A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Village Backdrop: Roake

Village Backdrop: Roake by Ben Kent 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 therefore 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 reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, one page is ads, 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 optimised for print and high-end devices, the other for low end and mobile.

The Foreword explains that this is the first in a new series (and those familiar with later supplements may notice some minor differences in format).

Roake At a Glance is two pages and gives a brief history of the settlement, together with demographics, notable folk, notable locations, other locales (that being one of the format differences), marketplace, lore and whispers & rumours, together with a map of the village.

Notable Locations is another two pages and covers the main locations from the previous section. Two NPCs have some details given on them and their personality (another minor difference) and there are sidebars on buying exotic animals, the village’s secret and two sample half-orcs, although these don’t cover their stats, only how they behave, hooks, history and where they can be found.

The final page, Life in Roake, has law and order, trade and industry, a d4 table of random events (later supplements would have a d6 table) and stats for human and half-orc villagers.

Village Backdrop: Roake in Review

The PDF is well bookmarked with only the sidebars missing. The Contents is less thorough but is hyperlinked. Navigation is very good for a short supplement. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be mostly free of errors. Apart from a stock illustration, the only other is the map of the village. Presentation is okay.

The primary adventure hook in the village is the half-orc children, who arrived 9 months after the village was sacked by orcs. The villagers have managed to keep this secret for 14 years from the children – although just how they’ve managed that is a good question. That’s a long time for everyone to keep quiet and no passers-by to really press with awkward questions. Especially as one hook is the adventurers quite probably digging into the matter and revealing the truth. Which could cause problems. Perhaps others have been “encouraged” to keep their silence; the graveyard is seldom visited, after all. Village Backdrop: Roake is a good start to what will become an iconic series for Raging Swan and it can be found by clicking here.