Pyramid Review
From the Files of Matthews GenTech (for Silver Age Sentinels)
Published by Guardians of Order, Inc.
Written by Bruce Ballon
Edited by Mark C. MacKinnon
Artwork by Matt Harpold
32-page b&w softcover; $9.95
It makes a good change of pace, seeing a book for a superhero game that uses something other than a parade of costumed freaks. From the Files of Matthews GenTech is such a collection, offering bizarre beasts with weird powers (and dual stats, for Tri-Stat and d20 System) to challenge the do-gooders of Silver Age Sentinels, Guardians of Order's superhero RPG world.
The book is a collection of ravings by Samuel Matthews, as he spews his venomous hatred for all things superheroic. Believing metahumans to be responsible for the death of his mother, he labors tirelessly in his lab to create hybrid monstrosities that spew some venom of their own. He takes parts and DNA from one animal and another and splices them together. He makes liberal use of genetic material stolen from superheroes, or reagents scored off the black market. Most of his handiwork is bound to him by dependence on a special serum that keeps severe, rage-inducing pain at bay.
Creature write-ups are paired with entries from Matthews' scientific journals. Each entry discusses a different type of superhero and a specific example of each. Matthews dissects the combat tactics of his foes, and investigates a weakness he can exploit with one of his mutations. The speedster Slipstream can move faster than the speed of . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: November 28, 2003
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