An Endzeitgeist.com review

This installment of the #20 Things-series clocks in at 11 pages, 1 page front cover, 2 pages of advertisement, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover, leaving us with 5 pages of content, so let’s take a look!

All righty, we begin this installment with 6 sample traveller NPCs, who, as always, are depicted as fluff-only write-ups, noting alignment, race and class, if applicable, in brackets. Class references do mention the old-school classes like thief and magic-users. A lavishly-illustrated ranger wearing a wide-brimmed, feathered head (seriously, amazing artwork!), a magic-user looking for a lost barrow-mound…some really nice write-ups here; the NPCs do sport plenty of adventuring hooks. The pdf then proceeds to provide 8 locals and staffers: From sharp-tongued old ladies to borderline alcoholics and chronically disorganized folks, these fellows are rather fun and a diverse lot.

A massive entry of no less than 20 entries of tavern dressing notes old carvings of names in tables, tables and chairs for small folk, expensive drinks in locked cabinets – I adored this section. It did what it’s supposed to do: Add detail and jumpstart my imagination in unconventional ways. 12 different sights, sounds and events, including kids bored into mischief, barrels running dry and the arrival of travelers can change the dynamics of the inn, and if you’re gunning for a brawl, why not take a look at the 6 bar brawl triggers?

Now, obviously, an inn is most commonly differentiated from a tavern by the presence of proper guest rooms – as such, 12 different dressing entries for the rooms are presented. With shutters that sport loosened hinges. Threadbare rugs concealing weathered parchments and the sigils of dark gods carved into headboards, these are big time adventure hooks – kudos here! Beyond these, there actually are 8 different things that previous guests have actually left behind. Cries for help penned hastily down on parchments left in cloaks, sodden mattresses smelling of feces, a shredded, bloody sock left in a bin – some neat discoveries here!

Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are top-notch, I noticed no glitches. Layout adheres to an elegant, minimalist 2-column b/w-standard, and the pdf sports a couple of really nice b/w-artworks. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience, and the pdf comes in two different versions, one of which is optimized for screen-use, and one is optimized for printing it out.

Creighton Broadhurst’s take on a Traveller’s Inn is one of the strongest entries in the series – the dressing is diverse, inspiring and smart. It’s down to earth and easy to use, jumpstarts your imagination and the PCs will want to investigate quite a few of these! This is all one could ask of such a dressing-pdf; as such, my final verdict will clock in at 5 stars + seal of approval.

Endzeitgeist out.