The Inside Scoop on Gaming

In a nutshell:
Vorox is the first in the Alien Expeditions series, taking a closer look at the oft-ignored, multi-limbed Vorox. Not only does the book examine the Vorox and their culture, but it also provides a poisonous cornucopia of flora and fauna from the death-world of Ungavorox.

While a decent addition to the long line of Fading Suns supplements, the book fails in one important way: after reading it, I was no more likely to play a Vorox than I was before I read the book. It manages to describe the Vorox and their home, but outside of a few key sections, it fails to really inspire in me a need to experience a Vorox PC.

Still, it’s a good book, and any GM interested in running a campaign that deals with Ungavorox, dangerous beasts, or the Vorox is encouraged to grab it—the rest of the Fading Suns audience should probably thumb through it first and then decide. I liked the book a lot, but it failed to excite me in the way that Children of the Gods or Hegemony did.

Style:
Vorox sports a Ron Spencer cover showing a pack of Vorox attacking what appears to be a Grackle Fox, the most dangerous predator on Ungavorox. The usual band of Fading Suns artists handles the interior art chores, and the trend that started in Hegemony is continued—each chapter has a piece of full page art at the beginning, beautifully rendered and incredibly evocative. My favorite is the picture depicting a band of Vorox attacking Second Republic troops in ceram-steel armor. This art, in my opinion, is exceptional, and I’d happily buy a print of some of it.

The headings at the top of each chapter and the titles above the various critters is a blocky font which I found fairly annoying—it just didn’t look nice. There were also a few pictures that didn’t really do it for me, seeming to me to be too scratchy, but the same artist also handled the picture of Ungavorox’s predators, which I liked.

Substance:
Vorox begins with the now standard journal entry of young priest Alustro, and it’s another great piece of Bill Bridges writing. I have to say that the Alustro series has soared above the average in-game fiction and really become part of the setting. The few times a book has lacked an Alustro entry, I’ve really felt the loss.

Next follows a short introduction, a history of Ungavorox, and the now-standard star system template that buyers of the Imperial Survey series will be familiar with. The introduction provides a few hooks on what to look forward to, how to bring a PC group to the planet, and how to introduce one to Vorox culture.

The history is fantastic—the story of H.T. Hausen is exactly what this book needed, and managed to be one of the high points of the sourcebook. Here, and in a few other spots, I got the feeling that the Vorox were like the intelligent apes from Tarzan or another, similar story—powerful, noble, primitive, dangerous and savage.

Next comes a long section of flora and fauna. It’s got quite a few creatures written up, but most of the creatures manage to overcome any limitations inherent with this kind of “monster manual”—many of them feel unique, and could easily be extrapolated to other worlds, or combined with Symbiots in order to create a kind of uber-adversary. I also have to commend the HDI crew on finally giving me weapon stats for “flung dung,” courtesy of a monkey like critter. What follows is a chapter on “Who We Are,” and to be honest, this is the chapter that disappointed me on many counts. The image that begins the chapter is that of two Vorox fighting, while a few others stealthily approach in the shadows. The image gives me a feel for the Vorox—cunning, powerful, and predatory. But the rest of the chapter just didn’t give me that flavor, and the two short stories provided, while well done, merely provided the feeling that Vorox were just like any primitive tribe of humans having to live within a culture that possesses more advanced technology than they do. I liked the “Uncle Remus” feel of the second story, but still—it didn’t hook me. The division between Feral and Civilized Vorox is well laid out, but the Feral aren’t feral enough, and I didn’t think the Civilized Vorox stood out.

Near the division between the beginning of this chapter and the start of the stories is another bright spot, however, giving roleplaying tips on how the Vorox differ from other races. I loved the problems the Vorox have with smiles, and the way that they may not be the berserkers some would portray them as, but it’s hard for them to sit still in a heated situation. If the rest of the chapter had portrayed this feel, it would’ve been fantastic. As it was, I just wasn’t hooked. I think the Vorox needed to be a little more—alien, a little more bestial.

The book concludes with new Traits for the Vorox, including martial arts actions, firearms actions, fencing actions, and stats for the long awaited Voroxian bolorang. At the end of the chapter, new additions to the Character Background generation system are also brought into play. Both of these sections are up to HDI’s normal standards and seem to be well-handled. I’ve made up a Vorox PC with these rules added those in the core 2nd edition rulebook and he didn’t seem any more powerful than the average Vorox.

One last problem I had with the book is the lack of real theurgy for the Voroxian religion. I liked what I saw, but in a game where miracles are commonplace in the form of religious magic, I felt the Vorox were unfairly left behind in the name of game balance. I would also have at least liked to see more detail to the hybrid religion based on their own beliefs and the Orthodoxy and why the Orthodoxy dislikes it so much.

Scoring:

Style:
The art is fantastic, with a few exceptions, but the new headings font really looks bad and I hope that HDI skips it in the other Alien Expeditions. A few people I’ve spoken to were bothered by the “white-space” in the “creature” section, but I hardly noticed. Vorox gets a 3.5.

Substance:
As the first book in the Alien Expeditions series, Vorox is a solid first attempt and I hope that Sam Inabinet gets a chance to do others. On the other hand, it failed to really excite me about the Vorox or make them alien enough for me, and the Vorox have always seemed the most alien of the “core” races. Because of this, Vorox gets a 3.5 from me.

