The Inside Scoop on Gaming

OVERVIEW OF THE ABERRANT GAME LINE

INTRODUCTION

Aberrant is an intelligent, pathos-rich super-hero game written by a company (in)famous for its supernatural angst and anti-power gaming. Its a strange combination, but somehow it works! Aberrant is a game that I’ve played and collected for the last year, and its been a very enjoyable experience. Unfortunately it seems that Aberrant has not been the success that WW wanted and its been recently relegated to their Arthaus publishing division, pretty much the same fate that happened to Trinity. This means that unlike the last two years where we saw 4-5 books released per year, the most we’ll see is 1 or 2 if we are lucky. That's something of a blow, but since most of the vital ‘core’ supplements have already been released, its one that is survivable.

Aberrant is a very different game from the usual White Wolf fare and has even verged on originality in some places. Its attracted me to the game in a way I haven’t felt since Vampire 1st Ed.

I attribute this to a variety of reasons- firstly White Wolf finally gave up on their splatbook approach (where an arbitrary character class determines your powers and indoctrination) and allowed players to choose any origin and any powers. Secondly, by allowing high starting power levels this game appeals not only to ‘munchkins’ (or power gamers) but bizarrely also makes it very hard to min-max in a way that allows an unfair advantage over other players. Finally, the setting is the only one I’ve seen that treats super heroes as real people. Economic and social incentives are more important than dressing up in a cape and fighting crime. Only the mentally ill are archetypical camp supervillians, and other threats are due to nationalistic or bigoted supremacist beliefs.

Aberrant came out in 1999 and the books are Trinity size, the smaller A5 graphic novel format (I think). Setting material tends to be written in first person with rules at the back of the book. The rulebook is the only one to have colour art throughout the setting section, the others have only black and white interior art. Editing errors and spelling mistakes crop up infrequently, but when they do, they are noticeable. The rulebook costs £25 or £17 and the supplements about $15 or £8-£10. 24 page minibooks cost $5 or £2.99

SETTING

Aberrant is set in the near future, with a campaign starting date of 2008. Back in 1998 the world changed forever when the international space station ‘Galatea’ exploded and apparently seeded the world with radiation that caused a number of people to start displaying super powers. These superpowered humans (known as novas) seemed to gain their powers in a process called ‘eruption’ whereby they were a stressful situation of one kind or another that allowed them explosive access to their new powers. (Such as a fireman rescuing kids from a blaze- all of a sudden he blacks out for a moment and thereafter he is immune to fire, and can even absorb it into his body.)

Its quickly discovered that these novas get their powers from a particular brain mutation that lets them tap into ‘Quantum’ energy and instinctively manipulate it to perform their super powers- so far, so good, you are thinking, just another cheesy comic book explanation for a superhero game. And as far as the mechanics go- you are right. But the real difference between Aberrant and say Champion, or DC Heroes, or Brave New World is the way the rest of the setting reacts to the presence of superheroes.

The big difference, you see is that the world reacts in what I would judge a fairly realistic way for such a fantastic event. Ethical and legal questions are raised about status of these new superhumans. And instead of the 'X-men' “imprison all mutants” reaction, the world is enchanted by the idea of comic book heroes come to life. They gasp as these novas fly faster than speeding bullets, wow at them lifting entire buses with one hand and fall in love with their incredible beauty. And overnight novas become the new celebrities of the globe- corporations like Nike want a super fast nova to endorse their sports shoes, Microsoft wants mega intelligent novas to design the next generation computers, NASA wants flight capable novas to put satellites in space! Their economic power realised, the nova cause is aided by the mysterious group of powerbrokers called they Aeon Society, a so called gentlemen's club that has unseemly influence in the UN. They form Project Utopia, a UN approved multi-national organisation to organise and utilise novas to build a better tomorrow. In the space of a few years, Utopia harnesses the incredible powers of the altruistic superhuman population to repair the ozone hole, pull the world out of a major recession, stamp out organised crime and drug cartels, develop a new, cleaner more efficient motor engine and alleviate dozens of natural disasters. Novas retain their incredible popularity with the public and Utopia begins to usher in a Golden Age for humanity.

