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This offering from Contested Grounds Studios is labeled as a pseudo-sequel to their previous game, Cold City, but no experience with it is required to understand Hot War. Instead we are given a mostly complete setting. Hot War is a possible future of the Cold City setting, a setting where the Nazis were experimenting with “twisted technology” to control and create monsters and dimensional oddities. By the time of Hot War, the Nazi twisted technology has made its way into the armaments of nations worldwide, ultimately seeing use in World War 3 to as much destructive effect as the nuclear attacks lobbed between nations. Rather than focusing on the state of the world at large, Hot War narrows its focus to the city of London, one year after the attacks. In the face of monsters, Soviet spies, native terrorists, and other threats, the acting government authorized the formation of the SSG to handle “unusual” problems.
Chapter 1 is the introductory chapter. An authorial foreword, a “one player is the GM” section, a broad overview of the game and more is here. Fairly standard stuff really, but the tone is informal and easy to read, and this tone carries itself well throughout the book. The author also makes it a point to inform players that there are no canonic timelines, alternate history lessons, or the like. To quote the book “this point is vital: the history of the War and its aftermath are yours to create.”
Chapter 2 is the background to the Hot War itself. First we get a vague breakdown of events over the past year, as told through civilian diary entries, news reports, posters, and so forth. Then an “out of character” section gives more detailed information regarding events not known to the common person. We’re also introduced to the Special Situations Groups, or SSG, a group of people drafted by the government from all walks of life and tasked with dealing with spies, terrorists, and the aftermath of twisted technology. It’s assumed that all Player Characters will be part of the SSG.
Chapter 3 covers character creation. In place of traditional attributes and skills, characters have three stats: Action (covering all physical functions), influence (covering all social functions), and Insight (covering all intellectual functions). Each stat starts with 1 point in it, and players have 5 additional points to divide between the three, with a maximum rating of 5 in any single stat. Characters also have three positive and two negative “traits”, short sentences or phrases that describe some aspect of the character. Positive traits are strengths about the character, while negative traits are limitations on him in some way.
Of special note is the concept of “hidden agendas” in character creation. These are goals that the character has which, assumedly, are hidden from the other characters. One goal is personal and unique to the character, while the character’s second goal is related to those he works for. While such a concept isn’t really new, Hot War requires players to assign a rating of 3, 5, or 9, with each rating giving 4, 3, or 2 bonus dice respectively. These bonus dice can only be used for rolls which further the completion of the hidden agenda, and they can only be used a number of times equal to the agenda’s rating before the goal is considered “completed”, setting the stage for a future scene that plays out the completion of the hidden agenda. After a roll is made, the result of the roll is marked down as either positive or negative, and the tally of these results is used in shaping the completion of the agenda, with each positive result leading to something good for the agenda and each negative hurting the agenda’s outcome.
Notice I said “agenda’s outcome” and not the character’s? That’s because some characters may have a hidden agenda they’d rather see fail, like a character who is ordered by his superiors in the RAF to betray his trusted companions in the SSG by stealing secure documents for the RAF. In these circumstances players may choose to only use their agenda dice on rolls that are related to the agenda, but also likely to fail. It’s at this point that I do think the book feels just a tad bit disorganized, as it’s not until later that we learn what happens when a hidden agenda is “completed”, and what the process is for characters to get a new agenda.
Assigning your character’s relationships follows next. Each character starts with 8 points to divide between four or more positive relationships (for relationships that are supportive and empowering) and three for negative relationships (for relationships that are abusive or stifling). No relationship can be higher than 4 (an all consuming relationship), but they can start at 0 (an indifferent relationship). Each character must have a relation connecting them to another party member, a connection to the faction they represent outside the SSG, a connection to someone in their personal life, and a connection to an antagonistic figure to them. I really like the idea of relationships, as they provide a mechanic for connecting players and encouraging them to help flesh out the rest of the world. Again though, reading the text I’m not really sure how relationships work or what mechanical features they have.
Another really neat point in character creation that stands out is the idea of “photographs”. Before a campaign begins, each player contributes a couple of fairly vague images from the upcoming story that the party should try to work into the game. There are no mechanical bonuses or modifiers provided by this, but it does help give the GM fodder for scene descriptions while helping players get in the mood of the game.
Chapter 4 covers playing the game, and finally explains how to use all the stuff introduced in the previous chapter. Players build pools of ten-sided dice, starting with their relevant stat, bringing in any relevant traits or relationships, and using dice from the hidden agenda if they choose to and it’s relevant to do so. Whoever rolls the highest dice wins, and the more dice you have that are higher than your opponent the more successful you are; in case of ties, the tied dice are discarded and the next highest dice are compared. The number of successes rolled is then applied to consequences. Consequences allow one character to change another in pretty much any (mundane) way they can think. Relationships can be destroyed or forged, a negative trait can be removed or created, or a trait of the character can be protected or made vulnerable once more. And characters can also be killed, driven mad, or forced into catatonia. As long as it makes sense, and the character has enough successes, it can happen.
Players can also bring “tools” into their dice pools as well; tools being some item that could aid a character but isn’t part of said character. A gun, a document, a person, almost anything could be a tool. And while any number of items can be brought into play, only one actually grants the “tool” bonus of two dice. If a tool is deemed inappropriate to the task at hand it can be vetoed out by another player, and only made permissible if a –third- player allows it. And for those who wonder, a character in Hot War can be quite easily killed with a single attack.
