In a time when I find myself disenchanted with many of the directions
that tabletop RPGs have been taking in terms of production values, I
have found the White Wolf Updates for both Trinity and Aberrant a
breath of fresh air. The idea is simple: small, pamphlet-sized books
made on the cheap that detail areas of a game universe that otherwise
wouldn’t get any play. With Exposé: ABERRANTS we see the very best
and worst of this production style.

Aberrants are novas (the ABERRANT version of a supernormal) who are
part of a conspiracy against Project Utopia, a seemingly civic-minded
group claiming to be dedicated to improving life for all humans.
Things are not as they seem, of course, and Exposé: ABERRANT wades
hip-deep into the central mystery of the entire ABERRANT metaplot.

So we have a 24-page book, of which the first 11 pages are flavor text.
Now, we all like flavor text on occasion…hell, some of us may have
even smoked the stuff in college. But nearly 45% of this book is
flavor text, which lends it the quality of an advertisement or news
magazine in the “Entertainment Tonight” style. I’d be incensed if
this was a $25 hardback, but in a $5 pamphlet it fits–except that
this critically injures efforts to describe who the Aberrants are as
an organization.

Greg Stolze has an impossible task, and he does a reasonably good job
at it. The place he shines are the NPCs who populate the book–a man
with no subconscious, an ancient torch singer turned young again by her
eruption–but we never really get much of a feeling for the
organization. There simply isn’t time in this thin book to cover the
topic assigned, and it certainly doesn’t show how the Aberrants should
relate to other organizations in a day-to-day fashion.

White Wolf scored a hit with the Trinity pamphlet supplements, which
focused on psionic law, Oceania and other tertiary areas that could
use development. By shifting their focus in ABERRANT to doing Exposés
on major plot points and organizations, these pamphlets become a
must-have source of information that their small size can’t fulfill.

Finally, a quibble: there are two pictures of Novas who are obviously
overweight (Renaissance Man and The Living Wreck) which the main
Aberrant rulebook goes to great pains to explain is impossible, as
Novas burn all their calories. I always thought this was a dumb idea,
but lets have some consistency, people–one or the other, please.

The Verdict

A fun read, but so light you can skim it at your local game
store and have done with it. This is material that should have seen
light as part of a larger sourcebook on conspiracies in ABERRANT.

Graveyard Greg: Who are you? What makes you so special in the gaming field?

Unknown Stranger: I’m Greg Stolze. As to what makes me so special, you’d have to ask my editors. Personally, I think I can write the pants off just about anyone else in the business. But I’m sure every writer secretly thinks that. After all, the world at large is tremendously indifferent to any individual’s creativity. The individual has to have a blind, irrational, resilient faith in order to overcome that indifference.

GG: Ah, yes. Greg Stolze. I’ve heard of you. You’re the guy responsible for a lot of games nowadays. Care to tell us some of your past, present, and future credits?

Stolze: Lessee… did a bunch of articles for SHADIS, that’s how I started out. Wrote a number of pieces for “Over the Edge” — parts of “Wildest Dreams” and “Forgotten Lives.” My first fully solo book was “Spherewalker,” which got an Origins award. I worked for AEG for a while, wrote “City of Lies” for them and did little bits and pieces of other things. I did two chapters of “Star Trek” and a piece of “Uneasy Peace” for Last Unicorn. I wrote “Usagi Yojimbo,” another Origins bridesmaid, and I coauthored “Unknown Armies.” More recently I’ve been doing stuff for White Wolf — had a piece of “Great War,” coauthored “Stellar Frontiers” and “Shattered Europe” for “Trinity.” I didn’t make it into the “Aberrant” main book, but did a fun little “Expose” piece for them. Now I’m working on “Hunter: The Reckoning” sourcebooks after putting a few chapters in the main book there.

GG: That’s pretty impressive. How did you get into the Gaming Field?

Stolze: I knew someone. When I was in college, a friend said “you should come play this game with this guy I know.” The guy turned out to be Jonathan Tweet, who was selling life insurance at that time, and the game later evolved into “Over the Edge.” A year later, Magic the Gathering came out, WotC got huge, and Jonathan was off to Seattle to design Everway.

