Aberrant RPG - Aberrant: Teragen

[Matt]

ABERRANT [align:center]TERAGEN ,, To Create a New World... Cast as monsters, villains and rogues, the novas of the Teragen are hated by Project Utopia, vilified by the media, and worshipped by misfits, outcasts and rebels everywhere. Led by the powerful and charismatic Divis Mal, the Teragen seek to create a new Eden for the Quantum born. But there can be no calvation without sacrifice. Once the Teragen deals with the fragile and unfit baselines, a bold new civilization of novas will blossom in their place. The Old One Must be Destroyed! Aberrant: Teragen contains the history of the movement Utopia loves to hate, and the deviant personalities that drive it. It's also brimming with new powers, including the strange techniques used by Terats to deal with Taint. Are you nova enough for the secrets in this book? [/align]

Retail Price: $17.95 U.S. Page Count: 142 Authors: Philippe R. Boulle, Josh Mosqueira Asheim, Lucien Soulban Buy it Now

[Matt]

Teragen Review

Welcome to the dark side.

Oh sure, as a superhuman in the Nova Age you're the darling of the media. Adored by countless millions worldwide, the subject of adoration and devotion. You're young, rich, obscenely powerful and perform great feats either for the benefit of mankind, or simply your own pocketbook. Pretty sweet deal, right?

Wrong. You're a slave. Trapped within an inferior mentality and four color immature fantasies, you serve your baseline masters for their pathetic praise and soulless lucre. These shaven monkeys--barely out of the trees compared to you--dare to dictate the behavior of their betters? You are as far beyond them as man is to the mosquito. You are a Marvel, a Monster, a Portent of the glorious epoch of evolution to come. Yet you whore yourself on N!, die in their meaningless wars, and serve as the platitude spewing puppets of Project Utopia. All the while aiding and abetting the exploitation and torture of your own species, your own people.

One group of novas has stood up their inferior oppressors. They are led by a potent (and mysterious) nova who in 2005 declared novas a society unto themselves, free from the laws and strictures of lesser beings, and encouraged his fellow homo sapiens novus to " do what thou will ". These novas have little interest in doing the monkey's bidding. They instead seek to aid their confused and misguided brothers and sisters into seeing the truth, that they are more than what they believe. That they are the One Race, more than super-human, they are instead living gods. Terrible angels.

Welcome to the Teragen, brother.

C'mon, deep down within our collective psyche the role of the villain has a strong appeal. Back in the distant mists of my childhood, when my friends and I would gather to play Star Wars, at least three of us would bicker for the role of Darth Vader. To have his level of power, of menace, to be bound by no rules but your own. . .it was an intoxicating prospect. Which is probably why the Teragen have such a strong following amongst Aberrant fans. With White Wolf's Aberrant: Teragen, readers will uncover the truth behind the Nova Age's "supervillains", the bad boys of 2008. Led by the enigmatic Divis Mal, head of a pantheon of powerful nova revolutionaries, these novas are trying to understand what it is to be more than human, while at the same time bucking a patronizing system attempting to use them as quantum-powered pawns.

I have to confess to some misgivings upon purchasing this book. While I certainly admired the ideals espoused in the fragment of the Null Manifesto (the proclamation Mal made in 2005 declaring novas a free and separate society from human beings), and like the character of Count Raoul Orzaiz, what little I'd seen of the Teragen in the Core Rulebook of the came and portrayed in the other sourcebooks I'd read left me uneasy. My initial impressions of the Teragen were little more than terrorist thugs espousing a theory of racial superiority. Supremacists with superpowers, as it were. Aberrant: Teragen opened my eyes. The Teragen are far more than mere thugs and Divis Mal groupies (although the movement certainly doesn't lack for either), but men and women who are seeking to attain a higher state of being, to come to grips with what they've become, and find out what they're ultimately capable of becoming. They desire freedom from the enslavement their world has placed them in, as little more than a universal cure all to baseline problems. They are philosophers, dreamers, schemers, idealists, pragmatists, and warriors. But beneath it all they are revolutionaries. Rebels. They want freedom for their race, their people, and will not be denied. .

