The Inside Scoop on Gaming

On an ancient island in the Mediterranean, conspiracies, wackos, and dimensions collide in a battle fought physically, spiritually, and emotionally. The island is Al Amarja and the game is Over The Edge.

Over the Edge is a modern day conspiracy games. It runs the gamut from science fiction to fantasy, and contains magic, psychic powers, ultratech and everything else in between.

The first thing that one would notice in reading the main rule book is that it is very freeform. Characters are generated with three traits and one flaw; these add and subtract dice. For example, a mercenary might have three traits of "Well-trained in weapons", "hardened in combat", and "Parties like there is no tomorrow". His flaw might be "Drinks too much at night". There are no set skill lists or anything of the sort; it's all up between the GM (called the Game Moderator) and the player. Combat is likewise simple, and encourages the GM to give penalties if the same attack or a boring attack is called repeatedly ("I hit him.") Penalties add an extra die, and you keep the worst ones. Bonuses add dice, and you keep the best.

Simple, neh? If you have a too-lenient GM, or one who is not good at improvising, you'll have problems off the bat. However, a good GM, like in most games, will give you a good game - it's just in OTE that a bad GM will give you a worse then usual game.

The background information is very detailed. It runs through an entire history of Al Amarja, from ancient times to the present, and some possible futures. Conspiracies are everywhere as well as open power factions. Guns are outlawed on the island so the PCs will find themselves more in hand-to-hand combat (or using tasers and crossbows) with everything from drugged up, body armored AK-47 wielding Loyal Defenders to switchblade carrying music fans to aliens. Of course, just fighting won't get the players anywhere (except maybe into a body bag); there's a lot of people (and other things) in Al Amarja that can fight. They'll have to be sneaky, subtle, and (dare I say it?) political.

The NPCs provided are wonderfully wacky as well. From an exterminator who wants to take over the world to insane architects and the power-hungry leader of Al Amarja, they are all detailed and given their loyalties and goals. The island itself is detailed nicely; there's enough stuff laid out to give it a good groundwork, but plenty of room to move around in. The PCs should have fun just trying to get out of the airport...

All in all, Over the Edge is a very enjoyable game. GMs who don't feel comfortable with the rules set provided should have absolutely no problem transferring the setting over to another one; likewise, bringing PCs in from other games is rather easy. The only nits to pick is some of the art; most of the diagrams are clear and concise, but the art itself isn't anything spectacular. Still, I've seen worse.

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Over the Edge
Author: Jonathon Tweet with Robin Laws Category: game Company/Publisher: Atlas Games Cost: $25.00 Page count: 240 ISBN: 1-887801-52-9 Capsule Review by SeanMike Whipkey on 03/12/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Modern_day Espionage Conspiracy	On an ancient island in the Mediterranean, conspiracies, wackos, and dimensions collide in a battle fought physically, spiritually, and emotionally. The island is Al Amarja and the game is Over The Edge. Over the Edge is a modern day conspiracy games. It runs the gamut from science fiction to fantasy, and contains magic, psychic powers, ultratech and everything else in between. The first thing that one would notice in reading the main rule book is that it is very freeform. Characters are generated with three traits and one flaw; these add and subtract dice. For example, a mercenary might have three traits of "Well-trained in weapons", "hardened in combat", and "Parties like there is no tomorrow". His flaw might be "Drinks too much at night". There are no set skill lists or anything of the sort; it's all up between the GM (called the Game Moderator) and the player. Combat is likewise simple, and encourages the GM to give penalties if the same attack or a boring attack is called repeatedly ("I hit him.") Penalties add an extra die, and you keep the worst ones. Bonuses add dice, and you keep the best. Simple, neh? If you have a too-lenient GM, or one who is not good at improvising, you'll have problems off the bat. However, a good GM, like in most games, will give you a good game - it's just in OTE that a bad GM will give you a worse then usual game. The background information is very detailed. It runs through an entire history of Al Amarja, from ancient times to the present, and some possible futures. Conspiracies are everywhere as well as open power factions. Guns are outlawed on the island so the PCs will find themselves more in hand-to-hand combat (or using tasers and crossbows) with everything from drugged up, body armored AK-47 wielding Loyal Defenders to switchblade carrying music fans to aliens. Of course, just fighting won't get the players anywhere (except maybe into a body bag); there's a lot of people (and other things) in Al Amarja that can fight. They'll have to be sneaky, subtle, and (dare I say it?) political. The NPCs provided are wonderfully wacky as well. From an exterminator who wants to take over the world to insane architects and the power-hungry leader of Al Amarja, they are all detailed and given their loyalties and goals. The island itself is detailed nicely; there's enough stuff laid out to give it a good groundwork, but plenty of room to move around in. The PCs should have fun just trying to get out of the airport... All in all, Over the Edge is a very enjoyable game. GMs who don't feel comfortable with the rules set provided should have absolutely no problem transferring the setting over to another one; likewise, bringing PCs in from other games is rather easy. The only nits to pick is some of the art; most of the diagrams are clear and concise, but the art itself isn't anything spectacular. Still, I've seen worse. Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)