Let's begin with a word of advice: I'm a D&D geek. Of course, I'm very fond of the whole roleplaying hobby, and have the heart of a gamer (mine, not anyone else's). But somehow, roleplaying in a fantasy city -and a BIG one, for the matter, that mirrors the awe, wonder, and horror of modern cities- is in my humble opinion one of the ultimate roleplaying scenarios. It was there, witha prominent presence, before the games became too sofisticated and mature for real fun, you know, the kind of maturity that turns you from wanting to play a powerful fighter hero to wanting to play an immortal vampire with lots of cool powers. Back then they made jewels like TSR's city system. City system was a HUGE map of Waterdeep, the most important city of the Forgotten Realms. And the Forgotten Realms are the best effort ever to do Tolkienesque roleplaying. I mean, taking Middle Earth´s background, abd then adding a lot of Conan pulplike action. In other words, sheer FUN.
Waterdeep itself was the spawning core of the Realms genesis, according to Realm's creator Ed Greenwood, and in time got it's guidebook, City of Splendors. This is an exhaustive description of a fantasy city aimed to roleplay in it. It is a fascinating, very rich book, a delight to read that boost your imagination of GM. And as I said, I'm hooked, obsessed with such idea. Having the players enrol their characters in the city guard to emulate the books of Terry Pratchett is my dream made true. I love the Realms, and above all, I love Waterdeep.
But there's more. And it's good news. Finally, my favorite RPG book ever (so far) is back... welcome to the City of Splendors.