Pyramid #3/117: Hot Spots

Kromm · 07-20-2018, 10:05 AM

No spot is too hot
When you've the thought that you ought
To do or do not
— Anonymous note found at the spot marked ❌

This month's Pyramid issue, Pyramid #3/117: Hot Spots, is to the GURPS Hot Spots series as last month's Pyramid #3/116: Locations was to GURPS Locations. It brings you even more cool places to use in your game, these ones swiped or adapted from the real world. The tour includes:

City of Lights, City of Blackouts
By Jon Black
We'll always have Paris*. But why limit ourselves to the 1940s? This article offers four hot spots in one: Paris as la Belle Époque comes to a close, Paris during the Great War, Paris between the wars, and yes, Paris in WWII. Any one of these would be a great backdrop for action, espionage, horror, mystery, or even a campaign focusing on art and culture instead of "traditional" adventure themes. Or use all four for an extended campaign that sees the heroes start as urchins in early 20th-century gangland and end up as Resistance fighters taking on the Nazis.

East Berlin
By Matt Wehmeier
The Cold War made Berlin a hot spot – perhaps one of the hottest in recent history. It features KGB and Stasi spies battling their Western counterparts, dissidents playing cat-and-mouse with the authorities, and ordinary folks dealing with families separated by the Wall, living life in a state that controls everything from the economy to the news. All of these themes and more could be different sides of the same Ostmark. And even if your campaign is set in the wrong place and time to use East Berlin* as such, it provides a great model for a divided city in every genre from fantasy to cyberpunk.

Eidetic Memory: Victoria 2100
By David Pulver
David Pulver, creator of Transhuman Space, dwells in present-day Victoria*, British Columbia . . . so who better to speculate on what it will look like in 2100? Today's Victoria is famously safe, quiet, and perhaps a little traditional. Tomorrow's? A haven for runaway SAIs, xoxes, and emergent intelligences, and a hotbed of activism for the rights of such entities. It might be peaceful on the surface, but its networks are the new Wild West.

Villa del Trebbio
By Matt Riggsby
Not all hot spots are cities. This Medici villa north of Firenze (see GURPS Hot Spots: Renaissance Florence) on the road to Bologna is much more modest in size. A fortified vacation home with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, it's just the place for conspirators, counter-conspirators, and those simply looking to ride out the latest storm in relative safety. And yes, Matt has done his usual great job of delivering maps and floor plans to go with.

Revolutionary Cuba
By Nathan Milner
On the other hand, sometimes your hot spot is bigger than a single town. While life in Cuba from the late 1940s to the early 1960s definitely revolved around Havana*, there was no shortage of action – in the political, criminal, or military sense – in the rest of the country. Everybody had a finger in the pie: corrupt politicians, American gangsters, socialist revolutionaries, communist agents, and foreign spies from all over. Finding adventure here is easy. Choosing sides? That's harder, and all too often more dangerous.

Furbo Venezia
By Matt Riggsby
Matt's "Designer's Notes" for GURPS Hot Spots: Renaissance Venice consist of a lot of cool adventure ideas for the GM wondering, "Okay, I have a supplement about a city . . . what do I do with it?" Mind your peas and rice.

Editor Steven Marsh provides his customary starting and finishing touches. Of particular note is his Random Thought Table, which offers excellent advice on pilfering history for places and people to use in your games.

* This city is described in GURPS City Stats terms.

—

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Preview PDF: http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2717_preview.pdf

J. Edward Tremlett · 07-20-2018, 11:39 AM

Looks like an amazing issue! Pretty much every article is of interest to me

Refplace · 07-20-2018, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Edward Tremlett

Looks like an amazing issue! Pretty much every article is of interest to me

There you are! You see the King in Yellow thread? I almost posted we ha our own there.

Turhan's Bey Company · 07-20-2018, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Edward Tremlett

Looks like an amazing issue! Pretty much every article is of interest to me

I'd be interested in seeing full-length treatments of pretty much any of these.

