Urban Decay: Beat 'Em Up Roleplaying is out this month in the UK and next month in the US. Get a sneak peek at the book's introduction...

"The rain beat against the plate glass as she looked out the window over the City. Even through the heavy storm, she could make out the neighborhood. The sound of Wesley clearing his throat a second time brought her back to reality. “Yes, Wesley?”

“All the permits are in place, but…”

“But. What. Wesley?”

“There is a hold out, Saint Mark’s. They refuse to sell. And if they don’t sell,” Wesley’s nasally voice trailed off, but the implication was obvious.

“Offer them more money.”

“It is not about the money to them. They see the community as theirs to protect. They won’t budge. We have offered five times the value of the property, and I have it on good authority they are starting to rally the others.”

“Fine. We will do this the old way. Call Lucien. Tell him to persuade the parishioners to leave.”

Wesley said nothing, but his discomfort with Lucien and his tactics radiated off of him.

“Is there anything else?”

“No… ma’am.”

Wesley closed the door behind him, leaving her to her thoughts again. Inevitably, she turned her gaze back to the window. Wesley’s conscience was becoming a problem, but not one she had to deal with… yet. She pressed a hand to the glass, covering the neighborhood. The sooner Lucien broke the father’s bones, the sooner that eyesore would be gone, and then her plans for the city could continue.

An illustration of city docks by night, with a huge industrial ship at port

Welcome to Urban Decay, a modern role-playing game set in the mean streets of the City, a fictional city that is the icon of all great cities of the world. Urban Decay is inspired by movies like The Warriors or the John Wick franchise, comics like Marvel Knights, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Daredevil, and side-scrolling video games likes Streets of Rage, Mortal Combat or Streetfighter. In it you take on the roles of Heroes of the City who come together to stave off the predations of the Bosses: powerful, ruthless people who seek to exploit your neighborhood and community.

In a game of Urban Decay, one of you takes the role of the Game Master (GM). It is the GM’s job to bring the City to life. The GM creates and runs the adventures, manages the non-player characters (NPCs), and challenges the players’ characters (PCs). The rest of the group plays Heroes, those characters who are fighting to save their neighborhood and City.

In this book, you will find a d100 system that provides the rules for playing in this modern world. It allows you to create a Crew quickly and get to the streets to win back the soul of the City all your Heroes love. At the end of this book is an adventure to start your gaming in the City. We hope you enjoy entering the concrete jungle and defending those you love from those who wish to exploit them… or worse.

AN illustration of a person with purple hair and a pink teddy bear hanging at their belt holding a long iron pipe as a weaponAn illustration of a person wearing shades, studded boots and holding knuckledusters

You will find this book broken up into five chapters:

Chapter 1: The Heroes - This chapter contains all the rules for putting your Hero and their Crew together. Additionally, the rules for equipment and advancing your Hero are found here.

Chapter 2: The Clash System - This chapter explains the Clash system, the d100-based rules for running Urban Decay. Keep an eye on how Clash Points work, as they are at the heart of the Clash system, as well as Momentum, as that is a key resource for your Crew.

Chapter 3: The Combat - This chapter focuses on how the Clash System works in combat.

Chapter 4: Running The Game - This chapter contains the Game Master advice for how to run Urban Decay, and how to design Levels (adventures) for Urban Decay. It also includes the rules for the Domination pool, the Game Master’s counter to Momentum.

Chapter 5: The City - This includes the overview of the City and its Districts, as a useful GM guide for adding flavor to the Heroes' surroundings.

Chapter 6: The Opposition - This chapter contains all the rules for creating the Boss of your game, their Lieutenants, and the gangs which will carry out the battle with the Crew.

Chapter 7: Blood in the Streets - This chapter contains an introductory Level, complete with its own Boss and Lieutenant."

Urban Decay is out 23rd November in the UK and 5th December in the US.

Pre-order now.

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