JAGS: Have-Not Review by C. Demetrius Morgan
Synopsis
Have-Not is the post-apocalypse world and setting supplement for use with
JAGS, the Just Another Role-Playing System. The supplement covers rules for mutants, artifacts, vehicles, and most things that either lurk, ooze, or might be found in a radioactive wasteland. JAGS Have-Not supplement is comprised of 13 files, 12 core "books" and supplementary "booklets" available in PDF format and 1 jpeg map of the environs of the Bonyard. Each PDF is well laid out, neatly presented, and contains either black and white or full color illustrations, sometimes both. The quality of illustrations varies and some appear to have been made in homage to classic post-apocalyptic game art of yesteryear. Have-Not can be found here: JAGS Post-Apocalypse.
This review is rather lengthy. It weighs in at approximately 10-pages, then again this review is an overview of a system and setting, compares said setting to existing games within the genre, and attempts to provide initial impression feedback. That said you might want to let the page load and save it to your hard disc to read locally, as time permits, and so you can use notepad or your favorite word processor to note any comments you’d like to make after fully digesting the contents. If you’d like to print this review out to read at your leisure away from the computer a plain text version of this review is available as a PDF formatted for printing and can be found here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Fantastic_Creations/. Just log in, go to the files section, and open the folder with the articles, download JAGS_HaveNot.PDF, and print.
The Books
Have-Not: Armor and Weapons
A 48-page sourcebook of armaments available for use in the Have-Not milieu. The book covers everything from mundane firearms to exotic plasma weapons.
Have-Not: Artifacts
This 41-page PDF is subtitled "Stuff of the Ancients", and that pretty much gives you an idea of what this book is all about. However also mixed in with the lists of artifacts and assorted treasures are glimpses into the setting.
Have-Not: Character’s Book
The requisite player’s handbook. Weighs in at an astounding 76-pages detailing the core character archetypes, stereotypes, rules of character advancement, and even provides rules for character levels.
Have-Not: Monsters Book
This is a 68-page bestiary covering diverse creatures from Binary Sirens and War Pigs to all manner of bizarre monstrous mutant beasties that your worst wet-the-bed nightmare probably dreamed up as a child. Beasties are presented in categories with descriptive names like "Urban Monsters", "Things in the Ruins", and "Terrors of the Unknown".
Have-Not: Revelations
This is the classic "GMs guide" sort of behind-the-scenes booklet to the campaign world. While only 24-pages it manages to cover a lot of ground, raising not a few interesting questions while flinging a few hints here or there about possible directions in which JAGS Have-Not setting could be further developed.
Have-Not: Ruins Book
Want to know what happened to those Haves cities after the Age of War? This is the book. Not only is Have-Not Ruins full of 31 pages of game related information on running adventures in those ancient skeletal structures there's all manner of attention-grabbing hazards, weaponry, and treasures detailed.
Have-Not Travel Guide
Subtitled: "Depopulated Planet: Your Travel Guide to the Known World". This 34-page PDF is a mine of background information and setting material.
Have-Not: World Book
This is a 57-page setting primer covering the basic stock background, tips and hints for developing the setting further, what an average town might be like, dinosaurs, weather, hazards, and most of what you’d expect to find in any campaign book. While the rules allow latitude for GM interpolation very little should be needed.
In addition to the above 8 core PDF books there are also three smaller booklets containing supplementary rules for Animal Templates, Sample Vehicles, Revised Combat, and a 300 DPI (roughly 800x1200) JPEG of the Boneyard. All available for download.
