A new magazine is always exciting, when it's talking about a new game even more so!
It starts with a bubbling editorial, explaining a little about what the company GameAddikts is working on right now, sounds like they are excited about their new science-fiction game Psypher 2430. At the time of writing, they were putting finishing touches to the corebook, which has now just been released.
So, to share the excitement, there's a sneak preview: some of the timeline that forms the background to the game. It's a delightful snippet of future history, with hyperdrive being developed almost accidentally in 2174 and mankind scampering off to explore and colonise forthwith. Eventually they encountered sentient life, and took just three months to manage to establish communication... fortunately they were quite friendly! The article goes on to talk about some of the other things in store. A believable alternate reality is laid out, with care being taken to explain what day-to-day life is like, not just those moments of cinematic high adventure. Naturally, there will be all the rules necessary to create, equip and play a character too.
Initially, the game was intended to be a futuristic prison-break style game, and the prison world of Purgatory would have been the entirity of the setting. As the game developed, however, it became clear that many other options would be possible, and not everyone wants to play a criminal - certainly not one who's already been caught and banged up in gaol! So the scope has widened, with the development of the Terran Alliance and a whole galaxy to roam.
Next comes a short piece about the main settlement on Purgatory, a township called Bastik. It's controlled by three gangs, quite equally balanced, and so far the authorities are content to leave it that way - as long as their hilltop base is supplied with food!
Finally, there's an appendix to the QuickStart adventure, for those who enjoyed it and would like to carry on playing. There are notes on character advancement, some extra gear to pick up, and two more scenarios to play. The equipment is nicely described, with a neat touch being that you're also told where it can be acquired and from whom - make that shopping trip part of the game, not downtime picking from lists! As for the adventures, one is a bounty hunt and the other involves carrying out some investigative work on behalf of the authorities: fights have been breaking out at random for no reason that even the participants can give... perhaps the characters can find out what's going on.
All neat and well-crafted, and a good taste of what is to come.
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