The Inside Scoop on Gaming

"Ah like you. Ah vill kill you last."

”They killed the mayor, shot your dog, terrorized the good citizens of your town, and now they have your daughter at gunpoint…

Somebody’s Gonna Pay!”

(E.V. rule book cover)

Overview:
This RPG is a testosterone-fueled, action packed, flexing, well-armed homage to action adventure movies. Assuming the roles of summer blockbuster characters, the PCs are the Arnolds, Van Dammes, and Stallones of the world, fighting villainy where ever it may lurk with unshakable confidence and unlimited firepower.

The game’s designed with a no-brainer action/ humor theme, with no plot being more complex than that of Rambo XXIII. PCs are never in doubt as to who the bad guys are, and what to do about it. Total annihilation of the enemy and rampant property damage are strongly encouraged.

Mechanics
Any semblance to realism was joyfully ignored by the designers, who have crafted a game system that provides the most generic rules guidelines that coherency allows. This provides for ample opportunity to try all the heroic and completely implausible actions movie stars pull off, such as steering your BMW with your toes while firing an M-60 out the sunroof as you jump the rising drawbridge… in reverse.

Players design characters by choosing a Descriptor and a Designator.
Descriptors are simple adjectives that sum up your PC’s cliché’d outlook on life or main physical characteristic. “Grim”, “Pumped Up”, and “Maverick” are examples of Descriptors.
Designators denote profession, and serve as the “class” types. These are things such as Outlaw, Cop, Soldier, and Scholar.
Put ‘em together and you get Acrobatic Fighters, Bumbling Common Champs, or Suave Agents.

Players have two - count ‘em, two - stats in Extreme Vengeance: Guts, and Coincidence.
Guts is used to determine your effort in any action. Players have a Guts rating of generally 4-7 to begin, depending on your descriptor/ designator combo. Your Guts equals the number of d6’s available during a single turn to attempt anything. Guts also serves as Hit Points for PC’s.

When a PC wants to try something, both the player and the GM roll dice; if the player’s roll is higher than the GM’s roll, his character succeeds (the GM naturally rolls more dice for more difficult tasks).
Players may decide during a turn sequence exactly how many dice they’re using for a particular task. Any leftover Guts points may be used for other actions in the same round.
For example, if I have a 4 Guts (and therefore 4 dice), I can decide try to punch a guard with, say, 2 of those 4 dice. I roll 2d6, and try to beat the GM’s roll. Whether or not I succeed in the attack, I still have 2d6 left over to either attack again that round, or use for another action. If I’d really wanted to be sure I hit the guard, I could have allotted all four Guts points, and rolled 4d6.

Coincidence is a handy trick that lets you save your butt or otherwise simplify your life. Spending Coincidence points works just like spending Guts, only Coincidence points spent disappear for the remainder of the game session. Players simply state the coincidental effect that they want to happen, and if your Coincidence check succeeds, voila! There ya go!
For instance: While setting explosives around the bad guy’s camp, your character’s surprised by a guard pointing an AK-47 at your back. You could spend Coincidence to have the guard step right in the middle of a coil of fuse wire. If your check succeeds, you yank the wire and trip the guard, so that his gun slides from his hand right to your feet. What a coincidence!

To round out a PC, you receive skills, known as your Repertoire. Every skill mimics an editing gimmick used in movies. These range from combat advantages (Go Ballistic, Gratuitous Violence, Miraculous Recovery, Extreme Slo-Mo) to amusingly stupid (Product Endorsement, Subtitles, Soundtrack). Every one can be useful, however, and the players are urged to come up with exciting ways to work them into the session.

With these advantages come the “No Goods”, however. The NG’s are stupid things that your PC must accept as part of their celluloid fate. These are things such as Bad Bonk (your PC gets knocked out at least once a game), Defective Props (your gun/ scuba gear/ laptop malfunctions at a critical moment), and Pray for Miracle (you figure it out…)

What’s it all for? Popularity, of course! What else would action adventure icons crave? Instead of XP, players in Extreme Vengeance gain Popularity for killing guys, blowing crap up, using their Repertoire skillfully, etc. This means that more people are turning out to see your flicks. When you gain enough fame, you earn more feats to your Repertoire, or more Guts or Coincidence points, thereby allowing you to wreak more havoc on matinee villains!

