January 27, 2004: 9:31 pm: MichaelMiscellaneous
The small list of RPGs that I’m likely to buy in the not too distant future is slowly growing, though so far it only includes Nobilis, My Life With Master, and maybe HeroQuest (which would be a more likely purchase if the rulebook was hardcover).
I’m thinking of adding Unknown Armies to the list, and I was wondering if anyone had any comments (positive or negative) about either the system itself or the second edition rulebook.
January 28th, 2004 at 6:05 am
UA is a very interesting setting (the modern world with some very unexpected magical conspiracies). The system is interesting, with lots of allowance for creative play but with a few odd flaws (particularly in its odd way of treating armor), none of which actually seem more than cosmetic. The idea of having player-custom “cherries” (special effects you get when when rolling doubles on a skill check) is quite nice, making each character distinctive quickly. Also, the idea of letting characters “flip-flop” their rolls (swap the high and low digits of their d% roll) when working in their specialty is quite good.
Its magick is its best idea… In the roughest terms, anything you obsess on can become a source of magick (if you learn how to control it), and so anything large numbers of people obsess on are powerful sources of magic. So beware of big money interests, the porn industry, or even fast food! The conspiracies hide in the strangest places. This is a great game for anyone who ever wanted to take the Illuminati idea a little more seriously than SJG ever did.
The second edition rulebook is quite nicely produced and well deserving of its place as one of Atlas’s best sellers last year.
February 7th, 2004 at 8:48 am
The other thing worth knowing about UA is its personality mechanics. More elaborate than a Cthulhu-like Sanity system, UA tracks the erosion of the PCs’ mental health on five separate tracks: their exposure to violence, to the supernatural, isolation, helplessness, etc. Combined with the emphasis in character generation – every UA PC by definition is obsessed with something – this is clearly meant to be a game about damaged people becoming more damaged. I think it’s marvellous, but not everyone does.