This review was originally written in 1994. It is being republished "as is."
Given perhaps one of the most vague titles ever written, It Waits actually turns out to be a pretty good short adventure for Atlas Games' Over the Edge. In just 22 pages, Mr. Cross manages to lay down some new territory in Al Almarja and breathe some life into the setting on the way.
The adventure is basically a search for an "escaped experiment," but there are several things going on beneath the surface that keep the scenario from devolving into cliche. Some unusual NPCs play the first part in that role and the author's craft at throwing curves is the second. The fact that players will probably expect the unexpected only emphasizes how well the author has done his homework.
I wish I could say more about the actual events, but I don't want to give away too much. The search takes the PCs from a megacorp headquarters to such lovely places as Deadville, the city's bad side, to a creepy garbage dump, to the city sewers. I especially liked several of the local denizens, each of which have something unique to set them off from typical creature encounters. Several of the local gangs, The Ghost Clan and the Psi Cats, can be portrayed in any of several ways, at the GM's discretion. The final encounter takes a real departure from the one players may envision, and depending on style of play, they could end up either satisfied or disappointed. The referee's skill will also play a big part here.
The adventure is very open-ended, so it probably could be used several times as long as the referee takes the time to create a few new elements. And although some major plot elements are left to the GM, the basic adventure is intact; it's just up to the party to decide where they want to explore first.
The art is only average, but for six bucks, it's not a major problem. Over all, It Waits is a good quick and dirty adventure; and can easily be read and played in one session. It's not so tied to Over the Edge that it couldn't be used with other systems; GURPS, Cyberpunk or Shadowrun are just a few candidates, and with a bit of tinkering, the scenario could fit into just about any campaign. At only 27 cents a page, the gamer on a budget will find their money was well spent.