Combat is fast and fairly simple. Enemies are divided into groups in order of importance to the plot: “Extras” are no-named weasels like guards, who are taken out with one good punch. “Supporting Cast” members are harder to get by, and are bodyguard types or skilled secondary characters. “Feature Roles” are PC-types, the main villains and actors in the movie, and they’re easily as difficult to kill as PC’s.

Weapons (or any type of attack) are simply divided up generically by size, per The Rule of Boom, which states that the bigger the weapon, the bigger the Wound it inflicts. Guns will hurt a target, but Big Guns will hurt more. Very Big Guns hurt a lot, and Friggin’ Big Guns often blow up vehicles.

The designers offer several genre suggestions, in case you want your game to take place in Medieval surroundings, a la Conan the Barbarian, or the far future, per Aliens, or the Western era, such as The Magnificent Seven.

The GOOD:
Funny, funny. While this is not a game I’d want to make a regular campaign out of, it certainly makes a great one-time session when you feel like delving into some less-serious role-playing. The simplicity of the rules allows for smooth and quickly-resolved action, while the cliché-based theme requires so very little explanation that anyone who’s ever seen a Chuck Norris movie can begin play immediately.

This should be considered a Feng Shui Lite, for gamers familiar with that (superior) Atlas Games product.

The NEUTRAL:
I’ll use this space to mention the accessory booklet, Maximum Damage. This 30 page “expansion” rule book is mostly crap. It adds a few more items to the Repertoire list, and another page or two of optional fighting rules, but there’s damn little else worth paying for. (Now, I got the supplement cheap on Ebay, so I’m not complaining. But the original cost for the booklet was $8.00, and I’m seriously tellin’ you I don’t think I woulda’ paid that much for this.)

Anyway, most of Maximum Damage is devoted to examples of weapons or gimmicks from actual movies that players can use in their game. Like the Holy Water Super Soaker used against vampires in From Dusk Til Dawn. Gee, thanks; I never coulda’ thought of that on my own.
There are a few more pages where the authors suggest potent combinations of Repertoire feats, but again, any gamer with a double-digit IQ could figure these out in no time.
Stick with the main rule book and forget Damage.

The EVIL:
The authors intended the game to be silly and farcical. However, the writing style grates on the nerves something fierce. The authors insist on writing in a jokey, used-car-salesman banter, making wisecracks and editorial comments every paragraph. It’s supposed to be lighthearted and amusing, but it’s eventually annoying as all hell. I’m trying to read about the effects of a Repertoire feat, or a combat rule, and there’s 12 extra lines of witty (and frequently incoherent) flavor-babble mixed into the paragraph.

Also, some serious editing could have been applied here. You know the quote I opened this review with, from the back cover?
"… they have your daughter…” was actually spelled “they have you daughter…”

Dude, that’s right on your cover. What the heck? Right by the price. Did you think that’d be a good selling point? It gets little better inside. While the writing style causes headaches, the poor grammar and misspellings cause confusion and disdain. I have little respect for a professional publication that can’t bother to proofread its material a bit.

RATING: TWO DICE (out of five)
The only reason this game is getting two dice instead of one is because of the impressively cheap cost of the booklet(s). At ten bucks for the main rules, that’s a bargain, even with the above Evil notes.
I would indeed recommend Extreme Vengeance to a group looking for stupid, mindless fun, as long as they weren't terribly concerned with a polished set of extensive rules. But I'd recommend this game for the fun play style, not its design value. This is definitely better suited to experienced role-players, not novices.

This game review was brought to you courtesy of the Penderyn Campaign Group. Please visit our website at http://jumper.dynip.com/campaign for more reviews and other gaming material.

