The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Note: There is a little story that goes on behind this review. Listen closely. I was contacted by Valdron, Inc. to do a review for their new RPG product, Multiverser. I agreed and we entered into an agreement to do a review for them. I visited their site, looked at the previews for the product, and was very impressed. I was looking forward to doing the review. Soon after, I started receiving parts of the Multiverser RPG. Shortly after starting (within the first 50 pages), I noticed certain trends and statements that immediately discouraged me off the game. I e-mailed Valdron and let them know, that a review that I would do for their game would probably not receive the highest markings and offered to let them retract their review from me. They agreed that I should continue with the review, and which I have, which you can read below. I must give Valdron, Inc. a certain courageousness, that allowed them to let me continue with my review.

On to the review…

Immediately after visiting their website, there are some immediate problems with this product. The first thing, is the extraordinarily prohibitive price of $50.00! While it may be several hundred pages, that is a little steep for an RPG, but not unheard of.

One of the things that first attracted me to do the review was the great idea for dimension hopping PC's and what looked like good adventure ideas. They do this part of the game very well, coming up with some neat concepts and ideas that could prove to be a lot of fun for GM's and players alike.

I am not going to go into the intricacies of the RPG system behind the Multiverser product. This is yet another case of someone converting a complicated set of house rules into what they thought would be a serviceable universal role-playing system. However, in this instance, this did not work and produced a well-laid out, but highly intricate role-playing system that is really much more work than it should have ever been. As an example of the intricacies of the system, there are at least three mathematicians listed in the credits. In my mind, a game system should be quick and easy to learn, this system falls short of providing those criteria.

One of the very imaginative ideas of the Multiverser RPG is the idea of "scriff". This substance within the game gives the characters a form of immortality as they re-incarnate in different dimensions, whenever they happen to get snuffed. I liked this idea. I liked this idea a lot and thought it was probably the crowning point of the game. The rules for scriff are straightforward unlike many of the other rules within the book.

They have some very massive listings in this game for all the skills that are included with the game. This might be a good idea, if you can manage to fit them within a reasonable amount of pages. My personal preference is to balance the amount of system material with the background/world material. Here, it seems they have gone a bit overboard and you are left with pages and pages of skills, with a good deal of background material, but you pay dearly for it. Suffice it to say that as a GM, there is little chance that you will not find a skill that you are looking for or one very similar to it. Of course, I am not going to go into the intricacies of their skill umbrellas. Once again, the rules here bog down what could have been a very good part of this game.

While part of their marketing statement within the game was their trying to cater to experienced GM's, at points in the rules, they go so far as to break down surprise into two different types of surprise and to tell GM's that if you don't have a lot of time to perform a skill, it is more difficult. Now, as an experienced GM and player, I can tell you, that any GM worth your time had better have these simple things figured out far before he starts any major game such as this.

The art that was supplied with my copy of the book (electronic) was far below industry standards. The artwork was mostly amateurish, and never really rose above mediocre. This can be overlooked if the game is good enough. With Multiverser, this is just another mark in the list of reasons not to buy this game.

I do need to make note of some of the religious overtones within this game. Some of which offended me as to their blatantly Christianity-is-the-only-right-religion statements. When trying to sell a product to a market that I like to think is rather open-minded to most of these things, telling your audience "Judaism is an incomplete expression of the truth of this God, and that certain other religions (among them Mormonism and Islam) are heretical extensions and variations thereof" is not usually a good idea. Telling them that "polytheism is a spiritually bankrupt religious philosophy" is also not up on my list of ways to sell your game. If you have an opinion about the way your world works and must put into your game, make sure you let people know it. Market it as a Christian RPG or some such thing, but handing it out blindly to RPG'ers as a whole will only get you into trouble.

Included with the main source book is the First Book of Worlds. A collection of sample dimensions and beginning adventures with which the GM can introduce his PC's to the Multiverse. This book was the one I was most looking forward to reading. After the extremely dry reading of the main book, this was a welcome refreshment, which showed some promise. Many of the scenario's are well thought out and have a good deal of data (unlike some supplements by other companies, they do a good job of giving you enough information) so that a GM would have little to do to get up and running with the given scenarios. Some of them are a little hokey, but for the most part, I would suggest that Valdron remove the system from this part of the book and offer it as a generic supplement for any universal role-playing system.