Of course, not all novas are altruistic do-gooders, as erupting is a seemingly random occurrence triggered by stress. Normal Joes are able to get paid work worth millions with their super-powers, while those of a more militant nature become ‘Elites’- super powered mercenaries hired by Third World governments to fight their wars for them. (Utopia tries to stop most of these elite Brush wars, but spectacularly fail when the elites organise under a specialist mercenary company called De Vries.)

Patriotic novas can join their national armies, or the secretive Directive, an intergovernmental intelligence agency tasked with monitoring and controlling the ‘nova problem’.

Other novas of a militant nature who don't want to risk life as often, join the Xtreme Warfare Federation (XWF), a parody of the contemporary WWF it has Hulk-like competitors beating up each other in televised fights, and playing to the crowd (or ‘rubes’) with the usual manufactured tales of soap opera loves, rivalries and vendettas. And finally there are more than a few superpeople who are disaffected with Utopia, the UN Zurich Accord which recognises them as fellow humans, and human life in general. Rallying to the call of an immensely powerful nova named Divis Mal, and his Null Manifesto, they seek to create a world where superhumans are treated differently than their evolutionary forebears- man. Unfortunately this fractious bunch cannot agree on anything, including the form of the new world they want. All they can agree on is that the current situation is unsupportable and that Mal is the leader. The Teragen as they become known are presented as a group of disaffected counter-culture rebels with some terrorist and extremist factions and enough superpowers to flatten any given country.

So once this setting has been absorbed by the reader, a world very much like our own, but distorted by the immensely powerful nova influence which is by and large positive, the subtleties of the game begin to emerge. This is not a traditional superhero game where novas don costumes and fight crime and camply costumed superviallians- Utopia has already cleaned up the western crime syndicates, and the super villians don't need to commit crimes as they are using their twisted genius at Microsoft in return for stock options and company cars. The Teragen, while possessing some pro-violence members, are not themselves an illegal group, and could be considered nova philosophers whose ideas are protected under free speech statutes- kinda like the Ku Klux Klan.

So what are the players and characters to do in this perfect world? And that becomes the central point of the game. As superhumans the characters are almost ridiculously over qualified for any job or task. The sheer power of novas (and in comparison to other superhero games, novas start at a superman power level going up to Dr. Manhattan level after a few years) means they are both the greatest opportunity and problem the earth has faced. Instead of a simple four colour world, most of the published adventures have the characters gradually becoming aware of levels of conspiracy within the Utopia and Teragen movements. That not everything is as it appears and that the random eruption of novas seems to be an artificial phenomenon. The search for the truth behind their species origin and the hidden manipulators of humanity turns this into a game resembling the plot mysteries of the X-files or Earth Final Conflict. Finding the characters a reason for grouping together and acting is something of a problem, but is rectified slightly with the official campaign books. In certain ways this makes the game ideally suited to having a PC-driven campaign. One group, the Aberrants is even provided as ideal PC motivating material. They seek to uncover the conspiracies within Utopia and Aeon and solve the mysterious murder of a prominent Team Tomorrowite called Slider who they believe found out more than she should have.

Added to this mix is the obligatory amount of existential angst created by playing a character different from his fellow man. To be fair to White Wolf, its probably handled the best of all their games, as the super humans gradually realise their expanding powers mean they can no longer fit into normal sized lives. Apart from the hardcore Teragen, this element is never at the forefront in the initial sourcebooks and material.

