This is my first review... any comments? It's rather long...
Over The Edge is "The Role Playing game of Surreal Danger by Jonathan Tweet with Robin D. Laws", published by Atlas-Games. It's a relatively old game, but it's still in print and I was fortunate to grab it a month ago. It is an eminently spectacular game, and I can say in all honesty that my RPG collection is infinitely stronger for owning it. But that's just me. You might feel different, and in light of that I intend to present a case for it's worthiness. This review is divided into three segments, one deals with the overall workings (The Macro), one is a blow by blow of the chapters (The Micro), and the third addresses who will get what out of this book (Utility).
The Macro
Premise and Setting
The vast majority of this book is devoted to the setting and fleshing out that setting in intimate detail. That in and of itself is not overly unique, but what makes this setting so successful is. All the detail, all of it, gives details about the setting that are useful, interesting, tie into the premise, and most importantly are not things that any GM worth their salt could easily come up with. And that's key. There is nothing about bland politicians, run of the mill gangs, the price of coffee, grocery stores, wheat farms, or any other kind of window dressing. Where some settings give complicated timelines and ultra detailed descriptions of fairly mundane things, OTE first and foremost gives the GM an atmosphere (upon which can be built brilliant environs and settings), and then a 100 pages of wonderful examples.
This is all to say that the setting is good, interesting, and provides truly useful game info, but what is the setting?
OTE takes place in the now, on the small Mediterranean island of Al Amarja, ruled over by the pseudobenevolent dictator and liberator Monique D'Aubainne. Al Amarja is a hotbed for surreal activity, with dozens of conspiracies (human and otherwise), mutants, psychics, and old-fashioned psychopaths. Of course, all of this is kept under the covers, a little away from prying eyes. The island economy is dominated by tourism, tourists being attracted there by rumors of debauchery and the decidedly lax enforcement of drug laws.
But it is far from an island paradise. The feel and premise is that one of surreality and paranoia. But the measure of such an atmosphere is whether or not the game aids the proper evoking of it, and it does. The setting information in the book is utterly brilliant, containing such gems as:
The Airport. A viscious winding maze of corridors, P.A. systems demanding that "Mr. Hannibal Lecter report to the white courtesy," and an inside that seems decidedly larger than the out. Entire campaigns could be run without ever letting the players out of the airport.
Tulpas. Beings whose personality is defined by what people expect them to be. If they walk up to a person in a dark alley, and that person assumes they are a mugger, so they will become, adding that fleck of personality to their overall psyche that is their self.
I don't want to give more examples, because the examples in the book are absolutely fantastic and I would hate to spoil anything for a player or GM. Suffice it to say that there is a huge quantity of great ideas, and each and every one of them features one or more plot hooks. A GM simply has to turn to a random page in the book and find 5 or more nights of adventure.
Character
Many a game will live or die on how well you can translate your character idea to your character sheet and how well the game allows character to fit it's mood. OTE uses a rather simple, minimalist character system that (while lacking in granularity) succeeds on both fronts. Some sample character concepts from the book, to fir the mood:
Incarnation of Atlantean High Priest
Decadent dilettante seeking stimulation for jaded tastes.
Unsuspecting tourist
Italian cabbie running from an unhappy love affair
A doctor on a compulsory vacation after her "unorthodox" treatments were uncovered by hospital authorities.
How does it work? It uses a trait system. Each character has one central trait and two side traits. Traits are anything you want them to be, from "Werewolf", to "Commando", to "Grizzled 'Nam Vet". Anything. And that's the beauty of the system.
Your central trait is something broad (like the above), and your side traits are more specific, like "Poker", "Defeating security systems." All these traits imply a lot about the character, and this system lends more flexibility and choice than any I have played.
Each trait is rated in terms of six sided dice (through a fairly simple system that doesn't really need explaining), and any time you do something related to one of those traits you role that many dice. If you don't have any related trait, you are considered average and roll 2 dice. So, if you had the trait "Lawyer 4", you would role 4 dice any time you did something involving law, or business, or fast-talking, or anything else that could be construed as lawyer related. This is a wonderful way of making sure a character can do all the things that the player wanted them to do and make sure that players can have whatever character they want (like walking dead man, or myan shaman, or whatever).
Play balance comes into question, but the GMs section has great bits on diffusing overly powerful characters. It basically comes down to the fact that the more powerful you are the more attention you get from the conspiracies and the heavier the hammer that falls on you.
To round off your character, you have to pick a flaw, and important person, a dark secret and a motivation is life. It's a wonderful treat that a flaw and dark secret are mandatory, and that's just one example of how wonderfully this game guides the players into the mood and feel.
