Whatever happened to Underground?

[Kafkonia]

I appologise- I should have been more clear. Now can we get back to the setting?

No worries, I should have thought a bit harder.

I think the only thing, other than the politics, that would drive away potential players is the automatic insanity all the PCs have.

I have to agree. Although that certainly appeals to some people, and is somewhat realistic -- and certainly flavourful -- it will alienate some of the potential audience. I get a sort of split-personality feeling from the game -- as though part of it wants to be goofy over-the-top comedy, and part wants to be dark dystopia.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I think the only thing, other than the politics, that would drive away potential players is the automatic insanity all the PCs have.

I tried to get a feel for what the political aspect was from the reviews but the one that mentioned politics was... confusing.... Is there any way to get a better idea of that content without risking the wrath of the mod gods?

 

[wingsandsword]

I tried to get a feel for what the political aspect was from the reviews but the one that mentioned politics was... confusing.... Is there any way to get a better idea of that content without risking the wrath of the mod gods?

The Wikipedia entry for Underground has a pretty good summation of the setting and the political aspects: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_(role_playing_game)

 

[DMH]

Rights are being stripped away, the government spys on the populace, a slave species has been created, people can sell their bodies to fast food joints (like Tastee Ghoul), and life generally sucks for the shrinking middle class. Soldiers are turned into monsters and have no place when they return from duty.

Other stuff requires you to register at rpg.net or some place similar.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Rights are being stripped away, the government spys on the populace, a slave species has been created, people can sell their bodies to fast food joints (like Tastee Ghoul), and life generally sucks for the shrinking middle class. Soldiers are turned into monsters and have no place when they return from duty.

Other stuff requires you to register at rpg.net or some place similar.

So it's your basic cyberpunk dystopia? I can understand not wanting to play in such a dark setting, but the comments that the game itself has a political bias or that the dystopia is from a particular political perspective isn't something I'm understanding based on the summaries. :\ (and I can't see spending money to see if there is a subtext or tone that isn't being conveyed.)

Of course the fact that one review compared it to stories like The Watchmen but not done as well pretty much kills it for me, too.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So it's your basic cyberpunk dystopia?

No, it's Marshal Law: The ex-soldiers are superheroes.

 

[mxyzplk]

I love Underground - it's reasonably easy to find a complete run of it in Half Price Books or for sale on the Web. It's a more well-concieved dystopian fture than many, and the art was lovely - I'm a sucker for full color rulebooks! I have all the stuff. Would welcome a chance to play. Hmmm, maybe converting it to Savage Worlds would be nice.

 

[Kafkonia]

So it's your basic cyberpunk dystopia? I can understand not wanting to play in such a dark setting, but the comments that the game itself has a political bias or that the dystopia is from a particular political perspective isn't something I'm understanding based on the summaries. :\ (and I can't see spending money to see if there is a subtext or tone that isn't being conveyed.)

Well, this is closer to the roots of cyberpunk (more William Gibson than Billy Idol, say), which one could argue are heavily coloured by reactions to Reganomics and the Republican-dominated 80s political scene. It would be an interesting world to revisit now, I think.

 

[T. Foster]

The difference between Underground and other "cyberpunk" rpgs of the era isn't so much the world-setting itself as the game's assumed attitude towards that setting, and the way that attitude affects the assumed direction of play. In most CP games the dystopian setting is accepted as a given, taken for granted, and exists mainly/solely as background color for the PCs' amoral ultraviolence. Underground, OTOH, stresses the fact that the PCs are (at least supposed to be) pissed off about the dystopia that the world has become and are trying to do something about it (specifically, forming the titular "underground" vigilante/terrorist organization). The key here is the social engineering rules mentioned upthread by DMH -- in Underground the PCs don't just spend their XP-equivalent to make themselves more personally powerful, they spend them to change/improve the game-world on a larger scale (the more points spent the more radical, larger-scale, or more permanent the change).

 

[DMH]

Underground, OTOH, stresses the fact that the PCs are (at least supposed to be) pissed off about the dystopia that the world has become and are trying to do something about it (specifically, forming the titular "underground" vigilante/terrorist organization). The key here is the social engineering rules mentioned upthread by DMH -- in Underground the PCs don't just spend their XP-equivalent to make themselves more personally powerful, they spend them to change/improve the game-world on a larger scale (the more points spent the more radical, larger-scale, or more permanent the change).

Thank you for putting it better than me.

There is one supplement, that I am considering getting, is set in DC. Others have told me it covers how social changes there have a much bigger ripple effect (for obvious reasons). But I would expect the competition to be that much more fierce and the red tape drowning.