This has been a bit of a blanket overview and I hope this gives you some idea of the product that I reviewed. As a whole I would not recommend this product to new GM's or experienced GM's. There are too many flaws with a system that is burdened by someone else's idea of how an RPG should be run. Wasting fifty bucks on this product would only leave you with fifty dollars worth of paper and a few good ideas. Instead spend the money on a couple of good supplements for your favorite RPG, or for beginning GM's pick something a little less daunting (AD&D, Earthdawn, GURPS) and wait on this one.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Multiverser RPG
Author: E. R. Jones, M. Joseph Young Category: game Company/Publisher: Valdron, Inc. Cost: $49.95 Capsule Review by Paul Franklin on 08/03/98. Genre tags: none	Note: There is a little story that goes on behind this review. Listen closely. I was contacted by Valdron, Inc. to do a review for their new RPG product, Multiverser. I agreed and we entered into an agreement to do a review for them. I visited their site, looked at the previews for the product, and was very impressed. I was looking forward to doing the review. Soon after, I started receiving parts of the Multiverser RPG. Shortly after starting (within the first 50 pages), I noticed certain trends and statements that immediately discouraged me off the game. I e-mailed Valdron and let them know, that a review that I would do for their game would probably not receive the highest markings and offered to let them retract their review from me. They agreed that I should continue with the review, and which I have, which you can read below. I must give Valdron, Inc. a certain courageousness, that allowed them to let me continue with my review. On to the review… Immediately after visiting their website, there are some immediate problems with this product. The first thing, is the extraordinarily prohibitive price of $50.00! While it may be several hundred pages, that is a little steep for an RPG, but not unheard of. One of the things that first attracted me to do the review was the great idea for dimension hopping PC's and what looked like good adventure ideas. They do this part of the game very well, coming up with some neat concepts and ideas that could prove to be a lot of fun for GM's and players alike. I am not going to go into the intricacies of the RPG system behind the Multiverser product. This is yet another case of someone converting a complicated set of house rules into what they thought would be a serviceable universal role-playing system. However, in this instance, this did not work and produced a well-laid out, but highly intricate role-playing system that is really much more work than it should have ever been. As an example of the intricacies of the system, there are at least three mathematicians listed in the credits. In my mind, a game system should be quick and easy to learn, this system falls short of providing those criteria. One of the very imaginative ideas of the Multiverser RPG is the idea of "scriff". This substance within the game gives the characters a form of immortality as they re-incarnate in different dimensions, whenever they happen to get snuffed. I liked this idea. I liked this idea a lot and thought it was probably the crowning point of the game. The rules for scriff are straightforward unlike many of the other rules within the book. They have some very massive listings in this game for all the skills that are included with the game. This might be a good idea, if you can manage to fit them within a reasonable amount of pages. My personal preference is to balance the amount of system material with the background/world material. Here, it seems they have gone a bit overboard and you are left with pages and pages of skills, with a good deal of background material, but you pay dearly for it. Suffice it to say that as a GM, there is little chance that you will not find a skill that you are looking for or one very similar to it. Of course, I am not going to go into the intricacies of their skill umbrellas. Once again, the rules here bog down what could have been a very good part of this game. While part of their marketing statement within the game was their trying to cater to experienced GM's, at points in the rules, they go so far as to break down surprise into two different types of surprise and to tell GM's that if you don't have a lot of time to perform a skill, it is more difficult. Now, as an experienced GM and player, I can tell you, that any GM worth your time had better have these simple things figured out far before he starts any major game such as this. The art that was supplied with my copy of the book (electronic) was far below industry standards. The artwork was mostly amateurish, and never really rose above mediocre. This can be overlooked if the game is good enough. With Multiverser, this is just another mark in the list of reasons not to buy this game. I do need to make note of some of the religious overtones within this game. Some of which offended me as to their blatantly Christianity-is-the-only-right-religion statements. When trying to sell a product to a market that I like to think is rather open-minded to most of these things, telling your audience "Judaism is an incomplete expression of the truth of this God, and that certain other religions (among them Mormonism and Islam) are heretical extensions and variations thereof" is not usually a good idea. Telling them that "polytheism is a spiritually bankrupt religious philosophy" is also not up on my list of ways to sell your game. If you have an opinion about the way your world works and must put into your game, make sure you let people know it. Market it as a Christian RPG or some such thing, but handing it out blindly to RPG'ers as a whole will only get you into trouble. Included with the main source book is the First Book of Worlds. A collection of sample dimensions and beginning adventures with which the GM can introduce his PC's to the Multiverse. This book was the one I was most looking forward to reading. After the extremely dry reading of the main book, this was a welcome refreshment, which showed some promise. Many of the scenario's are well thought out and have a good deal of data (unlike some supplements by other companies, they do a good job of giving you enough information) so that a GM would have little to do to get up and running with the given scenarios. Some of them are a little hokey, but for the most part, I would suggest that Valdron remove the system from this part of the book and offer it as a generic supplement for any universal role-playing system. This has been a bit of a blanket overview and I hope this gives you some idea of the product that I reviewed. As a whole I would not recommend this product to new GM's or experienced GM's. There are too many flaws with a system that is burdened by someone else's idea of how an RPG should be run. Wasting fifty bucks on this product would only leave you with fifty dollars worth of paper and a few good ideas. Instead spend the money on a couple of good supplements for your favorite RPG, or for beginning GM's pick something a little less daunting (AD&D, Earthdawn, GURPS) and wait on this one. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 2 (Sparse)