The Inside Scoop on Gaming

The first of the organization books for Aberrant, this book (unsurprisingly) looks at Project Utopia, the biggest badest dog in the Aberrant universe. Filled with solid detail, realistic motivations, and interesting plot hooks it does a good job of brining the organization to life. It also does a good job at looking at how the power of the project has managed to corrupt a small section of it's organization without turning the whole set up into one massive conspiracy. So without further ado, let us dive into the more detailed run downs….

The Art

I love the cover of this book. Big old ugly Cestus Pax in all his grotesquely bulging muscled glory. Plus the cover of the work, for once, manages to capture the feel of the book. The lovely blue sky, the superheroes flying out to save the world, the gleaming glory of their base …. All nice and heroic and lovely. The interior art is much more hit and miss. The comic sections are rather ugly, and the character faces in the Appendix all look exactly the same. (Plus they all remind me of the line in "A League of Their Own" where Tom Hanks called the referee a penis with a hat on). There are, however, some really lovely team shots of Team Tomorrow, done in the fine tradition of heroes standing around in a group looking cool. I think I'll make posters out of them.

The Rundown

As do all White Wolf books, this book starts with a short bit of fiction. "The Welcome Home" is fairly well written, and thankfully short. It also does what flavor text should do - gives flavor and feeling of the subject of the book. The story is about a baseline woman hired by Utopia to help with their massive PR department. It does a decent job of showing how the common person views Utopia, novas, and all things so related.

Then comes the required Lexicon and How to Use this Book information. All I can say is that, once again, it's really short.

The real meat of the book starts with Chapter 1: Genesis. Using a combination of text book excerpts, radio shows, news broadcasts, and Op-Net sites this chapter gives us a history of the birth and development of Utopia. Though the material is all presented in the IC manner of the core book, this time it is made slightly more coherent and linear. There are a few rough spots in the road (such as hitting the Second Kashmir Nova War and wondering what happened to the first), but this section does a good job of giving us an easily comprehensible and decently comprehensive history of Utopia. Though I don't know that it would be enough to play a Utopia campaign in that timeline, it does a good job of setting up the present of the game. It also is rather enjoyable to read, with a quick easy pulse to the writing.

Chapter 2: Structure and Goals gives us a detailed look inside the running of Project Utopia. This section is exhaustive to the point of tedium, which is both good and bad. It is good because it gives Utopia a very realistic layout, setup, and corporate structure. It is bad because we have to read all about it. The section is saved from being utterly boring by the fact that it concentrates most heavily on the people behind the business, and on ways in which the project can be used to set and run a game. Still, I really don't think I needed to know that the Board of Directors has been meeting 3.5 times a week since Slider's murder. This section also gives us a deeper look at exactly what Utopia is doing with science and technology - both in terms of developing it and in controlling the rest of the world's development of it So far, we are assured, Utopia is really doing what it thinks is right and honorable, and is not trying to become the science Nazis. We also finally get a better look at Antaeus, one of the 5 most powerful nova's on earth. Though no stats are given for him (cop out) his history and personality are detailed. If only they had done this for Cestus Pax…. (that's right, we get next to 0 info about the most important Nova in Utopia, Cestus Pax is left a blank except for a brief sketch of his place in the organization).

After the depth chapter we get back to fun stuff. Chapter 3 is Team Tomorrow - the "superheroes in spandex" of the Aberrant world (though more of them seem to wear leather than spandex.). The section starts of with the "Team Tomorrow Code of Honor" which was acceptably cheesy for a group of superheroes, without being completely over the top. We are then given the history, set up, motivations, and current activities of Team Tomorrow, as well as ways that novas go about joining this august organization. Full attention is given to interpersonal ego-matches between members of the teams, as well as to the fact that they do occasionally get their clocks cleaned by other novas. All in all I found this one of the most useful sections of the book, as well as a great deal of fun to read. My greatest aggravation with it was that most of the members of team Utopia are given perhaps 2 lines of description. We get almost nothing on Cestus Pax, and the vast majority of the others are just as blank. While this is perfectly alright if you are going to make your PC's members of Team Tomorrow, it is a bit less wonderful when you plan on running a Teragen group who fights against Team Tomorrow. I would have at least liked histories and better descriptions of the early members of the team.

Chapter 4 is "External Relations" which situates Utopia in the global scheme of things. Short, swift, and to the point this chapter is everything that it should be without being anything remarkable. It lets you know who likes Utopia, who hates them, and what both groups are doing about it. Huzzah.

"Project Proteus" is given a whole chapter of it's own. I will not spoil things for those of you reading the review by telling you all the little secrets. What I will say is that this chapter is once again done IC, but is even better constructed than the first chapter was. In many ways it is the best chapter in the book, because it sets up Proteus as an interesting, diverse, and compelling organization that sees itself as doing the necessary work for good that the fops in the general body of Utopia won't do. These are not cardboard villains, and they are not a united front that is trying to take over the world. They are a near perfect example of good intentions and the road to hell. Though I had not been a big fan of the 'conspiracy' element of Aberrant before, this chapter managed to turn me around. I now see the light, Proteus is good, Proteus is right. I love Big Brother.

