Welcome to the world Blue Planet – one of the smartest games you’ll ever come across.

Review Originally Published in the February 2001 issue of Games Unplugged
Republished on RPGNet May 22nd, 2001

The year is 2199. Natural and manmade disasters have torn Earth apart. Incorporated city-states dominate the political scene. Civilization has barely survived a post-modern dark age. But there is hope: A wormhole at the edge of the solar system leads to a blue, oceanic world… Poseidon.

Welcome to the world Blue Planet.

With the Player’s Guide (being reviewed here), and its companion volume (the Moderator’s Guide), the Blue Planet game is moving into its second edition, with these two core rulebooks covering the same material which the first edition rulebook and Archipelago supplement did. Although the Player’s Guide contains a solid set of introductory setting material, in general the contents of the two books can be broken down very simply: The Player’s Guide contains all the rules. The Moderator’s Guide contains the world.

From the first moment you encounter the world of Blue Planet (in a first person narrative introduction which not only introduces you to the planet Poseidon, but also gives you a firm grasp of what the life of your character is like) you begin to appreciate the impressive creativity and thought which have gone into it.

For starters, this is a smart game: The science and technology which provides the foundation for Blue Planet’s science fiction is not only well researched, but acts as a powerful element in the logical historical extrapolation which gives rise to the future history presented in the game.

Unsatisfied with merely giving the grognards a rich supply of technical detail, the designers of Blue Planet have given you a setting rich with themes and elements from across the scope of the science fiction field: High adventure, cyberpunk, post-cyberpunk, hard SF, and space opera all find their place here. You can choose what you want to emphasize in your own campaign, or take the rich synthesis of the entire gestalt to heart. This multi-layered approach – which adds depth, believability, and utility to the setting – also gives rise to a number of small touches which are packed full of dynamic possibility: For example, the handling of non-humanoid intelligence (and the allowance given in playing non-humanoid PCs) is refreshing and well done.

As a natural result of all this, the Blue Planet setting gives rise to a number of different campaign structures: GEO Marshals, Incorporate agents, illegal poachers, native activists, treasure hunters, and dozens of other possibilities lie nascent within this world.

Easily overlooked in this second edition is the brand new Synergy System, which replaces the rule system of the first edition. A limited dice pool system, with a standard combat extension, and a simple, realistic wound system that gets the job done. But where the system really shines is character creation – which is accessible, yet dynamic. Accessible because the process is kept open and simple through the use of varying power levels, character packages, and other shortcuts. Dynamic because underneath this simple exterior is a system capable of handling a wide variety of needs and wants. Perhaps the most interesting part of this entire system is the unique Attribute/Aptitude/Skill dynamic – in which characters not only have the traditional split between their natural talents (Attributes) and learned abilities (Skills), but also have a representation of what areas their character tends to excel in (Aptitudes). Aptitudes serve to focus a character’s role in a campaign in a very realistic and flexible fashion. There all sorts of elements throughout the character creation system which can be described in the same manner: They aid, but they do not restrict.

Grade: A-

Title: Blue Planet: Player’s Guide
Writers: Jeffrey Barber, Greg Benage, Allan Grohe, John Snead, Jason Werner
Publisher: Biohazard Games (Fantasy Flight Games)
Price: $27.95
Page Count: 255
ISBN: 1-887911-40-7
Product Code: BP02

Blue Planet is another of my great white whales. I fell in love with this setting when I read the first edition, but I’ve never been able to run a game there. I haven’t sailed those cerulean seas for many years, but for a decade or more I frequently revisited them and dreamed. (One idea I had was as Blue Planet/Transhuman Space mashup.) I was even hired to write a supplement for FFG’s edition of the game, but that, too, never came to pass.

FASA released a revised version of the 2nd Edition, which I don’t own but have been given to understand is basically just a cleaned up version of the edition reviewed here. A third edition of the game, Blue Planet: Recontact, was crowdfunded in 2021, missed its intended 2022 release date, but appears to be on the verge of finally becoming reality. Perhaps the third time will be the charm for me!

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

High quality artwork on a GM screen packaged with an excellent starter adventure for Big Eyes, Small Mouth. This one gets two thumbs up from me.

Review Originally Published May 21st, 2001

GM screens invariably follow the same pattern: You’ve got a trifold or quadfold piece of cardboard with art on one side and relevant statistics on the other. This is almost certainly packaged with some sort of pamphlet, which is usually included in a vain attempt to convince people that the piece of cardboard is actually worth the exorbitant price which is being charged for it.

(You know, I can’t figure out why they don’t just package the GM screen with the character sheets.)