RULES

Aberrant uses the simplified version of the Storyteller game engine previously used in Trinity, but with a few tweaks. For those unaware of Storyteller, the basic game mechanic is to roll a number of ten-sided dice equal to the characters relevant skill and attribute ratings. The number of d10 that equal or exceed 7 are counted as successes. You add up your successes to see how successful the action was. e.g. trying to shoot someone my police officer rolls Firearms (3) plus Dexterity (2) = 5 dice. Getting a spread of 1, 4, 6, 7, and 9, I count 2 successes- a solid but not spectacular shot. People only botch an action if all their dice come up less than 7 and one of those is a 1. Difficulties of tasks are set by the GM determining how many successes on the dice he requires for an action to be successful. (this can sometimes result in a situation being totally impossible to fully succeed at as the GM requires 4 successes and the player only has 2 dice of relevant attributes or skills. But the default level is one success)

For those familiar with the traditional Storyteller system, they will be glad to know that the reduction in botches and set difficulty levels really speed up the system. Aberrant even beefs up the attribute rolls by introducing additional ‘Mega-Attributes’ representing superhuman levels in that attribute (e.g. superstrength, unthinkable genius etc.). Mega Attribute dice are rolled in the relevant test, but every 7,8 or 9 that comes up represents 2 successes, while a 10 represents 3 successes. This means novas are frequently able to perform incredible feats pretty much on demand, often getting 10 or more successes! That number of successes is pretty much heaven to the average munchkins ear, who previously had to play min-maxed werewolves with a friendly GM to achieve such power levels. And this game lets them do it as starting characters!

Indeed the ease with which the Storyteller system copes with superpowers speaks testament to its reputation as a ‘munchkin-friendly’ system. But while this would normally be mark against it if I were reviewing a WoD game, in Aberrant it is a definite plus. This is a super-powered game, even if the characters are not traditional superheros, they should still possess the abilities of Superman, Green Lantern, Batman etc.

Combat is relatively straightforward and the rules contain hundred of super-powers with no really noticeable holes. If you want to play a mesmerist who disappears into the shadows at will, you can. If you want to play a superstrong Nordic type who summons berserkers to his side, you can. If you want control over the molecules and atoms on the other side of the world, you can create a character that does that too.

There are a few other things to mention. Superpowers (termed Quantum powers) are broadly governed by investment of character building points in that power as well as a Quantum statistic. It’s a lot like Arete for Mages or Generation for Vampire. Mega-attributes also have minor associated powers termed enhancements which allow useful but non-earth shaking powers like being cat-footed, possessing a silver tongue, or eidetic memory.

Finally there is Taint. Most WW games possess a trait that measures a negative quantity in some way. Werewolf has Rage, Wraith Angst, Changeling banality. Aberrant is no different as Taint measures how inhuman the superhuman has become. At low levels it can be weird Quantum spill over effects such as having blue skin, or gold eyes. At medium levels psychological disturbances become more common, or powers become permenantly on. (such as always being aflame or something).

Taint is a funny part of the system. Taking permanent points of Taint is easy during character generation or XP progression as it lets you get new powers cheaply. However its almost impossible to gain during play, meaning the player pretty much takes as much as he or she wants. Taint ties into the later Trinity game as at ridiculous levels of Quantum and over time it can cause mutations and psychopathic behaviour. However in the Aberrant era its still too early for it to express itself. As such its an easily ditchable concept, though a useful one for providing PC's with

In sort, its a pretty competent superhero rules system and one that is quite quick to play. Its lots simpler than DC Heroes or Heroes Unlimited, and whilst more complicated than Brave New World, allows more variation and subtlety in character creation. Definitely worth getting for the super-heroic capable rules, even if you dislike the setting.

SOURCEBOOKS

There is one great thing about the Aberrant game system that distinguishes it from Trinity and every WoD game published. (with the arguable exception of Wraith). It doesn't have splats!

I’ll say that again for people who disbelieved me the first time. NO SPLATS!

For those who don't know what I mean by this, I refer to White Wolfs character class system wherein a PC character has to pick an arbitrary supernatural group within which his character is born/assimilated/sponsored or otherwise joins. Vampire had clans, Werewolf has Tribes, Mage had Traditions, Wraith arguably had Guilds. Trinity had the artificial Psi Order splats. These ‘splat-groups’ partially define your characters powers, outlooks on other groups and allies.

