Noir

[BradfordFerguson]

"Noir" (Mutants & Masterminds)
About: 64 pages, soft cover, black & white interior, $18.
Author: Christopher McGlothlin
Publisher: Green Ronin Publishing (2004)
Reviewed by: Bradford Ferguson
Review date: 01/14/2005


This review originally appeared on the Silven Crossroads website

Introduction

Noir is a book that both tells you what the film noir genre is and how to run a film noir game using the Mutants & Masterminds ruleset. Noir is different from White Wolf's Adventure! in that it is not pulpy, but much more dark. This book is shorter, yet provides guidelines for M&M skills, feats, powers, and throws in rules for reputation and wealth (two things that are glossed over in a superheroes game). Characters in this genre are tragic and often draw their powers from items of black magic. McGlothlin, the book’s author, also discusses major and minor themes of film noir, and he provides us with the description of a city and some heroes and villains with which to populate it. Does the book succeed and is 64-pages enough?


Presentation

Noir is a soft cover book that spans 64 pages and has a black and white interior. The art is plentiful between the covers and it is done in a comic-book, but not cartoony, style. There is literally an illustration on every other page, so Green Ronin did not skimp on the amount of art, but the art is in black & white--unlike any other Mutants & Masterminds release to date. This can be explained away in that the classic film noir movies were filmed and shown in black & white, however the characters are layered with shades of grey. The book is very aggressively priced for a 64-page B&W book at $18. Look at the recent price progression of the M&M product line:

Mutants & Masterminds Annual #1: 128 pages, full color, (19.5 cents per page)
Foes of Freedom: 96 pages, full color, $24. (25c)
Noir: 64 pages, B&W, $18. (28c)

Noir is not even full color and it is priced more steeply on a per page basis than its color counterparts. Is it worth it? Maybe, although it’s only 60 pages of actual content when you subtract credits and the Open Gaming License.


Noir Characters

One thing that you will notice right away is the swarthy lingo that is used throughout the text. This was great and is similar to how Sidewinder: Recoiled was written to get the reader in the mood. The lingo doesn't let up or trail off after the introduction or first section, but continues through the entire book.

This section (which is a quarter of the book) talks about stereotypical characters in film noir and provides restrictions upon the M&M rules so that characters do not have powers that are ill-suited for the genre. For example, the dark of night provides suspense, so darkvision isn't allowed. Also, guns are a thing to be feared, so characters have to hover around power level 6 and cannot take the power that makes them immune to bullets.


Noir Themes & Elements

When Gamemastering, it is vitally important to get the atmosphere and themes right so that your players: know what to expect, can more easily get into character, and will have more fun in more memorable gaming sessions. Unlike the Trinity Universe by White Wolf, which teaches you the genre through a scrapbook and stories, Noir smacks you in the mouth and tells you what the film noir genre is all about. Some readers may not like this direct approach, but a hearty whack is good every now and then.

According to the author, there are many books out there that debate/discuss the film noir genre. Noir explores the main themes identified by the "Family Tree of Film Noir," a book written on the subject. These themes are defined; it is stated what movies in which the themes play a prominent role; McGlothlin tells us how these themes transition from one to another and how to incorporate this into gaming.


Noir City & Characters

These sections encompass over half of the book. The section on the film noir city is very well-written and is written in the voice of a cabbie that is driving you around the city. 26 locations are discussed by the cabbie and he does a good job of not chiseling the setting in stone, but talks about what could be going down and who may be corrupt. The back of the book claims the book has a complete Noir setting, yet only one city is presented and it does not consider cross-country chases. "Heroes" and villains are detailed, but typical functionaries, goons, and gunmen are left out--leaving the reader with the feeling that something is missing.

Though some of the nitty-gritty details don't appear, the McGlothlin gets us in the mood with the excellent writing and by showing typical noir personas and villains. With the character write-ups, we get their origin stories and learn their motivations for their criminal or vigilante lives. The cool aspect to the characters is that all of them have a distinct style. One of them is pictured as wearing a fedora over a gas mask and wearing a suit-and-tie under a trenchcoat, oh by the way, he wields two Colt .45 pistols. Comic books and film noir are successfully merged in Noir

Finally, it's always a bonus when a list of sources is provided at the end of a book. McGlothlin includes a filmography with a brief discussion of 20 specific films and a listing of several dozen more film noir movies. Imagine getting the gaming group together to watch a movie before they create their characters.


