allgeektout

I was recently given the opportunity to review the Cthulhutech books as part of a carnival, and since they were something that I’ve always been interested in, I quickly jumped at the opportunity. Much has been said about the game as whole, so I’m going to focus on what I have been assigned to review – the supplement Mortal Remains (for those of you interested in more Cthulhutech, there’s a list of links at the bottom).

Mortal Remains is a setting book focused primarily on the New Earth Government, the governing body in charge of the entire planet in the year 2084, when Cthulhutech takes place. It’s a government of war, and knows little else, besides a few years of piece between two major wars with aliens from other planets.

One interesting thing that I really enjoy about the setting is that although the NEG may be oppressive, it doesn’t fall into all of the same tired clichés that seem mandatory for a dystopian setting. At the time when it is described in the book, it is right on the precipice of an important decision – whether or not to let the current President run for his third term, despite what the law says. It could lead to dystopia, but it could also be saved (to a certain extent), and I think that distinction makes it a much more compelling and interesting setting.

I’m not a huge fan of how the information is presented, though. It gets awfully specific, awfully fast – for example, diving right into the structure of the government with little prelude, followed by a similar description of the Armed Forces. I’m sure there are some people who are interested, but I don’t think it’s helpful to learn the tactics of the New Earth Government Armed Forces while I’m still trying to learn what they are.

There is very little crunch, which in my opinion is a good thing. Besides a few new drawbacks and assets, there are some vehicles for both the NEG characters to use and for the Migou (the aliens that have invaded Earth) to use. Which leads me to the next thing in the book – there are rules to play Migou characters inside. A bit out of place in a book focusing on the New Earth Government, but still pretty interesting.

Mortal Remains is a great book for anyone who wants to add more depth to the New Earth Government in their Cthulhutech game. I could even see it being helpful for those who just want a resource on an oppressive government, if you can ignore all the alien invasion and Cthulhu Mythos stuff (I think you can). It’s a bit dense on information, but if that’s what you’re looking for, then it’s certainly worth it. It’s available at RPGNow for $15.00 (Affiliate Link).

Want to learn more about CthulhuTech? Read on…

• WildFire: CthulhuTech Quick-Start Rules
• Atomic Array: Episode 013: CthulhuTech RPG
• Mad Brew Labs: CthulhuTech: The Game That Almost Wasn’t
• Critical Hits: When Horror Meets Awesome: CthulhuTech
• Kore Dice: Interview with CthulhuTech’s Mike Vaillancourt
• Stan!: The Stars Will Be Right
• Arcane Underground: The Saga of CthulhuTech (Updated)
• Atomic Array: Episode 040: CthulhuTech
• Blog of a new RPGer: [Review] CthulhuTech “Dark Passions”
• allgeektout: [Review] CthulhuTech - Mortal Remains
• Stargazer’s World: Review: CthulhuTech Damnation View

FULL DISCLOSURE: I was given a free PDF of Mortal Remains and the other Cthulhutech books to review by a third-party.