Aberrant RPG - Aberrant: The Directive

Matt · April 2, 2000

ABERRANT

THE DIRECTIVE

<img src="http://www.nprime.net/images/directive.jpg" border=0 height=200 width=140 align=LEFT>Paranoid?

Even in the nova age, trust is a rare commodity. Not even Project Utopia - protector, watchman and hero to the world - is quite what it seems. So who keeps an eye out for you? The Directive does. The Directive is an intelligence organization unlike any other. It sees, hears and knows things it simply shouldn't. That's what makes it so dangerous.

Or Are They After You?

Aberrant: The Directive includes everything you want to know about Aberrant's Directive. Where it came from, the tools it uses to gather intelligence on suspicious novas, what it does and who works for it. Are you subtle enough to be an agent of the Directive? </blockquote>

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Retail Price: $14.95 U.S.

Page Count: 96

Authors: Carl Bowen, Richard Dakan, Kyle Olsen

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Matt · July 15, 2000

<table width="140" border="0" height="200" cellspacing="5" cellpadding="0" align="right"><tr> <td><img src="http://www.nprime.net/images/directive.jpg" width="140" height="200"></td></tr></table>The Directive Review

Psst. Hey you. C'mere.

You're not actually buying all this are you? The idea that novas are heroes? Saturday-morning cartoons dedicated to Truth, Justice, and the Utopian Way of Life? Please. Novas are the greatest threat to global security ever. Atomic bombs on legs, with all the morals and scruples of a six year-old stomping an anthill. You only have to look at the Teragen to see that novas are less than human. Or turn on N! to view the latest series of atrocities committed by elites, careless of human lives in pursuit of filling their own coffers. Heroes? More like children, waiting for the chance to throw a fit. And if they do, when they do, human beings will be the first to die. That's why the Directive exists. To protect the human race from these aberrant beings. But let's not talk here in the open. You never know what might be listening. Let's go over there. . .into the shadows.

The Aberrant World of 2008 lauds novas as the saviors of the human race. Utopia's technological marvels have healed the planet and cured disease, their spin doctors hailing Team Tomorrow as paragons of virtue and integrity. Novas appear on N!, in magazines, in movies, everywhere. They are the beautiful people of the 21st century, and everyone loves and accepts them with open arms.

The Directive isn't so accommodating. An intelligence agency founded by Russia, Japan, America, and England comprised of men and women who find the prospect of superhuman beings running around the world meddling in global affairs, answering only to a single organization and given world-spanning power, unsettling to say the least. While the world may see novas as heroes, the Directive knows better. Power corrupts...and absolute power corrupts absolutely. For all their good intentions, novas are a threat to the human race. Their very existence poses a potential threat, one that must be monitored, catalogued, and dealt with accordingly.

Ever wanted to play the underdog? Perhaps the most overlooked faction in the world of Aberrant is that of normal human beings. Face it, they have to deal with the consequences of nova power. For every slam-bang nova battle with quantum bolts blazing, buildings are blown to rubble and innocent people are crushed and killed. Mega-manipulative novas can play human beings like violins, forwarding their own agendas with no opposition. The Directive has no illusions about novas, and recognize them for the menace they are. Even the most benign and altruistic nova is still a potential disaster. Someone has to be prepared to defend the human race, the Directive has taken up that burden.

At first glance, playing an agent of the Directive might not hold a lot of appeal. Play a human in a world of superhumans? Where's the fun in that? While it is true that there are nova agents in the Directive's employ, they're nowhere near as flashy and powerful as the operatives of Team Tomorrow or your average elite. They can't afford to be. The Directive is a intelligence operation, and that calls for men and women who can evade detection. Don't expect to be ten feet tall and bulletproof in a Directive series.

Still, there is a lot of potential. You're a band of highly trained professionals going up against beings who can throw a car or read your very thoughts. The Directive provides a slew of skills and gadgets their operatives use to level the playing field. From chemical weapons that disrupt an MR-node, to manacles that can hold a Mega-strength nova, to mental techniques to resist invasive telepathy, the Directive trains their agents well.

I liked Aberrant: The Directive. One of the great things about the book is it's point of view, a step back from the godly concerns of novas to the day to day reality of human beings living with superhumans. While the public at large might accept novas (as of 2008), the men and women of the Directive know it's only a matter of time before the feces hits the fan blades. The vein of paranoia and suspicion running through the book is great, and the history and philosophy behind the Directive will really make you think. This agency is not a group of anti-nova thugs, but an organization with legitimate concerns. Yeah, you may be able to handle the awesome powers an MR-node bestows, but think about the jerks you know in your life. Now imagine them able to vaporize a man with a glance. That's the Directive's worry. Even the novas in the agency's employ aren't immune to this subtle suspicion.

The writing in this book is well done, the mandatory opening prose and Chapter Five: Personnel Management (a guide to storytelling the agency) are real standouts. The history section starts off a little dry, but I recommend paying attention; there's information in that history that will get a storyteller's imagination churning and a player decidedly nervous. The rules for Directive characters were good, especially the guidelines on playing novas in the organization (don't expect to make CEO in this outfit), complete with a list of "acceptable" nova powers.

The art of the book is especially good. I particularly admired the pieces by Talon Dunning. His renditions of Caestus Pax, Divis Mal, and Anibal Buendia (the mysterious creator of eufiber, revealed at last!) were bold and eye catching. He's one to watch.

If the book has one flaw, it's due to the fact that players might not be interested in playing in a Directive-based series. After all, Aberrant is about obtaining the power of a god, and after reading supplements like Teragen, Elites, Project Utopia and The Player's Guide, players may not see the appeal of playing a human being, even the exceptional specimens of the Directive. As a storyteller resource however; this is a great find, with lots of ideas on handling the Directive, and can provide many ideas on using the organization as both fellow friends or worst enemies.

Aberrant: The Directive makes for a good read and a gold-mine for storytellers. Players might not be so into it, the desire to play a human in a superhuman RPG just might not be there. Thus the split rating.

Rating: <blink>Buy (Storytellers) /Read In Store Before Buying (Players)</blink>

Review courtesy of Stacy Dooks, aka Defender.

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Aberrant RPG - Aberrant: The Directive

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