The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I picked up Aeon the day it arrived on the shelves, and really liked it. The revised Storyteller system rocked, the division of flavour and "nitty-gritty" sections.... Best of all... angst-free!

However I never got around to running a game in Aeon/Trinity. Now I can't wait. I loved Aberrant so much that it not only compels me to run an Aberrant game, but to run Aeon in 2120 as well.

Simply put, Aberrant strikes a beautiful balance of flexibility and simplicity. You create your human character, then you make him into a nova (what Aberrant's superhuman namesakes are generally called in the game's 2008 setting). The chargen system is smooth and intuitive, starting off with WW's standard Attributes, Abilities and Backgrounds, which are fortified with Bonus (freebie) points. You then take your modest "baseline" and turn him into a superhuman (or uberhuman) with Nova points. You can buy Mega-Attributes, Quantum Powers, or plain old skills and attributes.

It also allows you to create characters of wildly varying power. You can go the relatively humble "Captain America" route, or you can go the powerful "Superman" route. Granted, this necessitates some Storyteller intervention during character creation to match the players' power levels to the story, but I personally appreciate having the options.

Aberrant is also tremendously flexible in its mood. You can play up the Justice League aspects, you can play it silly, you can play it tragic (after all, your "heroes" are the supervillains of the 22nd century) or you can just roleplay a normal Joe who becomes an overnight superpowered celebrity.

I found Aberrant to be a real breath of fresh air. It has robust rules, it has fun (and useful) background info, and it doesnt beat you over the head with the pretensiousness that has marred much of WW's other material.

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

Aberrant
Author: Aeon team + more Category: Company/Publisher: White Wolf Line: Trinity Cost: $24.95US Page count: 296 p. ISBN: 1-56504-626-9 SKU: WW 8500 Capsule Review by G Dog on 07/30/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Conspiracy	I picked up Aeon the day it arrived on the shelves, and really liked it. The revised Storyteller system rocked, the division of flavour and "nitty-gritty" sections.... Best of all... angst-free! However I never got around to running a game in Aeon/Trinity. Now I can't wait. I loved Aberrant so much that it not only compels me to run an Aberrant game, but to run Aeon in 2120 as well. Simply put, Aberrant strikes a beautiful balance of flexibility and simplicity. You create your human character, then you make him into a nova (what Aberrant's superhuman namesakes are generally called in the game's 2008 setting). The chargen system is smooth and intuitive, starting off with WW's standard Attributes, Abilities and Backgrounds, which are fortified with Bonus (freebie) points. You then take your modest "baseline" and turn him into a superhuman (or uberhuman) with Nova points. You can buy Mega-Attributes, Quantum Powers, or plain old skills and attributes. It also allows you to create characters of wildly varying power. You can go the relatively humble "Captain America" route, or you can go the powerful "Superman" route. Granted, this necessitates some Storyteller intervention during character creation to match the players' power levels to the story, but I personally appreciate having the options. Aberrant is also tremendously flexible in its mood. You can play up the Justice League aspects, you can play it silly, you can play it tragic (after all, your "heroes" are the supervillains of the 22nd century) or you can just roleplay a normal Joe who becomes an overnight superpowered celebrity. I found Aberrant to be a real breath of fresh air. It has robust rules, it has fun (and useful) background info, and it doesnt beat you over the head with the pretensiousness that has marred much of WW's other material. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)