The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Well, it ain't Talisman.

After hearing some buzz about a game that somehow managed to combine roleplaying, cards, dice, both multiplayer and solo play capabilities, enough variance to insure a different game each time, all without Game Master nor Referee, I admit that I felt a little intrigued. After all, who hasn't been in a situation where everyone felt like gaming, but nobody had anything prepared?

Usually, we broke out Talisman, Titan: the Arena, DungeonQuest (remember all those little room tiles?), Nuclear War, maybe some Illuminati or Hacker. Sometimes we just sat around, enjoying ourselves around a movie or pizza or some such staple of the gaming subculture. "Oh-ho!" I thought, naively looking forward to receiving a product to review, "Now we have a new game we can all play!"

How wrong I was.

As luck would have it, I was home alone with a Dr Pepper when the postman rang twice, bearing my package. (Actually, he only knocked a few times, but I'm taking poetic license here to make the story more interesting.) This would be my first assigned product to review, courtesy the fine staff of RPGnet. I wanted to make sure of a review worthy of an officially sanctioned, playtest review of a comped copy, destined for me and me alone.

Gleefully, I ripped apart the Priority Mail (Wow! Priority mail for a review by me?! Impressive and flattering.) carton, taking a deep breath of package scent- that lovely mix of carboard and newsprint, coupled with the satisfying knowlege that you got something that was yours and yours alone. It brought back my college days of care packages, laden with cookies and checks, soon to be followed by the envy of my roomate. I was expecting something similar, only without the cookies and cash, and I could more readily share with my roomate and friends. After all, you can play a game over and over, whereas cookies soon become tiny chocolate memories.

Out fell Quest for Power. I should note that I had recieved a second product, but I won't mention it here for fear of cooties. I actually like the other game I got, but that's another review to ponder for the exercising student. So, with a subtly forboding 'plop', I found myself staring at Quest for Power, the game I had heard a few things about.

Even after the horror, I can still remember my first two thoughts upon seeing it- "Funny, I didn't think I was getting a computer game," and "Why is the guy on the cover trying to steal the Loc-Nar from the Heavy Metal movie?" If you don't recall, the Loc-nar was the evil green glowing cancer-ball embodiment of pure evil, telling the little girl of the horrors and atrocities commited across space and time. Thinking back, I should have heeded the portents- the box has clues to the horror within.

Actual quotes from the box: "THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A TOY. IT CONTAINS SMALL OBJECTS AND IS NOT INTENDEDED FOR SALE TO CHILDREN UNDER 12 YEARS OF AGE." "This is NOT A COLLECTIBLE CARD GAME. Quest for Power is a Role-playing game that uses cards." "The Quest for Power series by Infinite Imagination, Inc. is a Game Masterless Role-playing game." The game repeats this like a mantra, trying to convince both the player and themselves of a truth which isn't there.

Warily, after running my proofreading eye of the copy on the back, reading the so-called blurbs, fearing at the bad acronym (R.A.G.G.S.: Random Adventure Game Generating System), and hoping that they just had an attack of bad layout, I cracked the box. As I pulled the lid open, I was reminded of those ancient computer 'adventure' games, the kinds with the cheap boxes that sort of breathe as you tug the cover off, the pages and pages of supplementary material and copy protection before the boom and inception of the CD-ROM, and the three or five disks of actual game.

Quest for Power is much like that. I stared in horror at a distressingly thick black-and-white rendition of the cover art, with the words "Quick Start" hovering menacingly. Quick Start. Quick Start? A seventy-odd page manual called 'Quick Start' did not bode well for future gameplay. I flipped idly through it, and set it aside in hopes of an actual Quick Start- perhaps one suited to playing the game. After all, who reads the docs the first time through?

Below the alleged 'Quick Start,' I found a second manual, slightly thicker than the first. Along with more mediocre art, this one called itself "Quest for Power Gamers Reference Guide." I got a small chuckle out of the hopefully unintended double entendre. Flipping through this one, I quickly ascertained that this was indeed a Reference Guide, laid out in semi-dictionary, psuedo-encyclopedic format. Phrases like 'Phase Order,' 'Rest Area Card,' 'Deity Invoked NPCs,' and 'Optional Rules' (which, by the by, include letting another player see your character sheet) jumped out at me. I set it next the Quick Start.