The Big Eyes, Small Mouth GM Screen certainly fits this pattern: Quadfold cardboard (with each fold having the same dimensions as the rest of the BESM product line), with an accompanying cross-genre adventure module: So, We Have… An Obelisk?

THE SCREEN

The screen itself focuses primarily on combat – at points seeming to go out of its way trying to find relevant charts (for example, half a page is spent detailing the differences between the six skill levels – which come down to the fact that skill level 6 has a -6 bonus and a skill level 5 has a -5 bonus). As a result, I feel that it overlooks other charts and information which would have been more useful. This is a fairly typical failure of GM screens, and one of the reasons I don’t generally like them – although the BESM screen at least avoids the silliness of including character creation rules (which you’re almost never going to have to reference during actual gameplay).

The art on the opposite side is a stunning piece of full-color fantasy art by Julie Dillon, an artist who should already be familiar to any BESM fan. Dillon’s art continues to impress me in its ability to conjure forth epic and awe-inspiring vistas with dynamic and varied characters. The quality of the art alone has probably earned this screen a place at my game table. (Oddly, I’ll probably end up using it for my upcoming D&D campaign, actually).

When I first saw the screen I was initially concerned about the decision to have it mirror the dimensions of the BESM books. The shorter height, at some game tables, will reduce the usefulness of the screen as a screen. But in actual practice I didn’t find this to be a problem except in the rare circumstance where the table being used was abnormally low compared to the players sitting around it.

THE ADVENTURE

Opening Scene: The PCs’ homeworlds are utterly destroyed and they die.

If nothing else, that’s certainly a catchy way of starting an adventure – and gives the players a great deal of flexibility in creating their characters (since it allows them to draw from any genre or setting they can conceive of and the GM is willing to approve).

Of course, shortly after they die they find themselves summoned by a disembodied voice, whereupon they appear upon a dusty, ruined road which runs along the edge of a tent village which has been raised in the shadow of a giant obelisk… just like the obelisks which led to the destruction of their own worlds.

Here’s what’s going on: In one of the many dimensions of the multiverse, a corrupt America has discovered the secret of draining other dimensions of their energy – granting themselves eternity and immortality, but robbing trillions of their lives. They accomplish this through the use of the obelisks. The PCs are faced with the difficult task of saving this world from destruction.

The tent village in which they have appeared has been formed at the command of the Teacher, a seeming messiah who preaches that the obelisk is a tool of the gods – sent to test their followers for their strength and faith. In truth, the Teacher is an agent of the dimension which controls the obelisks – and is using his position to complete the draining process on this world.

Assuming that the PCs can pierce through the Teacher’s facade and prevent him from bringing about armageddon on this world, they will find themselves teleported to the homeworld of the obelisks. There they have an opportunity to end this horrific interdimensional genocide forever – but not without a twist: They can end the genocide, but only by wreaking havoc on multiple worlds themselves. On the other hand, they can make a deal with a devil and see their homeworlds restored as new frontiers for the Empire.

The concept is bold and daring, and Jesse Scoble, the author, succeeds at investing it with memorable characters and powerful scenes. Every so often you get an adventure which makes you want to jump up and start gaming right away: In my opinion, this is one of them.

CONCLUSION

The screen’s content is of average quality. The screen’s artwork is stunning. The adventure included with the screen is excellent, and can easily serve as either an exciting one-shot or as the foundation for a highly memorable and entertaining campaign.

This one gets two thumbs up from me.

Style: 4
Substance: 4

Authors: Jesse Scoble
Company: Guardians of Order
Line: Big Eyes, Small Mouth
Price: $12.95
ISBN: 1-894525-12-4
Production Code: 02-102
Pages: 50

I never actually got a chance to run So, We Have… an Obelisk? I wasn’t well-positioned to run one-shots back in 2001, and my group ended up playing that D&D campaign I mentioned until half the group moved away a couple years later and the rest of the group broke up.

This review, though, definitely makes me want to double back and run the adventure now. If nothing else, Past Me was successful in selling Present Me on its virtues.

You may have noticed that the last several reviews were all originally posted on May 21st, 2001, and there’s a bunch more to come. This was Justin Bacon Review Week, a special celebration in which every review posted that week (20+ in total) were written by me. The instigation, if I recall correctly, was that the site had a bit of a backlog and so a number of reviews I’d written were sitting in the queue. Then, on top of this, I had a week or so with a lot of free time where I was reading and reviewing another huge swath of books.

Sandy Antunes, the founder of the site (and who was still running it at the time), reached out and thought it would be fun to celebrate my contributions to the site. I was incredibly honored by the gesture. It was the first time I’d received an official accolade like this, and it still means a lot to me even today.

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

Big Eyes, Small Mouth is possibly the best roleplaying system on the market today, and the new Fast Play Rules provide the perfect introduction for you and your players.

