CHARACTERS
Player characters, by default, are Dead Inside (living body, no soul), but there are other possibilities: Ghosts (No body, soul), Zombis (dead body, no soul), Sensitives (living body, amped-up soul), and Magi (people who use souls to power their wicked plans). Actually playing any of these would require some sophistication and might unbalance a game, so GMs would be wise not to allow too much diversity at first. Character generation is a snap – the system is loose and open in format, and my players, accustomed to FUDGE, were quite comfortable with it. Basically, you answer seven questions, assign a few points, and go. There are virtues and vices (modeled after the classic Christian traits, but with notes on customizing them if you prefer), Qualities (like “rakishly handsome”, “ballroom dancing”, and “mad scientist”), and Special Qualities (like “bind”, “change landscape”, and “soul-taking”). Finally, you have soul points (or, for starting characters, a single lonely soul point), which are the macguffins around which the entire game rotates.
The “object” of Dead Inside (at least, the most obvious goal for PCs) is to acquire enough soul points to “regain” their soul and once again become complete. This involves accumulating soul points, which can be done in a variety of ways:
“Soul Points are awarded to PCs by the GM for many reasons: roleplaying spiritual cultivation, as a reward for tasks performed in the service of an Imago, or successfully conquering a negative aspect of themselves. They represent the drops of soul-blood possessed by a character, measure how close a Dead Inside character is to becoming ensouled or husked … and provide an source of power for the Abilities of SQs…Soul Points can also be taken away from a character's pool by the GM if their actions are soul-rotting, negative, or evil….”
This means the game has a built-in moral compass of sorts, since PCs will be working toward a definite goal – one that requires wisdom, kindness, self-knowledge, and occasionally a little ass-kicking. Rebuilding your soul isn’t the only way to play, but it is the way the game was designed and is probably the most rewarding. It is by far the most interesting feature of the game.
There are rules for quality checks, conflict and combat, which are supportive of the setting and emphasize quick resolution. These rules are coherent and playable, and my group had no trouble picking them up. Dead Inside includes a lot of examples of play, which are helpful.
SETTING
Although the thought of a street-level game of soul-recovery in Manhattan might sound tempting, that isn’t really what DI is about:
“The setting of DI is split between two worlds: the Real World and the Spirit World. While the adventures of the strange beings … of DI begin in the Real World, the Spirit World is where the real action is. Scenarios can be set in either world, as well as weirder places -- like within the dreams of a little girl, on the surface of a gigantic dead god's skull, or even inside a Soul Egg…”
A lot of pages are devoted to the Spirit World, which is a very specific setting with clearly defined locations and NPCs. It is a unique and challenging setting, probably unlike any you’ve seen in many ways, and there is an entire chapter of GM advice, which is a Good Thing. Since the playtest was the first time in twenty years of gaming that I had ever used a world I didn’t design myself (weird but true), I struggled with the complexities of the default setting. I suspect that if you are used to pre-existing worlds to game in, this won’t be an impediment.
There are a bewildering array of critters in the Spirit World - Imagos, Qlippoths, Tulpas, Free Spirits, and more, all of whom have a place in the cosmology that is internally consistent.
The spirit world is dominated by The City, which is an “everything is possible” sort of gathering place:
“The City is the cynosure of the Spirit World: almost all events of import happen inside its walls. Like cities in the Real World, it's where souls congregate. Day or night, season by season, it hums with the activity of the Dead Inside, Sensitives, Magi, and others that walk its streets.”
Although it is by nature fluid and transformative, many locations in The City are static and detailed for the GM. Several are key to the mechanics of the game world – Temenos Chapel, for instance, is an essential location in the process of regaining your soul.
The primary medium of exchange in the Spirit World is intangible – memories, dreams, and experiences. These can be shared equitably or lost permanently; the latter being far more valuable and dangerous. It is possible to “import” and barter with physical objects, but it is not as common.
A number of City NPCs, locations, and objects are sketched out. The vignettes that run through the text also help to give a feel for the setting.
OTHER STUFF
The game is very complete – there are rules of spiritual conflict, descriptions of various threats beyond the walls of The City, and lots of cool plot hooks waiting to be used. Thankfully, there is a thorough glossary and bibliography (I understand this has been expanded since the playtest). The rules are rounded out by a very detailed introductory adventure that could easily form the basis for an entire campaign. It is not scripted and offers a lot of variety, catering to different styles of play. The nice thing about the way it is structured is that various threads that players choose to ignore can be brought back later with some nice internal logic. There is a lot of value to this, and the adventure also serves as a model for how to set up and run a DI game.
CONCLUSION
As I noted at the beginning of this review, DI is probably not for everyone. The setting is well-defined, which is either a blessing or a curse, depending on your preferences. The underlying mechanics are simple and it would be easy to repurpose, but many of them are tied in tightly to the setting. If you groove on the stock setting, you’ll absolutely love this game. If it doesn’t ring true for you, or your players, you are better off with something else. That being said, I know that the author has been mumbling about some intriguing directions in which he plans to extend the game, including a gritty, back-home-on-planet-earth supplement that might appeal to anyone turned off by the dreamlike nature of the Spirit World.
Go take a look at the bibliography the author has outlined over in the Ads/Open Promo forum – if the references get your blood pumping, you’ll definitely want to check out Dead Inside.