Yet another manual? Yes, a third addition to the seemingly photocopied and self-stapled library of wonder, this thankfully much thinner pamphlet billed itself as the Darkness in the Light Scenario Book. For a random reason, I decided to open this one from page one. Perhaps its brevity appealed, or possibly the hint of a scenario to adapt for a different system.

I'll spare you the obligatory fiction. Trust me, you're better off. Go read a Shadowrun novel. Maybe the Cyberpunk novel.

After setting aside some punchy-out, foldy-over character outlines and bases that some companies use instead of pawns, miniatures, or other representations of players, I saw the character sheets. Vaguely reminiscent of a Yahtzee scorepad, printed on that horrible glossy pencil-proof paper, I found I was the proud owner of a pad of two dozen or so character sheets. I was reminded of those old Lone Wolf Choose-your-own-Adventure Action Record sheets. I had places to write my name, my race, my stats, my Terrain Abilities (Do they mean terran? Are there aliens too?), even where on my body I was carrying my equipment, and how much it weighed. Wow! Now I thought of the good old red box basic D&D. One difference so far was the thoughtful inclusion of player screens, cleverly disguised as "Quick Charts." As the astute reader can infer, they bear a certain resemblance to the "Quick Start." They're ugly and high-contrast, making me yearn for the simple pleasure of Talisman for yet another moment.

When I came back from the nostalgia trip, I got a new can of Dr Pepper and pulled out the cards, the supposed heart of the game. "After all," I thought, "Lousy production values does not a game break." At first glance, I saw that they had sunk a goodly portion of their budget into their cards. The cards are very glossy and slick, about the same dimensions as a standard CCG (Quest for Power is not a Collectable Card Game), but a little thicker and heavier. Again, mediocre art is the rule here. The colors are bright, and the cards are shiny, so perhaps that makes up for it.

After plodding through the badly written Quick Start manual (Attention game designers: Commas are your friends. Don't be afraid to use them, really. Also- get an editor. This will greatly enhance your readability and appeal. Even if Mrs. Krabappel back in third grade English beat grammar over your head intead of into it, get someone who has a clue. Please. Help is out there.), I started character generation (not creation, generation). I figured that for a truly good and thorough review, I'd need to playtest both solo and multiplayer modes. I'd hate to do a poor review.

I wouldn't say that character generation is slow and painful, like a bad death; nor quick and painless, like a good death; rather, Quest for Power's character generation is like high school- Long and stupid. For those of you actually interested, you distribute 58 (yes, 58) points to six stats, which will later be "chanced" on a "twenty-sided di." In other words, roll under the stat on a d20. Among other vital things determined include your Player Type (no comments from the peanut gallery- they've all been made). As near as I can tell, Player Type merely takes up space on the character sheet. It does have something to do with race, but why a Human gets "Human/Skin," an Orc has "Derrow/Toughskin," a Diamorak (don't ask) has "Hybrid/Diamond," and none of it makes a difference during gameplay- well, it's beyond me. The manual mentioned something about an "open-ended system," but I've seen no propaganda for any supplements.

Excuse me. I've sidetracked so far, I've forgotten to rant about the cards and actual gameplay, not that it makes much of a difference.

Quest for Power includes 64 Quest Cards, 6 Diety cards, and 54 Inventory and Treasure cards, which need to be kept separate. You guessed it, they all have the same back pattern. As I did, hope the cat doesn't decide to scatter them, or else you'll have a lovely time resorting. (I lied- it's a pain.)

Not until page 56 of the "Quick Start" do you get to read the big secrets of Quest for Power. Huge, lurking esoterica that include setting up the game board. If you've been following closely, you'll note that the box doesn't contain a board. The astute reader will notice also that 64 Quest Cards would nicely form into an 8 by 8 square. You got it, you play on the cards. The random shuffling and dealing of such a grid is their basis for Random Adventure Game Generation. Supposing one had more cards, or a different set, one might play a different game. In order to win the included scenario, you need to go through virtually every card in order to win in the final confrontation.

"A different game each time."

You may remember that Quest for Power makes some claim as to Game Masterless Role-playing. The cards tell the story, make the decisions, and all that rot. Well, they make decisions... The cards present a situation, which may call for a combat, or a decision. Here's an example of a choice:

As you are spying from a bush at an old man trying to light a fire, he calls out, "Come and join me my friend." You cautiously walk over to him. He offers you a portion of cooked rabbit to eat. Do you accept his offer?

