Noir (Mutants & Masterminds Sourcebook)

Rating:
Summary: Shadowy Men, Femme Fatales, And The Naked City They Live In
Review: The Mutants & Masterminds line got a seriously great supplement in this book: a resource for everyone who loves film noir and its world of compromised (anti)heroes and ruthless villains and wants to play there.

The idea itself is how to create a campaign and characters set in a '40s-era urban background--there's even a list of films in the appendix to help you get further in the mood (and maybe get more dark ideas). Have you ever wanted to play a detective who out-Spaded Sam Spade? A gorgeous dame who could stop traffic with a look and kill with a kiss? You can now. But nobody's clean, and even the best-intentioned have guilty secrets and shadowy pasts. Yeah, you can have supernatural powers and a (semi)heroic indentity--but peace of mind and the ability to look at yourself in the mirror every day? Better settle for a slug of oblivion and the memories you have of happier times, pal...as soon as you figure out who that guy in the dark suit is who's tailing you.

Perhaps the subtle but overarching achievement here is the fact that author McGlothlin has absorbed a lesson that's eluded many a gamebook author before him: the book should serve the gamer/GM who reads it, not the other way around. Far too many modules seem to be written in such a way that clunky illustrative fiction, middling artwork, Byzantine indexing, ponderous explanations, and poor layout design make understanding the concepts (never mind getting in the mood) frustrating if not impossible ("Uh, I *think* my character can use this..." "No, check the new rule on page 86!" "No, check the *other* one on page 42 next to the magic items additons...").

"Noir", however, is a pleasure to read--witty (the pre-created city is introduced a section at a time by a cab driver who fills you in on each neighborhood as you ride through it), filled with good illustrations, straightfoward, informative, and visually pleasing (excellent art direction). It's clear that all involved really cared about the quality of the product and the gamer's/GM's experience with it, with all-around enjoyable results.