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A Review of InSpectres v2.0
by Nathan J. Hill
http://www.mysticages.com/

InSpectres : http://www.inspectres.com/
“Fighting the Forces of Darkness So You Don’t Have To”

Preface

I know Jared Sorensen from fairly regular internet correspondence, so without a doubt, what follows is going to be a bit biased. I first met him in the early days of Gamingoutpost (www.gamingoutpost.com), and we (like others from that collective past) have continued to write, share thoughts, and encourage each other’s pursuits. He asked me to review InSpectres v2.0, and I wasted no time accepting the offer.

What Is It?

InSpectres is a complete roleplaying game. The game centers around a fictional startup franchise dedicated to the task of exploring and dealing with the supernatural. Players create normal (but often strange) employees of this fast growing company. Adventure after adventure, the employees face a variety of challenges, the franchise grows, and each case gets bigger than the next.

InSpectres is available from www.inspectres.com for $10 through Paypal or Money Order. The game comes as a 39 page PDF file with simple cover art and complete game rules. The game’s website features a free startup kit, character sheet, and franchise sheet for download. A variety of mini-supplements are in the works from a number of individuals, but no date was provided as to when those would be made available.

The Breakdown: Chapter by Chapter

Chapter 1 contains the introduction, design goals, and overview of the world of InSpectres. The most interesting aspect is that the modern world of InSpectres, while similar to our own, sees supernatural events as annoying or just plain embarrassing occurrences. Enter InSpectres, your one stop source for paranormal deliverance.

Chapter 2 explains the character creation rules (Agents). Like most of Jared’s games, this process is simple and relies on description and character as opposed to numbers or math. The first step is coming up with a character concept and name. Using that as your base, the next step is to distribute 9 points among four character skills – Academics, Athletics, Technology, and Contact. Finally, you choose one Talent for your character, something that makes him or her especially unique. Character advancement is also covered in this chapter.

Chapter 3 covers the creation of the franchise. Once players have created their characters, it is time for them to come together and decide where they work. Basically, each budding franchise gets a number of dice to develop its various features. Those dice can be used to purchase cool equipment or future help in the form of Franchise Cards. Of course, the more dice the franchise gets during this step, the more challenging missions will be for the startups.

Chapter 4 discusses the basic game mechanics for InSpectres. Anytime an agent wishes to use a skill, the player rolls a number of 6-sided dice equal to that skill’s number. The highest result out of the roll is compared to a simple chart. A 6 or 5 is not only a success but grants the agent a franchise die. A 1 or 2 results in a possible dire situation for the agent. Overall, the mechanic is very simple. With enough successes, the agents continue toward their goal of solving the mission, recognized by earning franchise dice. Since each mission has a number of franchise dice required to “solve” it, each success opens up a new piece of evidence or plot by the investigators. This chapter also contains rules for using bank dice, teamwork, and the “taking 4" option.

Chapter 5 contains rules for dealing with stress. Stress, in game, limits your character’s skill, representing real world difficulties, on the job issues, and even moments of intense fear. The more difficult the situation, the more stress your agent will have. Also, the rules for “cool dice” are covered here.

Chapter 6 contains complete rules for playing weird agents. Therefore, you could actually create and develop your own “slimer” or alien agent that fits right in the strange world of InSpectres. There are a few changes from normal character creation for weird agents, but in the end, many of them end up with “cool dice” or other special traits instead.

Chapter 7 explains the basic play structure, including the excellent art of confessionals. Confessionals are taken from real world reality shows, where characters take an aside to comment about the current scene. In InSpectres, as characters explore and uncover mysteries and family curses, characters will take confessionals, describing in past tense some piece of the puzzle that allowed their characters to survive the particular scene. This information is usually granted as a new trait to a particular character, allowing them to immediately use it to solve the current situation. Also, this chapter contains information about the private lives of the Agents, client interviews, vacations, character continuity, and more. By far, this chapter alone may be the most meatiest and interesting to gamemasters running InSpectres.

Finally, Chapter 8 contains a final word and credits. Closing off the game book, a glossary and and appendix of charts gives the crunchy stuff for printing.

If you are interested in the layout and look of the book, you will find InSpectres quite bare. Besides the simple cover art, the game looks like it was formatted in a basic word processing program. Chapters and sections are divided cleanly, and charts are presented in an easy to read format. Beyond that, no special layout exists. I did not notice any typos on my first and subsequent reads (but I am no English major).

Gameplay is nothing short of simple and entertaining. Jared made a point to tell me that he is going to put together some demo sessions during Gencon and plans on having them run by someone who has never read the game before. He believes that much in the ease of learning this game. The way InSpectres is setup -- GMs do not have to come to the table with maps, villains, and sketchy plots. The GM merely needs to come up with a basis of the evening's adventure and allow the players to create the rest as the adventure evolves. Since the source material is ready knowledge for most gamers (who hasn't seen Ghostbusters?), this game won't be a problem for experienced or inexperienced groups from the get go.

Overall

InSpectres is a blast of an indie game. It offers quite a few unique ideas that could spice up any roleplaying experience. Jared considers the game “Narrativist” and with good measure. Within the rules, you will discover that the players have plenty of power in determining the outcome of the mission. Overall, I think it is an excellent example of what is coming out of the indie roleplaying game movement.

With all of that taken into account, InSpectres is more than just an interesting download – it is a game worthy to be played.

