Fascinating heist system
5 stars
Before I started reading this boxed set of three books, I hadn't really considered this system. Going in I thought it was Monte Cook getting in on the success of games like Blades in the Dark. Instead, it's a fresh look at modern-day heists with a sprinkling of Cypher system, presented in gorgeous art.
The setting is wild. Player characters are from the 39th century, aboard a generational starship called Celeste. Humanity has given up on colonizing planets and instead is focusing on warping reality and exploring other universes. But the Celeste is now travelling back, only to find out that they're stranded in the past, at 21st century Earth. And something is not quite right on Earth. There are objects that cause zones of Improbability. For example, a city is flooded with aggressive birds because of the pen the CEO of a company is using. The AI of the …
Before I started reading this boxed set of three books, I hadn't really considered this system. Going in I thought it was Monte Cook getting in on the success of games like Blades in the Dark. Instead, it's a fresh look at modern-day heists with a sprinkling of Cypher system, presented in gorgeous art.
The setting is wild. Player characters are from the 39th century, aboard a generational starship called Celeste. Humanity has given up on colonizing planets and instead is focusing on warping reality and exploring other universes. But the Celeste is now travelling back, only to find out that they're stranded in the past, at 21st century Earth. And something is not quite right on Earth. There are objects that cause zones of Improbability. For example, a city is flooded with aggressive birds because of the pen the CEO of a company is using. The AI of the Celeste sends out crews to steal these objects in daring heists: the player characters.
Pretty wild, isn't it?
The PCs are so-called Liars because they can bend reality. When they speak a lie, it always comes true, but it's stressful for them to lie. Character Creation is easy. There are three archetypes. Pick two adjectives for things you are good at, pick something you are bad at, and that's pretty much it.
Additionally, you get to draw 3 cards during a mission that can give you specific bonuses in gameplay. The GM also gets cards to throw story twists at the players, and there's always a big turn in the final act of a mission. The more cards the players and the GM play the more the characters advance. I thought it's quite rewarding.
Artwork is very Comic-Style, full of diverse character, doing heists with tech gadgets, very cool.
The box has three books in it. Book 1, Liars, is pretty much the player's guide, Book 2 is for GMs, including a fantastic chapter on Improv, and a 12 mission example campaign. The final book is more stuff for GMs, like tables to create NPCs and guides on what to throw at players in heists, like different security systems, kinds of guards, etc.
I will definitely run this for my RL group, can't wait!