Fever-Dreaming Marlinko by Chris Kutalik is a role playing game supplement published by Hydra Cooperative for use with Labyrinth Lord. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
The supplement is available as a PDF from DriveThruRPG for $9, as a softcover print on demand book for $14 or as both PDF and softcover for $14. The PDF is the version reviewed although it was purchased at a reduced price during a sale. One page is the colour cover, one page the front matter, one the Table of Contents, two the Open Game License and one page is blank.
Welcome to the City is preceded by a colour map of Marlinko and explains that Fever-Dreaming Marlinko is intended to create a city that is an adventure location itself, rather than being a traditional city book, and as a result many of the mundane features of cities are less important or completely ignored. It can also be used as a base to explore the surrounding regions, such as that of Slumbering Ursine Dunes.
The Four Contradas of Marlinko gives an overview of the four quarters of the city. Each quarter is given a general overview, brief notes on various locations, some of which are covered in more detail later, important NPCs, which are also covered later in more detail, and random encounters. A d20 table is also provided for each quarter for random buildings. Some of the places detailed are religious in nature, and there are a number of references to the Pay What You Want supplement Hill Cantons Cosmology.
Following the different contradas are the Common Areas, several locations that are not in any of them.
The various NPCs of Note are next, with a sidebar on what they sound like before each is covered.
News of the Day are the rumours, hooks and local colour which can be rolled once per week, or more often if the adventurers are in town for longer. The results are rolled randomly, with used ones crossed off, and the Chaos Index affects the result. These results reference Misty Isles of the Eld and What Ho, Frog Demons?
Next, two adventure sites within the city are covered in more detail. One of them, the manse of one of the important NPCs, is affected by the Chaos Index as well, with Eld appearing when the Index is high enough. The other site is a set of catacombs of a religion formed partially by a very lost Irish priest and the locals who have massively misinterpreted what he said into a cannibalistic religion.
The Town Gods and Contrada Societies gives details on the four town gods – the fifth is missing – and how they came to be in this location, together with how the societies associated with four of them function.
Crime and Punishment covers sanctioned crime, what the contradas can do, religion, unsanctioned crime and punishment. Punishment is focussed on getting as much money as possible from the accused – guilty unless enough money is paid – for the adjudicator of the crime. There is also a section on running cons on characters.
Continuing Adventures in Marlinko has a number of adventure hooks.
The Chaos Index uses something that was introduced in Slumbering Ursine Dunes. Various actions can increase or decrease the Chaos Index and the higher it gets, the weirder things get.
On the Buying and Selling of Goods and Services has various things that are available in Marlinko, from hirelings to spells to places to live.
Carousing in Marlinko has some rules on entertainment in the city. In exchange for gold, characters can attend each contrada’s entertainment, with a chance of exchanging gold for xp. However, there is also a chance that something they didn’t plan for happens, with each contrada having different problems.
Appendix A: Bestiary has three new monsters.
Appendix B: Tiger Wrestling Mini-Game has rules for one of the city’s entertainments.
Appendix C: New Classes has two new classes, one to 20th level, the Mountebank, and one to 12th, the Robo-Dwarf.
Appendix D: Common NPC Names and Nicknames has such for the city.
Appendix E: Pronunciation Guide has how to pronounce various names.
Fever-Dreaming Marlinko in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks, although the Table of Contents does cover the major sections. For the length of the supplement, navigation is terrible (and this is common in Hydra Cooperative supplements; bookmarks are something that happen to other people). The text maintains a single column format and appeared to be almost free of errors. There is a colour map of the city, amps of the adventure locations and a number of black and white illustrations that appear as if they may be custom. Presentation is decent.
This is, like the Hill Cantons setting, both a more mature-themed supplement (although not outright adult, there are mature references) and definitely on the odd side. There’s a reason why the Weird is capitalised. There is also an element of humour, with the often-strange descriptions and results.
This is not a typical city book. The opening sections states that it isn’t supposed to be. Most locations are not described in any great level of detail, bar the two adventure sites (both of which could be extremely dangerous for the intended levels), with instead rough outlines that a GM can flesh out more. That’s because the entire city isn’t just a base of operations; it’s an adventure location in itself. It’s a place where more weird things can happen whilst taking a break from the weird things that happen outside the city. As a result, there are more than a few potential adventure hooks scattered through the text. The city itself is probably not suitable for many settings; it would have to be dropped in either an out-there setting or the strangest regions of a more customary setting. Fever-Dreaming Marlinko is an interesting and different fantasy city, albeit with terrible navigation, and it can be found by clicking here.
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