In Short
Catering to fans of generic, modular RPGs,
Active Exploits sets out to provide more options than you can use in clear, workman-like fashion. With a variety of simple rules systems GMs can tailor the mechanics to their own worlds. With options for diceless, LARPing, and dice pool systems,
Active Exploits strives to have something for everyone.
The Good: Many options are present, allowing for groups to make just a few changes as they move the same core system from setting to setting. The text is very efficient, with clear writing and no wasted space. Examples clearly explain all of the rules.
The Bad: The lack of discussion of implementation of these rules makes it a little unclear when a GM would want to use some packages of rules and when those rules should be left out. An awful lot of the system is left up to the GM.
The Physical Thing
This 158 page black and white 5.5x8.5 softcover showcases textbook-like perfection for its $19.95 price tag. While there are only one or two pieces of art in the entire product the goal of
Active Exploits is to inform the reader of different rules concepts, often with the assumption that the reader already has game ideas in mind. It’s unusual, as even generic system books still have functional artwork, but I suspect it enables the lower price tag.
The editing, formatting, and reference options are all well done and the book is easy to work with. An impressive amount of content is incorporated into these 158 pages, though at times I wish there was more elaboration on the concepts briefly discussed.
Under the Cover
This is a generic, modular RPG. The goal is to provide a variety of integrated systems so that the reader can mix and match however they like. Another advantage is that since these systems work together so well it’s easy for a group to use
Active Exploits as their one system of choice.
Active Exploits is the default system and it is diceless. Characters have a set bonus applied to tasks based on their Abilities and Skills. Points are taken from Abilities and combined with free points from Skills (and potentially Luck, a special pool of points) to create a total. If this total meets or exceeds the difficulty the GM has in mind then the character succeeds. In effect this is a sort of resource management / guessing mechanic that focuses more on how important it is to succeed and how much effort the character thinks is required than on the fickleness of fate.
Character creation is simple, focusing on a few points being allocated to five Abilities – Fitness, Creativity, Reason, Influence, and Awareness. Any special powers, like magic, are treated as additional abilities so characters with special powers end up having fewer points to spend on other Abilities. Skills are purchased in three levels (Novice, Proficient, and Expert) and characters tend to have few Skills, but the impact of the Skills on the mechanics is notable. Thus, instead of many Skills that provide little bonus when an Active Exploits character has a particular Skill it’s a big deal. With a Luck pool to provide players with more influence over what happens and a simple injury condition track for combat the game remains simple and rules light at its core.
The majority of the book provides various subsystems and suggestions for how to expand on Active Exploits in order to incorporate more advanced rules, magic, and specific genre conventions. The only downside is that these system often are only flavorful and add little, if anything, to the core rules. The idea is that the GM is the one interpreting everything and dictating how any special ability functions in her game world, so any additional discussion is often left up to the GM and whatever game world the group has chosen to use with Active Exploits.
Rules for using Active Exploits with LARPs and the Impressa System are both included. The best I can say about the LARP rules is that they include a nice flow chart to use in play and are very similar to the core Active Exploits system. Impressa is an alternative dice pool based system that also retains many similarities. For more detailed discussion of Impressa see my Iron Gauntlets review.
My Take
Lacking any random element,
Active Exploits is a good choice for groups that enjoy very light RPGs, a strong GM presence, and the ability to play anywhere. With a large amount of flexibility and easily integrated subsystems this game does an excellent job of trying to cover all possible bases with one simple rulebook. Unfortunately, an awful lot is left up to the GM and the book only maps out some ideas in the vaguest sense.
If you have a cool setting in mind and want a simple diceless system to run it with then Active Exploits will work for you.
Review Summary