Autumn Arbor Campaign Setting

From: Beauman Enterprises, Inc.
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
Autumn Arbor Campaign Settingis a new Mutants & Masterminds (M&M) d20 Supplement from Beauman Enterprises, Inc..
Autumn Arbor is a M&M setting presented in a huge full color PDF.
From page # 9:
“Several years ago I came up with a concept for a novel I’d wanted to write. The concept was simple: what if a world-famous super-hero was also a husband and a father?”
This PDF, as I said, is big. It has a six page double column table of contents just to start with. The only way I know to review something this size is chapter by chapter. An overall view of the e-book revealed that there are two major sections of this book made up of several chapters. The first few chapters gives the reader detailed information about Autumn Arbor itself, a Maryland coastal city with the most concentration of super heroes (Neos) in the world. The second set of chapters primarily focus on the Neos of Autumn Arbor.
Chapter 1 covers the history of Autumn Arbor, detailing the super hero ages and significant events since its founding. Of course, in true comic book fashion, you can identify the ages of super hero history as Golden, Silver, etc. Starting around World War 2, Neos began to appear around the world and primarily around Autumn Arbor. From there, it takes an X-Men-inspired turn from Golden to Silver to more darker time until today where the heroes are re-entering a new Golden age.
Chapter 2 takes you through Autumn Arbor, highlighting significant locations throughout the city. Also included are several quality detailed maps of the town. These maps remind me of the maps you get on Mapquest or Yahoo maps. The city is not all that different from Baltimore or a city in the Chesapeake Bay area.
The Guide to the City is very detailed. It contains locations like bars, sports arenas, significant location downtown (hotels, corporate headquarters, federal buildings and parks), a handy list of chain stores in Autumn Arbor, and a detailed description of several of the subdivisions and communities of Autumn Arbor.
Highlights of Autumn Arbor:
- Stellarcon Park – The location where one of the heroes of Autumn Arbor sacrificed himself to save the city and the world during something called the Purge Invasion.
- VanCorp and VanCorp Neo Training Complex – Similar to LexCorp of Superman fame, this corporation is a ubiquitous organization that portrays itself as benevolent to the city and the world, but its motivation and techniques are not always pure and legal. The training complex is a government-sanctioned training school for Neos, not only teaching them to control and cope with their extraordinary abilities,
but also is a full state-certified curriculum.
- Genetic Overwrite Development (G.O.D.) – This organization since the late 60s has been working in the sciences of cloning and genetic engineering. It uses alien (Atlantean) technology – the same technology utilized by the Germans during the height of WWII.
- The Canterbury community – This is a community of mansions and ultra-rich. Many of the shakers and movers of Autumn Arbor have their home here.
These only touch on the detail this author has compiled. There is rich plot and background throughout the text, all very inspiring for a potential GM. The one thing that is missing (understandably) are maps for some of these locations. Although some might expect it, I did not because of the sheer detail he already provides in the text. Most anyone can find modern maps of locations described in this text, however.
Chapter 3: City Government and Law Enforcement covers how the movers and shakers of Autumn Arbor move and shake. It includes several stat-blocks (accompanied by nice character art) of NPCs including the Mayor, Officer Jeremy Anson (a Corrupt Police Officer), Chief Medical Examiner Mundo Kay, and many other mundanes. There are descriptions without stat-blocks of many others including the City Council, other police personnel, and others. One particularly interesting nugget is the organization called C.O.P.s (Containment Operations Personnel) – the government sanctioned, highly trained, and specially equipped operatives within the Neo Crime Bureau. This includes a nice picture of the typical operative for COP.
From page # 10:
“In Autumn Arbor, characters don’t just become heroes, they become legends!”
Chapter 4 covers the Underground of Autumn Arbor. This chapter includes several NPC stats. From organized crime families to Neo villain masterminds, this chapter covers them all. A couple of notable standouts in this chapter include:
- Terenza Family – The oldest and most powerful crime family in Autumn Arbor, they have the help of a few Neos, including one called Bone-Spur.
- Mimes with Attitude (M.W.A.) – a street gang of Neos that is dedicated to petty theft and practical jokes while at the same time promoting and producing their own underground rap music label.
Also included is a timeline of underground events that not everyone would know about.
Chapter 5 covers the supernatural and magic aspects of this super hero universe. Along with the powers born of science gone wrong and alien technology, there is a significant amount of supernatural and magic in this game universe. This chapter presents the magic, the people that use it and the manifestations that result, like demons. There are several mystical cults described including the Hand of Madness, the Order of Merlyn, and Order of the Whispering Wind. The secret subculture of vampires is also covered here.
Although this e-book covers primarily Autumn Arbor, Chapter 6 reminds the reader that the world does not revolve around the city. There are other places that the author makes available to the GM to integrate into his campaign. There are three locations covered in this chapter, all linked to the history of Autumn Arbor and the events referred to earlier called the Purge Invasion and the aliens, the Menzati. There is the Mars Outpost of the Menzati, the subterranean settlement of Geodonia, and the sovereign nation of Pax Wyvernia.
By far the largest section in this book is the one on Champions and Rogues – the heroes of Auburn Arbor. This over 100-page section is chock full of all types of heroes. There are several champion teams of all types including the Daring Dynasty (a family of heroes considered Autumn Arbor’s first hero family), the Germaine Investigations, Inc. (a seemingly normal private investigation firm that actually is a mystical occult investigations team), and the Sentinels of Society (the main super hero team of Autumn Arbor). There are also several solo or rogue heroes. Some heroes are simply remakes of ones we have seen before while others gave me reason to raise an eyebrow and say “Fascinating.”
But wait! That’s not all.
The Gamemaster section supplies you with the information behind it all. I do not want to give too much away, but I can say I like the link between Atlantis and vampires. Also bringing in ley lines… nice touch. There are several valuable nuggets of information that did not have a particular place anywhere else in the book that can inspire a plot. It also includes further notes about plots related to super heroes and villains in Autumn Arbor.
In conclusion, this is a rich book with all kinds of inspirations and ideas for a GM to explore. The comic book style art is phenomenal. The book is almost too big for PDF format and is of the quality that I would rather have in print. The only drawbacks that I have found is the editing of this book. I am a writer (to some degree) and have someone else edit my writing. It takes a LOT for me to notice editing problems, and I noticed several in this book. If I noticed a few, there are probably more that I did not see.
For more details on Beauman Enterprises, Inc. and their new Mutants & Masterminds d20 Supplement “Autumn Arbor Campaign Setting” check them out at their website http://www.arborproductions.com.
Autumn Arbor Campaign Setting
From: Beauman Enterprises, Inc.
Type of Game: Mutants & Masterminds d20 Supplement
Design & Editing: Lee F. Szczepanik, Jr.
Art Direction: Michael Kuhn, Anna Lunsford
TypesettingandInteriorLayout: Dave Anderson
CoverLayout: Dave Anderson
Logos: Digital Caps
CoverArt: Nichx
InteriorArt: Dave Anderson, Digital Caps, Scott R. Kellogg, Nichx, Blair Sayer
Writing: Michael Kuhn, Mordechai Luchinsky, Anna Lunsford, Erin Szczepanik, Lee. F. Szczepanik, Jr.
Number of Pages: 205
Game Components Included: 1 PDF file
Game Components NotIncluded: Mutants & Masterinds core books
Retail Price:$ 17.95(US)
Website: www.arborproductions.com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung