The Inside Scoop on Gaming

It's difficult not to like a book about Atlantis. And Atlantis Rising is just a peachy book.

Now, the first thing you have to understand is it's not REALLY about Atlantis. To be deadly honest, the underwater Vegas is pretty much a sidebar in this book.

Atlantis is a sourcebook for Conspiracy X, detailling (tah DAH!) the Atlanteans. The race gets put across fairly well.

They're a species of immortal aliens who use Nanotechnology to manipulate, well, everything.

The book is a well constructed gamebook that follows the standard motiff. There's character info (some of it wrong), GM info, NPCs, toys & an adventure.

I particularly liked the NPC section. While I don't know how well the characters fit within the ConX mileu, the idea of an immortal whose idea of fun is to alter the fossil record makes me giggle.

The history is long and complex; not long in the book, but it does cover several aeons of stuff, from the birth of the Atlantean race to their war with the Greys to their arrival on Earth & construction of that mythical city.

The whole "Chariots of the Gods" subplot did grate on me. I find references to Von Daaniken cause a small twinge in one of my frontal lobes (ouch!), and Alien gods always annoys me, so it really wasn't my cup of tea.

The toys, however, were sweet. Nanotech systems are the core of the Atlanteans power. They're what let them live forever, after all. The systems all have little drawbacks for when they get slapped around, and a drawback when you try to install them in a human (usually bad; and DON'T try to use brainware). There's also Nanoseeds, golf ball sized nanoconstructs that can do anything. Want a car? Got an hour? Need a wardrovbe? Stand still! A tent? It'll build it in two minutes.

There's also the standard array of tools & tricks, including a page on "How, exactly, does one go about KILLING an immortal?"

The adventure at the end is designed to introduce characters to the Forgotten, brainwiped Atlanteans who are still immortal and all that. It is, of course, designed for play by Aegis characters (oh, rant: I often see people who complain about a given game, saying "But what if I want to play a Blah?", to which the best response is "Play a game designed to let you play a Blah, and leave me alone. Thank you.").

All in all, Atlantis Rising gives you a good basing in Atlanteans. Fun for the whole family.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Atlantis Rising
Author: Richard Dakan, Chad Emmeret Category: game Company/Publisher: Eden Studios Line: Conspiracy X Cost: $17 Page count: 112 ISBN: 1-891153-10-2 Capsule Review by Justin Mohareb on 06/10/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Modern_day Horror Space Espionage Conspiracy	It's difficult not to like a book about Atlantis. And Atlantis Rising is just a peachy book. Now, the first thing you have to understand is it's not REALLY about Atlantis. To be deadly honest, the underwater Vegas is pretty much a sidebar in this book. Atlantis is a sourcebook for Conspiracy X, detailling (tah DAH!) the Atlanteans. The race gets put across fairly well. They're a species of immortal aliens who use Nanotechnology to manipulate, well, everything. The book is a well constructed gamebook that follows the standard motiff. There's character info (some of it wrong), GM info, NPCs, toys & an adventure. I particularly liked the NPC section. While I don't know how well the characters fit within the ConX mileu, the idea of an immortal whose idea of fun is to alter the fossil record makes me giggle. The history is long and complex; not long in the book, but it does cover several aeons of stuff, from the birth of the Atlantean race to their war with the Greys to their arrival on Earth & construction of that mythical city. The whole "Chariots of the Gods" subplot did grate on me. I find references to Von Daaniken cause a small twinge in one of my frontal lobes (ouch!), and Alien gods always annoys me, so it really wasn't my cup of tea. The toys, however, were sweet. Nanotech systems are the core of the Atlanteans power. They're what let them live forever, after all. The systems all have little drawbacks for when they get slapped around, and a drawback when you try to install them in a human (usually bad; and DON'T try to use brainware). There's also Nanoseeds, golf ball sized nanoconstructs that can do anything. Want a car? Got an hour? Need a wardrovbe? Stand still! A tent? It'll build it in two minutes. There's also the standard array of tools & tricks, including a page on "How, exactly, does one go about KILLING an immortal?" The adventure at the end is designed to introduce characters to the Forgotten, brainwiped Atlanteans who are still immortal and all that. It is, of course, designed for play by Aegis characters (oh, rant: I often see people who complain about a given game, saying "But what if I want to play a Blah?", to which the best response is "Play a game designed to let you play a Blah, and leave me alone. Thank you."). All in all, Atlantis Rising gives you a good basing in Atlanteans. Fun for the whole family. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)