Conclusion

Though the price-point of Noir is high, it accomplishes what it sets out to do and does so with style. It’s only 64 pages, so you can't mistake it as definitive and thorough, but it is distinctive. Nonetheless, this book is recommended material if you are looking to explore dark noir themes such as sex, drugs, corruption, and racism in your modern gaming or writing.

Score: 4.75 out of 5

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Review is © Bradford Ferguson, 2005

 

[Messageboard Golem]

With Mutants & Masterminds Green Ronin Publishing brought you the best in four-color superhero gaming. Now the Noir sourcebook takes M&M to the mean streets. Written by Christopher McGlothlin (author of the award-winning Time of Crisis), Noir provides a detailed look at the detectives, dames, and darkness of film noir. It includes supplemental rules for creating M&M characters, a detailed urban backdrop for adventures, and a collection of some of the most disreputable types you've ever encountered. The book also includes a filmography. Noir is an excellent guide to gritty, street-level adventures, either on its own or as a supplement for Green Ronin's Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion. Take your Mutants & Masterminds game to the mean streets with Noir!

 

[Khur]

Mutants & Masterminds: Noir

Green Ronin continues its support for the award-winning Mutants & Masterminds game with its latest book: Noir. A perfect-bound sourcebook, Noir was written by Christopher L. McGlothlin, M.Ed. It has a full-color cover with 64 monochrome interior pages. Noir retails for $17.95.

A serious step down from typical Mutants & Masterminds supplements, Noir is not only black and white, but it also uses paper of lower quality than the high norm set by past sourcebooks. The overall presentation, from layout to writing, is also rough. Layout is fair, with only a couple major gaffs (such as the nearly unreadable "Guns, Guns Guns" [punctuation from the book] table on page 19), and the art is by no means comparable to what we're used to in Mutants & Masterminds books. Even the cover, by Eric Wright, lacks the usual pizzazz. Further, writing flaws are widespread, and though many are plain incorrect grammar—such as plural pronouns referring to singular subjects or missing periods—only a few spoil the communication value of any specific statement.

Yes, Mutants & Masterminds fans have been spoiled by historical excellence in presentation, but it's too late for anybody to change that now. Given the genre, however, at least the black-and-white graphics are fitting.

Another thing most Mutants & Masterminds players won't be used to, on a positive note, is the descent into truly grim roleplaying Noir offers. This isn't a world of larger-than-life, four-color heroes in tights, saving the world one more time. It's personal, it's gray, it shows its hate, and it's deadly. In Noir, the "heroes" are lucky to come through with all their major organs intact and without jail time. Heaven help 'em if they're "ethnic." And nobody should come expecting the key to City Hall for his good deeds.

For those who still want to shine from the shadows, though, Noir gives plenty of information about how characters form and operate in this bleak setting. Many things differ from the typical Mutants & Masterminds campaign. Characters are darker, often with sordid pasts and less-than-stellar motivations, and they always have fatal flaws. Super powers are limited, as is the starting power level, making challenges more daunting and the world more dangerous. Money, reputation, and certain levels of realism, such as tracking ammunition, are all important in Noir, and the book doesn't skimp on rules for all of these points.

In fact, Noir goes further by giving some very colorful sample characters. If players and GMs are confused about how to create a tough with a sob-story history and some bad habits, the "Noir Personas" chapter sheds some light in the gloom. The spotlight falls on characters such as La Bete Noir, a beautiful, masked avenger who hates men because of all she and other women have suffered at their hands. Or take The Nightwalker. He's a reporter who uses his connections to plumb the muck for dirty secrets, aiding the story where he can as his masked, pistol-wielding alter ego. These aren't your grandmother's heroes—unless she loved film noir.

