The Dresden Files RPG, Volume 2: Our World ★★★★★

[mithriltabby]

The second volume of The Dresden Files RPG is the worldbook. It contains a short story from Jim Butcher, a section on the factions and conflicts of the supernatural world, and writeups of all the various generic creatures seen thus far in the story as well as almost every character to get a name, complete with much in-character commentary and speculation from Billy the Werewolf, Harry Dresden, and Bob the Skull. The final chapter on Occult Chicago is not so much a sourcebook as a really well-written overview of all the ideas in Chicago that a gamemaster could riff on to create plots, full of keywords to guide a quick trip through Google or a leisurely afternoon at the library. (It’s also a fine way to get into the occult-conspiracy frame of mind before picking up a history book for a location that you want to use as a setting.)

This is a valuable volume for a gamemaster, even if they aren’t planning on running within the stock “Dresdenverse”, because it has lots and lots of good examples to answer the “How would I write up a character like ____________?” question. There’s a wiki where gamemasters are sharing their city ideas, similar to the writeup of Occult Chicago.