Apologies for the lateness of this review. Although I had intended to write it at the same time as my QAGS review a couple of weeks back, University assignments and such managed to catch up with me... *sigh* it's a tough life at times...
When I first pitched the idea to my local gaming group that I needed to playtest a game of QAGS for a review I feared that we would once again have the usual nonsense that comes with running a one-off. Especially with the aid of Benn - a friend of mine who has an unusual predeliction for creative uses for animals in roleplaying games. (One is instantly reminded of the 7th Sea campaign with the flying, exploding pig dressed in a musketeers outfit... don't ask.) The reason I mention this is that
Terror at Camp Waka' Naka manages to do something somewhat unexpected - it creates the perfect set-up for a great game regardless of the group you play with.
This is of course also due, in no small part, to the incredibly flexible
QAGS game system itself. But first...
The Bad
There is little bad to mention about TACWN. The presentation is fairly hokum - a typical indie style pamphlet filled with grainy photos - I must mention at the get go that I didn't like the choice of style for the interior art. The cover has a beautifully campy "movie-poster" like presentation. Also given the very B-grade slasher flick scenario within, the Blair Witch style photography was somewhat conflicting with the written material. That is about my only gripe...
Freedom - and a story!
Why aren't these guys writing for a bigger games company? The basic storyline for TACWN is fairly standard slasher fare. The players take the roles of camp counselors who are helping to set up Camp Waka' Naka before all the little kiddies show up. Unfortunately they are being stalked by a serial killer. I can't really say more than that because it will spoil the fun of the game - but needless to say that a lot of silly thriller fun ensues with the body count slowly increasing. Or not... it's up to the players.
This is where TACWN shines - the game has four acts which split the story up in the same manner as a movie. But there is no "the players do this, then they do this, then they do this..." material. Instead there is a list of the likely NPCs the players may meet at each point, and tips for the GM as to when the action should move to the next act. The rest of the book simply gives heaps of tips for how to repsond to player actions. Essentially this game has a large degree of replayability solely because different gaming groups - and different PCs - will behave in insanely different ways, leading to many diverging paths.
For example, in our playtest the players never left the camp grounds - they stalked around, hunting the killer while trying to hinder each other's progress. (Even to the point where suddenly at the big climax one of the players revealed HE was the son of the serial killer! Even I hadn't seen that one coming!) Yet there were provisions in the book for a trip to the nearby town, meetings with quirky locals - a whole heap of possibilities with nary a comment saying that it had to be used. Combined with the tips in HEX's excellent
Spooky supplement, we had what was possibly the best three-hours gaming anyone in our group had enjoyed in ages.
Conclusion
Simply put,
QAGS flexible and entertaining gaming style is definitely put on show with this supplement. Furthermore, TACWN would translate easily into most other game systems. Keeping the adventure both linear and flexible is so easy that it is amazing that so many other games writers haven't done it before. I'm telling you guys out there now - hire these two authors! They are good!
I must say that any game that manages to have a Voyeuristic Nun with a Colt pistol taking on a Scouser Jock with a club while a nihilistic depressive is relied upon to save everyone without degenerating into a farce has GOT to be good!
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(Due to spamming, old forum discussions are no linked.)