Over the Edge (OTE) is an RPG I don't wish to
discuss, actually. When it first came out, I wrote a review of it in the
now defunct magazine The Gamer. Some sterling semi-literate
individual apparently read about half the review, noted the summation
grade, and wrote in Alarums & Excursions (Lee Gold's
excellent fanzine) that I hated the rules system and had panned it in
that article. Apparently they were having a discussion of the game at
that time, and my review seemed timely. (BTW, it was not Lee who wrote
that, and I don't blame her in any way.)
Thus my name became mud in Alarums & Excursions
through no fault of my own. For I did not pan the rules in my review.
In fact, I praised the rules system highly, and even, in that very review,
requested the author write a generic version of the rules, suitable for
other genres! However, due to that Alarums & Excursions
article, I still get e-mail from people basically saying, "What do
you know about RPGs - you don't even like the OTE rules!"
What I panned was the setting - I'll take full responsibility for that.
I admit that I was wrong - I stated in that article that I couldn't
imagine anyone wanting to do more than an occasional one-shot game in
that setting - that no one would want to play long campaigns there.
Apparently there are people who do like to play long campaigns there -
so I guess my imagination was too limited on that occasion.
So if you want to bad mouth me for that, that's fine - the setting
is taste, and it's not to mine at all, and I said so in the review.
If it's to your taste, fine - play there. I'll play Bunnies &
Burrows, thanks, or Three Musketeers, or dozens
of other genres.
But I did not disparage the rules - I called them "excellent" in that
review, in fact. So, please, no more e-mails about how I panned the
OTE rules. And some general advice: always check the
original source instead of someone (mis)quoting such a source if you
have a strong reaction to what's being reported ...
Thank you.
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