Aberrant doesn't have this at all. You can create your character with any and all of the powers, from any background and with any agenda. Whilst groups exist in the game that you might want to join, that is a matter for roleplaying in the campaign, you don't need to start out with any group. And with the possible exception of the Teragen supplement, there is nothing to gained, powers or rules wise from joining any of the groups over another!

In short, you have the perfect freedom to create any type of super-powered individual without reference to a pre-set group or agenda. For long time White Wolf fans this can be quite liberating!

So if White Wolf cannot produce their normal splattage, what else is left? A number of books on the various nova organisations, the usual Player handbook, a GM's screen, an area guide and some adventure books.

PROJECT UTOPIA

Project Utopia was the first book published and mainly concentrates on the history and goals of the Utopian movement. Its quite invaluable actually in fleshing out who exactly is involved with the Project, which novas belong to which sections, what powers they possess and so forth.

Of particular interest is the material on Team Tomorrow- the poster boy group of Utopia which comprises some of their most powerful novas and who are used as a quick response group for everything from disaster management to hostage situations to publicity stunts.

The other special group is the sinister Project Proteus the dark twin of Utopia that routinely murders, blackmails opponents and suppresses information. They run a nova prison in Bahrain where scientific and medical experimentation on novas take place that would shame Dr Mengele.

There are two big gaps in this book- barely anything is said about the Aeon group to whom they answer and who name the Project directors, and anything on Caestus Pax, the follicly challenged 'most powerful nova in the world' and Utopia pin-up.

TERAGEN

The Teragen sourcebook is one of the more interesting book out there. It covers the 'bad boys' of the nova world, the curious mix of nova supremacists, philosophers, Divis Mal cultists, power-grabbers, terrorists and idealists. Its an explosive combination, held together by their dissatisfaction with the status quo and the sheer power and personality of their leader Divis Mal. Not quite a fugitive group they are disliked in some countries more than others. Definitely on Utopias hit list, they represent the rejection of the Zurich accords and claim, whether for better or worse, claim that novas are no longer human and shouldn’t be treated as such. This is one of the reasons that the Teragen have been called Aberrants 'Sabbat'- a bunch of super-powered former humans that now explore their inhumanity through monstrous acts and philosophical regimes. Indeed a new rule is introduced to represent the Teragens post-human explorations- Chrysalis. Using concepts remarkably like Vampiric Paths of Enlightenment, Teragen explore such nova archetypes as the Monster, Marvel and Portent they learn to channel Taint until they can use it to transform themselves into new states of being with Chrysalis.

But the absolute best thing about this book isn’t the munchkin friendly rules, teen-rebel attitude or gratuitous psychopaths. Instead the authors Boulle, Ashiem and Soulban have perfectly captured the feel of the early Bolshevik, Nazi and Communist parties. Of groups of dedicated idealists who all have slightly different visions of nova equality, tactics and the future and the internal party struggles to impose a doctrine. The equivalent of Trotskyites and Stalinists abound, even as personalities clash as much as political positions. The Teragen luminaries are outlined in excellent detail and their political positions spelt out as they ally, machinate and conspire together to sway the rest of their movement in their direction. And the authors acknowledge that when such a variety of politicos and theoreticians exist with such powers, then party cohesion can only be established by purges and Nights of Long Knives. A Teragen campaign becomes one less of frothing mindless beasts, and more of ideological and philosophical manoeuvres in the incestuous confines of a minority political party.

Because of the long range view of the authors (who suggest a campaign of several years as the Teragen Pantheon work out their ideological struggle) and the array of interesting and colourful NPC's, this book is of almost greater use to Role-players than the munchkins who just want it for the kewl powerz of Chrysalis!

DIRECTIVE

The Directive Sourcebook concerns the intergovernmental response to the nova world. Designed to counter the increasing capabilities and influence of nova-kind, this group of spies, policemen and bureaucrats exist to maintain traditional human government power. Unfortunately, while excellent as a lower powered, humans with cool techno-gadgets and legal powers style game, these guys are still horrifically out-matched by even starting novas. A prohibition on Directive agents interacting with novas also puts the kibosh on 'mixed-parties' reducing the usability of this book to either a pure Directive spy campaign or as NPC opponents.

