The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Initial Thoughts

Chaos Principle is an “original cinematic adventure” that reads more like a world book for the Jovian Confederation but does not succeed at being either. Those are harsh words, but it is still a well-produced book with some value to anyone who plans on running a Jovian Chronicles campaign or episode.

As a note Chaos Principle was one of the first supplements for Jovian Chronicles and much of the information contained within has been further fleshed out in other supplements. That said, its value is likely for the Jovian Chronicles completist or a GM looking for help. The book is well organized into six chapters and like every other Dream Pod 9 product is simply incredible from a publishing standpoint, every other publisher should take notice….but they don’t.

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Chapter One: Introduction

This chapter goes through a brief overview of the Jovian Chronicles setting and relates it to the adventure contained later in the book. The nations and characters involved with the plot line are briefly introduced and add in a layer of depth to the plot that GM’s would definitely appreciate as well as the more dedicated player.

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Chapter Two: Story Overview

Delving into further detail where the previous chapter stopped, the “Story Overview” details the major plot lines surrounding the adventure. One plotline is directly related to the adventure at hand, the other is a little bit of thoughtful padding detailing the Martian conflict. Both are important, but the second could be overlooked despite the Jovian Confederation (sort of the good guys) and the CEGA (Earth or sort of the bad guys…) conflict due to the warfare on between the Martian States. The chapter includes a batch of new characters that could translate to new PC or NPC’s. Also the major characters within the framework of the adventure are further detailed in regards to stats, skills, history, attitudes and reactions. All the information is well presented and easily displayed for a GM to consult.

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Chapter 3: Jovian Confederation

The entirety of the chapter is dedicated to the setting, The Jovian Confederation. Culture, law, locations, sociology and groups are detailed with enough information to place the setting into the adventure and act as reference material for an original adventure or campaign. As The Chaos Principle was written before the Jovian confederation sourcebook this was really good information at the time of publishing. The material covered in this chapter is much less valuable now, but it could be used as a good primer for the new players.

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Chapter 4: Adventure Resources

The adventure does a good job of offering a framework for a GM’s adventure or as an adventure in its own right. The core adventure is a compelling story that could act as a framework for a group of characters. Sadly the adventure itself, while a good read, is essentially unplayable. It looks good on paper, but the Chaos Principle itself would require serious dedication by players and a GM to play-by-numbers. The plot is tight and the characters are well defined, it would either be predictable or derail. Neither result is very desired.

After the Choas Principle is presented there are additional resources following up on the Martian conflict and side campaigns. The basic frame work for a police oriented campaign are presented. There are also a few scenarios for the Martian conflict for some giant mecha combat action.

The adventures playability is dubious, its value as a timetable and plot-within-a-plot is solid. Also the adventure serves as a good how to manual for plotting an adventure in the Jovian Chronicles vein.

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Chapter 5: Vehicles and Equipment

There is a great deal of solid and entertaining information. In particular are the various exo-armors (or mecha in the anime vernacular…). Each is given not only game statistics but a service records, variants, capabilities and additional illustrations. Some have a little more information. Some have a little less. Its all good.

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In Summary: Or is it really any good?

If I read Choas Principle before the rest of the Jovian Chronicle supplements were released I would say it is very useful. Now Jovian Chronicles is a solid resource for a GM, but not as valuable for anyone else but a completist.

The Chaos Principle
The Chaos Principle Capsule Review by Wes Johnson on 16/04/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average) Chaos Principle is a beautiful supplement for Jovian Chronicles, whoose looks are only a little more than skin deep. (In other words it is a well published book with some useful information and problems) Product: The Chaos Principle Author: Wunji Lau Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Line: Jovian Chronicles Cost: 20.95 Page count: 127 Year published: 1998 ISBN: 1-896776-24-8 SKU: Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Wes Johnson on 16/04/02 Genre tags: Science Fiction Anime	Initial Thoughts Chaos Principle is an “original cinematic adventure” that reads more like a world book for the Jovian Confederation but does not succeed at being either. Those are harsh words, but it is still a well-produced book with some value to anyone who plans on running a Jovian Chronicles campaign or episode. As a note Chaos Principle was one of the first supplements for Jovian Chronicles and much of the information contained within has been further fleshed out in other supplements. That said, its value is likely for the Jovian Chronicles completist or a GM looking for help. The book is well organized into six chapters and like every other Dream Pod 9 product is simply incredible from a publishing standpoint, every other publisher should take notice….but they don’t. ---------------- Chapter One: Introduction This chapter goes through a brief overview of the Jovian Chronicles setting and relates it to the adventure contained later in the book. The nations and characters involved with the plot line are briefly introduced and add in a layer of depth to the plot that GM’s would definitely appreciate as well as the more dedicated player. ---------------- Chapter Two: Story Overview Delving into further detail where the previous chapter stopped, the “Story Overview” details the major plot lines surrounding the adventure. One plotline is directly related to the adventure at hand, the other is a little bit of thoughtful padding detailing the Martian conflict. Both are important, but the second could be overlooked despite the Jovian Confederation (sort of the good guys) and the CEGA (Earth or sort of the bad guys…) conflict due to the warfare on between the Martian States. The chapter includes a batch of new characters that could translate to new PC or NPC’s. Also the major characters within the framework of the adventure are further detailed in regards to stats, skills, history, attitudes and reactions. All the information is well presented and easily displayed for a GM to consult. ---------------- Chapter 3: Jovian Confederation The entirety of the chapter is dedicated to the setting, The Jovian Confederation. Culture, law, locations, sociology and groups are detailed with enough information to place the setting into the adventure and act as reference material for an original adventure or campaign. As The Chaos Principle was written before the Jovian confederation sourcebook this was really good information at the time of publishing. The material covered in this chapter is much less valuable now, but it could be used as a good primer for the new players. ---------------- Chapter 4: Adventure Resources The adventure does a good job of offering a framework for a GM’s adventure or as an adventure in its own right. The core adventure is a compelling story that could act as a framework for a group of characters. Sadly the adventure itself, while a good read, is essentially unplayable. It looks good on paper, but the Chaos Principle itself would require serious dedication by players and a GM to play-by-numbers. The plot is tight and the characters are well defined, it would either be predictable or derail. Neither result is very desired. After the Choas Principle is presented there are additional resources following up on the Martian conflict and side campaigns. The basic frame work for a police oriented campaign are presented. There are also a few scenarios for the Martian conflict for some giant mecha combat action. The adventures playability is dubious, its value as a timetable and plot-within-a-plot is solid. Also the adventure serves as a good how to manual for plotting an adventure in the Jovian Chronicles vein. ---------------- Chapter 5: Vehicles and Equipment There is a great deal of solid and entertaining information. In particular are the various exo-armors (or mecha in the anime vernacular…). Each is given not only game statistics but a service records, variants, capabilities and additional illustrations. Some have a little more information. Some have a little less. Its all good. ---------------- In Summary: Or is it really any good? If I read Choas Principle before the rest of the Jovian Chronicle supplements were released I would say it is very useful. Now Jovian Chronicles is a solid resource for a GM, but not as valuable for anyone else but a completist.