The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Recent events regarding my last review have prompted me to write this one, even if the book being reviewed is two years old.

Okay, first things first: The full title of the book is Rifts® Dimension Book 4: Skraypers™. This is a big change from the original, much simpler title, Scrapers. It was originally intended as a sourcebook/setting for use with Palladium's Heroes Unlimited line, but, somewhere along the line, it was decided that a Rifts book was guaranteed to sell better than a Heroes Unlimited sourcebook.

Which is where the book lost everything.

Now, don't get me wrong here… I like Rifts. I play Rifts. I own literally dozens of Rifts sourcebooks, World Books, and every other kind of books, right down to special, limited-edition silver-foil-etched hardcover edition of the rulebook. But this book should never have become a Rifts book.

Skraypers cover The book starts out very, very well: John Zeleznik's amazing wrap-around cover is probably the best-looking cover ever produced for a Palladium product. However, to read that cover, you'd think making the book a Heroes Unlimited supplement was an afterthought. The words "Heroes Unlimited" are hidden, way down at the bottom, in a tiny blurb that reads "A sourcebook for Rifts® and Heroes Unlimited™."

Interior art on this book as fabulous, all done by Skraypers' daddy, John Zeleznik. Every last piece (with the exception of one or two generic space-scapes pulled from the Wayne Breaux drawer of the Palladium art file). And overall, it's great. It includes about a half-dozen black-and-white paintings that are every bit as cool as the color one on the cover. This book, more than any other, makes me wonder why any Palladium player still misses Kevin Long.

As to the content of the book…

First, a quick overview: There is a distant solar system called Charizolon. In this system, many planets exist, most notably Vuulok and Seeron. Vuulok is home to the vicious and warlike Tarlok race, who have, slowly but surely, been conquering the star system, one planet at a time, using biological weapons as a precursor to the arrival of their invasion fleets. The last planet in the system is Seeron, which is, in many ways, a lot like Earth, albeit about two hundred years more technologically advanced, and with not one, not two, but three intelligent races calling it home. In addition to the humans, there are the Seermans (who are basically humans, with a couple of cosmetic differences, and a few psionic abilities as well) and the Talus (a race of strong, agile, human-like beings whose main difference from humans is the presence of a prehensile tail). When the Tarlok unleashed their bio-weapons on Seeron, the plagues did their job, decimating the population, but they had another, unforeseen effect: They created superbeings. A massive war broke out, and the Tarlok won, but just barely. It's been about thirty years, so the invaders are fairly well-entrenched, but it's been tougher for them to hold onto this world than any of their previous conquests, since superhuman freedom fighters have been making things difficult the entire time, and show no signs of letting up. In fact, with a new generation of superbeings coming of age, the underground groups have more anti-Tarlok firepower than ever before. Naturally, then, the Tarlok have begun recruiting all the evil superbeings on Seeron (nobody ever said they were all good guys) to fight on their side.

Hence the conflict, and therefore, the cool RPG setting.

Sounds great, right? It's superheroes, it's cyberpunk, it's space opera, and it's an occupation scenario. An awesome idea, and literally endless possibilities.

Too bad it falls flat on its face.

The book starts out great: page after page after page on the Tarlok. Their history, their evolution, their society, their outlook, their military hierarchy – truly great stuff. I only wish every alien race from an RPG was covered in as much detail. The section covers everything from what kinds of animals the Tarlok used to hunt for food before the rise of their civilization to exactly how their dual respiratory system works. It covers every different kind of Tarlok you could ever need, from standard grunts to scientists to cyborgs to genetically enhanced hunter-killers. And they're all very distinct and different, yet they all fit together well, thanks to the Tarlok's military society and caste system.

After that section, it all goes downhill. There aren't really any bad parts of the book –- it's a very entertaining read, and it's put together well. It's just that, in the effort to turn the book from a Heroes Unlimited setting to a Rifts Dimension Book (specifically an expansion for Phase World), it seems to lose its focus. It shifts from describing the fight of the Seeronian people against their Tarlok oppressors to, well…

More aliens. More aliens! MORE ALIENS!!!

How many intelligent races would you expect to find in a single star system? One? Maybe two? That seems logical, right? How many are present in the Charizolon system? Try twelve.. And they're all pretty cool (with the possible exception of the sentient psionic slugs…). But most are just plain unnecessary. There are seven planets in the system. All but two have sentient races living on them (and one of those has an inhabited moon). And yes, that's "Races." Plural. Three of said planets (plus that aforementioned moon) have more than one dominant, sentient race! Plus, there are a few descriptions of various monsters you'll find on each. All this would be fine, except that, if you'll look at that general book information above, you'll notice the book is only 160 pages long. And it's winding down fast, especially after the section on aliens not even native to the star system. So finally, tucked way in the back, after all the unnecessary stuff, the section on the actual setting you're expected to be using for your games starts. And it lasts for… nine-and-a-half pages. Less than ten pages of actual setting description. Then, of course, there are the native races. The entire setting is skimmed over quite handily in less than twenty pages.