Vorox
Vorox Capsule Review by Eric Brennan on 06/08/01 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 3 (Average) Vorox is a solid product that suffers in comparison to earlier HDI products. Vorox players and Gms should grab it--others should thumb through it first. Product: Vorox Author: Sam Inabinet and Bill Bridges Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Holistic Design Inc. Line: Fading Suns Cost: $17.95 Page count: 88 Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1-888906-27-8 SKU: FS 246 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Eric Brennan on 06/08/01 Genre tags: Fantasy Science Fiction Horror Far Future	In a nutshell: Vorox is the first in the Alien Expeditions series, taking a closer look at the oft-ignored, multi-limbed Vorox. Not only does the book examine the Vorox and their culture, but it also provides a poisonous cornucopia of flora and fauna from the death-world of Ungavorox. While a decent addition to the long line of Fading Suns supplements, the book fails in one important way: after reading it, I was no more likely to play a Vorox than I was before I read the book. It manages to describe the Vorox and their home, but outside of a few key sections, it fails to really inspire in me a need to experience a Vorox PC. Still, it’s a good book, and any GM interested in running a campaign that deals with Ungavorox, dangerous beasts, or the Vorox is encouraged to grab it—the rest of the Fading Suns audience should probably thumb through it first and then decide. I liked the book a lot, but it failed to excite me in the way that Children of the Gods or Hegemony did. Style: Vorox sports a Ron Spencer cover showing a pack of Vorox attacking what appears to be a Grackle Fox, the most dangerous predator on Ungavorox. The usual band of Fading Suns artists handles the interior art chores, and the trend that started in Hegemony is continued—each chapter has a piece of full page art at the beginning, beautifully rendered and incredibly evocative. My favorite is the picture depicting a band of Vorox attacking Second Republic troops in ceram-steel armor. This art, in my opinion, is exceptional, and I’d happily buy a print of some of it. The headings at the top of each chapter and the titles above the various critters is a blocky font which I found fairly annoying—it just didn’t look nice. There were also a few pictures that didn’t really do it for me, seeming to me to be too scratchy, but the same artist also handled the picture of Ungavorox’s predators, which I liked. Substance: Vorox begins with the now standard journal entry of young priest Alustro, and it’s another great piece of Bill Bridges writing. I have to say that the Alustro series has soared above the average in-game fiction and really become part of the setting. The few times a book has lacked an Alustro entry, I’ve really felt the loss. Next follows a short introduction, a history of Ungavorox, and the now-standard star system template that buyers of the Imperial Survey series will be familiar with. The introduction provides a few hooks on what to look forward to, how to bring a PC group to the planet, and how to introduce one to Vorox culture. The history is fantastic—the story of H.T. Hausen is exactly what this book needed, and managed to be one of the high points of the sourcebook. Here, and in a few other spots, I got the feeling that the Vorox were like the intelligent apes from Tarzan or another, similar story—powerful, noble, primitive, dangerous and savage. Next comes a long section of flora and fauna. It’s got quite a few creatures written up, but most of the creatures manage to overcome any limitations inherent with this kind of “monster manual”—many of them feel unique, and could easily be extrapolated to other worlds, or combined with Symbiots in order to create a kind of uber-adversary. I also have to commend the HDI crew on finally giving me weapon stats for “flung dung,” courtesy of a monkey like critter. What follows is a chapter on “Who We Are,” and to be honest, this is the chapter that disappointed me on many counts. The image that begins the chapter is that of two Vorox fighting, while a few others stealthily approach in the shadows. The image gives me a feel for the Vorox—cunning, powerful, and predatory. But the rest of the chapter just didn’t give me that flavor, and the two short stories provided, while well done, merely provided the feeling that Vorox were just like any primitive tribe of humans having to live within a culture that possesses more advanced technology than they do. I liked the “Uncle Remus” feel of the second story, but still—it didn’t hook me. The division between Feral and Civilized Vorox is well laid out, but the Feral aren’t feral enough, and I didn’t think the Civilized Vorox stood out. Near the division between the beginning of this chapter and the start of the stories is another bright spot, however, giving roleplaying tips on how the Vorox differ from other races. I loved the problems the Vorox have with smiles, and the way that they may not be the berserkers some would portray them as, but it’s hard for them to sit still in a heated situation. If the rest of the chapter had portrayed this feel, it would’ve been fantastic. As it was, I just wasn’t hooked. I think the Vorox needed to be a little more—alien, a little more bestial. The book concludes with new Traits for the Vorox, including martial arts actions, firearms actions, fencing actions, and stats for the long awaited Voroxian bolorang. At the end of the chapter, new additions to the Character Background generation system are also brought into play. Both of these sections are up to HDI’s normal standards and seem to be well-handled. I’ve made up a Vorox PC with these rules added those in the core 2nd edition rulebook and he didn’t seem any more powerful than the average Vorox. One last problem I had with the book is the lack of real theurgy for the Voroxian religion. I liked what I saw, but in a game where miracles are commonplace in the form of religious magic, I felt the Vorox were unfairly left behind in the name of game balance. I would also have at least liked to see more detail to the hybrid religion based on their own beliefs and the Orthodoxy and why the Orthodoxy dislikes it so much. Scoring: Style: The art is fantastic, with a few exceptions, but the new headings font really looks bad and I hope that HDI skips it in the other Alien Expeditions. A few people I’ve spoken to were bothered by the “white-space” in the “creature” section, but I hardly noticed. Vorox gets a 3.5. Substance: As the first book in the Alien Expeditions series, Vorox is a solid first attempt and I hope that Sam Inabinet gets a chance to do others. On the other hand, it failed to really excite me about the Vorox or make them alien enough for me, and the Vorox have always seemed the most alien of the “core” races. Because of this, Vorox gets a 3.5 from me.