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Mutant City Blues
 
$20.95
Average Rating:4.2 / 5
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Mutant City Blues
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Mutant City Blues
Publisher: Pelgrane Press
by Guillaume H. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/31/2017 13:44:53

Mutant City Blues feels more like a collection of suggestions for a setting than a traditional book including setting and rules ; It's all good if you are willing to play a US based super mutant investigation, otherwise you'll have to do the legwork by yourself. The GUMSHOE system, at least the way it is presented in this book, lacks definition for my taste ; a player friendly set of pools, with clear instructions for the GM that failure does not exist and has little consequences on the investigation outcome. The order in which informations are provided makes little sense, with references, acronyms and rules that are explained long after being used into gameplay exemples. All in all, you'll find pretty good ideas in mutant city blues setting suggestions, but don't expect a solid foundation for a campaign, or a game ready to go... Therefore, the 20 USD pricetag seems a bit much.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Mutant City Blues
Publisher: Pelgrane Press
by TTR S. M. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 09/17/2013 07:28:03

This is an excellent game that has a fun and interesting take on the Cop Drama genre and superpower/mutant games, and one that fits the Gumshoe system perfectly. Mutant City Blues is set in the near future, where 1% of the population have developed mutant powers in a similar style to The X-Men. To borrow a line from the book, that means 1% of the criminals now have superpowers, and 1% of the police and other law enforcement officers that pursue them. In the fictional world presented in the book, the law (and society) has adapted to this new status quo by accepting most of these new abilities, possession of some powers require licencing and other are outright outlawed, with a horrific “Minority Reportesque” pre-emptive incarceration and forced sedation in store for anybody that is unfortunate enough to manifest them, but most powers are simply accepted and are now accepted as part of society as a whole. Law Enforcement of the world recognised the need for a special unit dedicated to dealing with mutant related cases, and this is where the players are assumed to be placed. I’ve seen this referred to as a “Superhero” game, but I believe those people have taken a drastically incorrect view of the setting. This, in my view, is a Cop Drama first and foremost. Law and Order the RPG, with mutants. While the setting does include “superpowers”, a gritty realism is (or rather, can be) a core element of the setting and it works very well when used. The Gumshoe system lends itself very well to the setting. The new “Quade Diagram” pseudo-scientific system used to create the “Mutations” and related “Defects” is truly excellent. It make creating a character with mutations very interesting, sure you can create Superman or Spider-Man or Wolverine, but you have to take the bad with the good, and the defects (that are mandatory when taking certain powers) are quite severe. The standard Gumshoe system of Investigation and General points works very well, perhaps best in this setting than in any of the other printed Gumshoe book. As a GM, I found this game was best run with two player characters, creating either a “Law or Order” or “Buddy Cop” feel, depending on the attitudes of the players at the time. This is a fantastic game, and deserves a lot more people playing it that I suspect it gets.

TTR Steve Marsh – Host of The Tabletop Review www.thetabletopreview.com



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Mutant City Blues
Publisher: Pelgrane Press
by Anthony C. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/10/2012 20:29:00

I'm a huge fan of super heroes in a less than spandex setting (Heroes, 4400, and others in that vein). That is where Mutant City Blues falls into supers role-playing. Players take on characters who have some serious edges over normals, but not to the godlike stature of the JLA or Avengers.

Wins for this game:

  • excellent details (powers have to follow a "logical" progression through a charting system). This chart works great as an investigating tool within the game.
  • excellent writing. I love the setting and what characterization is given to it. I would have liked a bit more padding to the setting, but I suppose it's best left up to the individual game masters.
  • solid system. It takes getting used to, but this game engine works tremendously well for detective style gaming.

Needs work?

  • The art is sporadic and not consistently great throughout the book.
  • supplements. This game doesn't have the love that Trail of Cthulhu has so there is little in the way of support for the lazy GM.

Overall, I think this is a much stronger RPG for playing super heroes rather than Smallville or the 2012 Marvel Super Heroes. It offers a fresh world without 50 years of backstory to contend with.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Mutant City Blues
Publisher: Pelgrane Press
by Steve K. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 08/20/2010 13:06:15

I loved the way that this linked in with the escoterrorist system.

The quade diagram and the ability to create great dramma with the system WITHOUT depending on the players getting the clues.....just asking the right questions.

When I set it in Detroit with all the google earth maps the setting seemed to really materialize for my players and what they were doing.

Great system!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Mutant City Blues
Publisher: Pelgrane Press
by Devon K. [Featured Reviewer]
Date Added: 08/10/2010 13:27:00

This game was my first exposure to the GUMSHOE system and it made me fall in love with it! This game is extremely fun. I really love how all the mutant powers are related to each other on a diagram, giving more plausibility to super-powers and how they would develop. The world is rich and full of color and interesting ideas. I highly recommend this game.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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