The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Boston Massacre

for The End

by Derek Guder and Joseph Tierney

Tyranny Games LLC

http://www.tyrannygames.com

92 pages, digest size, perfect bound

$16.95

ISBN: 0-9709109-5-9

Grade: B

Reviewed by Lisa Padol

This is a very ambitious adventure. It is not easy to run, and perhaps could not be, given the authors' goals.

Fortunately, it is easy to read. The first chapter is an introduction to and overview of the scenario, while the second describes the key players and the situation in Boston before the scenario begins. Chapter Three is a brief description of New England, and Chapter Four is the adventure itself, broken into four acts. The three appendices offer general advice for running the scenario, a new prestige class, and stats for key NPCs and critters.

The PCs should be designed to have a real stake in the city of Boston, a rare bright spot in the world of The End, where God abandoned what was left of humanity after the Rapture. A group of refugees from New York City seek to join the community, and an army from Washington DC attacks. As the second act of the scenario ends, Boston needs supplies and allies. The PCs are part of one of the groups sent out to look for them. As they forage, they learn that the refugees have brought a plague with them. The PCs must race back to Boston, whereupon the community must decide what to do with the refugees.

Unlike the scenario from the first edition of The End, The Boston Massacre presents a genuine ethical dilemma. And the PCs should be the ones who influence what decision gets made. The scenario is, deliberately, a skeleton on which to hang the moral dilemma. That is, the final decision about what to do with the refugees is the one scene everything else builds to. Usually, I would recommend starting the scenario with the key scene that Must Happen, and deciding that the set up happened offstage. However, this is not practical if you want the players to feel that they and their PCs have any emotional connection to Boston or the refugees. If you are to have a full scenario, rather than an adventure seed, you need to do a fine balancing act between railroading the PCs and risking losing the climax of the adventure.

The authors do an admirable job of keeping this balance. They provide a structure, while recognizing that events may be derailed. This is sensible. Very experienced GMs may need no more than the core dilemma, but one cannot write solely for them. Thus, the authors presume that the GM will have the PCs meet the refugees first. They describe how this can be set up, and they discuss a few possibilities for how the meeting might go. They describe key points of the battle for control of Boston. They discuss what to do if the PCs fail to put clues together, and they consider several possible resolutions of the refugee dilemma.

The Boston Massacre has refreshingly little system specific material in the book, making the scenario quite transplantable. Indeed, the core plot could be lifted into almost any setting. The layout is clean, and the art, while not brilliant, is competent and fits the text. There is no bimbo art.

The loose structure of The Boston Massacre suits the focus of the scenario, but is still extremely tricky to run. While the authors have succeeded in making it possible for most GMs to run it, regardless of experience, it is still not easy. Nevertheless, if you want to try a challenging scenario that is very different from most of what is out there, it is worth the effort.

The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre Capsule Review by Lisa Padol on 23/11/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Not your usual scenario, The Boston Massacre centers around an ethical dilemma. The structure is loose enough to be flexible, but present enough to give GMs some guidance. Product: The Boston Massacre Author: Derek Guder and Joseph Tierney Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Tyranny Games LLC Line: The End Cost: $16.95 Page count: 92 pages, digest size, perfect bound Year published: 2002 ISBN: 0-97091909-5-9 SKU: Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Lisa Padol on 23/11/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Horror Post-apocalyse Other	Boston Massacre for The End by Derek Guder and Joseph Tierney Tyranny Games LLC http://www.tyrannygames.com 92 pages, digest size, perfect bound $16.95 ISBN: 0-9709109-5-9 Grade: B Reviewed by Lisa Padol This is a very ambitious adventure. It is not easy to run, and perhaps could not be, given the authors' goals. Fortunately, it is easy to read. The first chapter is an introduction to and overview of the scenario, while the second describes the key players and the situation in Boston before the scenario begins. Chapter Three is a brief description of New England, and Chapter Four is the adventure itself, broken into four acts. The three appendices offer general advice for running the scenario, a new prestige class, and stats for key NPCs and critters. The PCs should be designed to have a real stake in the city of Boston, a rare bright spot in the world of The End, where God abandoned what was left of humanity after the Rapture. A group of refugees from New York City seek to join the community, and an army from Washington DC attacks. As the second act of the scenario ends, Boston needs supplies and allies. The PCs are part of one of the groups sent out to look for them. As they forage, they learn that the refugees have brought a plague with them. The PCs must race back to Boston, whereupon the community must decide what to do with the refugees. Unlike the scenario from the first edition of The End, The Boston Massacre presents a genuine ethical dilemma. And the PCs should be the ones who influence what decision gets made. The scenario is, deliberately, a skeleton on which to hang the moral dilemma. That is, the final decision about what to do with the refugees is the one scene everything else builds to. Usually, I would recommend starting the scenario with the key scene that Must Happen, and deciding that the set up happened offstage. However, this is not practical if you want the players to feel that they and their PCs have any emotional connection to Boston or the refugees. If you are to have a full scenario, rather than an adventure seed, you need to do a fine balancing act between railroading the PCs and risking losing the climax of the adventure. The authors do an admirable job of keeping this balance. They provide a structure, while recognizing that events may be derailed. This is sensible. Very experienced GMs may need no more than the core dilemma, but one cannot write solely for them. Thus, the authors presume that the GM will have the PCs meet the refugees first. They describe how this can be set up, and they discuss a few possibilities for how the meeting might go. They describe key points of the battle for control of Boston. They discuss what to do if the PCs fail to put clues together, and they consider several possible resolutions of the refugee dilemma. The Boston Massacre has refreshingly little system specific material in the book, making the scenario quite transplantable. Indeed, the core plot could be lifted into almost any setting. The layout is clean, and the art, while not brilliant, is competent and fits the text. There is no bimbo art. The loose structure of The Boston Massacre suits the focus of the scenario, but is still extremely tricky to run. While the authors have succeeded in making it possible for most GMs to run it, regardless of experience, it is still not easy. Nevertheless, if you want to try a challenging scenario that is very different from most of what is out there, it is worth the effort.