Village Backdrop: Golden Valley by Eric Hindley is a role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.
This is a 13-page PDF that is available from DriveThruRPG for $2.45 but was purchased at a greatly reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, one page is an ad, three pages are the front matter, Contents, Stat Blocks by CR and Foreword, one page is Reading Stat Blocks and one page is the Open Game License. The PDF comes in two versions, one deigned for high end devices and print, the other for low end and mobile.
Golden Valley At a Glance is the first two pages of content and starts with a brief history of the village, which was formerly known as Sunset Valley until a miner discovered a vein of gold. In the years since, that miner has since acquired much of the settlement and effectively owns it, although trouble is on the horizon as the gold seems to be running out. This section also has the village’s demographics, notable NPCs and locations, marketplace, lore and whispers and rumours. There is also a map of the village.
The next two pages, Notable Locations, cover those from the previous section in more detail, along with a couple of stat blocks. The final page, Life in Golden Valley, provides the village’s trade and industry, law and order and a d6 table of events, together with more stat blocks.
Village Backdrop: Golden Valley in Review
The PDF is extensively bookmarked, with all bar the sidebars linked. The Contents is not as thorough, but is also hyperlinked. Navigation is very good for a short supplement. The text maintains a two-column format and some minor errors were noted. Bar the map of the town, there is a single piece of black and white stock art. Presentation is okay.
This is a company town, in the old, bad sense of the term. The miner, Boss Cord, now effectively, and legally, owns everything and essentially controls the place. He has also recruited people to help him maintain control. The local store sells goods, but at vastly inflated prices, and mining equipment can be bought on credit, and would-be miners will take months or years of work to pay this back. Yet, this is all legal, so what can characters do? With the gold apparently running out and many tensions under the surface, the village could easily be a powder keg waiting to blow. Village Backdrop: Golden Valley is a nice supplement for a village where things may be about to fall apart and it can be found by clicking here.
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