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Dead Inside: The Roleplaying Game of Loss and
Redemption
by Chad Underkoffler
(Atomic Sock Monkey Press, 2004.)
Review by Elizabeth Barrette
I don't often review roleplaying games, and this is the guidebook
for one. Basically I have two criteria here: 1) It has to offer a truly
unique setting or other premise. 2) It has to be riveting as fiction
as well as a set of rules. Dead Inside clears both of these like
a foxhunter sailing over a low hedge.
The first thing that grabbed my attention about this book is its name,
which also happens to be its core premise. It speaks to an experience
disturbingly common in today's society, albeit -- one hopes! -- less
intense than the artistically vivid game portrayal. Some people feel
a kind of emptiness and disconnection from the world which goes beyond
ordinary depression. The characters who become "dead inside" have no
soul, either because they were born without one or lost it somehow.
The point of the game is to reclaim their lost soul, or even grow a
new one.
Here's where it gets really cool. Repairing the damage requires
a whole different strategy than that of most games. As the author explains,
he took the usual "Kill things and take their stuff" and reversed to
make a game based on "Heal things and give them your stuff." Sound silly?
Think of what the world religions recommend for personal growth. Trying
to cooperate with others and do good things actually gives a character
more power, moving them closer to their goal. Selfish, destructive behavior
can cost them "soul points." This is beautifully demonstrated in the
vignettes which show examples of how the game works, telling the story
of a young man who accidentally sold his soul for great sex.
The game also offers great flexibility. In addition to the Real World,
characters also have the option of traveling into the Spirit World,
where magic is much easier and more common. Here you'll find other Dead
Inside plus helpful Sensitives, wispy Ghosts, powerful Magi, mysterious
Imagos, and the ever-hungry Qlippoth. Although the basic structure is
aimed at playing Dead Inside characters, there are suggestions for playing
a game based on Sensitives (who used to be Dead Inside but recovered)
or Magi (even more advanced in personal growth). No need to give up
your favorite characters just because they achieve their original goal;
you can simply bump the game to a new level. Furthermore, the core rules
leave open certain questions about the nature of reality. The game does
not subscribe to any one religion, but draws inspiration from several,
so it's easy to adapt if you wish to play it according to a specific
cosmology.
For gamers with a metaphysical bent, or for those tired of murderous
games, Dead Inside is a gem. People who complain that gaming
promotes violence would have a hard time making that argument stick
here! If you like rule-playing, forget it, this is not the game for
you; go find some miniatures and a pad of hex paper. (The rules do make
perfect sense; they just aren't elaborate or the heart of the game.)
But if you're more interested in the roles than in the rules,
you've just hit the jackpot. This is the most character-oriented, intent-over-action
game I've ever seen. Run out and spend your lunch money on this one.
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