The Inside Scoop on Gaming

This early edition of Fringeworthy looks and feels like a school workbook, staple bound and textured cardboard covered. The later, current, edition is perfect bound with a glossy color art cover. The inside is equally simple, typeset with crude but effective line art. I assume the newer edition looks more professional and modern, like the other TRI TAC product I have, FTL:2448, also a later edition.

For me, it is the content that count, not the appearance. That said, although this is not a perfect game, it provides a unique and detailed setting with a seldom-explored premise, inter-dimensional travel. I've seen alternate Earth sourcebooks for other games, but none compare to the originality and cohesiveness of Fringeworthy. The campaign world parallels Stargate and Sliders, and yet it remains very different and equally as exciting.

In the immediate future an inter-dimensional portal is found in Antarctica. When others are found, and one destroyed, the United Nations takes control of the sites and explorations of where they lead. They lead to a network of trails, called fringe paths, which lead to other portals and other worlds, other dimensions and alternate realities. Built by a race of peaceful aliens, only a very few humans can successfully use the portals and they are referred to as "fringeworthy". Because most people just walk through portals, to their other side, the fringeworthy are both privileged and burdened with traveling and exploring the many worlds and realities available via the fringe paths. Humans soon discover why the pathways are empty of their creators, the mellor. The mellor are a race of dopplegangers genetically altered by the builders to act in their place where xenophobia was a expected of the natives, the mellor could mimic their appearance. Unfortunately the mellor were infected with an evil intelligence, became voraciously carnivorous and turned on their masters. Mellor species range in intelligence from barely animal to human but in all cases evil. The peaceful builders are gone, the evil mellor are still out there. To tell anymore would take away from the players' enjoyment.

The game system is typical TRI TAC, heavy on tables, almost all of them and their associated rules are optional. Nearly every eventuality, encounter, danger and damage is anticipated and randomized for play. Combat comes in two versions, fast and easy or detailed and complicated. The two systems can be used during an entire campaign or switched back and forth from at the GM's discretion. Throughout the text examples are played out via the story of Ed Powers, fringeworthy, as he progresses from the discovery of his "worthiness" to his status as a fringe veteran.

At $18.95 the current edition is a little pricey for those with only a casual interest, though the production value is much higher than the reviewed (earlier) edition. If, however, inter-dimensional, time or space travel and exploration in the manner of Stargate or Sliders is your thing, this is your game with or without the use of the included game system.

This review appears in Alarums & Excursions #316 (see review archive) and appears here with permission.

Fringeworthy
Fringeworthy Capsule Review by Papyrus on 27/11/01 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) The game system is typical TRI TAC, heavy on tables, almost all of them and their associated rules are optional. Product: Fringeworthy Author: Richard Tucholka Category: RPG Company/Publisher: TRI TAC Inc. Line: Cost: Page count: 78 Year published: 1982 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Papyrus on 27/11/01 Genre tags: Science Fiction Modern day	This early edition of Fringeworthy looks and feels like a school workbook, staple bound and textured cardboard covered. The later, current, edition is perfect bound with a glossy color art cover. The inside is equally simple, typeset with crude but effective line art. I assume the newer edition looks more professional and modern, like the other TRI TAC product I have, FTL:2448, also a later edition. For me, it is the content that count, not the appearance. That said, although this is not a perfect game, it provides a unique and detailed setting with a seldom-explored premise, inter-dimensional travel. I've seen alternate Earth sourcebooks for other games, but none compare to the originality and cohesiveness of Fringeworthy. The campaign world parallels Stargate and Sliders, and yet it remains very different and equally as exciting. In the immediate future an inter-dimensional portal is found in Antarctica. When others are found, and one destroyed, the United Nations takes control of the sites and explorations of where they lead. They lead to a network of trails, called fringe paths, which lead to other portals and other worlds, other dimensions and alternate realities. Built by a race of peaceful aliens, only a very few humans can successfully use the portals and they are referred to as "fringeworthy". Because most people just walk through portals, to their other side, the fringeworthy are both privileged and burdened with traveling and exploring the many worlds and realities available via the fringe paths. Humans soon discover why the pathways are empty of their creators, the mellor. The mellor are a race of dopplegangers genetically altered by the builders to act in their place where xenophobia was a expected of the natives, the mellor could mimic their appearance. Unfortunately the mellor were infected with an evil intelligence, became voraciously carnivorous and turned on their masters. Mellor species range in intelligence from barely animal to human but in all cases evil. The peaceful builders are gone, the evil mellor are still out there. To tell anymore would take away from the players' enjoyment. The game system is typical TRI TAC, heavy on tables, almost all of them and their associated rules are optional. Nearly every eventuality, encounter, danger and damage is anticipated and randomized for play. Combat comes in two versions, fast and easy or detailed and complicated. The two systems can be used during an entire campaign or switched back and forth from at the GM's discretion. Throughout the text examples are played out via the story of Ed Powers, fringeworthy, as he progresses from the discovery of his "worthiness" to his status as a fringe veteran. At $18.95 the current edition is a little pricey for those with only a casual interest, though the production value is much higher than the reviewed (earlier) edition. If, however, inter-dimensional, time or space travel and exploration in the manner of Stargate or Sliders is your thing, this is your game with or without the use of the included game system. This review appears in Alarums & Excursions #316 (see review archive) and appears here with permission.