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The most definitive statement I can make about Over The Edge is that I cannot recall precisely how I got into running it. I just woke up one day with a copy of the manual on the bedside table. Its just that sort of game, I guess.

Actually, that's not really a fair statement. OtE is a game without peers. The philosophy from which its been designed is that the very worst thing that can happen to a game designer who doesn't trust his eventual consumers is that they won't have a good time. As a result, the mechanics are incredibly light, occupying about 30 pages of a 190 page manual. They are frankly presented as a guide for game master arbitration, rather than as the final word in action resolution.

Character creation is also almost rules-free. No attempt has been made to limit the construction of characters, neither to balance them nor to constrain them to a type. Indeed, rather than predefine skills or characteristics, the system requires players to invent their own descriptions of their characters, which are then assigned dice in a quick and intuitive method.

The remainder of the manual, a wopping 150+ pages, is devoted to the setting, which is best described as Twin Peaks without the limits of an American small town. Over the Edge takes place in a city called The Edge, on the west coast of a Mediterranian island called Al Amarja. And, as a Con button I bought (back when they were worth what you paid for them) read, Al Amarja is weird enough for all practical purposes.

Which is important. This game hangs on its setting. The system just cannot handle any old setting you like; the setting supplies the play balance for the system, rather than vice versa. This is okay because its setting shines.

Firstly, the definite power groups and odd characters are both stylish and unique. Usually, they are constructed such that the characters might interact with them for months without ever recognizing their true nature, all the while feeling that they'd learned something important.

Secondly, the setting is copiously described. Characters are given interesting histories. Groups are presented with inventive and interesting methods and goals. The history of humanity as we know it is redefined. What more could you ask?

Finally, it is well laid out, broken into two overviews (one of which is fit for consumption by players of experienced characters), a layout of various services, like restaurants and hotels, and finally, a section entitled "Forces to Be Reckoned With" details various mysteries of the island. And for a definite change, OtE has a useful index.

The setting provides both condones strange characters and the means by which to control them. What I mean, without spoiling anything, is that The Edge is home to several powerful groups andentities for whom any single character is likely to be no more than a pawn. Most characters escape notice, but like the Land of Oz, The Edge has definite places for munchkins. Unlike the Land of Oz, however, they aren't nice places, and you can forget about the yellow brick road.

Resultant from the way this game is designed, with an advisory mechanics, an integral setting, and the basic philosophy that a group of players can be counted on to find their own good times, is a system that suggests what is for me a new way of playing. Rather than present single scenarios with Green Dragon Inn hooks, OtE lends itself to several consecutive sessions without any driving plot. Characters get developed under low pressure situations, NPC allies, friends, and rivals can be introduced without the player wondering how they fit into the plot, and the setting can be gradually presented as a setting rather than the board for a game. And by the time the players realize that their characters have actually encountered a plot, they're in it up to their eyebrows already.

After much thought, I've decided that the art is pretty much the entire downside. While it is very illustrative (presenting visuals of things described nearby, as opposed to being meaningless eye-candy), it does tend to the sketchy and sparse. That's just about the only con to this masterwork of an RPG, though, so I'm really not complaining.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Over The Edge
Author: Jonathan Tweet Category: game Company/Publisher: Atlas Games Reviewed by Judson Lester on 08/06/97. Genre tags: none	The most definitive statement I can make about Over The Edge is that I cannot recall precisely how I got into running it. I just woke up one day with a copy of the manual on the bedside table. Its just that sort of game, I guess. Actually, that's not really a fair statement. OtE is a game without peers. The philosophy from which its been designed is that the very worst thing that can happen to a game designer who doesn't trust his eventual consumers is that they won't have a good time. As a result, the mechanics are incredibly light, occupying about 30 pages of a 190 page manual. They are frankly presented as a guide for game master arbitration, rather than as the final word in action resolution. Character creation is also almost rules-free. No attempt has been made to limit the construction of characters, neither to balance them nor to constrain them to a type. Indeed, rather than predefine skills or characteristics, the system requires players to invent their own descriptions of their characters, which are then assigned dice in a quick and intuitive method. The remainder of the manual, a wopping 150+ pages, is devoted to the setting, which is best described as Twin Peaks without the limits of an American small town. Over the Edge takes place in a city called The Edge, on the west coast of a Mediterranian island called Al Amarja. And, as a Con button I bought (back when they were worth what you paid for them) read, Al Amarja is weird enough for all practical purposes. Which is important. This game hangs on its setting. The system just cannot handle any old setting you like; the setting supplies the play balance for the system, rather than vice versa. This is okay because its setting shines. Firstly, the definite power groups and odd characters are both stylish and unique. Usually, they are constructed such that the characters might interact with them for months without ever recognizing their true nature, all the while feeling that they'd learned something important. Secondly, the setting is copiously described. Characters are given interesting histories. Groups are presented with inventive and interesting methods and goals. The history of humanity as we know it is redefined. What more could you ask? Finally, it is well laid out, broken into two overviews (one of which is fit for consumption by players of experienced characters), a layout of various services, like restaurants and hotels, and finally, a section entitled "Forces to Be Reckoned With" details various mysteries of the island. And for a definite change, OtE has a useful index. The setting provides both condones strange characters and the means by which to control them. What I mean, without spoiling anything, is that The Edge is home to several powerful groups andentities for whom any single character is likely to be no more than a pawn. Most characters escape notice, but like the Land of Oz, The Edge has definite places for munchkins. Unlike the Land of Oz, however, they aren't nice places, and you can forget about the yellow brick road. Resultant from the way this game is designed, with an advisory mechanics, an integral setting, and the basic philosophy that a group of players can be counted on to find their own good times, is a system that suggests what is for me a new way of playing. Rather than present single scenarios with Green Dragon Inn hooks, OtE lends itself to several consecutive sessions without any driving plot. Characters get developed under low pressure situations, NPC allies, friends, and rivals can be introduced without the player wondering how they fit into the plot, and the setting can be gradually presented as a setting rather than the board for a game. And by the time the players realize that their characters have actually encountered a plot, they're in it up to their eyebrows already. After much thought, I've decided that the art is pretty much the entire downside. While it is very illustrative (presenting visuals of things described nearby, as opposed to being meaningless eye-candy), it does tend to the sketchy and sparse. That's just about the only con to this masterwork of an RPG, though, so I'm really not complaining. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)