But just what is it that the Teragen are about? What is the philosophy beneath the anti-human rhetoric?

" To understand the Teragen, one must first understand Teras, it's philosophy. It is the one element that binds the Teragen together, gives it purpose and direction and makes it a unified group. To the Teragen there is no disputing the fact that novas are not human. Eruption and quantum development are ongoing evolutionary processes, the transition from baseline to nova is a journey most are only beginning. To guide them, the Teragen developed a philosophy, the principle of Teras, which asserts that all novas contain three archetypes: Marvel, Monster, and Portent. By living and becoming one of these concepts, a nova gains a better understanding of who she is, and more importantly, what she can become.

The Marvel.

Novas are beings of utmost power and potential, but many baselines are unwilling or unable to accept novas for what they truly are--living gods. To be a Marvel is to accept and believe that one is not only more than human, but also more than mortal or mundane. With this realization comes a renewed comprehension of eruption and a thirst for power. To Marvels, the whole world is their oyster.

The Monster.

Being a Terat means understanding that life as a nova is a process, a transformation. To achieve one's true destiny, it is necessary to destroy what makes one human--for only by divorcing herself from human limitations (including morals and ethics) can a nova emerge changed.

The Portent.

Terats who embrace the Portent leave behind their baseline fetters, their fears and limitations and embrace raw potential and possibility. They are the ultimate visionaries, freed from human frailty and weakness, they can stare into the abyss of the future, knowing that within them lie all the answers they seek."

Aberrant: Teragen is easily one of the strongest books to come out for the game thus far. From beginning to end this book delivers a treasure trove of information for storytellers and players. The art is well done, from the awesome yet ominous Steve Rude cover to the fine interior art, the visuals are tight and work well alongside the text.

The book covers the Teragen from top to bottom, with the first 82 pages devoted entirely to source material a la the Aberrant Core Rulebook. Words of the One Race allows--through N! articles and broadcasts, personal messages, a unique "chat" between Teragen members and a Team Tomorrow captive, and even a round table discussion by the movements own leaders--the Teragen to speak for themselves. Not so much a militant group as a dysfunctional family, the Teragen are bound by a common philosophy and devotion to their leader, but little else. In fact, signs show that the Teragen are changing, heading down a darker route that bodes ill for the future. . .

Chapter One: Inside the Teragen describes the movement, from it's humble beginnings through the "present" of 2008, the darkness of the Aberrant War, and beyond. Major Teragen hotspots around the world are detailed, as well as the various factions and cliques that compose the movement. A sample Teragen enclave is provided, both as a possible setting and inspiration for storytellers to create their own pockets of resistance.

Chapter Two: Storytelling allows STs to incorporate the Teragen into their series with more depth, whether as comrades in arms, antagonists, or even dubious allies.

Chapter Three: Beneath the Monster's Skin delves into the mysteries of Teras and the enigmatic evolution known as the chrysalis. Are the rumors that the Teragen can erase aberrations and remove permanent Taint true? Yes. . .and no. Through Teras, one can become as a god. But there is a price to be paid for perfection. Are you willing to pay?

Aberrant: Teragen is perhaps the best "faction" sourcebook of all. Whether or not you intend to use the Teragen in your series, it nevertheless provides a look at Aberrant which is far beyond the themes of power, fame, and superhero cliche. Despite my initial misgivings I came to see the Teragen as far more than White Wolf's "brotherhood of evil novas".

Of course, the book isn't perfect. The 82 pages of source material--while entertaining and informative--certainly cut into the remaining text of the book most useful for prospective players and storytellers. While all the major nova players are given brief "nova philes" profiles, no concrete stats are given to the NPCs, which can be frustrating for storytellers looking for definitive stats to run these characters with. And for those expecting to finally unearth the secrets of Divis Mal? While tantalizing bits and pieces of information are peppered through the book, neither a profile, stats, or history of Mal is to be found. Strange, as he is the leader of the group, creator of Teras and core of the struggle. Nevertheless, despite these flaws the book is one of the best of the Aberrant stable thus far.

Rating: Must Buy.

Review courtesy of Stacy Dooks, aka Defender.