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William Hostman
United States
Eagle River
Alaska
Gaming in Greater Anchorage area, Alaska since 1978. Looking for Indy-willing RPG players in Eagle River (or willing to drive to Eagle River). Geekmail me if interested.
Yes, this really is what I looked like when I uploaded that avatar. Not that it's quite current anymore.
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After a year of hype, I finally got a look inside the cover.
First off: this is a review of a beta test edition.
Second off: that means anything here is subject to being changed.
Setting:
Some time in the not too near future, on a Stanford Torus space habitation station, orbiting Saturn.
It's a data storage facility relay station. The data storage facility is on Tethys.
Everyone aboard has a datajack system.
Most people can use 3d printing systems to create stuff. Some even do so to create living beings. Including cats and dogs. And sometimes people.
Did I mention that you can use the printer to rebuild the injured? Or the dead? Or that minds can be backed up, memories diddled with, and anything short of total brain jellification is reparable; at that point, they print out a clone, and install your last mental backup.
System Mechanics:
When a challenge is to be resolved...
1) pay for the challenge
2) declare target
3) each side draws 2 cards
4) each side decides to invoke geneline or expertise
5) each side gets actions; actions may add cards, or invoke other resources (especially tech), or end the build up.
6) total the number of cards of a freemarket and (geneline or expertise, as picked in 4)
7) if the initator won, the loser gets bug chips for every hazard card the initiator got.
Lots of niggling details about which abilities do what kind of system and gameworld effects the challenge has.
What isn't there yet:
Play examples. There is some exemplar material, but it isn't very deep, and it is missing one key element... narrative. The example is naked mechanics. (This is genuinely surprising considering Luke Crane's other games.)
Character Generation
Pick which generation of colonists you are from.
This gives you pools. Spend those pools.
The Geneline pool is how many tags you get for your geneline, and its level. It gets three tags.
The Experiences pool is split amongst the 14 experiences (which are very broad skills).
The Interface pool is spent building cybertech interfaces. Each bit gets three tags.
The Tech pool is spent on 1 or more tech advantages; each gets tags as well, one of which is which experience it links to.
The Flow pool is resources. Certain experiences add to it.
Write tags for geneline and tech.
Write memories: 2 long term (don't waste them on Level 3 experiences); they have to meet a particular formula, too. In session 2, one of them will become a level of experience. 1 Short term memory... "something worth remembering about yesterday." Same formula. This is "Ok GM, poke me HERE!" stuff, as well.
The Tags
Everything gets tags. If your tag fits, you can use whatever it is attached to it.
Experiences, Tech, and Geneline are expendables. Edit: New Section
Most ratings can be "Burned." Burning reduces in numerical rating for some effect. This reduction has different effects by what was burned.
Geneline can be burned to change its tags.
Experiences, tech, and interface can be burned to force discards by one's opponent.
Interface that burns in a challenge within its tags is recovered at end of challenge.
Presentation
Aside from the wonky size, it's a very pretty production. But the size, 10.25 x 6.6 inches, is just funky. I suspect that includes some overprint margin for full bleed... but still. Oh, and it's landscape.
Full color, and good use of color. Plenty of neat illos that set a skatepunk kind of feel; helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, and boots... kind of a grungier grimier less clean cut version of the Judge Dredd look. You can get a good sample of the art style on the website.
Pagecount:
150 pages of rulebook, plus 8 pages of sample characters, plus a page each of cards, character sheet, and group sheet. Of that 150 pages, about 20 are setting; the rest is implied setting by rules mechanics.
Problem: the card sheet isn't set up for printing them out. Fake it with something else for the mean time. Or craft alternates.
Jargon:
A lot. Most of it makes sense, but it's not easily digested. If you get one of the remaining copies, read the glossary FIRST. Heck, copy that bad boy. Keep it handy. Makes the rest of the game work better.
The experiences are named in jargon, too. That does make life interesting.
The jargon flows naturally, but until you actually thin slice into the aggregate, you'll be waiting for the wetwork to find you and send you back to the printer.
Translation:
Spoiler (mouseover to reveal): The funny wording flows naturally, but until you actually make a social action into the overmind, you'll be waiting for the hit teams to find you and send you out of your misery until the lifeform printer regenerates what's left back to whole and transfers your mind recording back into your body.
The decks:
Each player has a deck of cards, so does the GM. All the decks are identical; 10 freemarkets, 10 experience, 10 geneline, 15 hazard. No shuffling until the last card is drawn. Card Counting is encouraged by mechanics and implied to be intended in the rules text. Use only your own action deck.
Tech is a 20 card deck, 10 hazard, 10 tech. It's shared by the group. Don't mix the two.
Limited Group Size
The intended release comes with 5 action decks and a tech deck. So you get GM+4.
Because of the way it looks to be played, I think that more than 4 might get rather slow.
Bottom Line
Looks promising, but not ready for primetime yet. I'll see if I can get players to try it. That may actually be harder than getting serviceable cards.
Edit notes
It was pointed out to me I'd made a mistake on geneline.
I also took time to add a chunk on burning, as discussion with a buddy made it clear how important that is.
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Adam Blinkinsop
United States
Bothell
Washington
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Have you had a chance to play yet? Looks like the play is good, with a good action resolution mechanic (cards and description) -- lots of control as a player.
The setting worries me a little bit (though I stay intrigued), but a group of good players could make that moot.
Seems like it'd be pretty easy to set up a session over IRC, especially with no tactical information, and with all the cards in your "hand" open.
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William Hostman
United States
Eagle River
Alaska
Gaming in Greater Anchorage area, Alaska since 1978. Looking for Indy-willing RPG players in Eagle River (or willing to drive to Eagle River). Geekmail me if interested.
Yes, this really is what I looked like when I uploaded that avatar. Not that it's quite current anymore.
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done a challenge with a buddy, but not actual sessions.
I have printed out, laminated, and cut out all 6 needed decks for GM+4P.I think I should have used a 3rd and 4th layer of laminate on the backs, to get hanafuda-card-like weight.
I made my cards in 4x6cm cardstock, laminated with clear non-glare con•tac brand laminate; $8 for 40'x24" at home depot. Mine are B&W, not color.
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Gaming in Greater Anchorage area, Alaska since 1978. Looking for Indy-willing RPG players in Eagle River (or willing to drive to Eagle River). Geekmail me if interested.
