Again, what the heck is this cover? If it is swinging for the sex appeal of Chromebook, it’s a whiff and then some. The thing that’s absolutely wild to me is that it’s credited to two artists, Gabor Szikszai and Zoltan Boros. It took two people to paint that?

Anyway, this is Berlin Citybook (1995), which emerged rather late in the game’s initial lifespan (War’s End would wrap up the game’s metaplot around the same time). It honestly doesn’t seem all that different from Los Angeles in its framing. Beset by the Cyberpapacy to the west, the Nile Empire to the south and the technodemons from below, the city is destabilized and the its residents pushed to extremes. There are hints of Weimar theming, which I dunno, man, isn’t it enough to have demons eating people, do we really need resurgent fascism too?

I think this book does a better job of making the Tharkhold demons interesting and scary than the way their presence in LA was presented. Of the three citybooks, in fact, this one is probably the best, with better factions and more compelling threads than the others. It feels more playable and less abstract than the others. Good art too, a nice mix of grit and bold comic book line work, fits the vibe of the overall game well. Peter Venters is probably my fave, his Tharkoldu are suitably monstrous and pointy. The other folks acquit themselves well. There are even clear credits!