Yes: You eat the portion of rabbit. Roll a d6.
No: You graciously refuse his offer.

The designers evidently think this is roleplaying. And no, it doesn't get much better than that. All of the results are printed on the card, leading to the expected pure Gamist perspective.

Combat's not much better. First you roll to hit- roll your strength minus their defense or less on a d20, then whatever damage (measured as Blood Power, not something sensible like Hit Points) is appropriate. Trade blows until someone drops dead. But hey, don't worry if it's you, the player! You may (read: will) get ressurected and keep on playing. Every turn after your death, roll a d4. On a 1 (or 1-2, if you're a cleric), you come back. After five turns, players automaticaly come back.

The magic system's not much better. No, strike that. It's not better. Roll your intelligence minus their defense or less on a d20, then roll damage. They've thought to include Mind Power (read: Magic points) for all classes, but the included spell cards only work for a cleric or wizard. I don't pretend to understand.

Gameplay proceeds like that for a while, with few (if any) redeeming qualities.

Eventually, I suckered two friends of mine into playing a game, just to attempt a larger game. I wasn't totally close-minded to the possibility that the game could redeem itself with multiple players. We all know the value of table banter, the added pressure of meta-gaming alliances, actually playing with and against other people can make all the difference. I've seen it happen, you've seen it happen, we know that it's a factor.

Wrong. Quest for Power doesn't work here either. The added joy of killing off fellow players failed to motivate even the cruelest of us, and the game quickly degenerated into something slower and even more painful. We agreed that our characters would decide to retire from the dangerous hero business and live somewhere away from the game we found ourselves trapped in. It was the most roleplaying done within the system yet.

I've never played a more miserable excuse for a game, roleplaying or not. I can't properly express how much you should not play it. If this is the sort of product designed to bring fresh blood into the hobby or to provide an avenue of gaming for begining players, then I shudder to think what the future holds. If still you must take a look at Quest for Power to decide for yourself, by no means pay for it.

Style: 1 (Unintelligible)
Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)

