| Game Type: Role Playing
Author: C J Carella
Publisher: Eden Studio
Medium: 8.5" x 11" Hardcover, 256 pages, full color interior
Price: $40
Reviewer: William Lee Before continuing with my impressions, I would like to preface this by saying that as one of the play testers, I have been excited about this game for a while.
Buffy the Role Playing Game is based on Eden's gaming system (called the Unisystem), which seems at first glance to be pretty easy to follow and use. The object of the system is to emphasize role-playing the various characters rather than sticking to a certain set of rules. It promotes playing not only the "scooby" gang (although all the known characters from the show [up to 5th season] are written up in the core rule book) but also anything else you could possibly conceive of having in the Buffy universe.
The first chapter introduces the reader to RPGs, their concepts, their play style and even the terms we use — such as Cast Member (a player's character) and the Director (the person who provides overall direction to the game sessions). This is mostly for new folks. The old guard will probably skip this stuff.
Chapter Two presents a number of pre-created Cast Members for folks who want to just photocopy and start playing. Chapter Two also has all the Original Cast (Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, etc.) for those who want to step into the shoes of the their favorite character. For the veterans, the chapter presents a slew of character creation options. No one should feel slighted by the variety available for characters (called White Hats, Heroes, and Experienced Heroes), which have a number of differences. The most valuable of these are the Drama Points. Each character is given a number of these points (with the higher level characters having less of them) that allow you to adjust what is happening to your benefit. With these drama points you can heal yourself, improve your ability to hit or do damage, or, more excitingly, once a gaming session you can use a drama point to give yourself a break or cause a plot twist (i.e.: Instead of the vampire getting a huge bite out of you, the bench you were lying over breaks and you both fall, allowing you the chance to possibly escape). Of course, due to the difference in skill levels it makes perfect sense for the (so-called) weaker characters to have more of these drama points to make up for the discrepancy.
Chapter Three details the rules. One player, usually the Director, needs to at least skim through that section. We give numerous examples for each rule so that they are easy to understand. In general, the Unisystem game mechanics presented in the BtVS RPG are about action and adventure, not sweating the numbers. They are easy to explain and get comfortable with. Numerous options are also presented here for those who want more depth to their rules, but for the most part the rules try to keep it simple.
Chapter Four presents the magic rules (what little there are). These are fairly open-ended and thematic, as magic in the Buffyverse is quite broad and powerful. New folks are going to have to think things through a bit here, but that's fine. Messing with magic can be serious trouble. Willow saw that in spades this last season. While it doesn't cover the whole addiction thing (the BtVS RPG only covers the first five seasons), the BtVS RPG magic system does include a dark side. Even when things go right, they don't always go right (as Willow might say). The upcoming Magic Box supplement will flesh out these rules at a later date.
Chapter Five takes us on a tour of Sunnydale. Those familiar with the show will find a nice overview here. Novice and veteran Directors get all the information they need to bring to life the citizens of the 'Dale — from cops to high school and UCSD students to Principle Snyder and more.
Chapter Six has bad guys — vamps, demons and others. All the game information is presented for Directors to drop them right into whatever story they create. Again, the new folks get easy-to-understand game stats for everyone and ready-to-play bad guys from the TV show all sketched out for them. Veterans get some monster creation rules and ideas for expanding the material provided.
Chapter Seven is a thorough presentation of what a Director needs to know to create a storyline. Using the TV show concepts of episodes, seasons and series, we walk the novice Director through the process of devising fun and exciting game sessions. While this chapter will be most helpful for new folks, even a veteran Director can learn a bit or two about running games in the Buffyverse.
Chapter Eight is a ready-to-run adventure for the Cast Members, complete with frequent Director Tips to make it all go smoothly.
The Appendix contains handy charts and tables, as well as a glossary and guide to Buffyspeak.
It's very impressive -- the photos, ample use of quotes, story ideas, the adventure--every time I turn, there's something else aimed at making sure the players "get" the feel of Buffy. With a good GM the rules allow for playing characters of all levels. The white hats (or scoobies) will not be left without anything to do and the "hero" will not be left completely bored to allow the others to participate.
William Lee 8/24/2002 | |
