Review of Metalface: Operating System

Many months ago I did a review of a free RPG called Metalface and I almost resoundingly thrashed it. Now Eternal Tempest Productions have released an expanded version of Metalface for purchase and has added on the subtitle "Operating System" to designate its full-featured release as a finished game. In this review I'll be examining the game in its current incarnation and touching on its merits and flaws.

The Premise:
In the future, mankind is slowly recovering from the traumas of worldwide wars that devistated humanity. Still, renewed faith and massive advances in technology is slowly repairing the damage. One of the results of these technological advancements is the development of t-bots or "metalface." Metalface are the result of a process that transfers a human soul into a robotic body. It is into this setting of turmoil between the old and new that players will find themselves in.

What Ya Get: Metalface: Operating System is a ninty-one page PDF file that clocks in at 2.4 Megabytes in size. You will need the Adobe Acrobat reader or similiar third-party program capable of rendering the PDF format to take advantage of the game.

Cost:
This game will cost you $10 and is available for purchase through RPGNow.

Appearance:
Appearance is about standard from what you would expect from a cheaply produced RPG. This isn't to say that its bad - it just lacks flair. Text is arranged in a standard two-column format and is divided into easily read and defined sections. There are some minor typographical errors as well as an unfortunate choice to use full justicification on some of the sentences, but its nothing that severely detracts from the game. Illustrations run the gamut from some quality work to poor. Of particular notice is the artist who combined drawings with 3D rendered backgrounds. These were especially evocative of numerous Saturday morning cartoons and were extremely well done for the most part.

The Setting:
The first thirty-one pages of Metalface are geared towards establishing the setting. In these pages a timeline is provided on exactly how humanity almost destroyed itself and how the world reformed itself after the wars, an examination of the metalface "condition" (or how they interact with their environment through their now-robotic bodies) and how society has reacted to the metalface technology, a description of the three different models of metalface and a history of their creation and purpose. If this section has one weakness, it is its disparity between logical connections. Some reasoning seems to flow from one to another and others take wild leaps that sometimes leave you scratching your head and wondering how this makes sense considering how other things were rationally detailed. I suspose that this is to be expected given the "suspension of belief" that most non-hard SF works under but it can get jarring in Metalface at times. For example, the metalface condition section was very well thought out, evocative and clearly defined the complexity and discomfort (if not hatred) of the metalface by a lot of humans. On the other hand, I still have problems with exactly rationally understanding how most of the planet suddenly decided on a standardized version of Christianity and its massive acceptance. Your milage may very however.

A brief section on daily technology is followed by the strongest part of the setting information. Profiles are the rough equivalent of MegaCorps in Shadowrun - they are governments unto themselves and control their own territory and military forces. This isn't to say that former national governments have been done away with. They exist as a large worldwide council that oversees global issues rather than the territorial concerns of the profiles. Each of the major profiles and governing bodies as well as their key personalities are detailed. This is especially important as it is assumed that the PCs will be working for one or more of them. Each are detailed on how they operate their business as well as how they are structured. All are well balanced and offer an available employer no matter how the individual player chooses to approach the setting. The setting information is concluded by details on Crystal City. It is the major metropolis of the world and the governing center for Earth Council. It is assumed that this is where games will originate as all the world's profiles and governments all have a presence there.

If the setting really suffers from one thing, you might attribute it to a seeming lack of coherent focus. It seems to be unsure if it wants to be bit of serious SF touching on the moral and political issues of souls transferred into machines and their impact on society or an adventure cartoon with metalface characters with codenames such as "Retro" and "Blueprint." No reason is given for this naming convention, but I'm assuming that they take codenames to protect their finances and personal data as well as potential family from reprisal of their actions. This is purely a matter of personal observation and conjecture, however, and a synthesis of the two styles could work very well in gameplay.

Character Generation:
There are twelve attributes in Metalface subdivided into four categories (Status, Body, Mind and Soul): Power, Energy, Action, Strength, Endurance, Agility, Communication, Intelligence, Perception, Projection, Faith and Blessing. Values for these are determined simply by dividing three points each among Traits and again among Orders. The final values are determined by a simple chart. Amazingly, this allows for a very well developed character as well as helping define their personality. Skill selection is simple point-based purchasing with higher levels simply costing more points. You then select a Duty (aka a job) to see how much you're being paid a year. Finally you are allowed to pick human options or metalface options and then gear them up to finish. Human characters have the choice of getting genetic alterations/enhancements, the privledge of owning robots and the potential to be psyactives.

Metalface characters are determined by their models and classes. There are five classes (Alpha through Omega) that define their function. Model type defines bonuses and preinstalled equipment. When it comes time to equip your character is when the metalface character will shine. Humans are limited in the size of weapons and types of equipment that can be reasonably carried. Metalface, on the other hand, are stronger and can carry more powerful weapons and specialized equipment. As the game is geared towards metalface characters this isn't suprising.

Game Mechanics:
Metalface uses the "Halo System" for resolving tasks. To boil it down, you roll a number of six-sided die equal to the four difficulty categories of the task. If you roll two identical numbers these doubles each count as "1" - if you get multiple doubles, you only count the highest valued double as ones. Skill values enhance rolls by adding their rank to the total being rolled against. Opposed actions are handled in the same matter with the highest value being the victor. These rolls can be modified and/or rerolled by use of the Faith and Blessing attributes (in that order). Successful characters are awared Success Points at the end of a adventure which they can use to improve their skills.

Combat is handled largely through the use of your Action attribute. It determines how much you can do in a round of combat. You'll certainly want a square grid sheet on the table as well as possibly using some minis to keep track of what's going on. Combat gets complicated with both melee and ranged combat as well as varying types of damage depending on the attack that hits. My own personal opinion is that this is overly complicated for what's needed but, again, your milage may vary on this. Its certainly "realistic" enough for robotic combat. This is helped out some by providing a sheet with commonly used charts that can be xeroxed and given to your players.

Additional Stuff:
Several character archtypes are given as well as a character sheet and the aforementioned chart sheets. The big addition however is the inclusion of three adventures: "Transfer in Progress", "Dispute Settlement" and "Matters of the Hart." Transfer in Progress is a "initiation" adventure in which characters can roleplay their transfer to metalface bodies and their training afterwards. Dispute Settlement is a espionage-like adventure where the PCs are tasked with recovering informaton from two hostile forces and delivering it to a third party. Matters of the Hart is a search and rescue operation to recover a missing Earth Council ambassador. The game wraps up with a one page idea for plots that the GM could use to fuel more adventures. This is a wonderful addition and lets you feel like you're getting more than just rules. Ammunition for at least your first three game sessions are already provided and the plot hooks are easily enough used to keep you going from there.

Overall Impression:
Metalface has come into its own as a game. It is now complete and functional and the setting is interesting enough to warrant adventuring in. There are still some nagging issues, however, I still find myself thinking that humans are more appealing to me as a player than a metalface character (that could be total bias on my part) and combat seems too complicated. I also very much dislike the "guardian angel" spiritual nature of the Blessing attribute - it just seems way too out of place in the setting to me. Luck would have worked just as well. Bear in mind that these are my own observations, however. Metalface is fully developed and ready to go. If you're looking for a science fiction game with war, espionage and giant robots thats made a bit gritty with moral and social issues - Metalface might very well be worth your earnest consideration.

MetalMan signing off.