Summary
The Setting: Post-apocalyptic science fantasy. The stock setting outlined in the Have-Not World Book (see above) is stark in its simplicity and, while not entirely original, is compelling without coming across as grossly derivative. You've read it before, in different styles and by various ways, the fall of our world. The apocalyptic death of civilization that brings about civilization's quick implosion and the resultant moral decay that occurs in the aftermath, an aftermath that stretches on into a long night of intellectual devolution that leaves only scars. Scarred land. Scarred minds. Scarred survivors. The legendary glories of the past- from the wonder technologies of science and medicine to the convenience of grocery stores- that is the old world, it was the world of the Haves. That world doesn't exist anymore. The Have-Not World Book details the world that came after. It is a "post-apocalypse .. mutants-and-machineguns world book" in which the world of the Have-Not, populated by survivors of the Age of War, is outlined in detail. But what somber melancholic detail it is! One city remains. A city encircled by poisonous wastes and toxic mudflats. A lone city. Solitary sentinel bearing mute witness to the world that was. That city is aptly named Boneyard. In this "smoking, burning, vomiting industrial powerhouse" life, such as it is, continues. And beyond the city, beyond the poison wastes, beyond the scorching deserts? If you had a map it would proclaim in crimson shades of foreboding type: Here there be mutants!
The Game: If you don’t like mutants with strange powers or kewl body types in your games, instead preferring the gritty realism of decaying flesh and puss filled boils covering survivors bodies, then this may not be your post-apocalypse. It’s a poisoned, monster infested, dangerous toxins in the water and radiation in the air world full of mutants, cyborgs, and worse.
The System: JAGS claims to be "a multi-genre, universal role-playing game .. for gamers who want a flexible system that can simulate everything". So far the world books releases have endeavored to showcase the systems versatility. Even so that claim remains quite the bold statement for it places a burden upon the rules, one of genre expectations. Not every system is suited to every genre, to cover and adequately meet those requisites with rules capable of properly simulating the feel and style of the genre are Herculean tasks. A quick glance at JAGS Basic reveals a essentially straight-forward system that, while on the surface appearing rules-lite, having three core attributes, yet is actually quite crunchy. Indeed any system with nine derivative secondary attributes can hardly be thought of as anything less.
However it is difficult to properly assess JAGS in its currents state as it is a system in transition. A "JAGS-2" has been mentioned and, while reading the Have-Not World Book it is plain that a major revision to the combat system may have occurred. One assumes other revisions are pending. That said the system for Wound Levels, taken at a glance, comes across as being a bit overly convoluted with players left to assess potential damage points inflicted based on whether a hit scores a "minor", "sub-minor", "major", or "critical" wound as gauged against the characters current "Condition Level". Less patient players will quickly want to scream: Enough already! On the upside this system does appear to add a level of realism that would likely translate well for use in a CRPG where such factors can be assessed automatically.
And what do actual players of JAGS think about the system?
"I've played in games with rules so insubstantial you can see through them, and I've played in games so dense they bend light around them. JAGS is like a Hummer, solid, well built and comfortable, but not exactly a sports car." - flyingmice
Character Creation: The 76 page Have-Not Character‘s Book immediately sets the stage by presenting the settings 5 basic character archetypes. The characters you can play include: Cyborgs, Mutant Humans, Intelligent Animals, Telepaths, and Genetically Stable Humans. Sound familiar? Of course it does. JAGS uses a point based character creation system, alas Have-Not doesn’t seem to do much with it. There does not appear to be any expansion or genre specific elucidation upon the system presented in the JAGS Basic book. Therein it states that the amount of points received are largely based upon "the scenario or campaign" thus one would expect a genre relevant chart to be found in the Character‘s Book for players to be able to reference so they can immediately sit down and jump feet first into creating a character suited to Have-Not. Well the Have-Not part of this supplement’s title shines through here, for it had nothing of the sort that I could find. Minor quibble.
The Mechanics: JAGS utilizes three core STATs- Physique, Reflex, and Intellect- with nine secondary statistics- Strength, Build, Size, Constitution, Eye-Hand Coordination, Reaction Speed, Agility, Reason, Memory, Willpower- to create a well rounded system that endeavors to live up to the systems stated goal. Too, many of the STATS bear names reminiscent of a cross between classic Palladium and Chaosium's BRPS systems, thus ensuring a broad range of gamers can sit at the gaming table with an immediate sense of passing familiarity with basic underlying rule concepts. The system itself is very skill oriented, characters abilities are essentially their chosen skills, so if you are used to game in which characters gain abilities according to a class structure you may have a few preconceived notions to shed. Thee are also the equivalent of advantages and disadvantages, much like in GURPS.