Extreme Vengeance
Extreme Vengeance Capsule Review by Christopher Cecil on 16/02/03 Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 2 (Sparse) Blowing Crap Up, Good. Well-Designed Product... Not So Good. Product: Extreme Vengeance Author: Tony Lee Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Archangel Entertainment Line: Extreme Vengeance Cost: 10.00 Page count: 78 Year published: 1997 ISBN: SKU: AAE1000 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Christopher Cecil on 16/02/03 Genre tags: Modern day Comedy	"Ah like you. Ah vill kill you last." ”They killed the mayor, shot your dog, terrorized the good citizens of your town, and now they have your daughter at gunpoint… Somebody’s Gonna Pay!” (E.V. rule book cover) Overview: This RPG is a testosterone-fueled, action packed, flexing, well-armed homage to action adventure movies. Assuming the roles of summer blockbuster characters, the PCs are the Arnolds, Van Dammes, and Stallones of the world, fighting villainy where ever it may lurk with unshakable confidence and unlimited firepower. The game’s designed with a no-brainer action/ humor theme, with no plot being more complex than that of Rambo XXIII. PCs are never in doubt as to who the bad guys are, and what to do about it. Total annihilation of the enemy and rampant property damage are strongly encouraged. Mechanics Any semblance to realism was joyfully ignored by the designers, who have crafted a game system that provides the most generic rules guidelines that coherency allows. This provides for ample opportunity to try all the heroic and completely implausible actions movie stars pull off, such as steering your BMW with your toes while firing an M-60 out the sunroof as you jump the rising drawbridge… in reverse. Players design characters by choosing a Descriptor and a Designator. Descriptors are simple adjectives that sum up your PC’s cliché’d outlook on life or main physical characteristic. “Grim”, “Pumped Up”, and “Maverick” are examples of Descriptors. Designators denote profession, and serve as the “class” types. These are things such as Outlaw, Cop, Soldier, and Scholar. Put ‘em together and you get Acrobatic Fighters, Bumbling Common Champs, or Suave Agents. Players have two - count ‘em, two - stats in Extreme Vengeance: Guts, and Coincidence. Guts is used to determine your effort in any action. Players have a Guts rating of generally 4-7 to begin, depending on your descriptor/ designator combo. Your Guts equals the number of d6’s available during a single turn to attempt anything. Guts also serves as Hit Points for PC’s. When a PC wants to try something, both the player and the GM roll dice; if the player’s roll is higher than the GM’s roll, his character succeeds (the GM naturally rolls more dice for more difficult tasks). Players may decide during a turn sequence exactly how many dice they’re using for a particular task. Any leftover Guts points may be used for other actions in the same round. For example, if I have a 4 Guts (and therefore 4 dice), I can decide try to punch a guard with, say, 2 of those 4 dice. I roll 2d6, and try to beat the GM’s roll. Whether or not I succeed in the attack, I still have 2d6 left over to either attack again that round, or use for another action. If I’d really wanted to be sure I hit the guard, I could have allotted all four Guts points, and rolled 4d6. Coincidence is a handy trick that lets you save your butt or otherwise simplify your life. Spending Coincidence points works just like spending Guts, only Coincidence points spent disappear for the remainder of the game session. Players simply state the coincidental effect that they want to happen, and if your Coincidence check succeeds, voila! There ya go! For instance: While setting explosives around the bad guy’s camp, your character’s surprised by a guard pointing an AK-47 at your back. You could spend Coincidence to have the guard step right in the middle of a coil of fuse wire. If your check succeeds, you yank the wire and trip the guard, so that his gun slides from his hand right to your feet. What a coincidence! To round out a PC, you receive skills, known as your Repertoire. Every skill mimics an editing gimmick used in movies. These range from combat advantages (Go Ballistic, Gratuitous Violence, Miraculous Recovery, Extreme Slo-Mo) to amusingly stupid (Product Endorsement, Subtitles, Soundtrack). Every one can be useful, however, and the players are urged to come up with exciting ways to work them into the session. With these advantages come the “No Goods”, however. The NG’s are stupid things that your PC must accept as part of their celluloid fate. These are things such as Bad Bonk (your PC gets knocked out at least once a game), Defective Props (your gun/ scuba