Personally, I love this system of characters, with one exception: Hit Points. The game uses a hit points system (based on the rating of any physical-type traits you might have). It seems a slightly clunky way of handling damage in an otherwise very elegant system. It's not too important, because combat is rarely the focus of the game, but it just doesn't seem "slick" enough. Then again, I can't think of an atmospheric alternative, so whatever.
Resolution
Here I talk about the system stuff. Basically, the system works by deciding what trait applies, and rolling that many dice. You add the dice together, high rolls are better, and if the dice are greater than a given Target Number you succeed. Opposed rolls work by having both character roll and compare.
This system is not a detailed as GURPS, as slick as Dying Earth, or as just plain cool as Godlike, but it works quickly and easily with minimum handling and searching times. It also gives the GM a lot of fudge room (which I think is good, you may not), if the players do something the GM has no expected (as always) he can ask for a roll and if it "seems" high enough then he can say success. This keeps the game going, without the GM having to declare target numbers or figure out the required number of successes.
There are few neat things thrown into the works. Bonus dice are cool. Instead of just getting 3 (or whatever) you get to roll another die with your dice and then drop the lowest rolled die.
The greatest strength of the rules are their flexibility. Without tacking on any additional systems, characters can regularly wield psychic (or as the book calls them, "fringe"), magic, or whatever powers. The beauty really only kicks in once you've played for a while and realize that every nifty little concept that you put into play actually works. And it's a dream for GMs, because when coming up with NPC's all you need is a couple words and your done. The system boils things down to the important stuff, and succeeds with flying colors.
As for combat. It's the standard initiative, then opposed roll stuff you're used to. The damage done is a function of your margin of success, and the system heavily favors numbers. The only problem with the system lies in some slightly complicated firearms rules. Basically, there's this table on how bullet proof and non armor interacts with all the kinds of ammo and weapons, and while this is good stuff, it's also not as slick as the rest of the system. But this isn't much of a problem, because guns are very (very, very, very) illegal on the island and it's rare for players to have 'em.
One of the nicest touches lies in the in the combat system. If you have a trait that directly relates to combat (like "Drunken Boxing") you can use it on all attack and defense rolls. But, if you have a trait that addresses combat and other stuff (like "Secret Agent", or "Fast") you can use it on one attack or defense roll each round. Nice. Balanced.
Style
The art in an RPG has never been a huge deal for me, but this book does have a fair amount and all of it always applies to what is written on the page. The quality of the art is quite good, in simple black and white of a similar style.
The writing style is more significant, in my eyes, and this book has a very casual, colloquial, comfortable style that read very easily and keeps moving from topic to topic to make sure that you never get bored. The best part about it is that the book rarely repeats itself, it doesn't constantly remind you of thing you already knew and so frees up space for more new and good stuff.
And Finally, there is an Index, and it's functional.
The Micro
CHAPTER 1: Players' Rules
Basic Rules, advice for players
This is the one chapter that all the player's should read. It explains very clearly and concisely all the rules for character creation and conflict resolution. It's short and simple with examples and good stuff like that. The system is excellent, but I've talked about that above.
CHAPTER 2:Overview of Al Amarja
For players of experienced characters only
This chapter is a very short setting chapter that player's playing characters who have lived on the island get to read (most characters come from off the island). It's a brief overview of the politics, people, fashions, barrios, and drugs on the island. It also gives a few neat little theories on why the island is so weird. All in all, this let's GMs get a really good idea of what the people on the island think like, and it's great for players to get a fix on what's going on. It gives just the perfect balance of truth and lies, making sure that even the experienced character doesn't know what's going on.
CHAPTER 3:Deep Overview
This and all the following material is for the GM only
This short chapter is singularly the best setting description I've seen in a while (Tribe 8 ranks a close second). It gives the GM a perfect - perfect - grasp on the setting. It includes great stuff like the true history of Al Amarja, why the drug laws aren't enforced, where the money on the island comes from, what the drugs are really like, how the government deals with psychics, and the various metaphysical conventions of the setting (the soul, the afterlife, etc...). It gives a wonderfully twisted reason for the island's weirdness (which ties into one of the big plots, see below). Frankly, you could run a campaign based on this chapter alone, and everything that follows is just advice on how to get it done (great advice).
CHAPTER 4:The Edge
General guide to the biggest city on the island
The Edge is where most of the action on the island will take place. This is a very simple, but very useful chapter. Instead of giving much in the way of specifics (because specific, mundane, hotels and grocery stores are not inventive enough to warrant being written about), it talks about generalities. It gives an overview of all the types of people in the city, like artists, bennies, and pubes (on Al Amarja, you only have to be 13 to be an adult, pubes are young adults). It follows that up with a very simple map of the city and a description of the different barrios and plazas (a half dozen or so barrios, each with a plaza at the center). Again, instead of focusing on specific, useless stuff, the descriptions are that of atmosphere and feel, and they crackle with story ideas. Very good stuff. At the end, they do give a few examples that are decidedly creative products of the atmostphere.
