TriTac RPG Systems
Product Line Overview

Closer Look Reviews

Reviewed by Dirk Dejong

Talk about the phoenix rising from the ashes... Richard Tucholka has risen from the ashes of the early 1980s gaming scene. Tucholka, the driving force behind such early 80s hits as The Morrow Project, Stalking the Night Fantastic, and FTL:2448, has decided to restart his company, Tri-Tac Systems, with a mixture of revamps of his old hits (sans Morrow Project, which is owned by another company) and some new ideas.

Systems Evaluation

Each Tri-Tac release shares a common game system with its sister games, one that has been described as the first generic role-playing system. While that may be an overstatement, as I believe a truly generic RPG system has yet to be developed and may never be, it's fairly close to the truth. A skill-based setup, with a rather complex and complete combat system, it really is as close to a generic system as anything else on the market. There are options for almost everything, the biggest problem being keeping track of it all.

Tri-Tac's releases have systems for firearm combat, unarmed combat, monster creation, psionics, clothing, vehicle creation, weapon creation, world and society creation, even diseases and allergies. While the index in the rear of each book is a great help, the sheer number of tables can be overwhelming. The fact that the books are quite good, perfect-bound, with large, readable type and tables (this is important if you have as many tables as these games) is of great import. A note should be made that the quality of editing, at least as far as spelling errors, could be improved. While most are minor and don't affect any rules, it can be irritating to read while correcting spelling in your head.

Also, the cover art on Fringeworthy and FTL: 2448, is stunning and must be seen to be believed. While the others are decent, those two really give you a feeling of what it would be like inside the games.

The biggest complaints I have with the Tri-Tac sisters are simple - too many tables and a combat system that can take forever to set up and run. While the system is more realistic than most, and does include a Fast Kill section for NPCs, it can be considered overkill. To determine if a PC was hit, and what happened, can take minutes, depending upon what type of weapon was used and how realistic you want to get. Everything from bone and nerve damage to hydrostatic shock is included. I haven't seen a combat system with this much detail since the early 80s.

Also, the hand to hand combat system contains some basic concepts that aren't as well explained as they need to be, a significant flaw in an otherwise well planned system. The problems with system complexity can be minimized to an extent by Tri Tac's current and planned computer utilities, which will help you automate and keep track of many of the system variables. There are Apple II and IBM versions already out, and a Mac version is on its way.

System good points and bad aside, Tri-Tac has succeeded in developing a number of well-done games based on a single system. Each game has it's own flavor and style; and you shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that just because these use the same system they feel like clones of one another. Tucholka has done an admirable job of fulfilling one of the prime directives of a generic RPG - letting you switch from game to game without thinking about the system.

Bureau 13

Bureau 13 is the revamp of Stalking the Night Fantastic, an investigate-and-destroy game where you are one of the lucky (or unlucky) few who have an affinity for the supernatural. You've been recruited by Bureau 13 of the United States Justice Department, which specializes in paranormal activities.

As such, you have the enviable(?) task of being the U.S.'s first, and often only, line of defense against such things as demons, werewolves, and monsters of every ilk. Unfortu- nately, Bureau 13 is a secret orga- nization with few, if any, ties to the rest of the government, so you and your team are pretty much on your own. The only consolation is that You get much of your equipment free, so long as you can convince the dis- bursement agent, i.e. the GM, that you need it.

Bureau 13 also includes a decent magic system and a well-thought out array of monsters to start your adventures with. As any fan of honor can tell you, honor is a perception of evil, not of physical form, so some of the more insidious monsters are, for instance, cult leaders, etc.

All in all, there's a lot to like about Bureau 13. First, though the premise is not new, it's done in an eminently playable style. Second, since you are a member of a government agency whose mission is the supernatural, you don't have to make up hokey excuses for your players continuous encounters with monsters. Third, the 90 pages added to this edition were used to flesh out the various monster, equipment, and magic lists, as well as provide a more detailed background.

To design a successful horror game, you have to strike a balance between the characters, reacting to the horror of a situation, and the players, who want some control over their characters. That balance is a very delicate and crucial matter. While Butvau 13 leans to player control, as opposed to character reaction, this is not a problem; your characters are supposed to have much experience in facing the supernatural anyway, and there are some GM controls to make sure a degree of character reaction is preserved.

Fringeworthy

This revamp is an exploration game, where you are one of the lucky few (1 in 100,000 to be precise) who can travel the Fringepaths, alien-designed portals to alternate versions of Earth, or anything else you can imagine. If you've ever wanted to visit ancient Egypt, explore the worlds of Sinbad, or find out what things would have been like if Germany had won either of the World Wars, you can.

The one good thing is you're being funded by a branch of the U.N. known as the Interdimensional Agency (IDA) and are a member of the Interdimensional Exploration Teams (IDET). As such, just about anything you can give a good reason for having, within reasonable limits, you get free.

