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But I'm glad to say that I was wrong to worry. Friends is an absolutely excellent book.
The book is designed a guide for running groups of PCs as part of a themed 'team-style' FS campaign. However, it does far more than that. Liberally scattered throughout the suggested campaign styles, there are enough plot ideas, character tweaks and new ideas to keep even a seasoned FS GM happy.
The first chapter deals with creating PCs as part of a pre-arranged team or group, rather than as individuals. It also introduces the idea of "shows", campaign themes based on group types (as in: "OK guys, this is going to be a cop show set in LA..."). Right from the off it makes the point that the usual "everyone starts in the same bar" methods for bringing groups together can be a little flimsy at times. "How is it that the widowed sorcerer, the abomination and the ex-cop all wind up in the same place, let alone choose to work with one another? Why should this be the sole duty of the GM? Why not turn the task over to the players? Let them think about the experiences and relationships that bind them together."
In one of several very nice little touches throughout this book, it also points out that all of this can be equally used for bad guys. Bad guy groups can - "in fact, they probably should" - benefit from the same group schticks, advantages and the like as PC groups.
The book lists several sample ideas for a group backstory - ranging from everyone seeking revenge against the same evildoer to everyone being students of the same martial arts school, perhaps now moved on to other things - and then goes on to ways to build a new group from the ground up, once you've picked your theme, show and history.
At this point, it also suggests the use of flashbacks. One-shot scenarios where one player plays through some key event in his past, that either defines some characteristic or that led to him joining the group, etc. In the meantime, the other players each take on the role of one of his friends and allies at the time - effectively swapping their regular characters from play to spend one session as, say, the other members of Bob's Buro SWAT team on the job that convinced him to quit and flee to the contemporary juncture.
That idea seems good to me on many levels and is a Cool Thing (tm) worthy of inclusion in any game.
The book goes on to deal with the problems of, say, including a Cop and a Killer in the same group, two characters with little surface reason to work together. For this, as it does all the way through, Friends follows the example set by the FS main rulebook and points out that it's the game of action movies. And how many times in such mismatched action pairings do you hear dialogue like: Cop: "I still don't trust you." - Killer: "I don't like this either, but what choice do we have?" It should happen in the game because it happens that way in the movies, and a good time is consequently had by all. Friends also points out the potential pitfalls of new characters joining established groups (the Scrappy Effect - one of numerous Scooby-Doo references throughout), another good point.
Readers of other FS supplements may have found some of the new schticks or powers - notably those in Golden Comeback - overpowered, underpowered or overcomplicated. It was a great pleasure to read through the new 'Group Schticks' section without pausing to raise an eyebrow once. They are, IMO, uniformly cool and do a fine job of modelling the kind of resources, powers or talents groups, from the FBI to the Scooby Gang, have access to in the movies. Genre-emulation again, and done brilliantly.
For example, should any member of a group with the 'Don't You Die On Me' schtick collapse, dying, with a death check outcome from -1 to -13, a team-mate can sit by their side, hold their hand and keep them talking and alive through the pain. So long as the team-mate does all that to the exclusion of all else, the patient clings to life for one time increment longer than they would otherwise. However, if they stop for any reason, the patient instantly reverts to their original survival time, including any time that's passed. So if the Cop leaves his buddy's side because his team is getting cut to pieces and need his help, and the dying buddy is already past his normal time of death, he'll die as soon as the Cop goes.
Cinematic perfection. The Cop comes back, realises what's happened, that his buddy is dead. Shouts "Nooooo!" as the rain comes down.
Characters can also purchase any of half a dozen 'Sync Schticks' - teamwork-related schticks that get better the more members of a team have them. Fighting back to back, warning your comrades "Behind you!" before the bad guy strikes, that kind of thing. And again, all fine. The worst I could say about them is that a couple of them I might be tempted to allow as stunts instead, but that'd be it.
Chapters 2-6 detail five possible show types - Cop, Crime, Espionage, Action Family, and the last, intended as a tongue-in-cheek addition, Sentai. Each is split into five chunks - the pitch (quick possible series ideas), setting the stage (possible themes and settings for the genre), props (any special rules or equipment needed for this sort of thing), scripting (the types of action or adventure found in a given show), and the Secret War (how to tie the show in to the Secret War). At the end are 2-3 sample shows and the details, group schticks and the like suggested for each.
These chapters are excellently handled. While I've seen a lot of police thrillers, for instance, it's nice to have a concise exploration of the common themes, stereotypes, protagonists, possible plot elements and story types and so forth in one place, as well as an exploration of how different archetypes fit into a show that on the surface may have nothing to do with them. They also talk about how each show type would work in the non-contemporary junctures as well, how they compare, what special elements you could throw in as part of each juncture's unique flavour.
The Sentai show option is the only one that's a little different. It's put forward more as an alternate way of playing FS, rather than a type of show within the standard FS framework. And while it's interesting, because it isn't something that gels easily with standard FS, it's of limited application. Personally, I'd rather have seen a chapter on either a Horror or Conspiracy show (as although they can be covered by another type, primarily the Action Family show, I would have liked to have seen a full take on either genre).
The book ends with a two-page appendix of guidelines on using PC-controlled mooks (which one of the group schticks allows for).
As to more general matters, the presentation is Atlas' FS standard. A couple of typos in the text (oh, and they've obviously copied 'n pasted the copyright notice in the front from Iron & Silk), but the writing is nice and clean overall, and it is extremely readable. Art is different than usual, consisting purely of fake posters for movies to be used as inspiration, I assume, for show pitches. The 'Black Lotus' one is repeated, but apart from that they look very much like the real thing, perfect accompaniment.
Overall, Friends of the Dragon is a top-notch book and a worthy addition to anyone's FS collection, newbie or old-timer.