The book then immediately jumps into a mix of good guys and bad guys. Some are kinda cool, some are kinda stupid, and there are a lot who have "superhero" names that make absolutely no sense. Like "Skullknocker," whose Major super ability is… Alter Physical Structure: Fire?

And, as long as I'm on the subject of logic gaps, let's just say the book is absolutely oozing with them. I've already mentioned the scores of aliens native to one system. There are others.

For instance, how exactly is it that an Earth-like planet, with roughly the same mass, rotation speed, gravity, chemical composition, and atmosphere as Earth, somehow manages a higher average temperature, despite being over twice the distance from its sun? (I know that seems trivial, but anyone who's been GMing for any length of time knows that at least one player will bring that up and demand an explanation…) Or the fact that the Tarlok, who, by the way, have not developed faster-than-light travel, somehow manage to make it all the way to Phase World in just under twelve years? The folks at Palladium seem to have forgotten that most science-fiction geeks are, first and foremost, science geeks, and they do have thoughts like that.

Overall, it's a great setting, provided you don't think too hard. I started really thinking hard once while reading the book, and I got the worst nosebleed I've ever had. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't put the book down right then, my head would have exploded. =)

And, of course, the biggest logic gap of all… How the hell do I use this with Heroes Unlimited? It's got education and skills notes under all the race's descriptions, and it tells me what powers they get, but does that mean that, for instance, I can play a Talus, choose Special Training: Ancient Master as my education level, and still have access to two major super abilities and one minor one, as described under the race listing? Or the Bio-Freaks – a "sub-race" of incredibly powerful mutants who basically started off as normal members of a standard race… Are the powers listed for Bio-Freaks in addition to the standard ones for their race, or do they replace them?

It doesn't say either way anywhere in the book. The best anyone can do is look at the provided NPC's for a precedent and make a judgment call.

Overall, the book comes off not as a Rifts Dimension Book, and even less as a Heroes Unlimited sourcebook, but as a half-assed attempt at force-feeding HU to Riftsplayers, and vice-versa. Another few months of revisions and editing might have made this one great. As it is, it just ends up being a great concept, and a mediocre (at best) execution.

Now don't get me wrong -- I love the setting; I've run campaigns using the setting. I just wish the setting had actually been included in the book instead of leftovers from the latest canceled Phase World supplement..

