Aberrant RPG - Aberrant: Player's Guide

Matt · January 2, 2001

ABERRANT

PLAYER'S GUIDE

<img src="http://www.nprime.net/images/playersguide.jpg" border=0 height=200 width=140 align=LEFT>The Power You Want

Baselines worship you. They love you. They fear you. Is it enough? Can it ever be? This book contains the secrets that bring your nova to whole new levels of power.

The Knowledge You Crave

The Aberrant Players Guide has everything you need to expand and empower your character to vast new levels of playability, from ingenious new ways of using Eufiber to powers that can only be described as "cosmic." This massive book contains new insights into what the life of a nova is really like, rules for creating and using gadgets, new and devastating capabilities, expanded Backgrounds, the full skinny on the N! network, a catalog of nova-only organizations and much more.

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Retail Price: $25.95 U.S.

Page Count: 224

Authors: Andrew Bates, Bruce Baugh, Deird're Brooks, John Chambers, Chris Haddad, Steve Kenson

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Matt · February 15, 2001

Player's Guide Review

When I was a kid (about roughly the same time Mammoths and saber-toothed tigers roamed the Earth), my Dad was kind enough to make my brother and I a toybox. It was a huge colorful affair, loaded with all my favorite toys and assorted goodies. Of course, it was filled to the brim in cluttered chaos as well.

That's kind of what the Aberrant Players Guide is like. Lovely to look at, well put together, yet a little on the disorganized side. This new release from White Wolf covers a lot of ground, so if this review seems a tad rambling, it's because we've a lot of hiking to do.

The book opens with an introductory essay by Aberrant developer Kraig Blackwelder. "This Is Not The Super-Friends" attempts to explain that Aberrant is not a traditional four-color game of superheroes (although it can be played as such), but rather a game about ordinary men and women who have power and fame forced upon them by fate, and what they do with it. There's also an interesting list of inspiration sources Kraig suggests to players and storytellers to get a better feel for what Aberrant is about, from books to movies and television to-yes-comic books.

Chapter One: The World of Aberrant

From there we are launched straight into setting material, which covers everything from novas and trademark issues (what happens when somebody swipes your "nova name"?), through nova powers and the legal system. Tips and ideas for player characters status within Aberrant organizations (Project Utopia, Teragen, the Directive, DeVries) and their corresponding effect on Player Backgrounds are also detailed.

An interesting section deals with novas and relationships. When you've become a demigod, how does that affect your loved ones? How do the neighbors treat you when they know you can juggle tanks? How can you live your own private life when everyone expects you to be Superman? The relationships between novas and society, as well as novas and the media are also covered.

Something I wasn't expecting were the rules for space travel…which made for a pleasant surprise. Some novas can explore space, and these rules will provide any player who has a desire to frolic in the final frontier plenty of ideas.

The proliferation of the OpNet (the global communications network of Aberrant's 21st century) and its effect on human society is briefly touched upon. Also provided are expanded descriptions of eruption triggers for the nova-to-be. The book details the circumstances of eruption in relation to the powers that he/she receives. This provides prospective players with both guidelines and new ideas.

The first chapter ends with a discussion of novas existing prior to the explosion of the Galatea in 1998. It is revealed that the genetic sequence that can produce novas has existed within humanity for quite some time. Rules are provided for those bold souls who are up for an Aberrant historical game. Were those old myths about gods and heroes detailing the exploits of the earliest novas? What about the lost continent of Atlantis? What gentlemen and lady adventurers might have had quantum power in the grand old days of Victorian England? Or the slam-bang pulp era of the 1920s and 30s? The possibilities are endless. . .

Chapter Two: Game Systems

This chapter opens with the revelation that there are three subspecies of humans on Earth…Novas, the mysterious Paramorphs, and the Psiads (or proto-psions for those who know of Trinity). Psiads are beings who can manipulate subquantum in the same way as novas manipulate quantum. They have access to all sorts of mental powers, from telepathy to telekinesis and beyond. They are the evolutionary predecessors of the psions of Aberrant's sister game and sequel Trinity, and now you can play one. Rules for psiads are provided for both Aberrant and Trinity, and make for an interesting change of pace from the all-powerful demigods normally found in Aberrant. Psiads powers tend for greater subtlety and versatility than the fantastic pyrotechnics of their nova "cousins". Also included in this section are some tantalizing hints about both the Aeon Society, it's enigmatic founder Maxwell Anderson Mercer, and the goals of both the organization, it's founder and how the two have diverged.

