The ACTIVE EXPLOITS system, available as a free download, is a sharp and flexible piece of game design. With releases like HEARTQUEST DICELESS and DREAMWALKER DICELESS behind him, ACTIVE EXPLOITS author Brett Bernstein has demonstrated that there’s more to diceless play than endlessly prancing around in Roger Zelazny’s Amber. CORPS DICELESS is in many ways a superior product to its dice-bound predecessor. Well-organized, attractive and, most importantly, eminently playable, the game is perfect fit for those roleplayers who enjoy discovering what’s really happening behind the veil of mundane reality.

CORPS DICELESS quickly lays out the modifications and additions to the existing ACTIVE EXPLOITS rules necessary to best emulate the subgenre, and then plunges into the shadowy tangle that is the game’s contemporary setting. There’s a little something for conspiracy buffs of every sort. Alien invaders in CORPS DICELESS come in two different flavors, and are accompanied by secret cabals of world-beating masterminds, mad scientists, time travelers, and even some regular old terrorists. In this world, characters would feel lucky to only have to tangle with al-Qaeda.

CORPS DICELESS is jammed with information on the CORPS world, so much so that it can be overwhelming. The advantage to such a wealth of information, much of it kept secret from the players, is that it can be broken down into manageable pieces, or elements may even be rejected outright, without anyone being the wiser.

It’s remarkable how stylish utility can be. Though CORPS DICELESS’ artwork is kept to a minimum in favor of filling the pages with lots of useful text, PIG has put together a very attractive package. Attention to layout is vital when one is expected to digest so much information, and CORPS DICELESS does not fall down in that regard. The supplement is well-designed and well-organized, with no wasted material. Even the character templates, included to speed start-up, are useful as springboards for players’ imaginations, and a prime indicator of the sort of play one can expect in the world of CORPS.

Roleplayers who get a charge out of THE X-FILES and aren’t afraid to set aside dice in favor of character-driven mechanics shouldn’t waste any time picking up CORPS DICELESS. In an industry where "supplement" generally means rules clutter and useless fluff, CORPS DICELESS takes the ACTIVE EXPLOITS engine and does something sharp and smart with it. Watch your back.

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