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Gatecrasher is a strange but enjoyable hybrid fantasy/sci-fi RPG that uses a system derived from the FUDGE rules. As might be expected to anyone who is familiar with FUDGE, the rules are fairly loose and unregulated, being based on descriptors and common sense rather than numbers and charts.

At first glance, I took Gatecrasher to be nothing more than an example of FUDGE rules and how they can be implemented to create a setting. I expected it to be a boring re-hash of old ideas with corny jokes with little to interest me. After a little reading, however, I decided that there was, in fact, more to this game than you might think.

Gatecrasher is a stand-alone game that does not require any knowledge of FUDGE to play. It might even be a good thing for those thinking of getting FUDGE, as it gives you a fairly good idea of what FUDGE is while at the same time giving a completed system and a setting that you can use.

Gatecrasher is set our Solar System, far into the future. The background is that far before our time, magic was prevalent. However, it was dying out. In order to prevent this, a Wizard created a gate that, when opened, would bring magic flooding back. Before he could open it, however, he died. The gate remained on Ganymede, but it was closed. Eventually, humans began to colonise the Solar System and a mining group landed on Ganymede (a moon) and inadvertently opened the gate, and magical hell broke loose.

Magic and technology directly oppose each other, and at the time of Gatecrasher all the planets and moons in the Solar System are technology-prevalent or magic -prevalent (although one or two places are strong in both). What this means to the game is that there are a complete mix of genres. The low-tech places like the paradise of Pluto are like a fantasy setting with wooden buildings and mages etc. Others, like Luna, would be like something out of Traveller or Star Wars. Similarly the genres can clash. A group of power-armoured Orc space-pirates might hide out in the abandoned Wizard's Tower to count their loot. Or the guards in the spaceport might find their blaster rifles magically melted by an Elf criminal clad in leaf-green who leaps into the nearby Starfighter and powers away.

As you might be able to tell, Gatecrasher is very tongue-in-cheek. These clashes of sci-fi with fantasy are supposed to happen, and it is all presented in a very light-hearted way. You are not meant to take this game seriously. Car-salesmen, for example, are often Demons (magical creatures who must lie, cheat, steal and screw people over or accrue huge penalties).

In the end, I couldn't decide ho w to treat Gatecrasher. It's not exactly a humorous game in the ridiculous sense; it's amusing but there's enough serious stuff in there to run a proper game. Then again, you couldn't actually run a serious game with it either, that would obviously be against the spirit of the thing. The rules are simple, but not cartoon-like. Some elements get complicated, like the rules for spacecraft, but there are also big gaps which imply the rules don't really matter.

I haven't got as far as playing Gatecrasher yet, but I did get my players to make characters. Just to give you some idea, I ended up with a cyborg Dwarf mercenary, a shape-changing jewel thief who could teleport and a floating toaster who wielded a rapier with its flex and went around vanquishing evil. I suspect another group would produce equally bizarre characters, the game encourages it.

In conclusion, I like Gatecrasher. It would provide an interesting addition to any collection, a good introduction to FUDGE, and possibly some comic relief for a gaming group for an evening or two. Just don't expect any campaigns out of it.

Buy it if you have nothing else you're desperate for.

-Mao Chapman

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Gatecrasher
Author: Michael Lucas Category: game Company/Publisher: Grey Ghost Games Cost: $18.95 Page count: 208 ISBN: 1-887159-01-9 Capsule Review by Mao Chapman on 02/12/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Far_Future Space Comedy	Gatecrasher is a strange but enjoyable hybrid fantasy/sci-fi RPG that uses a system derived from the FUDGE rules. As might be expected to anyone who is familiar with FUDGE, the rules are fairly loose and unregulated, being based on descriptors and common sense rather than numbers and charts. At first glance, I took Gatecrasher to be nothing more than an example of FUDGE rules and how they can be implemented to create a setting. I expected it to be a boring re-hash of old ideas with corny jokes with little to interest me. After a little reading, however, I decided that there was, in fact, more to this game than you might think. Gatecrasher is a stand-alone game that does not require any knowledge of FUDGE to play. It might even be a good thing for those thinking of getting FUDGE, as it gives you a fairly good idea of what FUDGE is while at the same time giving a completed system and a setting that you can use. Gatecrasher is set our Solar System, far into the future. The background is that far before our time, magic was prevalent. However, it was dying out. In order to prevent this, a Wizard created a gate that, when opened, would bring magic flooding back. Before he could open it, however, he died. The gate remained on Ganymede, but it was closed. Eventually, humans began to colonise the Solar System and a mining group landed on Ganymede (a moon) and inadvertently opened the gate, and magical hell broke loose. Magic and technology directly oppose each other, and at the time of Gatecrasher all the planets and moons in the Solar System are technology-prevalent or magic -prevalent (although one or two places are strong in both). What this means to the game is that there are a complete mix of genres. The low-tech places like the paradise of Pluto are like a fantasy setting with wooden buildings and mages etc. Others, like Luna, would be like something out of Traveller or Star Wars. Similarly the genres can clash. A group of power-armoured Orc space-pirates might hide out in the abandoned Wizard's Tower to count their loot. Or the guards in the spaceport might find their blaster rifles magically melted by an Elf criminal clad in leaf-green who leaps into the nearby Starfighter and powers away. As you might be able to tell, Gatecrasher is very tongue-in-cheek. These clashes of sci-fi with fantasy are supposed to happen, and it is all presented in a very light-hearted way. You are not meant to take this game seriously. Car-salesmen, for example, are often Demons (magical creatures who must lie, cheat, steal and screw people over or accrue huge penalties). In the end, I couldn't decide ho w to treat Gatecrasher. It's not exactly a humorous game in the ridiculous sense; it's amusing but there's enough serious stuff in there to run a proper game. Then again, you couldn't actually run a serious game with it either, that would obviously be against the spirit of the thing. The rules are simple, but not cartoon-like. Some elements get complicated, like the rules for spacecraft, but there are also big gaps which imply the rules don't really matter. I haven't got as far as playing Gatecrasher yet, but I did get my players to make characters. Just to give you some idea, I ended up with a cyborg Dwarf mercenary, a shape-changing jewel thief who could teleport and a floating toaster who wielded a rapier with its flex and went around vanquishing evil. I suspect another group would produce equally bizarre characters, the game encourages it. In conclusion, I like Gatecrasher. It would provide an interesting addition to any collection, a good introduction to FUDGE, and possibly some comic relief for a gaming group for an evening or two. Just don't expect any campaigns out of it. Buy it if you have nothing else you're desperate for. -Mao Chapman Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)