Church & State
Written by Bradley Robins/brand_of_amber

• Adventure? This product really isn't an adventure: it, frankly, cannot be run over a single session. Neither is it a module, since there honestly should be non-Church & State interludes between some of the parts to really be effective. It's a major campaign story arc -- and a good one (see below).
  
• Overview Railroad? This is a minor nit, in light of my comments of the modular design of this product under the Positive (see below). A briefer overview would have worked better; the long, detailed one -- especially this early in the book -- worried me. (But see below, Inexorable Flow.)
  
• Give Me Pictures! The last few paragraphs of each scene give connection points to other scenes, and they are unfortunately dense reading, being pointers to things not read yet. A list format for these connection points might have been clearer. (A graphical representation of how different scenes connect -- much like the Relationship Web between the NPCs which shows associations -- would have been a blessing.)
  
• Rock of Ages. While the book has a brief discussion of how to run the scenes under other tones rather than the default "Bronze Age" one, there was a lack of discussion of running it under different eras. That is, while I can choose to use a Golden Age tone for the story, the work gives me no advice on adapting it to a Golden Age time period. Part of this is due to story elements that cannot really work outside of the late Nineties and Aughts. . . but given the high quality and scope of similar tangential "what if?" discussions, I wanted to see a paragraph or two on adapting the setting more.
  
• Church vs. Angel. I really wanted more discussion on the way the Catholic Church (and other religious bodies) formally view the character of Mikhael. (Also, some discussion of how Father Candella's actions would get him defrocked and probably excommunicated would be relevant.)
  
• Carly Sue. The character of Rock N Roll has, to me, a slight wiff of Mary Sue-ism about him (at worst) or Authorial Patronage (at best). He is represented as the more sympathetic character of the two major NPCs throughout, has roughly a half-page of text more than the other, and is quite the paradox -- the ridiculously wealthy and well-heeled yet utterly devoted unto murder and death Marxist.
  
• Made Men HQ. Making the Speakeasy an abandoned subway station, in light of the first scene of the story arc (mayhem in a subway station) just hit me wrong. Really wrong.
  
• Muad'Dib! Superheroes with fanatic human followers creep me out. Once you go past Sherlock Holmes' Baker Street Irregulars or Buffy's Watchers and Scoobies, I get itchy. Heck, Buckaroo Banzai's Blue Blaze Irregulars are right on the edge for me. Granted, this is part of the point of the whole scenario -- mindless following of any leader is a dangerous thing to do -- but something about it is more creepy than it needs to be. In my opinion, if the organizations surrounding the two NPCs were both less formal and less subdivided (you can keep the Keepers of the Keys of Solomon and the Face Squad as the only subgroups among less-dedicated Minions, but the other ones are gilding the lily).
  
• Marriage of Convenience. Personally, I would have given the couple whose marriage is a centerpoint of this story arc a heck of a bigger role in the arc; as it is, they're a convenient excuse for mayhem, and not much more.
  
• GP: Not What You Think! The Genre Points subsystem is a very good idea, but seemed to be textually in the fog. I believe the list gives two contradictory ways to gain Genre Points; more cohesion for the default tone would have been better. More discussion on how to explain this to players would have been welcome. Also, I think more discussion of the benefits vs. Hero Points are needed. Lots of whats? and whys? going unanswered.
  

• Modular Design. The design of this story arc into chapter-based modules that can be run -- or not run -- as needed, is excellent. Substantial text is given to appropriate linkages and modifications between modules taking into account story movement, NPC action/inaction, and PC action/inaction. Other than my minor cavil in the Negative above about a list rather than paragraph format (and a desire for a plot web), I can only say good things about the structure of the whole campaign. Well done.
  
• Inexorable Flow. I particularly impressed by the seeming inexorable flow of the decisions made which lead from module to module. While this sort of thing poorly handled is just railroading, the wealth of options and tangents discussed do a great job of allowing PCs free reign while also bounding NPCs responses, which leads to logical and inevitable plot advancements. Heck the PCs can walk away from big parts of this adventure if they choose, and still play with other elements of it. Kudos.
  
• Problematic Powers Discussion. Nice textbox on plot-derailing superpowers found on page 3.
  
• Moider! The chapter titled "Murder is the Case They Gave Me" is a tour-de-force in running appropriately dramatic but not too fiddly comic book trial scenes. Ther Verdict Point system is also very nice (minor nit: I wish it had been included in one piece at the end of the book with the other subsystems on offer).
  
• Mapping that Relationship. Lots of important NPCs to keep track of, especially how they relate to one another, and the Relationship Web found on page 43 does a great job of showing all of them.
  
• Rhetoric 101. The "Marxism for the Gaming Dummy" textbox is a great idea and wonderful GM support in playing the NPC Rock N Roll. Hysterical and handy.
  
• More Subsystems. As noted above, Verdict Points rock. The Investigative Montages subsystem is a fantastic idea, but I think slightly more detail/discussion was needed for clarity. (See the Negative for discussion of Genre Points.)
  
• More Stuff! The associated Combat Booklet that comes with the PDF is jam-packed with character stats, maps, and mugshots. Wonderful additional product, and useful, too!
  

• If you're into widescreen, socially-relevant, big scope superhero adventures, pick up Church & State. If you run any sort of superhero game, there's a lot of material and characters to pillage. Even if you don't do supers, if you run any sort of action-adventure game, Church & State has a bunch of great ideas for structure, characterization, plotting, and relevant game subsystems that are totally swipeable.
  

Tags: gaming, underkoffler's overviews
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