Initial Impressions
Very nicely done. Especially for a "freebie" that can be downloaded by anyone without restriction. Some of the photo-shopped artwork looks to have been turned in prematurely, but that’s largely a matter of personal opinion and has very little to do with the actual content otherwise. It was a lot of fun to read through the files, which is probably an indication of my bias for the genre. Strange as it may sound ever since I bought my first copy of Gamma World in the mid-eighties there’s just been something magical about those wonder technology filled post-apocalyptic settings with their death machines and crazed near immortal cyborgs. That’s why I bought Wasteland, an early CRPG gem and precursor of Fallout. In all honesty the detailed background setting and helpful aides to determining a tone and style of play really wowed me. However, sometimes you have to take a step back, cool your heels, and ask yourself what casual gamers might think. With that in mind let us continue on to. .
The Nitty Gritty
First impressions are everything. They are the nitty gritty, down and dirty, may not be accurate but are what tends to be remembered. Keeping that in mind this section of the review treats the PDFs from a would-be player or Game Master’s perspective. That means a casual reader who has found the PDFs, is looking at them for the first time, and may be considering whether or not they are worth their time to sit down and work with. That said, the first thing any of us look at in a role-playing game once we find one with a setting that catches our fancy is how to create a character. The same holds true for Game Masters, sure all that wonderful background information is great to read, but whether I am going to play in this or run it I need to know how characters are created. First, foremost, and always the golden rule that must be obeyed is not to confuse players. It just makes the Game Master’s job more difficult. More than that you need to grip the attention of the reader. If you do not grip their attention up front by presenting casual readers with the nitty gritty details to bring them into what they are reading and become invested on a personal level they will not play the game. More than that, in the commercial world, that game will not be bought because people picking it up don’t feel like the game speaks to them. Which means it sits on the shelf, unread and unloved. That is sad.
So it comes as not great surprise that the first sentence in the Have-Not Characters book is: "This book tells you how to make characters." A clear statement, very short and succinct, nothing to worry about here. Right? Alas what comes as a surprise is that the book then proceeds to present wonderfully detailed flavor text but, 20-pages into the document, and I, casual would be player reading this material for the first time, are left scratching my head wondering what the heck players are supposed to do to generate a character. Do we need to reference one of the other JAGS sourcebooks, and if so which one? Doesn't say. What dice might we need, if any? Doesn't say. What are archetype points? They seem very important, but what is their purpose? Do players just choose a race and mark that down on a scratch sheet of paper?
For those paying attention JAGS is supposed to use a point based character creation mechanic. And did those first few pages after that statement provide a chart with a list of character points or a summary of the character creation process? No, those first 20 some-odd pages, sans flavor text, sans descriptive background information, have left me, casual reader, with not the first inkling of a direction where a clue on how to make a Have-Not character can be found. This must be fixed. Do not pass go, do not collect 100 domars. A thumbnail overview of the character creation process is required here, upfront, right after that first sentence. As a Game Master I will tell you bluntly that I don’t want players coming to me with basic questions that player handbooks should already have answered. It is usually a bad sign. As a player, uhm, what were we talking about?