It was around this point in the text I realized that Hot War is pretty much designed not as a “story telling game” but more of a “story sharing game”. In Hot War’s sample text, one character shoots and kills another. Out of game, the players discuss what the results of one shooting the other should be. While there doesn’t have to necessarily be any such discussion, the game’s emphasis on character agendas, relationships, and traits almost encourages players to think in terms of an overall story rather than life-taking, looting, and leveling. GMs still hold importance and sway of course, but the game is directed more towards a group effort rather than the GM being in full control at all times.
The rest of the chapter covers NPC creation, including a spiffy little table for creating NPCs in one roll, as well as NPC motivations, rules for group NPCs, sample detailed NPCs, and monsters. For those wondering, there are stats and some fairly vague information for five fairly different monsters provided.
Chapter 5 is all about the various organizations characters may owe loyalties to outside of the SSG. All have been touched by the war, damaged and drained of supplies. Each has strengths and goals that are in conflict with the others. None of them work well together, which is bad for London but great for creating drama inside a game. I can’t tell how much of this chapter is meant as an homage to the Paranoia RPG, and how much it’s meant to reflect an urge in the human psyche to band up against your neighbors, but I find it amusing that there is a hidden group of Soviets running about London who were stranded when the USSR invaded England.
Chapter 6 covers London and beyond. First things first, there is no map. All the areas mentioned here and elsewhere in the book are up to players to locate on their own if they want to know where they are in relation to one another. That said the descriptions in the chapter are crisp and fairly evocative. Lots of potential story ideas are scattered throughout, and it really conveys the feel that the London of Hot War is a London that was prepared for attack, just not the attack they got. Above ground London erects barricades that will do it little good against atomic bombs and twisted technological horrors. Below ground humanity seems to be slowly retreating into bomb shelters and paranoia. People haven’t given up yet, but it’s pretty bleak and there’s little to look forward to.
Chapter 7 is the appendixes. An interesting section on inspirational media refers to quite a few relevant shows and films I’d never heard of. Links to relevant and useful websites are offered, including links to maps and more information on some of the historic elements and sites mentioned elsewhere in the text. Blank sheets, an author’s afterword, and a spiffy one-sheet player’s primer (for telling players what the defaults of the game are) are included. I think more games might benefit from the use of one-sheet primers but in a game like this, where players are expected to shape the setting from the start, such a thing is very handy to have.
For Style I’m giving this one a low 5. Starting with a default of 3, I ratchet it up several notches for the quality of the art work. I didn’t care for the use of (I’m assuming) Poser software in a few pieces, but the overall quality was excellent. The images of devastation and despair were excellent, the posters conveyed both mood and information, and the background art and layout were also quite well done. More points are awarded for the intro fiction and general writing style throughout. The presentation is nothing revolutionary or bar setting, but it’s very good and something I might loan out to friends and think they’d enjoy just flipping through it. That’s worth bumping to a 5 for me.
Substance gets a high 4 from me. Going with a default of 3 again, I give it points for having a decent index, a useful table of contents, and examples of almost every single rule and option out there. It loses a bit for not having any maps, but not much. My real issue on the substance front is that it feels a bit sparse in places to me. For a game about monsters threatening London in 1963 there’s very little in the book about the monsters and even less about the ‘60s. As it is, to my ignorant mind the game works almost exactly the same set in a war devastated London in the year 2008 without any monsters. If the game fleshed out the setting a bit more in regards to the ‘60s and added some more information on using twisted technology and monsters in a game, I’d bump this up to 5.
Who Should Get This Game? Fans of rules-lite mechanics will likely find Hot War to be quite enjoyable, as the game handles everything in an abstract but functional manner. Those who would like an apocalyptic setting that’s more plausible and realistic may also find Hot War fun, as the supernatural elements are easily ignored or removed entirely. Gamers looking for a gritty espionage type of setting might find this game entertaining, with its various groups in secret conflicts with one another. Finally those who like games that encourage player input into setting development may find Hot War to be stimulating and fun.
Who Shouldn’t Get This Game? Those who like to feel that their characters are super-human, or get to grow to be such, will be disappointed in a default game of Hot War. People who like concrete systems where combat is conducted in a tactical manner would be best off looking elsewhere, as would those who like task resolution to be extended out over the course of several rolls. Also people looking for new monsters or mad science to “idea mine” for other games may likely be disappointed; Hot War has them, but only a few pages worth. Also, those who want to just “roll some dice and smack some orcs” may find the game’s emphasis on character driven stories and conspiracies to not be all that fun.
In Conclusion, Hot War is really good. Which was surprising to me because it wasn’t the game I was hoping it would be. I was looking for something I could beat into a “Deadlands: Hell on Earth – England” and instead I got a gritty game focused on normal people trying to get by as civilization begins to turn to fascism and fragmentation. Truthfully, I was really disappointed at how brief the attention given to monsters was, and even more so the lack of information regarding the twisted technology of the setting. But the simple story-driven mechanics, emphasis on player input in setting building, and quality of what really was there won me over. Hot War won me over for doing well what it set out to do.
