The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Those of you who have read my review of Obsidian: Age of Judgement are familiar with my opinion that the game has a great central concept that was squandered through poor editing and poor development choices. After the smoke from the ensuing flame war (sadly, my fault as much as anyone else's) cleared, I was able to speak with the writers and creators of the game. Now aware of the problems in their game, they professed an interest in fixing them and crafting Obsidian into something resembling the promise its central idea hinted at. Wasteland: Beyond the Outposts is the first step down that road. The Apophis Consortium was proud enough of their efforts to provide me with a review copy of this book at GenCon, and I can see why.

The book, appropriately enough, is all about the Wasteland, the land that isn't protected by the military force of the Zone. The land and its people have abandoned by a desperate human race, living right on the borders of demon kingdoms they might as well already be dead in the eyes of the Zoners. There is no way to save them, all you can do is hope that they die quickly and without too much pain. Not that this stops the wretched and cursed souls who are unfortunate enough to end up in the Wasteland from struggling to live their lives as best they can.

The book's greatest strength is how just how much it expands the scope of the game. It really is a "game expansion" in the true sense of the word, broadening Obsidian from cyberpunk-laced magical splatter to include stories of wilderness survival in a Mad Max-like world – all the while managing to keep the undertone of strained desperation. The futility of the struggle and the ultimate and imminent extinction of the human race are even more apparent beyond the Zone, where the illusion of success and progress is not a luxury anyone can afford.

The book is a tour of the Wasteland, describing an assortment of towns and petty kingdoms, most of which are reasonably detailed and interesting. A few sink too close to being "one trick ponies" for my tastes, but none are outright terrible. There is also a great deal of space devoted to the Zone and how it interacts with the Wasteland. The Zone's practices remind me strongly of real-world governments faced with horrifying suffering and disaster – half-hearted attempts at aid and assistance that support a few but fail to accomplish much of lasting impact. Similarly, there is a significant amount of time spent looking at the Kults and how they operate in the Wasteland, where they do need not fear the policing of the Zone. I would have liked more splinter factions and isolated religions, but the infighting that was there was nice to see.

The lengthy second chapter includes extensive notes on creating Wasteland characters, complete with a slew of new traits. It also has rules for town construction that remind me of similar rules from Rifts, for better or worse. There are also rather detailed rules for the gladiatory circuit that travels the Wasteland; both advanced fighting rules and combat styles with special moves. With that the book moves on to finish with fifty or so pages of guns, toys, demons and artifacts. Lots of equipment, did I mention the guns?

The book's flaws are really the same ones as the basic book, but to a lesser degree. While the rules are clearly, probably due in part to the fact that there are fewer of them to explain, the setting and ideas embedded in it still evidence some of the same contradictions. Magic, for example, is at the same time treated as a frightening thing that brings down fear and hatred upon its user and as a tool commonly used to ensure that the new member of a settlement is not a demon-possessed hell-spawn sent to slaughter them all while it cackles madly to the infernal music of human screams. Similarly, a lot of opportunities are lost when the book opts for a simpler and often more stereotypical route than something surprising and inspiring. These contradictions and "roads not taken" prevent Wasteland: Beyond the Outposts from being a great book "out of the box" but it can be used as a quality idea mine, depending on your style of play and campaign needs.

Although the writing and rules are tighter and the art is much more consistently good, the book still suffers from a handful of contradictions and poor development choices. Clearly better than the basic book, it serves to add an entirely new realm to the game, but does not do much to fix the problems of the basic volume. As a game line, Obsidian: Age of Judgement really does remind me of an attempt to do Rifts right, but one that doesn't really go far enough in its attempt. There are a lot of great ideas here, but it does take some work to get them polished up and shining for use in a good game. The marked improvement over the basic book is a good sign, however. It shows that the authors and creators are willing to listen to criticism and work to improve the game they love. Hopefully they will continue to do so.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)