Review Originally Published May 21st, 2001

Big Eyes, Small Mouth is possibly the best roleplaying game on the market today. It succeeds at being a clean, simple system which leads to fast-paced, fun gaming sessions without sacrificing the level of detail necessary to accomplish everything you need it to. At the same time, Big Eyes, Small Mouth is the easiest generic game I’ve encountered. By that I mean that the task of adapting it to a new genre or campaign world is a quick and easy process – unlike other generic systems (such as GURPS or FUZION) which need to be thoroughly tweaked and customized to fit each iteration of your gaming needs.

And, on top of that, Guardians of Order has supported BESM with a remarkable line of high quality support products, including a plethora of licensed anime games: Big Robots, Cool Starships; Hot Rods & Gun Bunnies, Sailor Moon, Dominion Tank Police, Demon City Shinjuku, Tenchi Muyo, and many others.

In other words, this is a game you should be playing.

In fact, the only difficulty I’ve had with BESM is – as with many high quality systems – convincing people to give it a try. Guardians of Order is not the first company to attempt to rectify this with some sort of introductory package, but I have to admit that I am particularly impressed with their Fast Play Rules: Between the low price (only $1.95) and the high production values (glossy full-color), it will not only impress my gaming buddies – I can cheaply pick up multiple copies to hand out.

So, what has Guardians of Order crammed into this slim little pamphlet?

First, you have some standard introductory material (“What is a roleplaying game?”, “What is anime?”, “What is Big Eyes, Small Mouth?”, etc.). This, coincidentally, also makes this an attractive package to pick up if you’re looking to “convert” someone to RPGs – cheap, yet highly alluring (particularly to existing anime fans).

Next, an abbreviated version of the BESM rules are provided – including character creation (with the exception of the optional skill rules from second edition), action resolution, and combat.

The package is then rounded out with four brief samples of potential game ideas and themes (Journey to the East, Magical Bug Hunter Keko!, Legend of the Galactic Empire, and Voyagers of the New Dawn).

CONCLUSION

Big Eyes, Small Mouth is an excellent game. The Fast Play Rules are an excellent introduction to an excellent game.

Style: 5
Substance: 5

Authors: Mark C. MacKinnon and David L. Pulver
Company: Guardians of Order
Line: Big Eyes, Small Mouth
Price: $1.95
ISBN: 1-894525-28-0
Production Code: 02-100
Pages: 22

Surprisingly, however, I never wrote a full review of the second edition of Big Eyes, Small Mouth. I actually have a half-finished draft of one which I apparently started in September 2000, but it became one of those reviews that sat for too long after I read the book until it reached a point where, to do a meaningful review, I would have needed to go back and do a fresh cover-to-cover read of the book. And it just never happened.

I had written a review of the 1st Edition of Big Eyes, Small Mouth back in 1999. As I noted back then, it quickly became one of my go-to RPG systems. It’s been a long time since I played it, but I still have fond memories of its 2nd Edition and wouldn’t hesitate to grab it again if the need arose.

I’ve never picked up the 3rd Edition or the 4th Edition of the game. I actually know very little about them, having remained quite content with my copies of 2nd Edition.

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

Strange mysteries abound… for the poor DM who needs to decipher Kurishan’s Garden and render it into a playable adventure.

Review Originally Appeared May 21st, 2001

Warning: This review will contain spoilers for Kurishan’s Garden. Players who may find themselves playing in this adventure should not read beyond this point.

WHAT I LIKE

I like the adventure hook: The PCs arrive in a town which is having problems. But the threat isn’t directly to them: They’re not getting food shipments from a different town which has inexplicably ceased communication. Carpenter adds a nice layer to a standard feature of fantasy adventures, and emphasizes the importance of the PCs’ actions by showing the widespread impact of the problem.

I like the premise: Kurishan, a reclusive mage who lived in the village of Darbin, has recently died. Upon his death a number of contingency spells were triggered, designed to transfer his consciousness to a beautiful eternal lily in his spacious gardens. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite right, and Kurishan found himself instead trapped within a mass of mold, decomposing vegetation, and other debris. Driven a little insane by this turn of events, Kurishan – no longer able to cast spells, but imbued with an ability to control and manipulate plant life – created a strange race of “brainvine”. The villagers, who had yet to realize that Kurishan had even died, were suddenly beset by these vines: Control of their bodies were taken away from them, but they remain awake and aware of what is happening to them (creating a spooky situation in which the PCs can be attacked by people who are begging them to save them).

