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As a gamer, I never quite found the time to explore the combination of cybernetics and magic that was especially popular throughout the 90s to the extent I really wanted. I was busy running and playing other games, and found generally those at the core of cyber-fantasy genre to be somewhat intimidating and hard to get into, either because the rules seemed difficult to grasp, or they were scattered throughout pages and pages of lore, or they utilized a wide variety of systems and sub-systems of resolution that seemed to add another layer of complication to the task of running them properly. Later on, as I got the time to get more into these genres I had always wanted to game with, it seemed the later editions of those very same games just became more and more complex and harder to approach. Not to bash on these games – I'd still play a RIFTS game tomorrow if given the chance, but despite my attraction, it seemed that I wouldn't find the game that would work for me without a lot of research and house ruling along the way.
I figured that my expectations from the get-go were just different. I wanted something simple to grasp, like an OSR game, but with more heft and detail to get a good mileage out of the combination of magic and cybernetics components. I wanted some meat on solid bones of game play, and something that would take me away from D&D and d20 for the sake of variety. I would eye the pools of dice of Mage and Shadowrun with great interest. I wanted some starting point for a universe I could work with. Something with a unique flair, but something I could also make my own, and take in a wide variety of directions.
When Sinless was launched on Kickstarter it seemed to tick all the boxes of my wish list. So I supported the effort, and joined the discord community afterwards. We proofed the game as a community, with an author very receptive to constructive feedback and criticism, though he kept his vision of the project intact and knew where he was going with it.
The results are I think excellent for use at the game table : simple core mechanic of skill + gear, pools of dice you split between your actions, magic that can be specialized or general, robots, uplifted sentient animals, magicked individuals that could each be unique or mimic some of the classic fantasy tropes if you want them to, there is an abundance of possibilities, a richness in the setting that is well thought-out, but also an openness of interpretation to the whole that exploits of the full strength of the medium of role playing games and gives the power of imagination where it rightfully belongs: to the agonarch (the GM in this game) and the players of course.
Sinless departs from the other role playing games in this genre by avoiding a kind of bioessentialism that can work great in worlds of complete fantasy but could become a problem in games based off our real world or at some specific tables. It dodges this bullet by making all characters fundamentally human. The genetics can vary, but the treatment of individuals, their potentials and personalities, the formation of groups and allegiances in society are all the fruit of social behavior and conditioning, prejudices, or lack thereof.
The concept of “the Sinless”, these people that live on the fringe of society without government registration and try to amass influence and fortune to maybe one day gain their independence from the corporations and the world government is a great idea, which can lead to the creation of a wide variety of Brands (organizations for the PCs with their own statistics in the game), where they acquire assets and contacts and grow their influence by becoming super spies, mercenaries, champions of the people or investigators in a noir universe, and leave their own personal mark on the urban landscape as they do so.
The organization of game play into phases of Missions, where you do the heist, secure the asset, retrieve the data, breach the vaults, whatever you'd normally do in such hot jobs for cybered and magicked operators like the PCs, and phases of Sector where you grow your Brand as a group and deal with its gradual evolution in the city, is a really great way to bring some structure and guidance to play with the core conceits and ideas of the game. These tools are meant to be enabling, rather than prohibitive. Want to have a "personal time" phase in between? You can. Want to do a murder investigation that doesn't quite fit the pattern? You can as well, at will, but it seems to be a very good idea to work with the structures given first, rather than ignore them.
Where the game could be light and the rules take a back seat, efforts were made to not encumber the game play needlessly. NPCs have stats that are simplified compared to PCs, much like monsters in D&D compared to player characters. Cohorts, assets and employees can be interpreted as extensions of the PCs rather than characters apart of them. Lots of unique bits of design have been combined to make the game both as sturdy and as light as possible.
The magic section contains spells which create strain on the individuals that use them. Amplifications are genetic changes in the makeup of the individual. Cybernetics do not lead to madness or cyber-psychosis, but they heavily conflict with the practice of magic, keeping both relatively balanced with one another. Some characters with key skills chosen at generation can use drones as cohorts and extensions of themselves, while others with cyberdecks can connect to the local hub and take control of surrounding devices. It all works using the same general logic applied to various fields of knowledge, with enough variations that each specialization feels fresh and cool to explore in play.
I don't think Sinless could be called a "light" game. It isn't an over-complicated monstrosity of a game design. There is a directness and elegance to it, and yet some depth, with plenty of options and combinations for the players and their characters to explore. The ability to play an octopus private investigator, a replicant socialite, or a martial artist using his amplifications to perform incredible feats of daring is enough to please a wide variety of gaming groups and keep them busy for quite some time. My little finger tells me this game won't stop here, though: there will be further development of the line with game aids and scenarios to be published at a later date. The author also spoke of a third-party license to come out this year for others who would want to participate to the growth of the campaigns and community around Sinless.
All in all, Sinless is clearly a labor of dedication that is meant to be played. It has been based on solid math, subjected to plenty of stress tests and been tuned gradually through diligent playtests. It should work and adapt itself to the practice of most TTRPG groups out there, while presenting new ways to enjoy and conceptualize the act of play.
Personally, I cannot wait to explore this game further in depth. I advise anyone interested in themes like the combination of cybernetics and magic, the exploration of the near future through action and heists as well as questions about science and humanity, and simply those among use who love science fiction and fantasy equally, to check out this game. I give it a solid 4.5/5, rounded up to 5/5. I will run it next at my game table, and will purchase any further developments as they are made available for us all.
Recommended purchase. Game on!
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