The sixth chapter focuses on Storytelling using Utopian based characters. It is short and relatively to the point, with a few good scenario seeds and campaign ideas. It also gives different options for using Utopian characters, pointing out possibilities for series not based around Team Tomorrow getting into it with Divis Mal (who would kick their spandex covered butts). We get pointers towards Science teams, spies, and rebels. However that is all we get, short little sections without huge amounts of color. Still the rest of the book should have enough information for you to make it on your own.

The book finishes up with the ever-present Appendix. This section focuses mainly on important NPC's within Utopia, including the heads of project Proteus. Though it's decently well done and has some interesting baselines as well as nova's I can't help but wonder how they selected the NPCs to be presented. Though we get the leaders of three of the Team Tomorrow branches (which makes sense) we then are given other members who aren't mentioned in the rest of the books. I would much rather have seen Psyche (a long standing member of the team) than Firefly (an auxiliary member of no import).

The end of the Appendix is given over to three new powers - Bounce, Silence, and Transmit. While Bounce is slightly silly, but still cool, and Silence is just invisibility for the ears, it is Transmit that takes the cake for sheer coolness. This power allows you to transmit yourself through a chosen medium nearly instantly. So now like Electro you can ride along power lines, or transport yourself through the Op-net. I love this power beyond any measure of sense.

The Conclusion

Project Utopia is a good expansion for Aberrant. It gives the organization a depth and import that lets it resonate close to something realistic. It allows ST's to have a depth and ease of running such a monstrously huge organization that is all to often lacking in such books. Though there are some interesting oversights (I want Cestus Pax's personality in greater detail if nothing else) this book is a solid addition to the line.

And Now For A Rant

Cestus Pax, one of the key figures in Utopia is left a near blank in this book. Antaeus is presented, but left without stats. I have been lead to understand that WW did this because they feel that giving stats to such powerful nova's would be ludicrous, like giving stats to antediluvians in Vampire. I could not disagree more. Aberrant is a game about power. It is supposed to be all about power, it's implications, its limitations, its prices, etc. It also allows for monstrously powerful characters. Thus it is not out of line to give us the stats of important NPC's. In fact not giving them is simply sidestepping one of the core issues of the game. The PC's are supposed to rise up to become a force that changes the world, and limiting them by hiding the stats of others in their world does not fit with the tone of the game.

So come on - give us Cestus Pax!