InSpectres
InSpectres Playtest Review by Nathan Hill on 15/04/02 Style: 3 (Average) Substance: 4 (Meaty) When things go bump in the night, who you gonna call? Enter InSpectres, your one stop shop for paranormal deliverance. Product: InSpectres Author: Jared Sorensen Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Memento-Mori Theatricks Line: Cost: $10 Page count: 39 Year published: 2002 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: yes Playtest Review by Nathan Hill on 15/04/02 Genre tags: Science Fiction Modern day Horror Comedy Espionage Vampire Gothic Other	A Review of InSpectres v2.0 by Nathan J. Hill http://www.mysticages.com/ InSpectres : http://www.inspectres.com/ “Fighting the Forces of Darkness So You Don’t Have To” Preface I know Jared Sorensen from fairly regular internet correspondence, so without a doubt, what follows is going to be a bit biased. I first met him in the early days of Gamingoutpost (www.gamingoutpost.com), and we (like others from that collective past) have continued to write, share thoughts, and encourage each other’s pursuits. He asked me to review InSpectres v2.0, and I wasted no time accepting the offer. What Is It? InSpectres is a complete roleplaying game. The game centers around a fictional startup franchise dedicated to the task of exploring and dealing with the supernatural. Players create normal (but often strange) employees of this fast growing company. Adventure after adventure, the employees face a variety of challenges, the franchise grows, and each case gets bigger than the next. InSpectres is available from www.inspectres.com for $10 through Paypal or Money Order. The game comes as a 39 page PDF file with simple cover art and complete game rules. The game’s website features a free startup kit, character sheet, and franchise sheet for download. A variety of mini-supplements are in the works from a number of individuals, but no date was provided as to when those would be made available. The Breakdown: Chapter by Chapter Chapter 1 contains the introduction, design goals, and overview of the world of InSpectres. The most interesting aspect is that the modern world of InSpectres, while similar to our own, sees supernatural events as annoying or just plain embarrassing occurrences. Enter InSpectres, your one stop source for paranormal deliverance. Chapter 2 explains the character creation rules (Agents). Like most of Jared’s games, this process is simple and relies on description and character as opposed to numbers or math. The first step is coming up with a character concept and name. Using that as your base, the next step is to distribute 9 points among four character skills – Academics, Athletics, Technology, and Contact. Finally, you choose one Talent for your character, something that makes him or her especially unique. Character advancement is also covered in this chapter. Chapter 3 covers the creation of the franchise. Once players have created their characters, it is time for them to come together and decide where they work. Basically, each budding franchise gets a number of dice to develop its various features. Those dice can be used to purchase cool equipment or future help in the form of Franchise Cards. Of course, the more dice the franchise gets during this step, the more challenging missions will be for the startups. Chapter 4 discusses the basic game mechanics for InSpectres. Anytime an agent wishes to use a skill, the player rolls a number of 6-sided dice equal to that skill’s number. The highest result out of the roll is compared to a simple chart. A 6 or 5 is not only a success but grants the agent a franchise die. A 1 or 2 results in a possible dire situation for the agent. Overall, the mechanic is very simple. With enough successes, the agents continue toward their goal of solving the mission, recognized by earning franchise dice. Since each mission has a number of franchise dice required to “solve” it, each success opens up a new piece of evidence or plot by the investigators. This chapter also contains rules for using bank dice, teamwork, and the “taking 4" option. Chapter 5 contains rules for dealing with stress. Stress, in game, limits your character’s skill, representing real world difficulties, on the job issues, and even moments of intense fear. The more difficult the situation, the more stress your agent will have. Also, the rules for “cool dice” are covered here. Chapter 6 contains complete rules for playing weird agents. Therefore, you could actually create and develop your own “slimer” or alien agent that fits right in the strange world of InSpectres. There are a few changes from normal character creation for weird agents, but in the end, many of them end up with “cool dice” or other special traits instead. Chapter 7 explains the basic play structure, including the excellent art of confessionals. Confessionals are taken from real world reality shows, where characters take an aside to comment about the current scene. In InSpectres, as characters explore and uncover mysteries and family curses, characters will take confessionals, describing in past tense some piece of the puzzle that allowed their characters to survive the particular scene. This information is usually granted as a new trait to a particular character, allowing them to immediately use it to solve the current situation. Also, this chapter contains information about the private lives of the Agents, client interviews, vacations, character continuity, and more. By far, this chapter alone may be the most meatiest and interesting to gamemasters running InSpectres. Finally, Chapter 8 contains a final word and credits. Closing off the game book, a glossary and and appendix of charts gives the crunchy stuff for printing. If you are interested in the layout and look of the book, you will find InSpectres quite bare. Besides the simple cover art, the game looks like it was formatted in a basic word processing program. Chapters and sections are divided cleanly, and charts are presented in an easy to read format. Beyond that, no special layout exists. I did not notice any typos on my first and subsequent reads (but I am no English major). Gameplay is nothing short of simple and entertaining. Jared made a point to tell me that he is going to put together some demo sessions during Gencon and plans on having them run by someone who has never read the game before. He believes that much in the ease of learning this game. The way InSpectres is setup -- GMs do not have to come to the table with maps, villains, and sketchy plots. The GM merely needs to come up with a basis of the evening's adventure and allow the players to create the rest as the adventure evolves. Since the source material is ready knowledge for most gamers (who hasn't seen Ghostbusters?), this game won't be a problem for experienced or inexperienced groups from the get go. Overall InSpectres is a blast of an indie game. It offers quite a few unique ideas that could spice up any roleplaying experience. Jared considers the game “Narrativist” and with good measure. Within the rules, you will discover that the players have plenty of power in determining the outcome of the mission. Overall, I think it is an excellent example of what is coming out of the indie roleplaying game movement. With all of that taken into account, InSpectres is more than just an interesting download – it is a game worthy to be played.