There was a time when I felt kind of cheap — you know, “I’m only getting published because I had a buddy to speak up for me.” On the other hand, Jonathan pointed out that he’s met thousands of people in his life, and I was one of the few who put in the effort to make money off the acquaintance.

In the end, people seem to like my stuff. I guess that’s what counts in the final analysis.

GG: I agree with that. What’s your favorite food in the “Must eat to live” category?

Stolze: I subsist on microwave dinners far more than is probably healthy. Plus, I married a chocolate addict, so now I’m one two.

GG: Greg, I hear you’re in charge of the Feng Shui support line. Mind giving the FS fans some hints as what to expect in the future?

Stolze: Looking at “Feng Shui,” my attitude is “if it works, don’t fix it.” I’m not planning any immediate, sweeping changes. One thing I’ll NEVER change is essential feel of the game. I’m not about to turn it into a game of square-jawed, unironic do-gooderism or into a nihilistic melodrama. “Feng Shui” is a big tent that can contain everything from slapstick humor to very intense, gritty crime drama, and I’m going to continue along those lines.

More concretely, I can give you the supplement schedule. First up is “Seed of the New Flesh,” which I wrote years ago when Daedalus was still viable. It’s finally coming out, and I think it’s aged pretty well. Next is “Golden Comeback,” basically the player book for “Feng Shui,” chock full of new shticks of all descriptions. After that, “Elevator to the Netherworld,” which will be loads of setting and background material.

GG: Same question, Greg–just add Unknown Armies.

Stolze: Tynes is the developer for Unknown Armies, so I can’t speak with as much authority. I don’t know about any sweeping setting changes, though we’ve kicked around a few ideas… but probably better that I don’t say. The next books are “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” by yours truly, and “Postmodern Magick,” by a veritable banquet of talented writers. “Lawyers, Guns and Money” is the sourcebook for The New Inquisition. (For you non-UA playing readers — hey, what the hell is wrong with you? Go buy my book! THEN you’ll know who The New Inquisition is.) “Postmodern Magick” is pretty much what it sounds like — new schools of magick, new Avatars… probably more critters, artifacts and spells for established schools too.

GG: We’re still on the subject of Unknown Armies. It seems to be a hit, and it keeps on growing in popularity. Did you expect it to be so big?

Stolze: Expect? I try not to expect anything in the gaming industry. It’s a contingent system. You can look back on what happened and see WHY it happened, but that doesn’t give you any clues about what’s going to happen next. I’m certainly pleased that it’s selling well.

GG: Quick. It’s Wednesday. What’s your favorite show?

Stolze: Simpsons reruns. It’s like a drug to me.

GG: It’s my favorite “drug” as well, but that’s enough about my pastimes. Let’s talk about movies. What game would you like to see transferred onto the Silver Screen? Don’t say Dungeons and Dragons.

Stolze: “Unknown Armies,” natch. Then I’d get the big bucks and could finally stand tall and tell all my enemies where they could get off! But (of course) I also think it would make a good film. Get Denzel Washington as Alex Abel, bring in Tarantino to punch up the dialogue — it would be cherry.

If you restrict the questions to games I didn’t write and wouldn’t get royalties from… well, it gets harder. I think it would be difficult to put an RPG on the screen, because the settings are generally quite involved, and it’s the depth of background that makes them interesting (or even comprehensible). With that, I’d probably say “Over the Edge.” It’s contemporary, and looks like the world of today… on the surface, anyhow. I’d love to see Terry Gilliam take a crack at that one!

GG: Celebrity Deathmatch Time! We’ve got Richard Garfield of Magic: The Gathering, Matt Forbeck of Brave New World, and John Tynes of Unknown Armies–who would win, and how?

Stolze: Hm… I’ve never seen Matt Forbeck in a muscle shirt, but Richard Garfield has to be pretty bulked up from carrying all his money around. Plus, his wife just had a kid, so we know he’s virile. Tynes on the other hand, he’s unpredictable. Depends on what he’s been drinking. If it’s those wicked Velvet Hammers, he’d probably be sluggish and logy, but if you get some gin into him, he turns mean. Plus, he’s incredibly well armed. I mean, those guys at Pagan celebrated the success of Delta Green by going out and buying matching AR-15s. They’re probably the best armed publisher in the RPG business. Now that I think about it, maybe that’s why they don’t seem to have much trouble with U.S. distributors…

GG: (laughs) Stop, you’re killing me! Finally, what game line would you like to work on in the future, and why?