This edition of Fringeworthy contains a number of changes, not the least of which is a revised and greatly expanded background. The inclusion of alien races and other humanoids fills a major hole. There is a vastly more complete background on the Fringeways, including tables for things going wrong during a transfer to a different dimension. And, to get you going, there's a small adventure designed to show you the system, and the possibilities inherent in it. As with its sisters, there's a lot to like about Fringeworthy.

First, this is a relatively untouched genre, done with wit and intelligence. Second, since it's a mission oriented system, there's no need to have everyone there all the time. If someone's missing, his character's just on vacation. Third, the 90 pages added to this version were used to good effect, with the addition of aliens and other humans, new equipment, and new information on the Fringes.

With this genre, to allow you to take everything the alternate realities may throw at you, you either haw to have a super-simple system, or a very complex one. While Fringeworthy leans to complexity, I feel that It has been well enough designed to handle almost anything that you, or your players, could wish for.

Incursion

This is the newest of the Tri-Tac releases, and the first that isn't a re-release of an earlier game. It's an exploration game, where you are one of the lucky (or unlucky) ones whom you hear about in the tabloids (i.e. "I was kidnapped by aliens"). Unfortunately, you weren't kidnapped for scientific research but for profit. As the game starts, your intrepid group of victim manages to have a few breaks fall their way, and you get your very own starship, a genuine flying saucer complete with almost idiot proof controls. The only problem is that it runs on an automated piloting system, and the former owners destroyed the codes to where Earth, or anyplace else, is located. You are left with only trial, error, and luck to get back home safely. Just push a button and see where it takes you.

Incursion has a number of items to recommend it, also. First, the premise is new, refreshing, and a lot of fun to get into. Second, since you have a mostly automated starship, you don't have to get into the nitty-gritty details of "How fast does it go?" and "How many light years away is this planet?" It's refreshing to play a space game that doesn't have you doing as many astrogation calculations as the Shuttle astronauts. Third, the background has been well thought-out, and offers room to expand down the road, so it won't get as stale as many systems that limit your actions because of the prevailing political or social conventions.

As with Fringeworthy, there aren't any real Easter Eggs in this game, with the possible exception of the fact that there isn't a ship creation system, something YOU might expect to find in a space RPG. As the game gives you a ship that cannot be recreated, this may or may not be important.

The successful space-opera games fall into either the high-end, with great detail and sophisticated systems, or the low-end, with sketchy background and simple systems. While Incursion favors the complex, the background and premise are flexible enough for it to retain much of the charm of the low end systems.

FTL: 2448

This reworking has enough new material to almost qualify as a new game. Setting FTL:2448 as an exploration game, a search and destroy game, an investigation game, etc. is not really feasible as this is one Tri-Tac release that tries to do it all. Set in 2448 (who would have guessed?) it covers most of the aspects of life in a very detailed future history. Exploration, trading, war (both combat and guerilla), spying, police work, and many other aspects of life 450 years in the future are covered in such a way as to allow you to role play them.

This edition of FTL:2448 contains a number of changes including the addition of much supplementary material. This is used to flesh out many of the optional campaign backgrounds like Cop:2448 (a police campaign background). Also expanded are the ships (new types, new ruies for construction and upgrading, even an entire set of deck plans), equipment lists (with some of the campaign sections having especially strange new items), and the alien races section, with some new alien races and better descriptions of the old ones. As with all Tri-Tac games, the aliens alone are almost worth reading the rest of the book for, even if you like nothing else. Some small adventures are also included to get you going, with a variety of different campaign settings being used.

FTL: 2448 has the potential of being either the best or the worst of the Tri-Tac line. First, this is a major reworking of the original, plugging many of the holes said original had. Second, the game, while certainly not new and, in fact, stepping on some rather well established toes (GURPS Space, Traveller, 2300 AD, etc.) is done with wit, style, and intelligence, something lacking in far too many other offerings today. On the down side, FTL:2448 is far and away the largest game Tri-Tac has put out (over 380 pages). It's so big, it was released in two volumes. Also, the supplementary material is somewhat inconsistent in that certain sections, like the Enemy Stars guerilla campaign, are well handled, elegant, and so well done that they could considered non-optional; while others, such as the ship construction rules, are simply too complex for the needs of all but the most detail-oriented of gamers. It could take you literally months to design a ship if you followed all the options and made a ship of any real complexity. This section is best left for remodeling and custornization. You should also know that any complaints about the number of tables in a Tri-Tac game are especially true in FrL:2448. This game has more tables than a college cafeteria.

With this genre, based on realism (a very real oxymoron), you have to be able to handle the inherent difficulties of portraying things in a realistic manner without killing the GM or the players by bogging them down in technicalities. FTL:2448 rides the ragged edge of how dose you can get to bogging you dowm in minutiae its saving grace being that the system is designed so that many parts are optional. If you are into hard-edged, realistic sci-fi role playing, not space opera, and enjoy playing rough, tough, real people, not varnished heroes, this could be the game for you. Just remember that, as in any good game, the amount of fun you get out of it is in direct proportion to the amount of time and energy you put into it.

More Closer Looks edited by Jolly Blackburn

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