gear/ laptop malfunctions at a critical moment), and Pray for Miracle (you figure it out…) What’s it all for? Popularity, of course! What else would action adventure icons crave? Instead of XP, players in Extreme Vengeance gain Popularity for killing guys, blowing crap up, using their Repertoire skillfully, etc. This means that more people are turning out to see your flicks. When you gain enough fame, you earn more feats to your Repertoire, or more Guts or Coincidence points, thereby allowing you to wreak more havoc on matinee villains! Combat is fast and fairly simple. Enemies are divided into groups in order of importance to the plot: “Extras” are no-named weasels like guards, who are taken out with one good punch. “Supporting Cast” members are harder to get by, and are bodyguard types or skilled secondary characters. “Feature Roles” are PC-types, the main villains and actors in the movie, and they’re easily as difficult to kill as PC’s. Weapons (or any type of attack) are simply divided up generically by size, per The Rule of Boom, which states that the bigger the weapon, the bigger the Wound it inflicts. Guns will hurt a target, but Big Guns will hurt more. Very Big Guns hurt a lot, and Friggin’ Big Guns often blow up vehicles. The designers offer several genre suggestions, in case you want your game to take place in Medieval surroundings, a la Conan the Barbarian, or the far future, per Aliens, or the Western era, such as The Magnificent Seven. The GOOD: Funny, funny. While this is not a game I’d want to make a regular campaign out of, it certainly makes a great one-time session when you feel like delving into some less-serious role-playing. The simplicity of the rules allows for smooth and quickly-resolved action, while the cliché-based theme requires so very little explanation that anyone who’s ever seen a Chuck Norris movie can begin play immediately. This should be considered a Feng Shui Lite, for gamers familiar with that (superior) Atlas Games product. The NEUTRAL: I’ll use this space to mention the accessory booklet, Maximum Damage. This 30 page “expansion” rule book is mostly crap. It adds a few more items to the Repertoire list, and another page or two of optional fighting rules, but there’s damn little else worth paying for. (Now, I got the supplement cheap on Ebay, so I’m not complaining. But the original cost for the booklet was $8.00, and I’m seriously tellin’ you I don’t think I woulda’ paid that much for this.) Anyway, most of Maximum Damage is devoted to examples of weapons or gimmicks from actual movies that players can use in their game. Like the Holy Water Super Soaker used against vampires in From Dusk Til Dawn. Gee, thanks; I never coulda’ thought of that on my own. There are a few more pages where the authors suggest potent combinations of Repertoire feats, but again, any gamer with a double-digit IQ could figure these out in no time. Stick with the main rule book and forget Damage. The EVIL: The authors intended the game to be silly and farcical. However, the writing style grates on the nerves something fierce. The authors insist on writing in a jokey, used-car-salesman banter, making wisecracks and editorial comments every paragraph. It’s supposed to be lighthearted and amusing, but it’s eventually annoying as all hell. I’m trying to read about the effects of a Repertoire feat, or a combat rule, and there’s 12 extra lines of witty (and frequently incoherent) flavor-babble mixed into the paragraph. Also, some serious editing could have been applied here. You know the quote I opened this review with, from the back cover? "… they have your daughter…” was actually spelled “they have you* daughter…” Dude, that’s right on your cover. What the heck? Right by the price. Did you think that’d be a good selling point? It gets little better inside. While the writing style causes headaches, the poor grammar and misspellings cause confusion and disdain. I have little respect for a professional publication that can’t bother to proofread its material a bit. RATING: TWO DICE* (out of five) The only reason this game is getting two dice instead of one is because of the impressively cheap cost of the booklet(s). At ten bucks for the main rules, that’s a bargain, even with the above Evil notes. I would indeed recommend Extreme Vengeance to a group looking for stupid, mindless fun, as long as they weren't terribly concerned with a polished set of extensive rules. But I'd recommend this game for the fun play style, not its design value. This is definitely better suited to experienced role-players, not novices. This game review was brought to you courtesy of the Penderyn Campaign Group. Please visit our website at http://jumper.dynip.com/campaign for more reviews and other gaming material.