Index Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer

[Rene Seiler]

Neverheard of, or dont like, the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Then you need not concern yourself here. If youre looking for a generic occult-fighting RPG, grab Witchcraft instead it uses almost the same system, and you can check out the few rules changes on the net if youre mad curious. Or get Jared Sorensens Inspectres for just ten bucks. Either way, youll be better off.

Lets start by judging a book by its cover. And what a cover glossy, hardback, with the big Buffy logo and well-chosen pictures of almost all the big stars Buffy Giles, Angel, Spike, Willow, Xander, Oz and Cordy. Around it all and completing the inside page margins - is a funky pattern of entwined crosses, hearts and swords. Its set against a purple background on the front, but its colour-coded for each chapter. Yes, attractive AND functional.

Also inside, some 95% of the artwork is show stills, and mostly good ones. Exactly what youd expect for an RPG based on a TV program, but the preponderance and quality of them demonstrates the high production values Eden have applied here. It looks, indeed, like the Sunnydale High Yearbook or the various Watchers Guides, and would not be at all out of place on the shelf next to them. Should the game end up there, the designers have taken every step they can to maximise cross-over potential.

Original art is used in the game in two sections for sketches of the bad guys in the bestiary and the adventure, and in the pregenerated PCs section. For the former, theyve chosen the works of Mr Chistopher Shy. A lot of people love Christopher Shys work. I am not one of them. His style is also, I feel, often at odds with what hes been asked to do. For example, the adventure includes a character who is basically Captain Kirk (it is a more silly episode of Buffy that is being recreated) but the sketch is once again burdened with the dark, ominous shading that is Shys trademark.

What they should have done is hired Mr rk Post, who did the character archetypes. I consider the art for this section to be the most vital part of the presentation of any game because its job is to sell sample playing-pieces to those who will play them. Mr Post comes through with style at this crucial moment. Some may find the face shapes a little odd, but the New Slayer looks playable, cool and very hot, all at once. In other words, the job gets done and gets done well.

That last phrase sums up this product very well indeed: it gets the job done, and done well. Buffy is living proof that RPG design hasnt just settled into a comfortable format over recent years, but has actually learnt a lot about what really works and what doesnt within that format. Buffy is cut like a tailored suit to do exactly what it should do in the most stylish way possible, and every single line shows that the tailor is a master with the scissors, someone with years of experience about what looks good on the body, not just on the hanger. Im not sure how to fit playtesting into this cool suit metaphor Ive got going here, but its also clear they did a lot of that and listened hard to the feedback.

But back to the visuals. Moving past the short contents, we get a double-splash page combining two pictures: a lovelorn Angel and a pensive Buff. It serves little purpose but to make the game look like all the other Buffy products out there. It is fannish fluff, but thats the whole point. And speaking of fannish fluff, next we get a short story by the grand master of Buffy fiction, Mr Christopher Golden. Mr Golden has written quite a few Buffy novels (including one trilogy and a brand new tetralogy), and writes prodigiously for both the Buffy and Angel comic lines. The story itself is nothing amazing, although it is certainly well-written; the point is that once again, the non-roleplaying Buffy fan will find herself on very familiar territory. Lots of pictures. Double-splash photo pages. And Mr Golden. The only thing they could do to make it feel more like home is include ads for merchandise or instructions on how to join the Buffy fan club at the back.

I feel like stopping the review there. I mean, if you cant tell from the sheer devotion and skill applied to the presentation that this is a game of exceptional quality, then youre not really listening. And you know the setting. So what more do you need to know?

Ah, you dont care about this, you say? So they got the look right, and the marketing is brilliantly done so what?. What about the content, man? What lies within the pages of the actual RPG? Stop babbling and get to the point!

Moving on from the fiction, the first chapter is your classic introduction piece. Here, for the first time, we get introduced to Mr Carellas prose. Here, for the first time, we realise that Mr Carella is a genius.

