Post by marianne on May 22, 2008 21:38:14 GMT
Nylon Angel: the Role Playing Game.
reviewed by Vee Kay aka Stellar
The roleplaying adaptation of Marianne De Pierres’ Parrish Plessis setting harks back to a previous time in roleplaying history. This is a game that takes itself and its setting seriously and tries to reflect the gritty and aggressive nature of the Angel setting, rather than stroking your ego as an all-conquering warrior with solid morality. Like the Plessis novels, characters in Nylon Angel RPG are fallible, multi-layered and often mortally wounded after a short space of time.
If you are an old RPG hand, you will feel nostalgic as you open the box the game comes in. Many seasoned gamers will instantly feel at home as the three smaller format books are revealed. People new to roleplaying may be confused about where to begin, but a quick review will familiarise you with the Rules book, Referee Guide and Characters book. Also present in the box is a laminated table for often used rules - skill check modifiers and combat manoeuvres. At a time when many games are presented as giant, all-encompassing volumes that help you get a Parrish-like workout; this makes for surprising portability.
Australians may experience a sense of pride when they see the covers and illustrations. The Tert is an embodiment of everything that could go wrong with an Australian city, and the reader will instantly know this is the continent the game is based in. However, although atmospheric, the in-book art is sparse. Some more would have helped, particularly in the combat and skills chapters. Also, with a book solely containing characters, it seems strange to leave it without illustration of popular character types - not to mention our favourites from the novels. Although Parrish herself and the loved and hated Mei Sheong are featured as cover models, a gratuitous shot of Loyl-me-Daac, Teece or even the gorgeous Ibis would have helped visualise the heroes and villains.
A great advantage of the game is the clean, functional charts that allow you to instantly follow the rules and variables you are likely to encounter during gameplay. These would translate very easily onto a Referee’s screen should one be produced.
To complete the Parrishverse feel of the game, an extensive glossary is provided at the end of the Rules book. This deserves special attention as although Parrish lives in a world still with a resemblance to the twenty-first century, it is vastly different from our own and many of the endearing quirks of the setting are represented here. It provides a neat primer for some of the trimmings of the setting and helps the player identify with the differences between the modern day compared to the world of Nylon Angel.
The books are set out in a very clear points system which means finding rules during gameplay is very easy. This has left the rules comparable to a Vivacity sociology text on the Tert. Perhaps Parrish should have poked her opinions into the game and read the riot act to anyone with misconceptions of how her rules work, or we could have heard the voice of experience from Teece or Larry Hein. The language of the book does not reflect the slang-slinging nature of the setting, dig?
During game, the simple, robust system helps facilitate the story well, but at times the many tables can mean that yet another flip through the rules is required. Also the game has a few derivative and minor character stats that are not often used, so could have been left out or streamlined into the more important numbers.
Something that should be pointed out to gamers who like mowing down hordes of barely-offensive mooks while showing off their flashy shades and winning smile - combat is usually short, conclusive and usually only one party will walk away from it. Characters often have poor comparative combat skills too, which both benefits and hinders the player characters - a bit like Tert medicine.
Nylon Angel: The Roleplaying Game is a refreshing re-think on the post-Cyberpunk genre. The combat is lethal and the setting is a gritty reminder of what Australia could become in only a few decades. The game also has its rough edges and is not as refined in production and appearance as many modern RPGs. However, the quirky nature of the setting and the sheer scope for carving out your own little niche in the Tert should see you through to determining whether you want to join Daac’s crusade, grow your own empire, or simply fighting for the underdograt in true Aussie-style.
reviewed by Vee Kay aka Stellar
The roleplaying adaptation of Marianne De Pierres’ Parrish Plessis setting harks back to a previous time in roleplaying history. This is a game that takes itself and its setting seriously and tries to reflect the gritty and aggressive nature of the Angel setting, rather than stroking your ego as an all-conquering warrior with solid morality. Like the Plessis novels, characters in Nylon Angel RPG are fallible, multi-layered and often mortally wounded after a short space of time.
If you are an old RPG hand, you will feel nostalgic as you open the box the game comes in. Many seasoned gamers will instantly feel at home as the three smaller format books are revealed. People new to roleplaying may be confused about where to begin, but a quick review will familiarise you with the Rules book, Referee Guide and Characters book. Also present in the box is a laminated table for often used rules - skill check modifiers and combat manoeuvres. At a time when many games are presented as giant, all-encompassing volumes that help you get a Parrish-like workout; this makes for surprising portability.
Australians may experience a sense of pride when they see the covers and illustrations. The Tert is an embodiment of everything that could go wrong with an Australian city, and the reader will instantly know this is the continent the game is based in. However, although atmospheric, the in-book art is sparse. Some more would have helped, particularly in the combat and skills chapters. Also, with a book solely containing characters, it seems strange to leave it without illustration of popular character types - not to mention our favourites from the novels. Although Parrish herself and the loved and hated Mei Sheong are featured as cover models, a gratuitous shot of Loyl-me-Daac, Teece or even the gorgeous Ibis would have helped visualise the heroes and villains.
A great advantage of the game is the clean, functional charts that allow you to instantly follow the rules and variables you are likely to encounter during gameplay. These would translate very easily onto a Referee’s screen should one be produced.
To complete the Parrishverse feel of the game, an extensive glossary is provided at the end of the Rules book. This deserves special attention as although Parrish lives in a world still with a resemblance to the twenty-first century, it is vastly different from our own and many of the endearing quirks of the setting are represented here. It provides a neat primer for some of the trimmings of the setting and helps the player identify with the differences between the modern day compared to the world of Nylon Angel.
The books are set out in a very clear points system which means finding rules during gameplay is very easy. This has left the rules comparable to a Vivacity sociology text on the Tert. Perhaps Parrish should have poked her opinions into the game and read the riot act to anyone with misconceptions of how her rules work, or we could have heard the voice of experience from Teece or Larry Hein. The language of the book does not reflect the slang-slinging nature of the setting, dig?
During game, the simple, robust system helps facilitate the story well, but at times the many tables can mean that yet another flip through the rules is required. Also the game has a few derivative and minor character stats that are not often used, so could have been left out or streamlined into the more important numbers.
Something that should be pointed out to gamers who like mowing down hordes of barely-offensive mooks while showing off their flashy shades and winning smile - combat is usually short, conclusive and usually only one party will walk away from it. Characters often have poor comparative combat skills too, which both benefits and hinders the player characters - a bit like Tert medicine.
Nylon Angel: The Roleplaying Game is a refreshing re-think on the post-Cyberpunk genre. The combat is lethal and the setting is a gritty reminder of what Australia could become in only a few decades. The game also has its rough edges and is not as refined in production and appearance as many modern RPGs. However, the quirky nature of the setting and the sheer scope for carving out your own little niche in the Tert should see you through to determining whether you want to join Daac’s crusade, grow your own empire, or simply fighting for the underdograt in true Aussie-style.