Pyramid Review
DarkTown, The Apocalyptic Cycle
Published by Gold Rush Games
Written by Roger McReynolds and Ben Reading
136 pages, $18.95
The natural assumption these days with any roleplaying game featuring a subtitle is that it's a World of Darkness wannabe. DarkTown's overwrought introduction doesn't help dispel that feeling, nor does the dark art. After reading through the whole book, the impression remains . . . and it's pretty close to the mark.The core idea behind DarkTown is a three-way struggle between the basic, universal forces of Technology, Religion and Magic. These forces are characterized in terms of theory, law and practice; Technology is big on theory, magic on practice and religion on law. Each of these forces had a period of ascendancy, first magic, then religion and finally technology. DarkTown takes place in a time when the age of technology may well be coming to an end, for technological items are failing and magic and faith are resurfacing. The secret history of the DarkTown world, though it may include the ubiquitous St. Germaine (spelled Jermaine), is a bit of a disappointment. It's not at all clear why the authors considered Hammurabbi's secular law code the starting point of structured religion. It might be symptomatic of taking the easy way out in this regard.
In the strange, uncertain world of DarkTown, the point is to be someone who goes out and does, rather than sitting around and letting it all happen. No one group is the hero of the . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: September 17, 1999
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