I dont know how he did it, but this book is written with exactly the same kind of verve, mockery, self-parody and straight-talking that made the television show so appealing. Okay, hes not quite as funny as Joss Whedon, but like Buffy, there are lines in here that you will want to quote elsewhere. Lines which are laugh-out-loud funny or just seriously damn cool. Lines which are refreshing in their candour and their reference to popular culture. Every now and then it teeters on the edge of being annoying, but it pulls it back every time. Unless you have an extremely low tolerance for colloquial styles, you shouldnt find the jokes ever becoming irritating, or inhibiting the communication of the rules.

This communication is helped immeasurably by the highly stylish and very clear layout. Thanks to the full colour throughout, different types of information is in both different fonts and different colours. Its the same kind of sharp, easy to reference presentation that made Star Wars Revised and Expanded so well regarded when it was released. Quotes are used extensively throughout the book, although often with little relevance at all to the surrounding text. That can be annoying, but as theyre usually choice examples of Buffy at its most amusing, it matters little. They still makes you laugh.

The introduction chapters content is devoted to describing how to play roleplaying games, how the rules are laid out and how to get started. Its pitched at total newbies so is slightly longer than in most modern games, but this doesnt stop it from giving the gist clearly and succinctly, or from assuming the reader is intelligent. We close this chapter with a brief summary of the cosmology of Buffy, and then a massive review of everything that has happened on the show in the first five series. By putting the Buff before the stuff (ooh, theres a catchphrase for all you budding marketeers!) newbies will see the resemblance to a series guide and still be feeling on familiar ground.

But Steve, you say, youre still preaching to the choir! I care not one wit for this crapola youre waffling on about. Im not a newbie. Im a long-time roleplayer who wants you to get to the damn point and talk about what the RPG actually does modelling the Slayer and her universe before I wrap you in a daiper and mail you to Michael Jackson.

Some Assembly Required (an episode title and a chapter title, all in one) is the guide to making those who live the Scooby life. At 36 pages, its the longest chapter in the book, and then has 38 pages of examples on top of it. Never let it be said that this game is rules-skimpy, or just another series guide with a few rules tacked on at the back. Of the 250-odd pages, less than 50 are devoted to setting. More importantly, the rules sections dont simply provide rules, they teach you how to apply them, every step of the way. This is a rulebook designed from page one to be a how-to guide, not simply a list of rules. For proof of that, you only need to check those first page numbers I listed 36 pages of chargen rules, 38 pages of examples. That, my gaming friends, is true dedication to the application, and its a joy to behold.

The chapter kicks off explaining briefly your options for setting up a new series, an idea explored much deeper later on in the book. Here they simply talk about how many slayers you might want in your group, and how to fudge, bend or break the so-called rules of the setting to make this come about. Its nice to see cosmology taking a back-seat to Doing Whatever The Hell You Want, even up to the point of discussing a game about Slayo the Slayer-dog! Without apology, too - the chief caveat offered being that, should you have five slayers, you should not, under any circumstances, allow them to wear sailor suits.

One thing you do have to know before going in, however, is whether your character is a White Hat, a Hero, or an Experienced Hero. White Hats are basically heroes who arent combat ready your standard Scooby or Slayerette. Heroes are people like Slayers, Angel and Riley who can take on a vamp or two without breaking a sweat. Heroes get more points for attributes, skills and qualities (points for each section are specified, rather than an overarching total), but the White Hats get 20 drama points instead of 10. These numbers are for beginning, first season heroes; stats for those who want to start off with a more series-five level Buff are under Experienced Hero. No listing for Experienced White Hat for some reason, but its easy to extrapolate.

No doubt youre curious as to whether the Heroes and White Hats are balanced. Answer is no, not really. When it comes to combat, Buffy and Angel are going to steal the show, no matter what. Scoobies can use their drama points in many different ways and think outside the box to contribute to combat effectively and entertainingly, but they still cant do the kewl kung-fu, and they go down in a crumpled heap a lot faster. And because of all those extra skill points, Heroes wont be slouches in other fields either, such as book-learnin, breaking into military installations or chatting up hot guys.

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