For today’s Recommendation Saturday, we are looking at two invaluable resources for anyone running a 1920s New York City campaign.
As I prep for my upcoming Gilded Shadows: Pulp Age of Heroes campaign—which kicks off in 1925 NYC—I looked for new materials to bring the era to life. I picked up both of today’s recommendations specifically for this game. While my campaign is pulp-action rather than investigative horror, I’ve found that stripping the Cthulhu Mythos out of certain Call of Cthulhu sourcebooks leaves you with great historical information for your campaign.
My first pick is Secrets of New York by William Jones. If you need a comprehensive breakdown of the city’s layout and daily life during the Jazz Age, this is your toolkit. It breaks Manhattan into manageable districts—Uptown, Midtown, and Downtown —and is packed with details on everything from the layout of cramped tenement buildings to the entry requirements for high-society speakeasies and clubs. Whether your street-level heroes need to navigate the squalor of Hell’s Kitchen or research a clue at Columbia University, the mundane historical details here are incredibly useful for grounding a pulp campaign.
My second recommendation is the phenomenal Harlem Unbound (Second Edition) by Chris Spivey and friends. If you want your campaign to explore Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance, this book is essential. It offers a deep dive into the neighborhood’s history, the impact of the Great Migration, and the era’s explosive cultural and artistic boom. It details vibrant life in Harlem during the Renaissance and its impact on society as a whole. IT is truly an amazing book!
What truly elevates Harlem Unbound, however, is its unflinching yet accessible approach to racism. The book actively encourages players to play as marginalized characters and provides a mechanical and narrative framework for handling the reality of 1920s racism at the table. Spivey outlines three tiers of play—the “Passing Player,” the “Harlemites Player,” and the “Purist Player”—allowing Game Masters and players to scale the historical weight of prejudice to a level the group is comfortable with, without erasing the struggles or triumphs of the people who lived it. It is a masterclass in tactful, effective TTRPG storytelling.
You can grab both of these excellent supplements via my affiliated DriveThruRPG by clicking on the following links: Secrets of New York and Harlem Unbound – Second Edition