The chapter also includes <a href="http://www.nprime.net/downloads/errata.html">errata</a> from the Aberrant core rulebook in need of correction (although why they simply couldn't post it on the White Wolf website or place it in their newsletter, rather than have it take up valuable space in the PG, is beyond me, considering it's been available here on N! Prime for months). New rules are presented for many old powers and Quantum Pool, plus the addition of new abilities and extras. Options for varying game power levels (are you looking for a street-level vigilante style game, or a cosmic godlike level of power?), and their nova point costs, are provided, including discussion about powergaming vs. role-playing.

What White Wolf product would be complete without Merits and Flaws? Unfortunately, the Merits and Flaws presented do not do much to break new ground. There are only a handful that are Aberrant specific. Aberrant's major Backgrounds are examined in further detail, from Allies to Resources, with examples of how they affect a character. The mists surrounding the mysterious eufiber are parted a bit, as we learn more about this most amazing of nova-created substances. New abilities are provided, from strength-related talents such as Throwing to manipulation and charisma abilities like seduction and carousing, you'll be sure to find something useful to your character in this section. New aberrations, as well as the social consequences of Taint, are visited as well. Novas may very well be living gods, but their power isn't without a price. The new aberrations provide players and storytellers just the right kind of faults for an otherwise flawless nova.

Still, with many of the strong features I have discussed, I think the main reason people will be picking up the Players Guide is for the new powers. One of the complaints I first heard about Aberrant was that the powers detailed in the core rulebook didn't seem to live up to the cover statement "what would you do with the power of a god?" The Players Guide puts those issues to bed. Permanently. There is discussion of raising Mega-attributes beyond 5, as well as a slew of new extras and ideas on their use. Nothing too outrageous. With more experience, a player's character would eventually have to go beyond 5 in a Mega-attribute, so while the new extras and attributes are a tad daunting, it's no shock. After that, we are treated to new extras for core rulebook powers, as well as a few new level 1-3 powers. Not bad, not bad. Which leads us to the section of chapter two entitled:

Shaking the Heavens: High Level powers.

This portion of the book covers the Level 4-6 powers available to players of Aberrant. From Authority to Consummate Mastery, these powers are truly the powers of gods, for characters with Quantum 8 and above. They are not intended for starting players, but give a graphic example of just how far you character could go. How far? At the very least (Level 4 power) you can travel to alternate realities (a la Sliders). At their very highest (Level 6) we're talking universe creation. Let that concept sink in for a moment. The ability to create an entire universe! Of course, the character would have to have Quantum of at least 10, and the corresponding derangements and aberrations inherent in such an ascension beyond humanity. All in all, it made this jaded gamer go "Wow."

Chapter Three: Nova Affiliations

These are groups of novas your characters might encounter-or even join-in the course of their adventures in the Aberrant world. From Japan's answer to Team Tomorrow, the heroic Nippontai, to the Nordic novas of Nordlysene, to the star-spanning Daedelus League, story ideas and potential allies/enemies abound. Municipal novas, defenders of a single city, are touched upon, as well as the telepathic novas of the friendly Gestalt. The radical nova environmentalists of Greenwar administer justice on those intent on raping Mother Earth, and if you're not a part of the solution, you're a potential target. The veil of secrecy around the enigmatic nova group called the Protectors is lifted, and players can either aid or oppose their isolationist practices. Also detailed is the mission and members of the Queer Nova Alliance, a group of novas dedicated to the promotion of equal rights and treatment of "all gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people." Finally, even the Aberrant universe isn't safe from the mania of the young. Teen Tomorrow is a group of Utopian novas under 20 who are learning to be the next generation of Team Tomorrow heroes.

While its lack of organization can be a pain at times (no clear chapter divisions, related information sometimes scattered through the book, etc.) the Aberrant Players Guide is a book with far more strengths than weaknesses. It is a useful tool for both players and storytellers alike, and makes for good reading besides. All in all, a fun box of toys to play with.

Rating: <blink> Must Buy.</blink>

Review courtesy of Stacy Dooks, aka Defender.

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