Yep, that’s right, we players are little bundles of barely paying attention nerves. We are walking poster children for attention deficit disorder. Yes it is very interesting how cyborgs are created and fit into the world, now make me care enough to not only want to create one but let me know how! Otherwise I would suggest that sentence be amended to read: "This book details the character archetypes and stereotypes available for play in Have-Not. For details on how to create a character please refer to JAGS Basic." And leave it at that. Of course that is also what I, ADD poster child player will likely do, leave it at that. We players don’t like to be bothered with details, like reading. That’s for the GM, we are here to suck up soda and eat chips. ;-)
Also there are references like: "Check out the Approach chapter in the first book." Fine, great, a nicely detailed reference. Problem: which of these PDFs is supposed to be the first book? They aren't numbered, you know. I hazarded a quick guess that what was meant was the "World Book". Lucky me I was right. I highly suggest editing this to say "World Book" and not "in the first book" as that sort of vague statement is likely to confuse some. Remember most casual gamers reading these PDFs are 99.998% going to have their first exposure to the JAGS system in the source books. So far I have been wowed with background information. But where are the rules we need, shouldn’t that be presented up front? And those references to material outside the PDF we are currently reading, they need to be a bit more clear and concise.
Ok, so I am glancing at the Approach section. Still not telling me anything about the steps necessary to create a character. Lots of good solid background information and detail on setting up a role-playing session though. But what does this have to do with character creation? Nada, zilch, zippo. *sound of baby Gygax weeping*
In summary: Mr. Casual reader has dumped out of the file after glancing at a few paragraphs. Frustration level building over his lack of ability to figure out what’s going on Mr. Casual reader decides he don’t need this stress. As a player with a short attention span you have just lost him. Granted Ms. Overworked GM might be interested. She really likes the background material and loves the flavor text. However this material has a steep learning curve, as such it would pose some difficulty to less focused players, and probably exacerbate a few ulcers. The worst that can happen here is that Mr. Casual reader deletes the file and moves on to the next target in his queue. No great loss there, right? Perhaps. Then again had this material drawn him in Mr. Casual reader may have decided that leeching files is a waste of time, found some friends, and come to a new appreciation for the future while having fun blasting apart its fictional remains.
Appraisal
In the initial summary above I mention how familiar certain of the character archetypes seem, and well they should. Such characters are expected of any game set in the post-apocalyptic genre, after all there can only be so much deviation from the standard tropes. Of course there are distinctive styles and flavors within post-apocalyptic settings. Some are Biblical in scope, their apocalypse being one of hellfire raining down upon the earth and soul slavering demons unleashed to devour the living. There are planetary invasions where slavering demonoid aliens descend upon our world and wreak havoc, leaving behind widespread devastation. But the classic of the genre is perhaps the far-flung science fantasy post-apocalyptic setting in which rumors of wars found and cryptic legends of the world that was, a world of wonders beyond imagining, are all that remain to survivors. Not much of an explanation for the dangerous ruins that litter the land, yet it’s been the tried and true archetypal backdrop of many post-apocalyptic role-playing games.
Many are probably wondering just how original the material presented is in relation to other post-apocalyptic RPGs. There are a number that can be found on the Internet, freely available for download just like JAGS Have-Not. So how does the background and setting compare? Does Have-Not meet basic genre expectations?
Following are brief comparative summaries of Have-Not to other RPGs in this genre:
Have-Not vs. Darwin’s World
Possibly the first d20 publication to tackle post-apocalyptic science fantasy Darwin’s World presents a campaign setting where skeletal hulks of bombed out cities, shattered domed megalopolises, radiation storms, and roving bands of mutants dot the countryside. Available characters are either Humans or Mutants (arranged in three categories) with a minimal number of class types presented. Darwin’s World is available in print and as commercial PDFs and is currently in its 2nd edition. For all intents and purposes Darwin’s World is a hodge-podge of fermenting ideas, borrowed wholesale from genre classics like Gamma World and Fallout, tossed into a gas powered Wasteland blender and strained through a Mad Max filter. Whereas Have-Not is more a contemplative Genesis II PAXer roaming the shattered remnants of that city from Logan’s Run. Compare for yourself:
http://www.darwinrpg.com/.
Have-Not vs. Gamma World
Of all the post-apocalyptic role-playing games with material available on the net, freebie or otherwise, there are perhaps none with more material than Gamma World. It is a classic.