Stolze: I’d like more work on “Trinity.” I’ll admit that I was kind of lukewarm on it when I read the book, but the more supplements I read, the more I got into it. Now I think it’s neat, and I’d love another chance to get my grubby, clutching hands all over Bates’ sweet sweet plotline.

GG: Well, that’s about all the time we have. Fans, be on the lookout for Greg Stolze in the future, because you ain’t heard the last from this guy!

One Shots is the first supporting product for Atlas Games’ excellent Unknown
Armies RPG. One Shots contains 5 stand alone scenarios complete with
pregenerated characters. Each scenario is meant to be played in a single
evening, much like a convention scenario.

The Adventures

“Jailbreak” by Greg Stolze is a spooky little number that highlights one of
my favorite themes of Unknown Armies: true horror lurks in the safest
looking places. This scenario strongly relies on intra-player conflict, as
some players take the roles of escaped convicts and others play their
hostages. With a motivated group, this can quickly become an exercise in
tension and terror.

“Strange Days” by Tim Dedopulos is an investigation scenario. The characters
are sent to find the source of a series of bizarre phenomena. While the idea
is strong, this scenario suffers from some drawbacks. First, I didn’t find
the NPC actions very believable. After emphasizing the repercussions of
character actions in the rulebook, no less than eleven NPCs are slaughtered
by various psychos over the course of the scenario, without anyone either
noticing or raising a general alarm. Second, the climax of the adventure is
a bit of a let down. Still, the ideas for playing off of H.P. Lovecraft bred
paranoia are great. If your players are into CoC, run this adventure on them
and watch ‘em squirm.

“Joy and Sorrow” by Nicole Lindroos and John Tynes is an unqualified
success, though you may have problems finding players up to the roleplaying
challenges of this adventure. I can’t really explain this scenario without
quoting about a page or two from the book, nor will a summary do it justice.
Just take my word for it: the next time some poseur slob mouths off about
his roleplaying skills, run him through this thing and put those boasts to
the test. My guess is that 90% of the gamers out there couldn’t handle this
scenario without copping out or rewriting their character. To which I say
MORE, MORE, MORE!

“Fly to Heaven” is another excellent offering from Greg Stolze. The
characters are trapped on a airliner when a disturbed adept decides that its
time to ascend as the Terrorist archetype. While not as strong as
“Jailbreak,” this adventure offers a lot of freaky happenings, problem
solving, and good old fashioned roleplaying.

“And I Feel Fine” by Geoffrey C. Grabowski is an ambitious scenario that
fails to really come together. The basic premise is that a tiny town in
Arizona wakes up to find everyone else in the world gone. No TV, no radio,
straight out of Night of the Comet. What weakens this adventure is a lack of
focus. Grabowski gives the GM three plot options for this adventure. While I
like the idea of flexibility, we’re really left with three ideas that aren’t
fleshed out quite enough. There really isn’t that much of a difference
between the three options, and one (a government conspiracy idea) is
somewhat silly. I’d much rather have one well developed, focused idea than
three underdeveloped ones.

The Verdict

This is a promising product for the Unknown Armies line. While uneven, this
collection has a solid sample of the possibilities of Unknown Armies. Call
of Cthulhu keepers will find a lot of good ideas here, as will anyone using
White Wolf’s World of Darkness.

Usagi Yojimbo represents yet another attempt to crossover the comic
books/TV/movie market with RPGs. But don’t let that deter you from buying
this gem of a game: Usagi Yojimbo is a very tight, efficient package. I have
never seen a product do so much with a mere 96 pages.

The Setting

Usagi Yojimbo (UY) is set in a world of samurai, ninjas, and walking,
talking animals. Think of Disney’s “Robin Hood” and you have the idea.
Sprinkle in some colorful, three dimensional characters and realistic,
sympathetic antagonists and you have more than an idea: you have UY in a
nutshell. After a period of turbulent conflict, the Shogun’s Peace has been
declared. Any daimyo (noble) who attacks another is considered to be
attacking the nation as a whole, bringing the wrath of all upon him. As an
uneasy peace settles into place, the aftermath of the previous conflict is
still evident. Many samurai are now masterless ronin, condemned to wander
the land, their masters slain in the previous conflicts. Bandits are common,
and scheming daimyo must now rely on treachery and deceit as they jockey for
power. There is plenty of opportunity for characters to makes names for
themselves in the world of Usagi Yojimbo.

