide feedback and ideas as the project is being developed. If you are interested in seeing the process of adventure writing, I definitely recommend taking a look at being a patron. As a result of the extra playtesting and review the final products tend to be very polished.
The most recent patronage project, Tales of Zobeck, has two parts. The first part is the Zobeck Gazetteer which is available for purchase by the public in either PDF or print form. The second part is an anthology of adventures set in Zobeck. This review looks at how the Zobeck Gazetteer stands on its own. I have actually (with difficulty) refrained from reading the adventures in Tales. My current campaign is too high of level to use them directly and I hold a faint hope that someday I can convince someone else to run one of these adventures for me. I came relatively late to the project as a patron so I mostly observed the process and did not take much part in its creation. If you are interested in seeing the process of adventure writing then I definitely recommend taking a look at being a patron. I really like what I’ve seen so far and I plan on being much more involved in the next project.
About two-thirds of the Gazetteer is information about the setting which could be used with any game system. The remaining materials are d20 rules that mainly deal with clockwork creatures and magic. There are details about the city, its inhabitants, and its gods. One of my favorite sections is the Kobold Ghetto. Much of the city’s wealth comes from the silver mines worked by kobolds. The cramped jumble of streets that make up the Ghetto is where they make their home. Visitors, who are allowed in only at night, should be wary of traps that are set throughout the area. Many are just annoying, but some of the traps prove to be deadly. I found their descriptions to be particularly entertaining.
There are six major gods of Zobeck, including Zobeck’s patron deity: Rava the Gear Goddess. Hers is the largest temple in the city and contains the Clockwork Oracle. The rest of the gods are a diverse pantheon that covers most of the usual divine portfolios. I found it interesting that the usual d20 information on gods was not present (domains and favored weapon.) Enough information is presented to easily allow appropriate selections to be made from whichever rules sources a cleric player may have access to.
It is due to the Gear Goddess’s devoted followers that clockwork creations are common in Zobeck. Clockwork soldiers patrol the streets and there is a race of Gearforged that allows players to be constructs themselves. An article on the magic of Zobeck adds a number of clockwork related spells for clerics and wizards. These plus the gear domain are great additions to any game that desires a little more of a steampunk feel.
Overall I think this is a great supplement by itself. It contains a lot of great adventure hook ideas. I’ve already decided that an upcoming villain in my game will be from here. It packs a lot in for its size and leaves you wanting even more. It may make you go out and buy back copies of Kobold Quarterly just for the extra Zobeck articles.
Apathy Rating: 5/5.
