Update: I have already edited and fleshed out the document several times since it was first posted. You may find the most recent version here: City of Rain City of Darkness v2
A while back I wanted to develop a pulp dieselpunk setting for a roleplaying game. My initial impulse was to do a Savage Setting, and it may yet turn out that way. Over the past few months I’ve added bits and pieces here and there to an Evernote file, and while it is not large I believe it is complete enough to be a basic RPG setting. The overriding reason for brevity in this setting is that I’ve worked very hard from the beginning to set and maintain a consistent tone. As such, I’ve chosen my words carefully and added items only when I felt they were essential.
This setting is heavily influenced by pulp, dieselpunk, and noir. Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon guided my thinking throughout much of the conceptualization and design, as did Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen and many black-and-white films. While I have never had the fortune to see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the idea and trailer also helped to spark my imagination.
And so, it is my pleasure to present to you my very first roleplaying game setting – City of Rain, City of Darkness. It has rained on the city for longer than anyone can remember. The city has always built upwards, searching for a way to escape the incessant downpour. The wealthy rule this city, and the less fortunate are tossed aside to slip through the cracks. Life is hard here, and each citizen must do whatever he or she can to survive. And through it all, the rain pours endlessly down…
City of Rain, City of Darkness PDF
City of Rain, City of Darkness .doc
City of Rain, City of Darkness at Scribd