Quest for Power Starter Set: Darkness in the Light
Author: Douglas Schonenberg Category: game Company/Publisher: Infinite Imagination, Inc. Cost: $40.00 Page count: ~200 ISBN: 0-9653496-0-8 Playtest Review by Mischa Krilov on 10/15/97. Genre tags: none	Well, it ain't Talisman. After hearing some buzz about a game that somehow managed to combine roleplaying, cards, dice, both multiplayer and solo play capabilities, enough variance to insure a different game each time, all without Game Master nor Referee, I admit that I felt a little intrigued. After all, who hasn't been in a situation where everyone felt like gaming, but nobody had anything prepared? Usually, we broke out Talisman, Titan: the Arena, DungeonQuest (remember all those little room tiles?), Nuclear War, maybe some Illuminati or Hacker. Sometimes we just sat around, enjoying ourselves around a movie or pizza or some such staple of the gaming subculture. "Oh-ho!" I thought, naively looking forward to receiving a product to review, "Now we have a new game we can all play!" How wrong I was. As luck would have it, I was home alone with a Dr Pepper when the postman rang twice, bearing my package. (Actually, he only knocked a few times, but I'm taking poetic license here to make the story more interesting.) This would be my first assigned product to review, courtesy the fine staff of RPGnet. I wanted to make sure of a review worthy of an officially sanctioned, playtest review of a comped copy, destined for me and me alone. Gleefully, I ripped apart the Priority Mail (Wow! Priority mail for a review by me?! Impressive and flattering.) carton, taking a deep breath of package scent- that lovely mix of carboard and newsprint, coupled with the satisfying knowlege that you got something that was yours and yours alone. It brought back my college days of care packages, laden with cookies and checks, soon to be followed by the envy of my roomate. I was expecting something similar, only without the cookies and cash, and I could more readily share with my roomate and friends. After all, you can play a game over and over, whereas cookies soon become tiny chocolate memories. Out fell Quest for Power. I should note that I had recieved a second product, but I won't mention it here for fear of cooties. I actually like the other game I got, but that's another review to ponder for the exercising student. So, with a subtly forboding 'plop', I found myself staring at Quest for Power, the game I had heard a few things about. Even after the horror, I can still remember my first two thoughts upon seeing it- "Funny, I didn't think I was getting a computer game," and "Why is the guy on the cover trying to steal the Loc-Nar from the Heavy Metal movie?" If you don't recall, the Loc-nar was the evil green glowing cancer-ball embodiment of pure evil, telling the little girl of the horrors and atrocities commited across space and time. Thinking back, I should have heeded the portents- the box has clues to the horror within. Actual quotes from the box: "THIS PRODUCT IS NOT A TOY. IT CONTAINS SMALL OBJECTS AND IS NOT INTENDEDED FOR SALE TO CHILDREN UNDER 12 YEARS OF AGE." "This is NOT A COLLECTIBLE CARD GAME. Quest for Power is a Role-playing game that uses cards." "The Quest for Power series by Infinite Imagination, Inc. is a Game Masterless Role-playing game." The game repeats this like a mantra, trying to convince both the player and themselves of a truth which isn't there. Warily, after running my proofreading eye of the copy on the back, reading the so-called blurbs, fearing at the bad acronym (R.A.G.G.S.: Random Adventure Game Generating System), and hoping that they just had an attack of bad layout, I cracked the box. As I pulled the lid open, I was reminded of those ancient computer 'adventure' games, the kinds with the cheap boxes that sort of breathe as you tug the cover off, the pages and pages of supplementary material and copy protection before the boom and inception of the CD-ROM, and the three or five disks of actual game. Quest for Power is much like that. I stared in horror at a distressingly thick black-and-white rendition of the cover art, with the words "Quick Start" hovering menacingly. Quick Start. Quick Start? A seventy-odd page manual called 'Quick Start' did not bode well for future gameplay. I flipped idly through it, and set it aside in hopes of an actual Quick Start- perhaps one suited to playing the game. After all, who reads the docs the first time through? Below the alleged 'Quick Start,' I found a second manual, slightly thicker than the first. Along with more mediocre art, this one called itself "Quest for Power Gamers Reference Guide." I got a small chuckle out of the hopefully unintended double entendre. Flipping through this one, I quickly ascertained that this was indeed a Reference Guide, laid out in semi-dictionary, psuedo-encyclopedic format. Phrases like 'Phase Order,' 'Rest Area Card,' 'Deity Invoked NPCs,' and 'Optional Rules' (which, by the by, include letting another player see your character sheet) jumped out at me. I set it next the Quick Start. Yet another manual? Yes, a third addition to the seemingly photocopied and self-stapled library of wonder, this thankfully much thinner pamphlet billed itself as the Darkness in the Light Scenario Book. For a random reason, I decided to open this one from page one. Perhaps its brevity appealed, or possibly the hint of a scenario to adapt for a different system. I'll spare you the obligatory fiction. Trust me, you're better off. Go read a Shadowrun novel. Maybe the Cyberpunk novel. After setting aside some punchy-out, foldy-over character outlines and bases that some companies use instead of pawns, miniatures, or other representations of players, I saw the character sheets. Vaguely reminiscent of a Yahtzee scorepad, printed on that horrible glossy pencil-proof paper, I found I was the proud owner of a pad of two dozen or so character sheets. I was reminded of those old Lone Wolf Choose-your-own-Adventure Action Record sheets. I had places to write my name, my race, my stats, my Terrain Abilities (Do they mean terran? Are there aliens too?), even where on my body I was carrying my equipment, and how much it weighed. Wow! Now I thought of the good old red box basic D&D. One difference so far was the thoughtful inclusion of player screens, cleverly disguised as "Quick Charts." As the astute reader can infer, they bear a certain resemblance to the "Quick Start." They're