The book has a number of 2008 era spy gadgets, a few pointless templates and uninteresting NPC's, and details and trade craft that seem to lack any accuracy when compared to real world accounts of spying.

More unforgivably they flesh out German, Russian, and British attitudes in a very poor way that made me cover my eyes and say "No, not again! Not more American viewed inaccurate stereotypes!" . I really couldn’t stand the bit on Britain again where we are portrayed as and I quote "ready to build a wall around the islands of the United Kingdom…….. whilst having needed imported resources in the past, they would rely on the ingenuity of native-born novas. MI5 will maintain social order". Despite the logical irrelevance of building a wall in the sea, this once more confirms the seeming American view or stereotype that the UK is completely inward-looking or isolationist. It doesn’t take into consideration that Britain needs to import food just to sustain its population, or trade exports drive our economy. There is no way such economics are sustainable even with projected nova powers. As for MI5 maintaining social order, that is absolute nonsense- MI5 have no public presence if they can help it, lack even FBI powers of arrest, and cannot even keep dossiers on British citizens without whistleblowers going to the press! Its bad politics, bad economics and a bad misreading of the trends of British society. Japan, Germany and Russia also seem misrepresented to me, but I'm sure native contributors who have read this book can comment more accurately.

In short, this book is of limited use as a games supplement outside two limited styles of campaign, and while containing some fun gadgets and bad spy craft, its primary problem is its poor portrayal and understanding of non-American nations.

YEAR ONE

"Year One" is a funny book. An early release it listed and explored some locations of the Aberrant world and the nova or two that lived there. Its named Year One as it describes the Aberrant world at the beginning of the era- 2008. Supposedly later 'Year' books would outline the changes novas made. So the Lagos section gave information on Nigeria's new nova-supported dictatorship, the New York bit mentioned its famous novas and chain of nova themed restaurants (Star Lords as a pastiche of the Planet Hollywood chain) and so on. It covered a variety of cities from across the world, and then some of the nova-inspired technological advances such as the rare flying cars, environmental microbes etc. Each city pretty much got one nova statted and fleshed out, giving some ready-made plot hooks for the GM. The strangeness of the book was that many of the places and cities seemed somewhat hollow, with little but surface impressions described. None of the NPC's really grabbed me, and the technology section while worthy, disappointed me with a final section on saying how powerless PC's were to changing the tech-level. You could probably do without this book, and its one that I refer to the least.

ELITES

This book looks at the independent or mercenary elite groups. This field is dominated by the De Vries company which made its name by supplying nova mercenaries to any 3rd world tin pot dictator that could pay the million dollar a day fees. However, since then Elites have moved into a number of professions, from computer consultants, to media endorsements or even private investigators. The rival companies to De Vries are explored for the first time even though the focus of the book remains firmly on those novas who like to kill for money. As such the book has some funky new guns (including Terminator-style chain-guns for those novas strong enough to lift them) technological gimmicks (some of which break the prohibitions of Year One).

It has a degree of 'violence is bad' subtext and soul searching that blunts its excitement as a mercenary supplement. I guess though that White Wolf felt the angst quota of the super heroic game was too low, that or they needed to add some political correctness to the book. As such it’s a better book than say Directive or Year One but lacks the impact and cohesiveness of Teragen or Utopia.

ABERRANT PLAYERS GUIDE

This book follows the same format as other White Wolf players guides- it describes a number of pointless and minor groups that the character can join, expands on the ranges of powers from the trivial (Perfect balance) to the gawd-awful (Planetary destruction) and allows merits and flaws so munchkins can annoy their GM's.

