The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Billed as an Adventure Series Sourcebook for Trinity, this trade-sized (smaller than full-sized, larger than 1/2 sized) is 3 connected adventures, with accompanying inserts and a bit of expository fiction.

The layout is decent, but confusing, and it's a bit hard cross-referencing stuff (no index, odd organization). But it's bearable. The artwork is, well, it's there. The color bits are nice, generally made with a 3-D package and thus having a clean, crisp, professional look. The line art is passable.

Of the actual adventures, the third one is (in my opinion) far away the best. For the three, the basic plots range from escaped Aberrant with a heart of gold, conspiracy coverup, and following things through to the finish. Well, that describes the first two. The third, ah, that's a romp that involves chases, conspiracies, duplicity, and the destruction of an entire Summit.

Let me step back a bit here. The overall plot is about the Huang-Marr project, experimenting with biotech using Aberrants and Psions as subjects. Naturally, the scientists are soulless and evil in deed, so the work goes awry. The characters are sent to investigate, and clean up if need be. Ho hum.

Okay, by the end of the first run, you've been through a good journeyman's work. It's a solid adventure, with good details, but just didn't grab me. The second adventure is more of the same. There's a good effort to relate the themes (Trust, Control, etc) of each adventure, adding a strong roleplaying component.

It's only in the third adventure that the writers really cut loose, to good effect. Dealing with the clean up from the first two bits, and also trying to get the last bits of evidence on what is going on, the characters get caught in conspiracies, hijacking, terrorism, secret hit squads, medical researchers who've realized their mistakes, and a large amount of (eek!) angst. This third one deliver. Perhaps the third is strongest because the first two must be somewhat linear (to lead you through the set). As a set, they're a nice way to start off Aeon characters, which is a plus. And a seasoned team would also have fun with them.

In the end, I recommend you flip through it at the store, and then decide. It's a good world they're building, though the billing of "the first in a sweeping trinity" does make one wonder how much of the PCs evolution is scripted.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Darkness Revealed: Descent Into Darkness
Author: Bruce Baugh and Richard E. Dansky Category: game Company/Publisher: White Wolf Cost: 15.95 Page count: 118 ISBN: 1-56504-751-6 Capsule Review by Sandy Antunes on 03/03/98. Genre tags: none	Billed as an Adventure Series Sourcebook for Trinity, this trade-sized (smaller than full-sized, larger than 1/2 sized) is 3 connected adventures, with accompanying inserts and a bit of expository fiction. The layout is decent, but confusing, and it's a bit hard cross-referencing stuff (no index, odd organization). But it's bearable. The artwork is, well, it's there. The color bits are nice, generally made with a 3-D package and thus having a clean, crisp, professional look. The line art is passable. Of the actual adventures, the third one is (in my opinion) far away the best. For the three, the basic plots range from escaped Aberrant with a heart of gold, conspiracy coverup, and following things through to the finish. Well, that describes the first two. The third, ah, that's a romp that involves chases, conspiracies, duplicity, and the destruction of an entire Summit. Let me step back a bit here. The overall plot is about the Huang-Marr project, experimenting with biotech using Aberrants and Psions as subjects. Naturally, the scientists are soulless and evil in deed, so the work goes awry. The characters are sent to investigate, and clean up if need be. Ho hum. Okay, by the end of the first run, you've been through a good journeyman's work. It's a solid adventure, with good details, but just didn't grab me. The second adventure is more of the same. There's a good effort to relate the themes (Trust, Control, etc) of each adventure, adding a strong roleplaying component. It's only in the third adventure that the writers really cut loose, to good effect. Dealing with the clean up from the first two bits, and also trying to get the last bits of evidence on what is going on, the characters get caught in conspiracies, hijacking, terrorism, secret hit squads, medical researchers who've realized their mistakes, and a large amount of (eek!) angst. This third one deliver. Perhaps the third is strongest because the first two must be somewhat linear (to lead you through the set). As a set, they're a nice way to start off Aeon characters, which is a plus. And a seasoned team would also have fun with them. In the end, I recommend you flip through it at the store, and then decide. It's a good world they're building, though the billing of "the first in a sweeping trinity" does make one wonder how much of the PCs evolution is scripted. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 3 (Average)

Darkness Revealed: Descent Into Darkness