World
The player can either be a Mundane, who stumbles upon shadow somehow, or a Shadowkind, who is either already settled, or is trying to fit in. In the world of Urban Arcana, demons can attack, vampires can own Ferraris, and emails can curse players. The Game is played with d20 Modern rules. Each player starts off with a basic class:
- Strong, a player who focuses on dealing damage and physical strength.
- Fast, a nimble player who focuses on dexterous feats, as well as speed.
- Tough, a player who focuses on withstanding even the most brutal of attacks.
- Smart, an intelligent player who uses their knowledge to get ahead.
- Dedicated, a wise hero who use their insight to solve problems.
- Charismatic, a hero who uses charm and looks to get what they want.
They then can take any advanced class from classic d20 modern, or special urban arcana classes. Some of them are analogs of classic Dungeons and Dragons classes like the Mage (wizard) or Acolyte (cleric). Others are more modern, such as:
- Techno Mage, a mage who sacrifices the reliability of paper spellbooks, for the convenience of computers.
- Speed Demon, a hero who can operate vehicles as an extension of their own body.
- Shadowjack, a magical hacker whose link to the electronic world makes him almost unstoppable... online.
- Glamourist, a hero who is the definition of charismatic, and is capable of hiding true intentions and bending people to their will.
The world can be nearly identical to the real world, such as a campaign taking place in London or New York, or completely made up, as is the nature of pen and paper RPGs. As the game borrows heavily from Dungeons and Dragons, sharing many spells and items, and mythology. Real world religion and D&D religion are considered equally valid in Urban Arcana, and you can have a Knight of Pelor, or a Christian Acolyte, as the game takes place in the "real world".
Prepackaged campaigns also borrow from pop culture. One adventure, Come for the Reaping, involves your heroes investigating a mansion filled with zombies in a reference to Resident Evil, complete with the explosive finish.
Urban Arcana is best used as a campaign to transition into. A d20 Modern character and a Dungeons and Dragons character can both be added to Urban arcana, although the D&D one would require modification in order to balance the game.
Read more about this topic: Urban Arcana
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—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“The world globes itself in a drop of dew.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)