This one, I dunno. This is Citybook V: Sideshow, a showcase of non-human establishments. I don’t really like the connotation of title in that context. I don’t love the approach to non-humans here in general — it’s pretty furry. I shouldn’t care — it’s a fantasy world with dragons and demons, right? I don’t have a lot tolerance for high numbers of anthropomorphic animal people though. Raccoon warrior lady on the cover there? Just can’t take her seriously. Not even a little bit. But then, the older I get, the more I am OK with ditching weird race stuff and just having humans. Take me with a grain of salt.

Anyway, the establishments here are closely tied to their non-human patrons and owners, to the point that this entire book feels quite a bit less useful than the others. This is partly because despite being “generic,” lots of these anthropomorphic non-humans seem to have pretty established cultures and such. They’re all laid out here, but it feels like too much of a swerve to me. The gargoyle roost? That works. The centaur carting business? That’s fine too. The Panther Club, which is owned by a fourth stage Hafir Ruffiri? I dunno man. There is a sidebar that explains they are like fairy cat and dog people that metamorphose with time and experience (not unlike the cat people in Dolmenwood, who I do like, actually). But what am I supposed to do with a whole social club for a weird new race I never heard of before?  

Anyway, I didn’t ever pick up Citybook VI.