Pyramid Review
Noir (for Mutants & Masterminds)
Published by Green Ronin Publishing
Written by Christopher L. McGlothlin, M.Ed. with Sean Glenn
Cover by Eric Wright
Illustrated by Brett Barkley, Eric Wright, & Storn Cook
Cartography by Ed Bourelle
64-page b&w softcover; $17.95
To date, the releases for Mutants & Masterminds -- the premier d20 System superhero RPG -- have concentrated on the four-color genre it was designed to handle. Dan Brereton's Nocturnals: A Midnight Companion has been the sole exception, employing the stripped down and rebuilt mechanics of the d20 System to power a brash game of Pulp horror. Although set in the here and now, the setting for Nocturnals had just as much the feel of the fifties and sixties. Now it is joined by a second supplement, one that explores a slightly earlier, darker period. As its title suggests Noir is devoted to the years between 1948 and 1958 that depicted in sharp black and white by such films as The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and Touch of Evil.
Thus we are on the mean streets of film noir, a place where men are real men, it is rare that a dame can be trusted, the black heart of a villain always runs deep, and everyone, without exception, ha something to hide. Noir covers this and more, segueing into the superhero genre with what is really the Costumed Adventurer. This is not to say that such individuals cannot have actual super powers, but when they do, the powers are always weak and restricted in comparison to the four-color genre.
. . .This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: May 13, 2005
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