If you think I'm biased against Players guides then you are quite correct. But it’s a bias that I recognise myself and one based in my belief that nothing truly valuable is contained within the books. If the basic rulebook is competent (which it was) then you don’t really need a Player guide as the important material is already covered. The new material is of such rare or obscure abilities and powers that they will probably never be needed in game play and the merits and flaws could be as easily represented by roleplaying in the game or talking and bargaining with the GM at character generation.

If you accept that argument, then the only interesting material becomes the detail on the Aberrant world, which spans about 70 of the 190 pages. Space exploration, legal status, and costume branding are worthy but non-critical material. The minor nova groups at the end, covering such special interests as gay nova rights, environmentalism, and the teenage Team Tomorrow auxiliary are just that- minor and inconsequential groups when compared to the big-hitters of the Teragen or Utopia.

Some players naturally enough love this sort of thing, thinking it adds detail to their characters, or gives them kewl powerz that none of their friends have. Personally, at $26 or £15 it’s a book not worth buying for average GM.

MINIBOOKS

The existing 5 minibooks of 24 pages each are a format inherited from Trinity. All in all, I quite like the format, as its cheap, yet spacious enough to cover the smaller groups in some detail. As they only cost £2.99 ($5?), I think that they are probably worth it for their size, but the quality, consistency and detail in each varies widely. So lets look at each in turn-

Expose: Aberrants consists of some extra source material on the smallest of the major nova groups. We get some more details on how they organised, what they do, and who supports them in the nova community. Unfortunately Greg Stolze leaves two great big ‘enigmas’ or unanswered metaplot elements in the shape of Sophia Rousseau (the power behind Corbin's throne, whom we know bugger all about) and Kimberley Dane ( a youthful 102 year old who was around in the 1920’s game), which I find disappointing. A few pointless sample characters also take up 3 pages that could have been used to give us a better idea of the numbers and identities of the rest of the Aberrants.

Overall it’s a nice little book that fleshes out Corbin and the Aberrants but doesn’t answer half the questions they raise.

XWF: Is a fun little book, listing the history and set-up of the nova enhanced mock wrestling world. Unfortunately it lacks full stats for the prominent ‘fighters’, listing only their powers, meaning that if your PCs want to earn a quick million in a invitational bout, then you’ll have to prepare the NPC sheets first. (Though it does leave the wonderful opportunity for the PC’s to fight each other in a (relatively) non-lethal setting whilst the GM does his best wrestling commentator impressions- e.g. “A look, now Megaman has picked up Triple-X and is using him in a pile-driver manoeuvre. Look at that concrete crack as Triple-X’s head slams into it! That's gotta Hurt!) However, the one glaring omission from this book is the lack of tournament scenes described. The rulebook has one such scene in it, that is immediately gripping and exciting, and I was hoping for further examples in this minibook. All in all- probably a 4. Fear and Loathing, by Justin Achilli is a Hunter S. Thompson inspired gonzo-journalist piece about the Aberrant world. As you’d expect, its unfocused, incoherent and opinionated. Unforgivably though it fails to tell the reader anything useful about the game setting, and so is the ultimate triumph of style (or attitude in this case) over any semblance of substance. Spend the £2.99 is costs on a meal, or copy of Dragon magazine- they would be of more use to your Aberrant game than this rubbish.

(Having just re-read my piece, even I find myself amazed by the vitriol in my memory for this book. So I forced myself to reread it and can sum up the useful or new information contained in this minibook- dressing up as recognisable novas is a favourite party/club theme, tin-pot third world separatist states can declare brief independence if they have nova backing, Mexico is doing well, and that's about it. Its occasionally mildly amusing in places, but when you finish reading you feel incredibly disappointed at the waste of your money. If I wanted a piece of comedy it’d be better value to buy a copy of “Private Eye” ! .)