All of this background is drawn from the UY comic book, which follows the
adventures of the title character, a masterless rabbit samurai. I have to
admit that while I have never read an Usagi Yojimbo comic book, I found the
setting, as presented in the RPG, very accessible and well explained.
Outside of Akira Kurosawa films, I also have little to no knowledge of
feudal Japan. Yet Greg Stolze manages to hit all of the key points of the
setting in a manner that is thorough and readable. A complete timeline of
the UY story, plus descriptions of the major characters from the comic book,
give the prospective GM plenty of inspiration for stories and adventures.
Stolze also does a very good job of getting to the heart of what makes an
effective story. Culling examples from the UY comic, he shows GMs what makes
a good story and how to translate that into a good RPG adventure.

The Rules

Character creation is straightforward in UY. Players choose one of 11 races
(rabbit, rhino, bull, amongst others) and one of 9 jobs. Race gives the
character special abilities. Pigs have a heightened sense of smell, get +1
to their physical stat, and can take more damage than other races. Jobs work
much the same way. They give the character a stat or skill bonus plus a
funky free ability. Monks, for example, can give advice to players, even if
their characters are not together. Finally, there are options for players
who do not want to use one of the pregenerated jobs, but no rules for
creating new races. Overall, I found the system easy to use. The choices
given run a wide range of possibilities. Given the length of the book and
its target audience (beginners), a truly freeform system would have been out
of place. Though I am a strong proponent of rules light, free form character
generation, I did not feel hemmed in by UY’s options. Rather, they gave me a
lot of ideas for characters, the mark of a successful rules set. The sample
character I made was a pig monk trying to follow a life of self denial with
less than stellar success, a concept I probably would not have thought of
without the rules as written. Overall, character generation guides you along
without suffocating your creativity.

Characters have four stats, Physical, Mental, Combat, and Move. I like the
idea of making a character’s combat ability a stat and then adding weapon
skills on top of that. Skills cover the usual gamut of RPG topics, from
combat to the arts. Skills and stats are added to die rolls.

UY uses the Instant Fuzion system, a slimmed down version of R. Talsorian’s
house system. The system is simple to use. To make a skill check, roll 3d6,
add any appropriate attribute and skill, and compare the result to a GM
chosen target number. Combat (as usual) requires a few more rules. Each
combatant choose one of three options, total attack, cautious attack, and
total defense. Depending on the two combatant’s choices, there may be
modifiers to damage, or it may even be impossible for one side to do damage.
I’m not a complete fan of this system. It adds some extra complications to
combat, though it does give players more options. It does, however, makes
things much more complex for the GM. I’d prefer making this rule optional or
using it only for major NPCs. UY uses hits to keep track of a character’s
health. Damage is determined by rolling a number of d6 equal to the
character’s Physical score or the weapon’s damage rating. This system is a
little too random for my tastes, allowing for a wide range of values without
accounting for the skill of the attacker.

My one complaint about the rules lies with the jujutsu (that’s jujitsu to
you foreign devils). Stolze takes the time to warn us that the rules for
jujutsu are quite complex, and then suddenly, poof, no rules for jujutsu. I
eventually found them on the combat summary page, but it was quite
disconcerting to get a big old “Complex Rules Ahead!” warning only to find
no rules in the main text.

The Adventures

UY comes with two adventures, The Haunted Temple, the tale of a young monk
who attracts attention from beyond the grave, and The Butterfly, a rescue
mission that gets messy, fast. Stolze has less than 10 pages for these two
scenarios, and does a very good job of establishing characters and plots
with limited space. Both adventures serve as good examples for newbie GMs,
showing them how to make interesting characters and how to draw out
repercussions from an adventure rather than letting them exist in a vacuum.

The Verdict

For $16, you cannot find a better bargain in the industry. The writing is
superb, the UY setting ripe with adventure. Fan of the comic or not, UY is
an unqualified success. Buy it to play it, or to simply cull this very
fertile ground for ideas. The setting is compelling enough that I have set
out on a personal crusade to find and buy as many UY comics as possible.
What better recommendation can I give you?