Given the flawed heroes, one might expect the villains to be irredeemable perversions of nature. Some are. Take Noir's The Stiletto, a brutal mob hitman with no redeeming qualities. He's Leon (The Professional) without the heart and less charm. More often, though, the bad guys in this genre are only slightly worse than the heroes. These antagonists allow their baser desires to take hold of and rule them, whereas the heroes at least try to tread water against the shadowy current of their innermost flaws. Noir's Count Bathory is a perfect example of this latter type of creep—civil and even forgiving, Bathory still does what he must to get what he wants, and his concern for others usually ends where his desires are fulfilled.

An what better place to fulfill one's desires than the naked city? Noir briefly explores a setting central to film noir—the urban jungle. No specific locations are given in any detail, but the narrative presentation actually does a lot to show more of the mood and atmosphere of a noir setting. Areas have their own personalities, literally and figuratively, and the insightful GM can mine the descriptive text for adventure ideas. Like the prose, Ed Bourelle's map of Noir's City is well done, but it's so much more general than the prose that it's as nearly useless for gaming.

More useful are the brief treatment of Noir for the early META-4 Universe (from Crooks!) and the film noir filmography. These short sections round out the book. With them, a GM has tools to tell the tale of META-4's famous early heroes and to do more research on film noir. Perhaps best of all, we have statistics for Mr. Mystery and a young Pugilist, both at power level 6 but unfortunately lacking fatal flaws.

Critical Hit
Noir is easy to love, from a roleplaying standpoint, because it's so rich in theme, mood, and conflict. The best part of the book is "Gamemastering Noir," wherein the themes of noir are looked at with an eye toward the gaming experience. For someone who knows little about film noir, such as your humble reviewer, this section is invaluable. Presented exploration of the conventions of noir gives a GM plenty to chew on for story purposes. From the hard-boiled detective to the ubiquitous McGuffin, Noir gives us most, if not all, of film noir's elements to process for the purpose of storytelling. This genre is fantastic for both action and roleplaying opportunities, and Noir provides anyone a basic understanding.

That understanding can actually be translated into other games and systems, which makes Noir stand out among its peers. Once a GM has his or her head wrapped around the concepts of film noir, such can be used to great effect in games from core D&D to hard-edged World of Darkness, and let us not forget Green Ronin's own Nocturnals and even Black Company. If you play Eberron and Mutants & Masterminds, Noir should be in your library. It's transcends normal gaming-supplement boundaries.

Finally, Noir is just plain enjoyable to read. Technical writing flaws overlooked, McGlothlin has delivered a great piece of entertainment.

Critical Fumble
Noir is lacking in the focus department. While it does a good job of explaining the ins and outs of noir in general, it does a poor job of clearly explaining film noir's period and that time's conventions. Hints about neo-noir are never more than just that, and no real tools are given for breaking out of Noir's time. This "lack" isn't altogether horrible, since period research is relatively easy or unneeded in the case of modern noir games—or Eberron noir. But the timeframe issue is further complicated by the fact that the META-4 appendix is set in a time predating typical film noir.

Given the game's theme and timeframe, the use of a Wealth system fails to live up to the setting. In Noir, like d20 Modern, exact amounts of cash aren't tracked, but in Noir they should be. How else does one measure that big score, even if the heroes lose it in the end? Further, while nothing is cited in the OGL, the Wealth system seems to be based on d20 Modern, and it's an incomplete lift. Even if it were taken as a whole from the Modern SRD, Noir GMs would still have no tools on how to reward Noir characters with Wealth increases due adventure pay or treasure. Wealth awards aren't included in Noir, and they're not part of the Modern SRD.

Coup de Grace
Noir supports gloomy and gritty Mutants & Masterminds games in many ways, and it goes on to possibly support other genres and settings. Mechanically, it's good, except the presentation of the Wealth system. As an exploration of theme, Noir is original, thought provoking, and perhaps more playable than the writer and publisher imagined. But it quickly becomes evident that, in so many ways, this sourcebook wasn't given the care it should have been. From layout and writing flaws to its overall shortness and high price given its page count, Noir deserved better than it got. In the end, this book is like the setting and themes it studies. It's dark, entertaining, and flawed, but probably worth the scratch.

Final Grade: 4.05

This review originally appeared at d20 Magazine Rack.