07-20-2018, 10:05 AM	#1
Kromm *GURPS* Line Editor Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Montréal, Québec	Pyramid #3/117: Hot Spots No spot is too hot When you've the thought that you ought To do or do not — Anonymous note found at the spot marked ❌ This month's Pyramid issue, Pyramid #3/117: Hot Spots, is to the *GURPS Hot Spots* series as last month's Pyramid #3/116: Locations was to *GURPS Locations. It brings you even more cool places to use in your game, these ones swiped or adapted from the real world. The tour includes: City of Lights, City of Blackouts* By Jon Black We'll always have Paris. But why limit ourselves to the 1940s? This article offers four hot spots in one: Paris as la Belle Époque* comes to a close, Paris during the Great War, Paris between the wars, and yes, Paris in WWII. Any one of these would be a great backdrop for action, espionage, horror, mystery, or even a campaign focusing on art and culture instead of "traditional" adventure themes. Or use all four for an extended campaign that sees the heroes start as urchins in early 20th-century gangland and end up as Resistance fighters taking on the Nazis. East Berlin By Matt Wehmeier The Cold War made Berlin a hot spot – perhaps one of the hottest in recent history. It features KGB and Stasi spies battling their Western counterparts, dissidents playing cat-and-mouse with the authorities, and ordinary folks dealing with families separated by the Wall, living life in a state that controls everything from the economy to the news. All of these themes and more could be different sides of the same Ostmark. And even if your campaign is set in the wrong place and time to use East Berlin* as such, it provides a great model for a divided city in every genre from fantasy to cyberpunk. Eidetic Memory: Victoria 2100 By David Pulver David Pulver, creator of *Transhuman Space, dwells in present-day Victoria, British Columbia . . . so who better to speculate on what it will look like in 2100? Today's Victoria is famously safe, quiet, and perhaps a little traditional. Tomorrow's? A haven for runaway SAIs, xoxes, and emergent intelligences, and a hotbed of activism for the rights of such entities. It might be peaceful on the surface, but its networks are the new Wild West. Villa del Trebbio By Matt Riggsby Not all hot spots are cities. This Medici villa north of Firenze (see *GURPS Hot Spots: Renaissance Florence) on the road to Bologna is much more modest in size. A fortified vacation home with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, it's just the place for conspirators, counter-conspirators, and those simply looking to ride out the latest storm in relative safety. And yes, Matt has done his usual great job of delivering maps and floor plans to go with. Revolutionary Cuba* By Nathan Milner On the other hand, sometimes your hot spot is bigger than a single town. While life in Cuba from the late 1940s to the early 1960s definitely revolved around Havana, there was no shortage of action – in the political, criminal, or military sense – in the rest of the country. Everybody had a finger in the pie: corrupt politicians, American gangsters, socialist revolutionaries, communist agents, and foreign spies from all over. Finding adventure here is easy. Choosing sides? That's harder, and all too often more dangerous. Furbo Venezia* By Matt Riggsby Matt's "Designer's Notes" for *GURPS Hot Spots: Renaissance Venice* consist of a lot of cool adventure ideas for the GM wondering, "Okay, I have a supplement about a city . . . what do I do with it?" Mind your peas and rice. Editor Steven Marsh provides his customary starting and finishing touches. Of particular note is his Random Thought Table, which offers excellent advice on pilfering history for places and people to use in your games. * This city is described in *GURPS City Stats* terms. — Store Link: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2717 Preview PDF: http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2717_preview.pdf __________________ Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> *GURPS* Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just *GURPS* News]

07-20-2018, 11:39 AM	#2
J. Edward Tremlett Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Lansing, MI	Re: Pyramid #3/117: Hot Spots Looks like an amazing issue! Pretty much every article is of interest to me __________________ It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Heb. 10:31) "Or the light that never, never warms" (Boc. 6:55) Read SPYGOD. Behold my Linked In Buy my (SJ Games) stuff.