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Skraypers
Author: Kevin Siembieda and John Zeleznik Category: game Company/Publisher: Palladium Books Line: Heroes Unlimited and RIFTS Cost: $16.95 Page count: 160 ISBN: 0-916211-78-9 SKU: 830 Capsule Review by Mike Hughey on 05/12/00. Genre tags: Science_fiction Space Superhero	Recent events regarding my last review have prompted me to write this one, even if the book being reviewed is two years old. Okay, first things first: The full title of the book is Rifts® Dimension Book 4: Skraypers™. This is a big change from the original, much simpler title, Scrapers. It was originally intended as a sourcebook/setting for use with Palladium's Heroes Unlimited line, but, somewhere along the line, it was decided that a Rifts book was guaranteed to sell better than a Heroes Unlimited sourcebook. Which is where the book lost everything. Now, don't get me wrong here… I like Rifts. I play Rifts. I own literally dozens of Rifts sourcebooks, World Books, and every other kind of books, right down to special, limited-edition silver-foil-etched hardcover edition of the rulebook. But this book should never have become a Rifts book. The book starts out very, very well: John Zeleznik's amazing wrap-around cover is probably the best-looking cover ever produced for a Palladium product. However, to read that cover, you'd think making the book a Heroes Unlimited supplement was an afterthought. The words "Heroes Unlimited" are hidden, way down at the bottom, in a tiny blurb that reads "A sourcebook for Rifts® and Heroes Unlimited™." Interior art on this book as fabulous, all done by Skraypers' daddy, John Zeleznik. Every last piece (with the exception of one or two generic space-scapes pulled from the Wayne Breaux drawer of the Palladium art file). And overall, it's great. It includes about a half-dozen black-and-white paintings that are every bit as cool as the color one on the cover. This book, more than any other, makes me wonder why any Palladium player still misses Kevin Long. As to the content of the book… First, a quick overview: There is a distant solar system called Charizolon. In this system, many planets exist, most notably Vuulok and Seeron. Vuulok is home to the vicious and warlike Tarlok race, who have, slowly but surely, been conquering the star system, one planet at a time, using biological weapons as a precursor to the arrival of their invasion fleets. The last planet in the system is Seeron, which is, in many ways, a lot like Earth, albeit about two hundred years more technologically advanced, and with not one, not two, but three intelligent races calling it home. In addition to the humans, there are the Seermans (who are basically humans, with a couple of cosmetic differences, and a few psionic abilities as well) and the Talus (a race of strong, agile, human-like beings whose main difference from humans is the presence of a prehensile tail). When the Tarlok unleashed their bio-weapons on Seeron, the plagues did their job, decimating the population, but they had another, unforeseen effect: They created superbeings. A massive war broke out, and the Tarlok won, but just barely. It's been about thirty years, so the invaders are fairly well-entrenched, but it's been tougher for them to hold onto this world than any of their previous conquests, since superhuman freedom fighters have been making things difficult the entire time, and show no signs of letting up. In fact, with a new generation of superbeings coming of age, the underground groups have more anti-Tarlok firepower than ever before. Naturally, then, the Tarlok have begun recruiting all the evil superbeings on Seeron (nobody ever said they were all good guys) to fight on their side. Hence the conflict, and therefore, the cool RPG setting. Sounds great, right? It's superheroes, it's cyberpunk, it's space opera, and it's an occupation scenario. An awesome idea, and literally endless possibilities. Too bad it falls flat on its face. The book starts out great: page after page after page on the Tarlok. Their history, their evolution, their society, their outlook, their military hierarchy – truly great stuff. I only wish every alien race from an RPG was covered in as much detail. The section covers everything from what kinds of animals the Tarlok used to hunt for food before the rise of their civilization to exactly how their dual respiratory system works. It covers every different kind of Tarlok you could ever need, from standard grunts to scientists to cyborgs to genetically enhanced hunter-killers. And they're all very distinct and different, yet they all fit together well, thanks to the Tarlok's military society and caste system. After that section, it all goes downhill. There aren't really any bad parts of the book –- it's a very entertaining read, and it's put together well. It's just that, in the effort to turn the book from a Heroes Unlimited setting to a Rifts Dimension Book (specifically an expansion for Phase World), it seems to lose its focus. It shifts from describing the fight of the Seeronian people against their Tarlok oppressors to, well… More aliens. More aliens! MORE ALIENS!!! How many intelligent races would you expect to find in a single star system? One? Maybe two? That seems logical, right? How many are present in the Charizolon system? Try twelve.. And they're all pretty cool (with the possible exception of the sentient psionic slugs…). But most are just plain unnecessary. There are seven planets in the system. All but two have sentient races living on them (and one of those has an inhabited moon). And yes, that's "Races." Plural. Three of said planets (plus that aforementioned moon) have more than one dominant, sentient race! Plus, there are a few descriptions of various monsters you'll find on each. All this would be fine, except that, if you'll look at that general book information above, you'll notice the book is only 160 pages long. And it's winding down fast, especially after the section on aliens not even native to the star system. So finally, tucked way in the back, after all the unnecessary stuff, the section on the actual setting you're expected to be using for your games starts. And it lasts for… nine-and-a-half pages. Less than ten pages of actual setting description. Then, of course, there are the native races. The entire setting is skimmed over quite handily in less than twenty pages. The book then immediately jumps into a mix of good guys and bad guys. Some are kinda cool, some are kinda stupid, and there are a lot who have "superhero" names that make absolutely no sense. Like "Skullknocker," whose Major super ability is… Alter Physical Structure: Fire? And, as long as I'm on the subject of logic gaps, let's just say the book is absolutely oozing with them. I've already mentioned the scores of aliens native to one system. There are others. For instance, how exactly is it that an Earth-like planet, with roughly the same mass, rotation speed, gravity, chemical composition, and atmosphere as Earth, somehow manages a higher average temperature, despite being over twice the distance from its sun? (I know that seems trivial, but anyone who's been GMing for any length of time knows that at least one player will bring that up and demand an explanation…) Or the fact that the Tarlok, who, by the way, have not developed faster-than-light travel, somehow manage to make it all the way to Phase World in just under twelve years? The folks at Palladium seem to have forgotten that most science-fiction geeks are, first and foremost, science geeks, and they do have thoughts like that. Overall, it's a great setting, provided you don't think too hard. I started really thinking hard once while reading the book, and I got the worst nosebleed I've ever had. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't put the book down right then, my head would have exploded. =) And, of course, the biggest logic gap of all… How the hell do I use this with Heroes Unlimited? It's got education and skills notes under all the race's descriptions, and it tells me what powers they get, but does that mean that, for instance, I can play a Talus, choose Special Training: Ancient Master as my education level, and still have access to two major super abilities and one minor one, as described under the race listing? Or the Bio-Freaks – a "sub-race" of incredibly powerful mutants who basically started off as normal members of a standard race… Are the powers listed for Bio-Freaks in addition to the standard ones for their race, or do they replace them? It doesn't say either way anywhere in the book. The best anyone can do is look at the provided NPC's for a precedent and make a judgment call. Overall, the book comes off not as a Rifts Dimension Book, and even less as a Heroes Unlimited sourcebook, but as a half-assed attempt at force-feeding HU to Riftsplayers, and vice-versa. Another few months of revisions and editing might have made this one great. As it is, it just ends up being a great concept, and a mediocre (at best) execution. Now don't get me wrong -- I love the setting; I've run campaigns using the setting. I just wish the setting had actually been included in the book instead of leftovers from the latest canceled Phase World supplement.. Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 2 (Sparse)