Arc Dream Publishing

This is honestly the best role-playing rulebook I have ever held in my hand. And I am not talking about the rules or the setting, because those are, as always and at least to some degree, a matter of personal preference. I like them, obviously, or I would not have bought this book and taken the time to write such a long review.

If the setting of Delta Green seems at all interesting to you, I highly suggest you download the free quickstart and have a look at it! And then go and buy yourself a physical copy of this book, it's totally worth it. Reading the digital version does not do it justice.

THE BOOK ITSELF:

- Binding & physical quality are awesome, it feels like I could use it for years and it would not come apart.
- The design is the best I've seen. It fits setting and theme of the game perfectly, helps me find information fast, there are helpful overviews and summaries, it's easily readable, the illustrations are great - just looking into the book makes me want to play Delta Green.
- The table of contents, glossary and index are very clear and helpful, one of THE most important things in an rpg rulebook!
- Additionally to that, short paragraphs with headlines that stand out to the eye help you find what you are looking for.
- It's full colour, which I usually don't need in a role-playing book, but here it definitely adds to the quality.
- I dig the matte cover.
- Also: serif font. More and more rpg books use sans serif font for their main text and I wish people would learn that those are just not for printed texts!

All in all, the quality in writing, composition and production really impressed me.

THE CONTENT:

The illustrations of seemingly random documents on desks tell their own stories on closer inspection and I just love that.

I'm not going to go very deep into the rules themselves. You either like BRP or you don't. I think it fits this game, but would not use it for others.
The updated rules are easy to understand and make sense, reading them I know a lot of people have put a lot of thought into them. They also come together to create a coherent set of rules, which is important to me. There are optional rules for people who want to roll less or more dice, make the game more tactical or more personal, which is also something I appreciate, since I'm more on the 'less dice rolling'-side of things and there are a lot of different playing styles out there, and Delta Green could be for more than one of them, depending on how you play your game. I like it when a rulebook acknowledges that and supports it.

On the other hand, they are very clear on the intended feeling and contents of the game, that it's about personal horror, and I appreciate that clarity in content and direction/style. I want to know what you want your game to be about, not 176 possible ways I can play it. The introduction paragraphs make it clear what this game is about and transport the intended feeling of Delta Green stories very well.

As a non-US citizen, I appreciate the very informative overview of federal agencies and suggested professions within them. They are not too long, do not dwell on unnecessary details, but tell me who does what, so I can read up on the ones that would be interesting to my scenario or my player character(s).

I would take half a star off for too many tables on equipment. For a game that is about personal experiences and horror, this just seems too simulatory to me and I just know I will have people argueing with me about single numbers and rolls when I try to play it at a convention. A lot of tables tend to appeal to people who love lots of numbers and altough I understand the need to appeal to this particular playing style (because I have a feeling most of the US gamers, which are probably the largest target group for this game, play it very tactically), it seems, to me, to be at odds with the intended goal of the game. But since I can just ignore those tables and make it clear to my players that I will simplify equipment, this really just comes down to personal preference.

I had a lot of fun with the 1st edition of Delta Green and expect I will have even more with this one. I backed the Kickstarter and am still very happy I did.… (mehr)