Gamma World D20 (fan conversion)
Of all available "fan" material none covers more ground, or is more concise, than this unofficial Gamma World D20 conversion. There are some basic similarities in character types- Pure Strain Human, Altered Human, Mutant Animal, Android, Sentient Plant, Symbiotic Plant- quite the parallel to Have-Not. However GWD20 uses classes that are very different from the stereotypes presented within Have-Not. Too, the major drawback here is there is little to no setting material provided. Like the SRDs this document provides little more than stat blocks. The upside is this conversion draws on nearly all previous Gamma World editions for source material, including the
Alternity version and even Dragon magazine articles. And how well are the conversions done? Judge for yourself: http://www.angelfire.com/games/Alterniverse/gammad20.htm.Gamma World D20 PHB (commercial product)
This is one of the newer licensed products in the D20 Modern line. Yet it’s been a loudly proclaimed ‘fact’ D20 is a floundering leviathan that refuses to die and, depending on who you talk to, poorly edited products like this are fetid maggots feeding on the still wriggling corpse. That said, I personally don’t know whether that is the case or not, certainly the fact this is the third D20 related post-apocalyptic setting being discussed would seem to indicate otherwise. This incarnation of Gamma World presents four genotypes (character races): Stock Humans, Pure Strain Humans, Mutants, and Synthetics. As in Have-Not much ado is made about the "Final Wars" with all manner of wonder technologies hinted at in the flavor text. While there are androids, cyborgs, telepaths, and marvels of pre-Final Wars technology the background in place is constructed on very similar foundations to that in Have-Not. Alas the consensus is there were too many cooks in the kitchen on this project working without managerial oversight, which translates into a setting many find vague and unfocused. Some argue the lack of a cohesive underlying setting relegates the Gamma World PHB to being a tool-kit of little utility, but is that a fair assessment? Judge for yourself:
http://www.swordsorcery.com/gammaworld/.Have-Not vs. Paragon: Apocalypse
This 74-page PDF vision of post-apocalyptic science fantasy is roughly similar to Have-Not in the way that cheddar and gouda are both cheeses. For instance PA presents four core character races- Human, Menton, Mutant, and Mutated Animal- verses the five archetypes presented in HN. There exists a slightly similar undercurrent in basic background. In PA there is mention of "Taints (Mutants) vs. Pures" whereas Have-Not plays upon a subtle historical undercurrent built into the setting, the tension of "Haves vs. Have-Nots". Haves being those mythic pre-cataclysm wizards of science and technology. However Paragon: Apocalypse is rooted in the D20 SRD and is itself an outgrowth of a rule system designed primarily for a superheroes style of play. This leaves PA seeming like a clone of Gamma World, which was also developed out of a game (Metamorphosis Alpha) with a superheroes style of play. Alas, if you’ve seen one D20 derivative you’ve pretty much seen them all. Inspect for yourself:
http://gaymers.info/ph/downloads.php4.Have-Not vs. octaNe
Some may wonder why mention octaNe, it’s just one of those myriad number of high concept "indie" games next to no one will probably ever see on their local game store shelf, much less play, right? Such sentiments tend to be expressed primarily in online forums, usually by those that claim to be in the know, but one has to wonder what they really do know. Consider the setting: octaNe is a high fidelity flash forward to a post-apocalyptic future world spliced right out of Psychotronic films, and the psychedelic worlds they portray. It is a game of Six-string Samurais and Road Warriors, Elvis Impersonators and High-Plains Drifters, characters who wander wild untamed cinematic landscapes of atomic blasted B-movie futures. Futures, plural, because the game is designed to allow for a broad range of possible settings by allowing for various "Theatrical Modes", modes which help define game Style and what Roles characters play. The mechanics essentially distill to rolling dice with whoever gets the good roll gaining the right to direct story flow and arc, or at least directing that part in which their player character is taking an active part. Alas, actual setting material and background is pretty sparse, thus making for a threadbare world with only a few major points of interest detailed. Yet a potential silver mine of ideas.
How much so? Consider that octaNe, like Have-Not, started life as a freebie, viewable online as HTML documents, became a commercial PDF, and has since seen print publication. Says something, but decide for yourself: http://memento-mori.com/octane/.