CHAPTER 5:At Your Service
Businesses and other establishments
Now we get into the meat of the setting. This and the next chapter are where all the really juicy bits lie. This chapter is basically a description of a bunch of businesses, stores, hotels, etc... From the E-Z sleep to the Hospital every single entry has a story behind and every single entry has something nefarious going around. This is the strength of the setting, that there is so much good information and every page overflows with plot hooks. It's also a testament that all of this stuff interacts with the rest of it and everything "clicks", and makes sense, it never get's silly and reading it never get's dull. The writing maintains a quick pace, telling you what you need to know without droning on.
It's all in alphabetical order, for quick reference.
CHAPTER 6:Forces to be Reckoned With
Overt and covert groups and people
Basically the same style as the above chapter, a big repository of interlinked forces and groups that sing with ingenuity. Every single entry has something that earns it's place in the book. And that's the best thing about this whole game, every little entry earns it's keep and is a worthy addition to any game. Because of this wonderful supply of stories and story ideas, coming up with an evening's entertainment is easy enough and the challenge lies in consctructing an overarching storyline, and making sure everything falls into place. Which is where the next chapter comes in.
This chapter also features the greatest achievement in role-playing book features ever. It has a matrix (a chart) of all the different power groups and what they think of each other (or, if one doesn't know about the other, what members of the group would think if they found out about them). This is an amazingly useful tool, and shows in a very simple way exactly how all the power groups relate to each other and who there allies and enemies are.
CHAPTER 7:Game Moderator's Rules
Special rules, advice for GMs
Most games have a chapter devoted to the GM, and more often then not these can be rather throwaway chapters. Not here. The writer assumes that the GM is relatively experienced, and talks about how to address the inherent funkiness of OTE. He does a great job. He covers eminently useful topics like, "How to use the setting," "How an adventure works," and "How to hose the player characters." It addresses a lot of good stuff, dealing with how to kick off a series, how to reign in overly powerful characters, how to help our players during chargen (and make sure they aren't going too nuts), how to create NPCs and lots of good tidbits like making list of things you're bad at. If you can't come up with interesting names on the spot, then make a list of all the names you like beforehand to use during play when you need to name an NPC. There's some neat stuff on RPG theory too, all in all a good read.
The other half is GM rules. This is basically just a description of a bunch of fringe powers. Interestingly, it breaks a few RPG rules. Firstly, the author explicitly states that no character under any circumstances whatsoever should have a mind reading ability simply because it can ruin stories. Additionally, all the descriptions are for powers that are relatively new and creative. The author says (truthfully), that rules for the usual stuff (like telekinesis and healing) is not really needed because it's simple enough to implement. The rules here are more to offer ideas to the GM then anything else as to what kind of really slick things NPCs can have.
CHAPTER 8:Plots
Three introductory adventures, summaries of major plots
The only chapter I wasn't too keen on, simply because none of the introductory adventures particularly caught my fancy. Then again, they rarely do, if you like these kinds of adventures you will probably like these (they're okay). They're short and simple too, so I don't mind 'em much.
The rest of the chapter is much better though. It is a description (very short) of three huge plots (that people are planning), and these are basically three ideas and ways to give direction to an entire campaign. They don't give exact event descriptions, but they give the overall course of some pretty good plots. These are great things to build a campaign on, or weave into your own.
CHAPTER 9:Props
To give to the players.
Lot's of simple but useful things, purely here for coolness sake. Stuff like a list of slang that can be found in a taxi, and a newspaper with various illicit sounding adds and jobs. Simple, but all the stuff is useful. The best thing is a pamphlet handed out to everyone who gets on the island explaining the laws to those people (to make sure the player's aren't totally floundering around).
Utility
How useful is this book? Spectacularly, atleast to the GM. It does not contain much player centric info. Only the GM needs to actually have a copy, everyone else only needs to read the first (and maybe the second) chapter. Players who simply must get a book can buy the survival guide, which is essentially just the first chapter in it's own book.
How useful is it to the GM? The measure of that question, is in a sense the measure of the game. And this book is eminently useful. It gives a wonderful setting just ripe for the GM to fill with his own twisted creations, great help on how to do that, and 100's of pages of stuff that's already been done that can lead a GM to 100's of adventures.
Brilliant stuff.
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