I try to imagine what this supplement would be like if you don't know
Gatecrasher's
rather amazing setting. Simply picking it up and browsing it at
the store would bring many a puzzled look, I'm sure, interspersed
with some laughter. I can see the reader flipping through, looking
for solid ground to land on, and finding only stranger and stranger
(and funnier and funnier) soil ahead.
A casual reader may or may not buy this book, but if you do know
Gatecrasher, then you want this book. In fact, if you
enjoy humorous RPG material, no matter what the setting, then you want
this book..
First, the flaws: the gray shading of the sidebars blurs
the letters slightly, making such sidebars a little straining to
read.
Now, on to the good parts: The book is a great addition to
Gatecrasher. It covers some new professions, lots
of NPCs (ranging from the High & Mighty to Comrades & Cretins),
some quickie NPC thugs to toss at the party as needed, more cults
and organizations, some lovely artifacts, delightful magic spells
(Cerebral Cortical Cuisinart, anyone? How about the two
spells, Omniscience and Improved Omniscience?), more
creatures (watch out for dragon kittens or the Qlippoth!), a pop
history of the world according to 24th century ideas, some neat
places to avoid, a whole new character "race" to explore
(pseudanthroids), displaced persons arriving from the past, marauders,
organlegging, cyberfamiliars, genetic engineering, and even an
adventure to send the PCs on that they might even survive.
In other words, this supplement supplies LOTS of details about the
World setting that had to be left out of the original
Gatecrasher book.
This is a great read, even if you never play it. Lots of subtle and
some not-so-subtle gems thrown in here that will give you hours of
entertainment. Here we can find:
- the Queen Mother of the Golf Balls
from Hell,
- sixty-three slightly different versions of Allah,
- the return
of the presidential toaster,
- a plan to terraform the sun,
- a spell to
summon an ancient King (who indeed comes back, but keeps running off to
fast food places),
- a necromancy cannon,
- gun bunnies,
- detachable pets,
-
Valhalla Sports Bar,
- vacuum-dwelling undead,
- Macho Guns Incorporated,
-
the Karma Police,
- Santa's Secret Service (voted the annual "Slimmest
Evidence for Existing" award three years in a row at the Conspiracy
Convention),
- the Maltese Dingus,
- Ty-D-Ball,
- escaped and schizoid
software,
- and so on - lots of "and so on!"
Also included is the tale of the ogre P.I., Ben
Spade - a very entertaining read.
This book was written while Gatecrasher was in its first
edition - before it was translated to Fudge. However,
Grey Ghost Games has included a simple conversion sheet which allows
you to run it effortlessly in Fudge - or any other system
you desire.
All in all, get this book. A solid "A" rating from me - this is one of
the most fun settings to play in I've ever encountered. Believe
it or Else! is mostly rich, delightful background that is an
extraordinarily entertaining read, and a very fun setting to play in -
what an RPG supplement should be.
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