Have-Not vs. EarthAD
I only recently learned about this title, upcoming from Politically Incorrect Games circa December 2003 (at the earliest). The full title is: "Earth AD: Post-Holocaust Adventures." Slated for release under the genreDiversion banner this "rules-lite" micro game is designed as a "generic tool box" intended to allow gaming groups the ability "to create one-shot scenarios within a specific genre." Ominously the new Gamma World D20 was also announced as a "tool-kit" prior to release. Either way there’s not likely to be a lot of crunchiness here, which may be a good thing. But how does the setting compare with Have-Not? Earth AD presents "character stocks" of Pure Strain Human, Mutated Human, and ROM (Radio Operated Mutant). ROM? That sounds very retro pulp B-movie borderline kitsch, one can only hope. Earth AD is said to be a game resource full of "mini-campaign setting outlines" adding to the GMs toolkit not only as "a backdrop for their own adventures" but as "mini-settings that outline a different world-ending catastrophe" ranging from "nuclear war, plague, et al". If that sounds a bit vague consider the game utilizes pre-generated archetypes, thus there are no classes, and each archetype is comprised of a set template-description players can modify to create unique characters, or that GMs can use to generate NPCs. Identified Genre archetypes include: Nomad, Tribal, Wanderer, Vaulter (dwellers in underground bunkers), and Sprawler (denizens of Enclaves built atop pre-cataclysm ruins). Sounds like the mutagenic offspring of Fallout cross pollinated with Gamma World and Rogue Trooper. Word is there are more archetypes, with kinks probably still being play-tested out. For more information:
http://www.pigames.net/genrediversion.php.
There you have it, Have-Not compared with the basic setting and player character types of five separate science fantasy post-apocalypse role-playing games. A lot of similarities yet take a closer look at each system and you‘ll find a slightly different approach to the genre. For instance octaNe has a story-oriented focus with a game mechanic designed primarily to promulgate narrative modes of play. Gamma World, currently in its 6th edition, is primarily focused on action. Problem solving plays a role in virtually all variants of Gamma World, especially with groups of characters, thus the style of play being simulated is less concerned with narrative than it is accomplishing goals. This was especially true of 3rd edition GW, which used a complicated chart to simulate characters actions in testing found artifacts. Rare is the game that is not goal oriented. Even storyteller games ultimately go nowhere without some set goal, some obstacle to overcome. These post-apocalyptic worlds have obstacles aplenty within vast vistas of twisted terrain and radiated ruins to explore.
Negatives: Information overload, especially in the Characters Book. Have-Not’s character book inundates the reader with information about character archetypes, about considerations of what style of game to play, about all the sniggling minor details GMs fret about, which is good. However in an effort to head off problems what is presented takes one ting for granted, it forgets the need to just slow down and relate what the steps of character creation actually are, or at least point to which JAGS core book needs to be referenced to find out. Perhaps I am just incredibly dense, or it could be that the book was written for those who already know the system, either way therein lays the problem. There is too much text talking about things, like the history behind the inclusion of character levels, and not nearly enough text just outlining what needs to be done to begin the character creation process. In short JAGS is a fully developed system and, like most fully developed systems, it requires a lot of reading. In many ways JAGS requires a major investment, perhaps not monetary, but certainly of time. Some may find that problematic given the PDF format. Have-Not references many other JAGS source books, JAGS Cybernetics and Psionics supplements among them, it makes that much plain. While all these "books" are freely available for download from the JAGS site they are also in PDF format. Very few gamers want to sit in front of their computer screen any more than they absolutely have to, no matter how convenient having PDFs might be. Too, printing out all this material could prove to be an itch proceeded by a capital B! So what’s the answer? A reference sheet would have been nice. But that’s really a short cut, not an answer since JAGS Have-Not takes for granted that the reader is going to already be familiar with the system.