WHAT I DIDN’T

I dislike the boxed text: It is lackadaisical and subpar. (We actually have small, 10-foot by 10-foot rooms, folks!) While I don’t consider boxed text to be an essential component of a good adventure (take Penumbra’s excellent Three Days to Kill for example), if it is present I expect it to be of high enough quality so that I can actually read it to my players without feeling embarrassed. Poor boxed text which has been made integral to the adventure’s presentation can also hurt the quality of the underlying structure – which is the case here.

I dislike the fact that the adventure fails to capitalize upon its premise: The horror elements are only loosely played with. The situation in the village is entirely static – despite the fact that the PCs are supposedly facing an opponent who is in control of the entire village (and should, therefore, be capable of presenting a dynamic opposition). The PCs are never really given a chance to figure out what’s going on – but are, instead, forced to simply keep reacting until something clicks and the problem goes away (this is a pet peeve of mine – great concepts which only the DM gets to enjoy).

CONCLUSION

Kurishan’s Garden has a good concept and set-up, but then falls down on the actual execution of its ideas. As an Adventure Booster, the low price of $2.49 means that – despite its flaws — Kurishan’s Garden is probably still a good buy as an idea mine if nothing else.

Style: 3
Substance: 3

Author: Ken Carpenter
Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group
Line: Adventure Boosters
Price: $2.49
Product Code: 8308
Pages: 16

The brainvines are a really cool concept. I should take this as a prompt to finally use them after all these years.

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.

From page one, Jerimond’s Orb has problems.

Review Originally Appeared May 21st, 2001

Warning: This review will contain spoilers for Jerimond’s Orb. Players who may find themselves playing in this adventure should not read beyond this point.

I knew I was going to have problems with Jerimond’s Orb right from page one, when I read the following boxed text, which is specifically meant to be read aloud to the players (excerpted):

“My name is Arawn. I remember traveling home to Treefall, to my father’s inn, and then… darkness. […] Please, let me go home to my village. My mother and sister must worry for me. Arawn has no recollection of the encounter with the PCs, the beast he became, or anything that occurred after sunset the evening before.”

Dropping spoilers into the boxed text due to a layout error is a small thing, but it denotes a lack of attention to detail. This opening section of the adventure also betrays another pervasive problem: The assumption that the PCs will do completely illogical things to further the plot. This is one of the worst things a module writer can do, because it practically guarantees that the PCs will take actions which will either derail the adventure (thus rendering the module worthless to the DM) or force the DM to railroad the characters into the proper course of action (thus rendering the module worthless to the players). Specifically, Arawn shows up in the form of a terrible monster – which attempts to attack and kill the PCs. The adventure specifically assumes that the PCs will leave this monster alone and – at the same time – keep him around until morning (when he changes back to his human form).

You know, I’ve played RPGs for more than a decade – and I have never had the PCs in my games leave a homicidal monster alive. (Particularly in D&D, where you really have to go out of your way to capture an opponent alive.)

PLOT

Fifty years ago a wizard named Jerimond left a magical orb to protect his hometown of Treefall. The orb was designed to enhance the natural luck of any creature or area. If the orb is stolen, however, those who it once benefited will fall under a terrible curse: Condemned to turn into beasts (known as mathorn) when the sun sets and remain that way until dawn.

The orb was placed on a statue in the center of town, and has long gifted Treefall with good luck and plentiful harvests. A few days ago, local bandits stole the orb (which Jerimond used as part of a key-and-lock system to secure the treasure stashed at his old house). Now the crops are turning bad and random villagers are turning into vicious monsters.

When the PCs arrive in town, they will quickly have four mysteries to sort out: The missing orb, a dead girl, the plague of monsters, and the local bandits. All four, of course, have their red herrings and true clues – and all four, of course, turn out to be connected to one another.

CONCLUSION

Although Jerimond’s Orb is not without its strengths – most notably the interesting cast of characters that Ree Soesbee introduces – it’s dominated by its weaknesses. Its largest flaw, unfortunately, is the general lack of forethought and planning which Soesbee shows in constructing adventure. Time and again the PCs are asked to do irrational things, make illogical leaps of reasoning, and stumble upon the “correct” course of action.

All the building blocks of a good, solid adventure are here, but they are sadly disarranged and out of sorts. To render Jerimond’s Orb worth playing is an effort which its underlying quality most likely does not justify. There are better things to spend your money on.

Style: 3
Substance: 3

Author: Ree Soesbee
Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group
Line: Adventure Boosters
Price: $2.49
Product Code: 8305
Pages: 16

Reading this review 20+ years after writing it, I’m left a little confused by ranking of Substance 3. But since I also haven’t revisited this adventure in just as many years, I guess I’ll trust past-Justin’s assessment.

The reprint of this adventure in the Adventure I collection notably corrects the boxed text errors mentioned in this review.

Next AEG Booster Review: Kurishan’s Garden

For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.