ugly and high-contrast, making me yearn for the simple pleasure of Talisman for yet another moment. When I came back from the nostalgia trip, I got a new can of Dr Pepper and pulled out the cards, the supposed heart of the game. "After all," I thought, "Lousy production values does not a game break." At first glance, I saw that they had sunk a goodly portion of their budget into their cards. The cards are very glossy and slick, about the same dimensions as a standard CCG (Quest for Power is not a Collectable Card Game), but a little thicker and heavier. Again, mediocre art is the rule here. The colors are bright, and the cards are shiny, so perhaps that makes up for it. After plodding through the badly written Quick Start manual (Attention game designers: Commas are your friends. Don't be afraid to use them, really. Also- get an editor. This will greatly enhance your readability and appeal. Even if Mrs. Krabappel back in third grade English beat grammar over your head intead of into it, get someone who has a clue. Please. Help is out there.), I started character generation (not creation, generation). I figured that for a truly good and thorough review, I'd need to playtest both solo and multiplayer modes. I'd hate to do a poor review. I wouldn't say that character generation is slow and painful, like a bad death; nor quick and painless, like a good death; rather, Quest for Power's character generation is like high school- Long and stupid. For those of you actually interested, you distribute 58 (yes, 58) points to six stats, which will later be "chanced" on a "twenty-sided di." In other words, roll under the stat on a d20. Among other vital things determined include your Player Type (no comments from the peanut gallery- they've all been made). As near as I can tell, Player Type merely takes up space on the character sheet. It does have something to do with race, but why a Human gets "Human/Skin," an Orc has "Derrow/Toughskin," a Diamorak (don't ask) has "Hybrid/Diamond," and none of it makes a difference during gameplay- well, it's beyond me. The manual mentioned something about an "open-ended system," but I've seen no propaganda for any supplements. Excuse me. I've sidetracked so far, I've forgotten to rant about the cards and actual gameplay, not that it makes much of a difference. Quest for Power includes 64 Quest Cards, 6 Diety cards, and 54 Inventory and Treasure cards, which need to be kept separate. You guessed it, they all have the same back pattern. As I did, hope the cat doesn't decide to scatter them, or else you'll have a lovely time resorting. (I lied- it's a pain.) Not until page 56 of the "Quick Start" do you get to read the big secrets of Quest for Power. Huge, lurking esoterica that include setting up the game board. If you've been following closely, you'll note that the box doesn't contain a board. The astute reader will notice also that 64 Quest Cards would nicely form into an 8 by 8 square. You got it, you play on the cards. The random shuffling and dealing of such a grid is their basis for Random Adventure Game Generation. Supposing one had more cards, or a different set, one might play a different game. In order to win the included scenario, you need to go through virtually every card in order to win in the final confrontation. "A different game each time." You may remember that Quest for Power makes some claim as to Game Masterless Role-playing. The cards tell the story, make the decisions, and all that rot. Well, they make decisions... The cards present a situation, which may call for a combat, or a decision. Here's an example of a choice: As you are spying from a bush at an old man trying to light a fire, he calls out, "Come and join me my friend." You cautiously walk over to him. He offers you a portion of cooked rabbit to eat. Do you accept his offer? Yes: You eat the portion of rabbit. Roll a d6. (1-3) You feel weaker. -1 to your STR. XP -10. (4-6) You feel stronger. +1 to your STR. XP +20. No: You graciously refuse his offer. The designers evidently think this is roleplaying. And no, it doesn't get much better than that. All of the results are printed on the card, leading to the expected pure Gamist perspective. Combat's not much better. First you roll to hit- roll your strength minus their defense or less on a d20, then whatever damage (measured as Blood Power, not something sensible like Hit Points) is appropriate. Trade blows until someone drops dead. But hey, don't worry if it's you, the player! You may (read: will) get ressurected and keep on playing. Every turn after your death, roll a d4. On a 1 (or 1-2, if you're a cleric), you come back. After five turns, players automaticaly come back. The magic system's not much better. No, strike that. It's not better. Roll your intelligence minus their defense or less on a d20, then roll damage. They've thought to include Mind Power (read: Magic points) for all classes, but the included spell cards only work for a cleric or wizard. I don't pretend to understand. Gameplay proceeds like that for a while, with few (if any) redeeming qualities. Eventually, I suckered two friends of mine into playing a game, just to attempt a larger game. I wasn't totally close-minded to the possibility that the game could redeem itself with multiple players. We all know the value of table banter, the added pressure of meta-gaming alliances, actually playing with and against other people can make all the difference. I've seen it happen, you've seen it happen, we know that it's a factor. Wrong. Quest for Power doesn't work here either. The added joy of killing off fellow players failed to motivate even the cruelest of us, and the game quickly degenerated into something slower and even more painful. We agreed that our characters would decide to retire from the dangerous hero business and live somewhere away from the game we found ourselves trapped in. It was the most roleplaying done within the system yet. I've never played a more miserable excuse for a game, roleplaying or not. I can't properly express how much you should not play it. If this is the sort of product designed to bring fresh blood into the hobby or to provide an avenue of gaming for begining players, then I shudder to think what the future holds. If still you must take a look at Quest for Power to decide for yourself, by no means pay for it. Style: 1 (Unintelligible) Substance: 1 (I Wasted My Money)

Quest for Power Starter Set: Darkness in the Light