Finally got a chance to start going through the book. Most of what Sanct says still applies. I think the weird threat by Murphy against Butters got moved to page 28. Though I would take Ice Queen's Weapon: 7 'fae forged longsword' over Brianna's Weapon: 4 bow unless Bri can run fast enough to stay away. Not sure why Ice Queen (much more a manipulation type than fighter) would have the best weapon in the book. She should have goons for stuff like that.
So, what DID happen to Herbert Plainfield. It's almost like the Dragon passed his position on to Herbert instead of letting the demon pick. The intelluctus over Las Vegas would match this. Herbert's comment about how he would use the knowledge differently than the Dragon also draws parallels. Maybe this was a last strike by the Dragon against the Demon with him sensing his death was imminent.
The idea that the demon is holding the door closed on something even worse is ok, though about the only thing worse is mass slaughter. Indications are that the ritual using the demon to seal that away had to be a long time ago. But Sin City is a recent invention, so why did it suddenly need this, when it went centuries in the middle of the desert just fine? If Dresden has doomed the city then something has changed. These questions are asked later but there is no answer. This is a limitation of the format, since the GM for the game won't know any more than the characters in the rule book.
Las Vegas really does seem like a great hunting ground for vampires of all types. Especially White Court since there is so much intense emotion. I wonder why Las Vegas is just for the losers in the white Court. With the sheer wealth that passes through as well as all the power people that visit, it seems like a natural place to want influence.
I don't quite get the Followers of Ishtar. Ishtar classically was a goddess of war and fertility (in various ways) including prostitution. So having the Hand of Ishtar as the warrior who's against prostitution and the balding horndog who doesn't need roofies because he put four points into incite lust as the representative of the lust side seems strange. Can gods change their character significantly? Odin in the books is pretty close to the Odin in the myths. Maybe a little more trustworthy, but I have a feeling he knows Harry's importance against the Lords of the Outer Dark. The way Butcher has described mantles of power makes it sound like they are very clearly defined. I wonder if Ishtar got a new mantle from someplace, thus adding to her areas of interest.
Unseelie Accords not binding? Really? This is never explained and doesn't seem like it would work. Based on the books cities or places don't sign the accords, groups or people do. The White Court and White Council are part of the accords. If Warden Ramirez blows up the Ice Queen like Harry did the Red Court Vampire I'm pretty sure there is nothing in Las Vegas that would make Lara Raith say "Oh, it was in Vegas? We can't do anything then." The idea the city is free of Mab's influence is pretty much invalidated by the presence of the Ice Queen.
Fortunato's picture so reminds me of a modern take on the Mad Hatter, appropriate for the head of Wanderland.
The Uccisori della Umbra funded by the mafia should be past tense on page 20, since Tommy's write up makes it clear they used to be, but are currently freelance.
I like the Hard Way Squad, that seems tailor made for PCs. They sound like a Vegas version of the Untouchables.
"miserable White Court vampires have been ejected from the food chain by their more powerful brethren, and addicts hopelessly dependent on the Red Court’s saliva will do anything for another fix. " This feels like it should be past tense. The White Court's more powerful brethren were wiped out by Harry and while i'm sure the addicts are still hopeless there are no more red court vampires to give a fix. Maybe some one bottles and stored their saliva? Eewww.
I wonder how many cities have tunnel systems beneath them. Probably more than I'd ever imagine.
I think they missed a chance by not spending more than two lines on how gambling can be done in Dresden. It's not just social skills, as the Ice Queen will say while going over the odds of making her straight on the river. So a little more idea of how to work Deceit, Rapport, Empathy, Scholarship, etc into contests in games of chance would have been nice.
Wait. The demon has a hold on Las Vegas because if anyone came in with force it could just drop the seal. But every indication is no one knows the demon is there (outside of this game book). Unless we go all meta and assume this book is what's revealing to everyone the demon is there, so stay away.
Overall, Las Vegas is good for a brightly glittering game with a heart that is grim and potentially apocalyptic. Which does seem to fit the image of Las Vegas with the bright lights, the entertainments and gambling, as well as the despair, the poor and the dark side of things. A little like a top winding down things are starting to become unstable, power players are ready to make their moves and the adult in the room (the Dragon) is no longer around to keep order. Add in possible White Council interference and that could push things over the edge. Strangely, you can just remove the Demon and the threat beneath Las Vegas and the game runs the same. Since the demon is just watching he's not an active part in what's going on, and we don't have any clues to his motivation aside from the recent need to feed on corruption. This is the weakest part of the city write up, IMHO, the rest of it can be a lot of fun.
