Thunderhead Games!? I loved reading Bluffside and would thoroughly enjoy an updated version to the original. That is... updated for Pathfinder, with everything left in. Really enjoyed the cat burglar and explorer. The guards were a bit much; but stat blocks and guard descriptors can be easy to shrink. :)
The review on the linked page seemed on the vitriolic side; so I'd recommend people read the book before making assumption.
I also very much enjoyed the setting, and would buy a PF version. I enjoy reading 'city setting' books, even if my players don't get to visit them, and - to be honest - the reason I buy any kind of supplement is because I don't have time to produce the material myself. For that reason, I find it an advantage to have something detailed as exhaustively as possible, as long as there are hooks and mysteries along the way.
I personally wouldn't be interested in a reprint of the book, and that is partly because of the review and partly because I'm not especially interested in "modular" settings that can be dropped anywhere.
As to the review, its easy to say "This is a good product, ignore the vitriolic review." But so far the review which rated it poorly is the only review with any information about the product, it was well written and well thought out.
If this is redone and rereleased I would recommend getting a copy into the hands of the reviewers here (End and Dark Mistress) and letting them see what they think of the product. Good reviews from them will go a long way towards helping people get over negative reviews from random stranger at Amazon.
One thing I would say is that the complaint that the product is too detailed is really a matter of taste rather than a valid criticism. I don't believe – as the reviewer says – that I lack imagination, but I *do* lack time. And I think that's a difficulty a lot of people have, going by the popularity of pdfs outlining anything from town encounters to npcs, to shops. So, the design philosophy of the approach might not suit the reviewer, but that shouldn't be a criticism of the execution.
There are valid criticisms there, though, in terms of how interesting and inspired some of the ideas are. With regard to the deities, for instance, more work could be done to flesh these out, and *then* suggestions given to how to make them adaptable to other settings. Generally, I feel that expectations for city sourcebooks have risen over the last ten years, and there are now some excellent, detailed products on the market Bluffside would have to compete with. I would certainly still buy this, but think that in today's market it needs a rewrite and re-imagining rather than a simple conversion to a new rules system.
I can't say I agree with that Amazon review. Freeport is designed to drop into any campaign (with generic names for gods) and is an excellent setting. Generic settings seems to be a pet peeve of the reviewer.
As for a new version, I'd be interested. However, I'd have to agree with the other posts in that a reworking would be preferable.
I can't say I agree with that Amazon review. Freeport is designed to drop into any campaign (with generic names for gods) and is an excellent setting. Generic settings seems to be a pet peeve of the reviewer.
As for a new version, I'd be interested. However, I'd have to agree with the other posts in that a reworking would be preferable.
It seems like gamers either really like them, or really don't.
I love using them as drop in/out cities; and potential plot points in longer spanning games (i.e. a few sessions in a city, before moving on).
One of my old players from 3E days seems to dislike anything modular, which often showed in his displeasure of seeing a decent selection of them at my old place.