Positives: Have-Not meets basic genre expectations. The PDFs are neat, well presented, and have contents pages; a major plus. There‘s more than enough material available to support Have-Not, and if you become bored with it there‘s still a ton of non-JAGS produced setting material for the genre. More importantly Have-Not stands on its own two feet. It is not a tool-kit, though it could be used as such. In fact you can totally disregard the JAGS system and still have enough material to mine ideas from for multiple campaigns. There’s rumors flying around that the folks behind JAGS are looking into securing a POD publisher to make the rulebooks available in print to those who really want them. Sounds great in concept, let us hope for a good quality of binding that is of proportional value for whatever price is set.
Conclusion
JAGS Have-Not reminds me a lot of MERP- that’s the Middle Earth Role Playing game, from ICE, for those too young to remember- in it’s meaty substance. Alas every potential player that I could get to look at MERP balked. Why? Everything was there; all you had to do was read, so why did next to no one want to play MERP with the system provided? Simple, the perception of information overload. The system looked too complex because it took the most basic design principle for granted, namely that games are meant to be played by others. Never assume anything. Don’t take for granted that potential players will be able to figure out what you know, rather assume the opposite. More to the point players don’t want to read, not rules, not short stories, not even about the history of the game. What players want, first and foremost, is to play the game. That is why board games like Monopoly, Stratego, and Clue are so popular. Most board game rules are straightforward, unambiguous, and they let players sit down and play with minimal reading. The learning curve? None. Players learn the game as they play. Ideally that is how RPGs should work. That said I have learned from observation that the games players prefer are those that provide quick and easy “how-to” sections. That is why Dungeons & Dragons was so popular. You could sit down with someone that had never played the game and only have to answer a few questions about the nature of role-playing games while they flipped through the player’s handbook. Once a player got to generate a character they usually become invested in the game and wanted to learn about it or didn‘t.
So what does that have to do with JAGS Have-Not? Simple. If a player isn’t drawn into a game, if a game doesn’t make it easy for a player to learn the basic principles quickly then, whether it is a homebrewed setting that took the better part of a month to detail or a 30 some-odd dollar commercial hardback, the end result will be the same: Lack of player interest. The reverse also holds true. Games with great background detail that hold readers enrapt will totally fall flat if the rules don’t make it as easy as possible to get started and jump right into play. Reading the background in the World Book leaves me wanting to play, alas the Characters Book throws up a stone wall that totally balks me. From a players perspective the last thing I want is to be inundated with flavor text before I‘ve got a clue how to generate a character. So what does that mean for a game designer? It means you have to hold my hand and walk me through character creation, step by step, otherwise I might just wander off to look at the shiny things over at. .
Ooh! Shiny things!
As a potential Game Master for JAGS Have-Not the above is my greatest fear, a fear that the Characters Book does little to alleviate. But what do I, Mr. Reviewer, really think of Have-Not? I think it is probably the best post-apocalypse freebie setting currently available on the Internet. A bit frustrating at times in its current state since the presentation makes it feel like an esoteric occult work requiring knowledge of other occult works, namely the JAGS Basic rules, but otherwise a entertaining read. I would suggest it to Game Masters looking for a great reservoir of source material and anyone else interested in reading about post-apocalyptic settings.
After much consideration I give the Have-Not supplements a 3 for Style and a Substance of 5. (That’s my first 5 rating, ever, here at RPGnet. So it should mean something.) Why a 3 for style? Have-Not gets a 3 largely because some of the PDFs in this supplement could use further polishing, especially in the accessibility to newbie players department. JAGS Have-Not rates a 5 for substance due to the sheer bulk of material presented, and the simple fact it really wowed me upfront. I have seen PNP fan creations for Wasteland and Fallout, remember the “good old days” of Gamma World and Twilight 2000, and feel this material could potentially give many commercial properties a run for their money. . If it receives a tad more polishing, a bit of editing for clarity with external references, and some minor additions as outlined above.
Happy gaming!
Copyright © 2003 C. Demetrius Morgan