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

Project Utopia
Author: Carl Bowen, Steven Long, Angel McCoy Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Line: Aberrant Cost: $19.95 Page count: 144 ISBN: 1-56504-631-5 SKU: WW8504 Capsule Review by Brand Robins on 12/14/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction Superhero	The first of the organization books for Aberrant, this book (unsurprisingly) looks at Project Utopia, the biggest badest dog in the Aberrant universe. Filled with solid detail, realistic motivations, and interesting plot hooks it does a good job of brining the organization to life. It also does a good job at looking at how the power of the project has managed to corrupt a small section of it's organization without turning the whole set up into one massive conspiracy. So without further ado, let us dive into the more detailed run downs…. *The Art* I love the cover of this book. Big old ugly Cestus Pax in all his grotesquely bulging muscled glory. Plus the cover of the work, for once, manages to capture the feel of the book. The lovely blue sky, the superheroes flying out to save the world, the gleaming glory of their base …. All nice and heroic and lovely. The interior art is much more hit and miss. The comic sections are rather ugly, and the character faces in the Appendix all look exactly the same. (Plus they all remind me of the line in "A League of Their Own" where Tom Hanks called the referee a penis with a hat on). There are, however, some really lovely team shots of Team Tomorrow, done in the fine tradition of heroes standing around in a group looking cool. I think I'll make posters out of them. *The Rundown* As do all White Wolf books, this book starts with a short bit of fiction. "The Welcome Home" is fairly well written, and thankfully short. It also does what flavor text should do - gives flavor and feeling of the subject of the book. The story is about a baseline woman hired by Utopia to help with their massive PR department. It does a decent job of showing how the common person views Utopia, novas, and all things so related. Then comes the required Lexicon and How to Use this Book information. All I can say is that, once again, it's really short. The real meat of the book starts with Chapter 1: Genesis. Using a combination of text book excerpts, radio shows, news broadcasts, and Op-Net sites this chapter gives us a history of the birth and development of Utopia. Though the material is all presented in the IC manner of the core book, this time it is made slightly more coherent and linear. There are a few rough spots in the road (such as hitting the Second Kashmir Nova War and wondering what happened to the first), but this section does a good job of giving us an easily comprehensible and decently comprehensive history of Utopia. Though I don't know that it would be enough to play a Utopia campaign in that timeline, it does a good job of setting up the present of the game. It also is rather enjoyable to read, with a quick easy pulse to the writing. Chapter 2: Structure and Goals gives us a detailed look inside the running of Project Utopia. This section is exhaustive to the point of tedium, which is both good and bad. It is good because it gives Utopia a very realistic layout, setup, and corporate structure. It is bad because we have to read all about it. The section is saved from being utterly boring by the fact that it concentrates most heavily on the people behind the business, and on ways in which the project can be used to set and run a game. Still, I really don't think I needed to know that the Board of Directors has been meeting 3.5 times a week since Slider's murder. This section also gives us a deeper look at exactly what Utopia is doing with science and technology - both in terms of developing it and in controlling the rest of the world's development of it So far, we are assured, Utopia is really doing what it thinks is right and honorable, and is not trying to become the science Nazis. We also finally get a better look at Antaeus, one of the 5 most powerful nova's on earth. Though no stats are given for him (cop out) his history and personality are detailed. If only they had done this for Cestus Pax…. (that's right, we get next to 0 info about the most important Nova in Utopia, Cestus Pax is left a blank except for a brief sketch of his place in the organization). After the depth chapter we get back to fun stuff. Chapter 3 is Team Tomorrow - the "superheroes in spandex" of the Aberrant world (though more of them seem to wear leather than spandex.). The section starts of with the "Team Tomorrow Code of Honor" which was acceptably cheesy for a group of superheroes, without being completely over the top. We are then given the history, set up, motivations, and current activities of Team Tomorrow, as well as ways that novas go about joining this august organization. Full attention is given to interpersonal ego-matches between members of the teams, as well as to the fact that they do occasionally get their clocks cleaned by other novas. All in all I found this one of the most useful sections of the book, as well as a great deal of fun to read. My greatest aggravation with it was that most of the members of team Utopia are given perhaps 2 lines of description. We get almost nothing on Cestus Pax, and the vast majority of the others are just as blank. While this is perfectly alright if you are going to make your PC's members of Team Tomorrow, it is a bit less wonderful when you plan on running a Teragen group who fights against Team Tomorrow. I would have at least liked histories and better descriptions of the early members of the team. Chapter 4 is "External Relations" which situates Utopia in the global scheme of things. Short, swift, and to the point this chapter is everything that it should be without being anything remarkable. It lets you know who likes Utopia, who hates them, and what both groups are doing about it. Huzzah. "Project Proteus" is given a whole chapter of it's own. I will not spoil things for those of you reading the review by telling you all the little secrets. What I will say is that this chapter is once again done IC, but is even better constructed than the first chapter was. In many ways it is the best chapter in the book, because it sets up Proteus as an interesting, diverse, and compelling organization that sees itself as doing the necessary work for good that the fops in the general body of Utopia won't do. These are not cardboard villains, and they are not a united front that is trying to take over the world. They are a near perfect example of good intentions and the road to hell. Though I had not been a big fan of the 'conspiracy' element of Aberrant before, this chapter managed to turn me around. I now see the light, Proteus is good, Proteus is right. I love Big Brother. The sixth chapter focuses on Storytelling using Utopian based characters. It is short and relatively to the point, with a few good scenario seeds and campaign ideas. It also gives different options for using Utopian characters, pointing out possibilities for series not based around Team Tomorrow getting into it with Divis Mal (who would kick their spandex covered butts). We get pointers towards Science teams, spies, and rebels. However that is all we get, short little sections without huge amounts of color. Still the rest of the book should have enough information for you to make it on your own. The book finishes up with the ever-present Appendix. This section focuses mainly on important NPC's within Utopia, including the heads of project Proteus. Though it's decently well done and has some interesting baselines as well as nova's I can't help but wonder how they selected the NPCs to be presented. Though we get the leaders of three of the Team Tomorrow branches (which makes sense) we then are given other members who aren't mentioned in the rest of the books. I would much rather have seen Psyche (a long standing member of the team) than Firefly (an auxiliary member of no import). The end of the Appendix is given over to three new powers - Bounce, Silence, and Transmit. While Bounce is slightly silly, but still cool, and Silence is just invisibility for the ears, it is Transmit that takes the cake for sheer coolness. This power allows you to transmit yourself through a chosen medium nearly instantly. So now like Electro you can ride along power lines, or transport yourself through the Op-net. I love this power beyond any measure of sense. *The Conclusion* Project Utopia is a good expansion for Aberrant. It gives the organization a depth and import that lets it resonate close to something realistic. It allows ST's to have a depth and ease of running such a monstrously huge organization that is all to often lacking in such books. Though there are some interesting oversights (I want Cestus Pax's personality in greater detail if nothing else) this book is a solid addition to the line. *And Now For A Rant* Cestus Pax, one of the key figures in Utopia is left a near blank in this book. Antaeus is presented, but left without stats. I have been lead to understand that WW did this because they feel that giving stats to such powerful nova's would be ludicrous, like giving stats to antediluvians in Vampire. I could not disagree more. Aberrant is a game about power. It is supposed to be all about power, it's implications, its limitations, its prices, etc. It also allows for monstrously powerful characters. Thus it is not out of line to give us the stats of important NPC's. In fact not giving them is simply sidestepping one of the core issues of the game. The PC's are supposed to rise up to become a force that changes the world, and limiting them by hiding the stats of others in their world does not fit with the tone of the game. So come on - give us Cestus Pax! Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty)