Anyone who was a teenager and had to go to school knew the kid. Y'know, the one who always wore the grayed-out My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult t-shirt. The one who had dyed his hair jet black with what looked like shoe polish and who always smelled like hemp and sandalwood incense. Maybe you also saw him in class with that "I know something you don't" smirk as he ran his hand back and forth across a lighter flame. He tried to be scary, he tried to look threatening, but he always came off hilarious. Maybe it was you. Well, now thanks to Postmortem Studios you can role-play him (or yourself) in Bloodsucker: The Angst.
Bloodsucker: The Angst is a role-playing game loosely based on the D20 system, but also sports a lot of different mechanics. The point of the game is to play a 'Bloodsucker', a wannabe Lord of the Night who spends his days moping through a dead-end job or school and his nights at poetry readings in the back rooms at the local goth coffee bar.
The attitude of the whole affair is snarky at its nicest, humor being bent toward how much of a loser your character really is in the real world. A warning should be given here as much of the humor in the game tends toward the crass bordering on puerile. The language is very strong at points and discusses such subjects as internet porn, recreational drugs, and sexually deviant behavior. If that's not your cup of tea, best move on. Still here? Well, let's keep going then.
Layout/Organization: The text is in two-column format which makes for easy reading, but suffers a little from crowded text at points. Navigation is made a little difficult by the lack of bookmarks and coming in at just under a hundred pages this can get difficult. The book is organized into chapters, but these chapters aren't divided too clearly. On the one hand this is good because it makes for very little white-space but on the other, it can be difficult to find the beginning of a chapter when flipping through the text quickly. Grammar is about the weakest part of the book, but nothing that will ruin the fun of the reading experience.
The art in the book is very humorous. Most of it being caricatures of goth wannabes that look like they could be in a Tim Burton movie. I thought it a little strange that with the funny drawings throughout, the icons of the character cliques were done in a very stiff, serious Manga style.
Crunchy: Though based on the D20, or as they say, the OGL system, James Desborough has played very fast and loose with the rules. This works as it streamlines the combat and instead focuses on role-playing your character. Some of it works to make game play more loose to make way for role-playing, but at other points it can get confusing.
Character creation is very different in that you don't pick character class, but rather a clique, or a group of people you hang out with. There are a number of cliques in Bloodsucker that take in all colors of the goth rainbow. Okay, I know that one color is black, but bear with the metaphor please. Some of these are Crowleys, which are people who think they have mystical powers, Gothistocrats, the 'real' goths (and they know it), Grungies who are part vegan, part Cobain worshipper, and, Perkies who are ravers that gulp the E like candy all the while swinging neon glow sticks. Other cliques are Freaks, Moshers, Outcasts, and Pretentious Art Whores.
Along with cliques, the character chooses a life template which is for the most part a job, but sometimes it can be a lifestyle like an artist or a student. These determine various things like start money and income.
Along with feats your character has 'powers' which sometimes work like feats and sometimes are actual abilities. These range from being able to change into an animal to added strength. The rules regarding these power feats are a little sketchy and can be confusing. At one point is states each clique has access to a certain power except outcasts which can have access to any power feat while at another it states that players can pick any power feat they want.
The other big difference from the D20 system is the addition of pros and cons. These are used to further modify your character in certain ways and add role-playing options for both the players and GM or Tale-Teller in this case. These are hilarious and include my personal favorite "Cliff Notes Satanist", a guy who thinks he's in the know concerning the Dark Lord of Hell, but always gets it wrong. Nearly any type of character can be made with the combination of clique, life template, and pros and cons.
The combat is also a little different. There are no longer full round or partial actions. Every round each player gets three actions that can be anything. The combat is also a little more deadly since armor doesn't provide an AC but rather damage reduction. Experience points have been ditched for allowing characters to level up on a per session basis. Aside from that you have grapples, coup de gras, and the other trappings of d20 combat.
The only thing I would have liked to see is an equipment list. Weapons are statted out and so is a small selection of armor, but clothes, miscellaneous equipment, and accessories, which could play a large part in the role-playing world of Bloodsucker aren't detailed in the least. No price lists, nothing. Tale-tellers will have to do a little work here.
NPCs are included and cover all the stereotypes of the goth world. You've got a preacher, fey, and others that will aid a tale-teller in fleshing out a campaign.
One stark omission is the absence of a character sheet. I know it's not hard to make one but with so many rule changes it can prove to be a lot of work and it would have been nice to have one included.
Chewy: It doesn't say it in so many words, but Bloodsucker is a parody of the World of Darkness. It pokes fun at every staple of the goth genre and if you have known anyone who considers themselves 'goth' you will laugh out loud at the jokes in this book. The flavor is very light and although I disagree with Desborough calling this a 'beer and pretzels' game, players will spend as much time laughing and joking as they will actually playing the game. Anyone who has wanted to laugh at trench coat mafioso or has silently thought Marilyn Manson is really a total nerd behind closed doors will have a lot of fun playing this game.
'Grim' Desborough has included a ton of campaign ideas, but after reading all the flavor text any tale-teller should have some great ideas.
In all, Bloodsuckers: The Angst, while suffering from bad grammar and a sometimes clunky treatment of mechanics more than makes up for it in flavor and fun. It can be used by anyone who wants to do a one-shot or a full campaign.<br><br><b>LIKED</b>: Lots of feeling, very funny. Hilarious send up of the two most popular RPGs on the market.<br><br><b>DISLIKED</b>: Poor grammar usage, sometimes contradictory rules, and lack of a character sheet. However, nothing that ruins the experience.<br><br><b>QUALITY</b>: Acceptable<br><br><b>VALUE</b>: Satisfied<br>
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