mini-rpg-review: underworld

[reverancepavane]

Underworld, by Gareth-Michael Skarka of Synnibar Creative Systems, is a traditional role-playing game set in the magical reality that exists beneath New York, in much the same manner as Neverwhere was set beneath London. However in this case subways play a much more important role in the generation of this magical realm. For it is the presence of the subways, or rather, the commuters riding them endlessly like water through a prayer wheel, that generates the stuff of magic – The Radiance – and allows it to pool beneath the city, giving rise to both an altered reality and allowing life to those impossible things that need magic to survive. And there is a wide variety of strange things to be found in the tunnels beneath the city (even failing to consider the extent and nature of the tunnels themselves). Some of the more unusual inhabitants include legendaries (manifestations of archetypical characters created whole from the Radiance and the popular subconscious), ferals (animals granted intelligence by the Radiance, including, of course, the infamous albino alligators), freaks (mutants and other strange creatures that seek refuge in the underworld), junkmen (intelligent automata created by the guild of artificers), nomads (those who sort immortality by entering the Underworld), the lost (those people out of their time), and the unhuman mole people (who have always been there). Events, in both the city above and below, also shape the nature of the place, providing many interesting venues to explore. The rulebook is rather sparse, providing more of a tourist gazeteer of the interesting places and people below the tracks, than a fully fleshed out environment, requiring the gamemaster (or Conductor) to fill in the connecting (and far more mundane) pieces. However each section is delicately spiced with an excellent story that serves as a delightful flavour text that immediately immerses the reader in the game world. A fully-fleshed out and quite interesting short adventure is included. The actual rule system is simple; success is based on the number of Heads gained by flipping a number of coins based on your abilities (which are essentially determined by your breed [race] and guild [character class]). This can be augments by situation, description, charms and objects (such as the Track Sabre, a weapon that uses a magnetic clamp and the third rail of the subway to counterfeit a certain famous SF weapon). Changing this simple system to any system you might desire is, of course, an exercise in triviality – there is little overt connection between the game mechanics and the campaign world. Overall, the author has done a wonderful job of portraying the traditional mythic underworld as a real place located underneath the tracks of New York, filled with legendary sites, objects, and people. Even if you never intend to run such a campaign, it is well worth reading for this alone. Reccomended. And for a bonus treat, people should consult the Mystic Moo's oracle for convention attendance – at least my shoggoth still loves me.