The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Imagine my surprise when I noticed that, although there were a ton of reviews for the Aberrant main rules, there have been none that I can see for the first two supplements. As an avid (some would say rabid, but lets not go there) player and Storyteller of the game I thought I would remedy the situation.

In this capsule review I will cover the newest supplement a small "Sourcebooklet" called Expose: Aberrants. Which details a bit more about one of the more important factions in the world of 2008. (Several others include the Team Tomorrow "Superheroes" of Project Utopia, The Shadowy agents of The Directive, The Super Mercenaries known as Elite's and the secessionist "terrorist" group known as the Teragen) note that there are only about 6000 Nova's worldwide. (The first supplement was, as is the usual thing, the Storytellers Screen with its companion book also "creatively" titled "Aberrant Storytellers Screen" I would assume one would throw the word book after that )

This Sourcebooklet (and yes I know it isn't really a word) format has been used quite well in White Wolf's Trinity RPG Line (of which Aberrant is a prequel and shares the same basic rule set though the scale and powers differ dramatically) and is used with some success here. It is rules scarce, flavor heavy, and follows the rather eclectic Newsfeed and e-mail format of the main rules. Good consistency though some will find little actual meat in this format. I personally like this approach, it reminds me of some of the better points in many of the old Shadowrun sourcebooks.

The booklet itself isn't bad, especially for a measly five bucks, glossy black mostly, 24 pages, and cover art that conveys some of the contents, although it could have been a good bit better in my opinion. The art throughout is slightly sub-par when compared to much of what was in the main rules, or even in most comics these days. It does however convey the characters and concepts well enough, could just be my over critical eye. Still doesn't get more than an Average rating for style from me.

Now, to the substance, first lets break the book down into its component parts shall we:

The first eleven pages are basically meandering flavor text. It all works pretty well together though to give us a better view of one of the more pervasive aspects of the Aberrant "Metaplot" The death of a popular Nova (gamespeak for the "Superhumans" of the word) named Jennifer "Slider" Landers and the suspected involvement of the worldwide, semi-benevolent organization known as Project Utopia. It details Nova only meetings in an exclusive club called the Amp Room to some of the cover up actions taken by factions within the Project itself. It also details, without giving stats, several of the prime suspects in her murder.

The next eight pages breaks down in some detail the structure of the Aberrant "organization" and it's three main factions (whose numbers will grow tremendously as the timeline and Metaplot continues) which are:

The Hidden, who work within the Project still, trying to find the truth. They are "led" by Sophia Rossou, who is herself not actually one of the Hidden. The Quarry, who are the most numerous of the forty or so Aberrants. They split from the project after Slider's death and are in many ways Rebels without a Clue, they do however try lots of rescues of imprisoned Novae around the world. They are led by Andre' Corbin, the prime suspect in Slider's murder case. The Rebels, led by the enigmatic Dr. Worm, are basically a Motley Crew of malcontents who never agreed that the Project was any good to begin with. The are in some cases Terrorist, in others rag tag "heroes."

This section also covers their relations with the other organizations of the world, as well as giving some (very) basic information on several of the members named within.

The last section, four pages or so, covers three signature characters complete with stats, as well as a forth without stats for Storyteller's use. All in all a welcome addition and in my view at least they represent several good story hooks in and of themselves.

In conclusion, I think this is a worthy book for your Aberrant Chronicle, the relatively meaty material within and the tiny price make it an easy addition. No offense to Guy Davis (the Artist) meant, but the art is the main thing I would like to see changed in future supplements.

My .002 cents (Inflation sucks)

Slade AKA Timothy Whisenhunt

Style: 3 (Average)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Expose: Aberrants
Author: Greg Stolze Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Line: Aberrant Cost: $4.95 Page count: 24 ISBN: 1-56504-630-7 SKU: WW8503 Capsule Review by Timothy Whisenhunt on 09/15/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Science_fiction Modern_day Espionage Conspiracy Superhero	Imagine my surprise when I noticed that, although there were a ton of reviews for the Aberrant main rules, there have been none that I can see for the first two supplements. As an avid (some would say rabid, but lets not go there) player and Storyteller of the game I thought I would remedy the situation. In this capsule review I will cover the newest supplement a small "Sourcebooklet" called Expose: Aberrants. Which details a bit more about one of the more important factions in the world of 2008. (Several others include the Team Tomorrow "Superheroes" of Project Utopia, The Shadowy agents of The Directive, The Super Mercenaries known as Elite's and the secessionist "terrorist" group known as the Teragen) note that there are only about 6000 Nova's worldwide. (The first supplement was, as is the usual thing, the Storytellers Screen with its companion book also "creatively" titled "Aberrant Storytellers Screen" I would assume one would throw the word book after that ) This Sourcebooklet (and yes I know it isn't really a word) format has been used quite well in White Wolf's Trinity RPG Line (of which Aberrant is a prequel and shares the same basic rule set though the scale and powers differ dramatically) and is used with some success here. It is rules scarce, flavor heavy, and follows the rather eclectic Newsfeed and e-mail format of the main rules. Good consistency though some will find little actual meat in this format. I personally like this approach, it reminds me of some of the better points in many of the old Shadowrun sourcebooks. The booklet itself isn't bad, especially for a measly five bucks, glossy black mostly, 24 pages, and cover art that conveys some of the contents, although it could have been a good bit better in my opinion. The art throughout is slightly sub-par when compared to much of what was in the main rules, or even in most comics these days. It does however convey the characters and concepts well enough, could just be my over critical eye. Still doesn't get more than an Average rating for style from me. Now, to the substance, first lets break the book down into its component parts shall we: The first eleven pages are basically meandering flavor text. It all works pretty well together though to give us a better view of one of the more pervasive aspects of the Aberrant "Metaplot" The death of a popular Nova (gamespeak for the "Superhumans" of the word) named Jennifer "Slider" Landers and the suspected involvement of the worldwide, semi-benevolent organization known as Project Utopia. It details Nova only meetings in an exclusive club called the Amp Room to some of the cover up actions taken by factions within the Project itself. It also details, without giving stats, several of the prime suspects in her murder. The next eight pages breaks down in some detail the structure of the Aberrant "organization" and it's three main factions (whose numbers will grow tremendously as the timeline and Metaplot continues) which are: The Hidden, who work within the Project still, trying to find the truth. They are "led" by Sophia Rossou, who is herself not actually one of the Hidden. The Quarry, who are the most numerous of the forty or so Aberrants. They split from the project after Slider's death and are in many ways Rebels without a Clue, they do however try lots of rescues of imprisoned Novae around the world. They are led by Andre' Corbin, the prime suspect in Slider's murder case. The Rebels, led by the enigmatic Dr. Worm, are basically a Motley Crew of malcontents who never agreed that the Project was any good to begin with. The are in some cases Terrorist, in others rag tag "heroes." This section also covers their relations with the other organizations of the world, as well as giving some (very) basic information on several of the members named within. The last section, four pages or so, covers three signature characters complete with stats, as well as a forth without stats for Storyteller's use. All in all a welcome addition and in my view at least they represent several good story hooks in and of themselves. In conclusion, I think this is a worthy book for your Aberrant Chronicle, the relatively meaty material within and the tiny price make it an easy addition. No offense to Guy Davis (the Artist) meant, but the art is the main thing I would like to see changed in future supplements. My .002 cents (Inflation sucks) Slade AKA Timothy Whisenhunt Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)