First Colony is a supplement which every Blue Planet GM should want to own.
Review Originally Published May 21st, 2001
First Colony is the sourcebook for the city of Haven, the surging metropolis which is at the heart of the colonization and exploitation of Poseidon in Fantasy Flight Games’ Blue Planet.
There is nothing revolutionary here: As city sourcebooks go, this is precisely what you expect. The geography is covered, important locations described, the major political structures discussed, and influential NPCs introduced. In addition there are four adventure scenarios set within the city.
Sometimes, though, you don’t need to be revolutionary in order to be good. In fact, most of the time it isn’t even remotely necessary. First Colony delivers the goods by not only providing a broad overview of the city, but in giving that overview depth. Despite its somewhat short length (made even shorter by the inclusion of the adventures), First Colony gets it done.
WHAT YOU GET
The Argos Island Cluster, on which Haven is located, is the first thing covered by the book. This coverage is relatively brief, but since there is little of interest there beyond Haven itself, this is hardly a fault.
Haven itself is then systematically detailed by breaking it into districts, and then describing the major features within each district. Once you have a firm grasp on the city’s existing geography, First Colony moves onto Haven’s society, starting with a history of the island’s colonization, and then moving onto its politics, commercial make-up, and culture. Throughout this description of the city, NPCs are liberally sprinkled. By the time you are finished, First Colony has given you a complete top-to-bottom view of Poseidon’s capital.
The four adventures which are included are more than adequate. I’m not, however, remotely sold on the idea of including adventures within a sourcebook like this. I would have vastly preferred to see the 50 or so pages used on these adventures used to give even more description of Haven.
CONCLUSION
Like Fluid Mechanics, the first Blue Planet supplement, First Colony is a book which every Blue Planet GM should want to own. And, when it comes to supplements, that’s high praise.
Style: 4
Substance: 4
Writers: Greg Benage, Brian Breedlove, Catten Ely
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Price: $23.95
ISBN: 1-887911-32-4
Production Code: BP04
Page Count: 128
My thinking about urban sourcebooks has evolved quite a bit since 2001, and I wonder what my opinion of First Colony would be if I revisited it today. Re-reading my review I got a bit of whiplash, as my initial thought on seeing that the book included four adventures was, “Great! Love to see that!” only for my past self to say, “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” Quickly thumbing through my copy, I wonder if the setting details are, in fact, a little lighter and lacking in concrete detail, which could certainly explain why my past self might have thought it better to fully deliver sourcebook utility instead of including adventures.
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