I want to thank Max Moon Games for sending us a review copy of Teenage Rebellion and the System Blowing Army; this is a short cyberpunk adventure for the CY_BORG role-playing game.
If you are interested in purchasing this manual, you can find it (in a physical copy) for the price of $10 at the official store.
Review of the Plot of Teenage Rebellion and the System Blowing Army
The premises are simple but very effective. An anarcho-glitchband known as System Blower is starting to emerge in the Ports area. It has no political ambitions but is merely a rebellion movement against corrupt and cyberpunk society. Obviously, it carries out its fight by every means possible and has recently seen an advantageous possibility, both economically and in terms of media impact. The daughter of a major corporate man in the area has shown interest in System Blowers, but not yet openly. The plan is to break into her house, neutralize the security and totally convert (or kidnap) the teenager; getting out alive is welcome but not required. And this is where the protagonists come into play.
When the girl’s parents are out of town, she is home alone with security and often slips away to go to shows at the Ports. The players then have the opportunity to organize the kidnapping, which will take place directly in the house where she lives. Timing is everything and depending on the plan the dynamics will also change. Security and home have a routine that can be exploited and studied; I love the tactical approach and the freedom given to players, who can use their imagination to be as effective as possible.
In three days System Blower will perform again and, if the teenager is brought to the event, the situation will become even more electrifying. The aim of the band is to make noise and incite their supporters (the System Blowing Army) against the police; the feeling is that we can expect riots and street clashes very soon. Let the show begin!
Technical Characteristics of the Adventure
The adventure is in fact a dungeon crawling in full OSR style set in the large house where the girl to be kidnapped lives.
Each room is described with a few effective words; it’s up to the narrator to expand the descriptions and make each location intriguing to the players. I really appreciated some details relating to particular times and habits of the building’s occupants; the opponents gain dynamism and studying the situation to find the best plan is a thrill of pure adrenaline.
The antagonists and NPCs are summarized in a paragraph that comprehends their statistics and special abilities. Most of it is the security of the place, but there are also some very interesting surprises. In any case, as a good OSR, mortal dangers for the characters can be easily found.
We then find two useful random tables, designed to generate band names and song and album names respectively; they prove to be an excellent tool for making the setting of the Ports more unique and can also be used in other adventures.
The last page of Teenage Rebellion and the System Blowing Army is a dossier for players that summarizes what was explained previously in this review (or at least the parts not reserved for the narrator) and provides a map of the house.
Aesthetics of the Manual
Speaking of pages, the manual only has 12 of them. The cover is obviously soft and the dominant colors are purple, blue and black, with the addition of some green details. In general, the eccentric aesthetic style is very similar to that of the basic game manual.
The illustrations are minimal and perfect for emphasizing the tones of the adventure; some are original, others are heavily edited stock images.
The font varies throughout the work and, although sometimes it is more particular, it always remains clearly legible. As you can see from the images included in this review, the layout of Teenage Rebellion and the System Blowing Army is also more classic than other products based on CY_BORG mechanics.
Conclusions of the Review of Teenage Rebellion and the System Blowing Army
This manual is short and to the point, offering an immediate and memorable gaming experience. If you want to play an adrenaline-filled and anti-corporate one-shot (or a maximum of two sessions), Max Moon Games offers you all the material to do so. The plot is simple, the places are impressive and the adrenaline will certainly not be lacking.
I recommend the adventure to anyone who wants to have an interesting ready-to-use cyberpunk scenario available; in particular, I think it is suitable for anyone who appreciates infiltration and break-in missions.
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