Operation: Mindcrime
Make something of your life boy
Let me into your mind
Operation: Mindcrime
There's a job for you in the system boy
With nothing to sign
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
MetalMan's Review of "Schism" by Jared Sorensen
Schism is an alternate setting for Ron Edward's Sorcerer RPG and is, to date, Jared Sorensen's first foray into a work for pay. Inspired by the films of David Cronenberg, Schism is a dark exploration of power and madness inflicted by our modern world.
The Premise:
Players are Psychogens - characters emotionally and mentally different from the rest of humanity. Their minds allow them to exhibit superhuman powers but at a terrible price. Superior yet inferior. Powerful yet powerless. Players will find themselves at odds with the need to control the duality between maintaining their tortured humanity and truly releasing the true being of their minds at the cost of their lives. Sounds like the standard White Wolf blurb doesn't it? You'd be very wrong in thinking so.
What Ya Get:
Schism is a thirty-six page PDF file. You will need the Adobe Acrobat reader or a similiar program cabable of rendering PDF files to view it.
Cost:
Schism will cost you $5.95 USD and can be ordered from the Adept Press Sorcerer Supplement ordering page. Payment is handled through PayPal so you will need an account set up with that service.
Appearance:
There really isn't anything spectacular about the presentation of Schism. Text is not in columns so you may get the impression that Schism is light on information. It isn't. The author really seems to have found his voice here and the text is very hard edged and pointed. Schism isn't weighted down with any setting and instead focuses on the core mechanics as well as many of the philosophical and emotional issues that prevails in the game. Schism is very much a game of atmosphere as a reading of it will quickly reveal. There are also four pieces of black and white artwork done by Quentin Westcott. These illustrations run the gamut from very good to mediocre. The cover is the best piece followed up by "Gammon Kruze". "The Oppressor Becomes the Oppressed" was marginally good. However, I had problems with the "Losing Control" image as it seemed too cartoony for the feel of the book itself.
The Game:
To begin with you should get a copy of the Sorcerer RPG because Schism is based on its mechanics and assumes a familiarity with them. You can get the Apprentice version of Sorcerer for free. The full version of Sorcerer will cost you ten dollars. Schism begins with a section telling you how Schism differs from Sorcerer. In Sorcerer, it is the demons that aspire to be free. In Schism, it is far more nefarious as the character's minds attempt to free themselves from the mortal coil of flesh it is contained in. A character's death isn't a matter of "if" its a matter of "when." In the end, the true story is how the character lived their lives. A smaller section of a list of inspirational reading, cinema, and music follows and how they fit the mindset of Schism.
Characters are composed of three main stats: Stamina, Will and Origin. Each of these three stats will have descriptions for them such as "Space Monkey" for Will that gives characters physical, historical and emotional guidelines for them. The player then must pick a Cover and Cabal. Cover is merely what they do in normal life (housewife, hospital orderly, etc.) and Cabal is which origanization they are a member of and their standing in it. It is possible to have Cabal without a Cover although you will be more dependent on your organization to support you.
Next, you need to record your Humanity, Initiation, Death Scene and Price. Humanity is your ability to relate to your fellow man. As your mental powers grow, your mind will become more "aware" and distant from humanity. Your Humanity score is your ability to still consider yourself human to be simple about it. Initiation is how you were introdcued into your Cabal. Not all cabals are benevolent and most are simply out to exploit the psychogens for their own ends. Your Death Scene is how you envision your character dying. This may be completely different from when it actually happens but gives the player a point of reference to measure the growth of their characters at the moment of demise and provides for a point of reconciliation. Price is the pathological effects that the psychogen suffers from. The amount of power generated by the psychogen mind is rarely able to be contained in a body for long and physical and mental damage is not uncommon.
Characters next need to pick their psychogenic Type, Disciplines and Foci. Schism has three different types of psychogenesis: Telepathy, Psychokinesis and Clairvoyance. Each Type has different powers or Disciplines under each. Most beginning players will only have one or two Disciplines as more power results in lower Humanity. Foci are the equivalent of "situational modifiers" that make it easier for the character to remain in control of their powers such as holding hands with a specific person.
Finally, you detail NPCs, check to see if you have a Telltale, and double-check your character for play. The only real point to mention in this section is Telltales. Your character gains a Telltale when their score in a Discipline is greater than their Control score. Telltales are physical indications of their power such as sheet white skin.
Psychogenic Disciplines are detailed next and it is a pretty comprehensive list. I was unable to think of a power that wasn't included or one that wouldn't completely turn the setting into superheroes. This section gives descriptions of the various Disciplines as well as typical Prices that the character will pay for having a particular Type of psychogenesis. The section wraps with the a list of example Telltales that the GM can use as well. Especially enjoyable are the instances of "spontaneous manifestation" in which the character's powers will activate without their control. Its a nice mechanic to simulate the awakening of the character's minds into something other.
What follows next is the rules for employing Disciplines in gameplay. This section is primarily made up of the mechanics for Power and Control rolls. To make a long story short, every success that you roll on a Power roll must be followed by a Control roll. The old adage of Power corrupting certainly holds true here as you are offering the psychogenic entity of your mind a taste of freedom. This section also covers the rules for gaining Disciplines as well as the rules for various drug use such as TranQuil to impair or control psychogenesis.
The largest single section of Schism is the chapter on Cabals. This section gives you the rules to create your own Cabals as well as detail several varying types of Cabals that can be found in the game. Cabals are generally defined by Type (containment, security, benefit), sponsor (government, military, terrorist) and Controller. Controllers are generally NPCs who are either the leaders of the Cabal or at least someone who has a lot of manipulative abilities within the organization. The section wraps up with the various types of Cabal "stories" that can be used in Schism. The most important of which is the Redemption story.
Overall Impression:
Schism is the kick in the pants that White Wolf needs. THIS is a world of darkness. Characters are alone, disillusioned and burdened with a power that is at once their greatest strength and their own demise. Thier own allies are probably only using them for their own means yet the characters have little other choice. I applaud Mr. Sorensen for having the audacity for making a game such as this and I would encourage anyone who is even remotely curious to part with the money to purchase this game. I think you'll be pleasantly suprised as well as refreshed. If you've ever wanted to support independent game design but were leery of the quality of the product, this is your chance.
MetalMan signing off.
Go to forum!
(Due to spamming, old forum discussions are no linked.)