'Reign of Evil.com' is a wonderful little mini-book that presents the PC's with a ready made nova supervillian group. A bunch of nova Satanists with a group of drug-addled waster kid followers posture and pose over how 'kewl' they are, while the Taint-ridden mastermind plans a huge satanic ritual to bring the devil into the world. Despite the similarities with the WoD games, this is more a parody of Internet based cults and poorly researched Satanism as a pseudo-rebellion. My full review of this piece is at review 3639

It well worth the £2.99

"Church of Michael Archangel" is a minibook that fleshes out the little-known group of Christian fanatics who believe novas to be the emissaries of Satan. Portrayed as the 'Hunters' of Aberrant, they fight a lonely media and occasionally physical struggle against the people who the rest of humanity laud as celebrities and demigods. And while it does detail some of their doctrine and leaders, and resolves a previous daft idea of a nova with Multiple personality disorder who in baseline form is a Church of Mike leader, and in nova form is a Nova cult leader.

The minibook leaves the Church in a state of confusion and the reader too, as no real plot hooks are developed for this group, other than to use them as occasional threats to PC's. Conclusion? OK, but not great.

ADVENTURES

STORYTELLERS SCREEN

The Storytellers Screen book lacks an individual name, but make up for it in content. A vast array of background details on such things as religions, corporations, merchandised toys, Kabbalistic interpretations of novas and 3 reasonable adventures make this a good buy. The screen itself is OK but non-essential, the real value comes from the book. A combination or plot hooks, background detail, subtle humour in the form of parodies of modern American life make this a good buy.

Aberrant Worldwide Phase 1

This book contains 4 relatively original and exciting adventures that span such topics as running for President of the US, politicking with the mightiest novas around, conducting negotiations with a David Koresh-like nova with bio-warfare capabilities, and investigating the Slider murder. They are all fine adventures which show Aberrant as an innovative super-hero system that can escape the typical *Biff-Pow* fight scenes with supervilians.

For a detailed review, see review 3007.

But I would really recommend this a great book for anyone running Aberrant.

Aberrant Worldwide Phase 2

This book fails as a sequel to Phase 1 due to its over-reliance on *Bif-Pow* fist fights with supervillians. A few nice ideas such as Papal intrigues, novas taking over entire countries, and a showdown between the clean cut Team Tomorrow and the independent or Aberrant/Teragen affiliated novas of Ibiza are explored but all are ultimately resolved through fist fights. A disappointing book given the intelligence and subtlety of the first. My detailed review of it is at review 3555.

CONCLUSION

So, is Aberrant a worthy game system? To that I would probably say yes. The rules are relatively straight-forward and simple, the powers cover a comprehensive spectrum and almost any superhero can be created. The PC's as a rare breed are empowered characters who can make a difference in the game world. The metaplot, as it exists is both subtle enough (in the form of various conspiracies) as to be interesting for those exploring it and ignorable for those doing their own thing. The end result of the metaplot is spelt out in Trinity, so everybody knows which direction it is going in.

That said there is a high degree of variation in the quality of the supplements published. If I had to recommend to a new buyer interested in the setting, which ones were essential, then after the rulebook I would have to mention the 'Utopia' and 'Teragen' books, 'Expose Aberrant', the 'Storytellers Screen' and 'Aberrant Worldwide Phase I'.

The rest are non essential though I would especially stay clear of 'Fear and Loathing' and the 'Directive' book.

Compared to other systems this fares well compared to the complexity of Champions, Heroes Unlimited and DC Heroes rules systems. It has the best setting of any super-hero game filled with details that Brave New World or Unsanctioned can only dream of.

Overall its similar in theme to such comic books as X-men, Kingdom Come or Preacher. Its filled with stylish art, subtle ironies, and humour giving it a Style Rating of 5.

The rules are simple but coherent, the setting consistent and realistic and the NPC's reasonable. A few bad books and national stereotypes bring this down to a Substance rating of 4.

P.S.

As you can guess, I rather liked Aberrant. I was especially interested by the religious subtext of the game where PC's are nearly demi-gods in terms of power and popularity and it got me thinking. Given I couldn’t be bothered waiting the requisite years for the full metaplot to be dripped out, I wrote my own conspiratorial metaplot about the origin of Novas and identities of Mal, Pax and Aeon. You can find this all at nprime.net.

Aberrant Overview