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Chaos Principle is the first in the line of Original Cinematic Adventures (OVA) for Jovian Chronicles. It is a sourcebook, adventure, tactical add-on and campaign guide for Jovian Chronicle. However, unlike The Paxton Gambit for Heavy Gear, the Chaos Principle does not succeed on all these points very well.

As a sourcebook, Chaos Principle shines. It introduces more info about the colonies in the Jovian Confederation, and general life in the Jovian Confederation. It introduces some of the key personalities in the Confederation, such as President Alexandra Itangre. A power-hungry woman who you really, really do not want to piss off.

As a campaign guide, Chaos Principle is also excellent. It shows a number of serious developing plot lines that any GM can turn into strong campaigns - the civil wars on Mars, the heightening tension between the Jovian Confederation and Earth, and more.

As a tactical add-on...well, it is passable. It does introduce some serious new exos and hovertanks. And the three tactical scenarios are each very interesting. But JC Tac Gamers (if there really ARE any) won't be overly thrilled with their total purchase for what they get.

As an adventure, Chaos Principle delievers the least. Oh, there is a great adventure storyline buried in the book. But that's just it - it is buried. Parts of it are easily excavated, but other parts will need a savvy GM to develop. Particularly, the beginning of the adventure will need serious GM attention to get things to run properly. The end...well, the ending is damned impressive.

Visually, this book is up to DP9's usual standards of greatness for layouts and illustrations. Most notable is the fact that the characters in Chaos Principle come from every racial and ethnic background - big cheers to DP9 for showing that the future is a multicultural place.

So, overall, a nice book. It does not fufill all four roles well, but what is there is pretty darn good. With a little work from a dedicated GM, Chaos Principle will add a lot to any JC campaign.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Chaos Principle - Jovian Chronicles Original Cinematic Adventure (OVA)
Author: Wunji Lau Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Capsule Review by Robert E. Allen III on 07/26/98. Genre tags: none	Chaos Principle is the first in the line of Original Cinematic Adventures (OVA) for Jovian Chronicles. It is a sourcebook, adventure, tactical add-on and campaign guide for Jovian Chronicle. However, unlike The Paxton Gambit for Heavy Gear, the Chaos Principle does not succeed on all these points very well. As a sourcebook, Chaos Principle shines. It introduces more info about the colonies in the Jovian Confederation, and general life in the Jovian Confederation. It introduces some of the key personalities in the Confederation, such as President Alexandra Itangre. A power-hungry woman who you really, really do not want to piss off. As a campaign guide, Chaos Principle is also excellent. It shows a number of serious developing plot lines that any GM can turn into strong campaigns - the civil wars on Mars, the heightening tension between the Jovian Confederation and Earth, and more. As a tactical add-on...well, it is passable. It does introduce some serious new exos and hovertanks. And the three tactical scenarios are each very interesting. But JC Tac Gamers (if there really ARE any) won't be overly thrilled with their total purchase for what they get. As an adventure, Chaos Principle delievers the least. Oh, there is a great adventure storyline buried in the book. But that's just it - it is buried. Parts of it are easily excavated, but other parts will need a savvy GM to develop. Particularly, the beginning of the adventure will need serious GM attention to get things to run properly. The end...well, the ending is damned impressive. Visually, this book is up to DP9's usual standards of greatness for layouts and illustrations. Most notable is the fact that the characters in Chaos Principle come from every racial and ethnic background - big cheers to DP9 for showing that the future is a multicultural place. So, overall, a nice book. It does not fufill all four roles well, but what is there is pretty darn good. With a little work from a dedicated GM, Chaos Principle will add a lot to any JC campaign. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Chaos Principle - Jovian Chronicles Original Cinematic Adventure (OVA)