TEXT: vampires in OTE
  evolving Over the Edge
  the Aries gang exposed
  video recommendations from John Tynes
  ﬁde magic -
  
  C o n t e n t s
  2 «* Kaput meantime
  Your editor rambles on about things on his mind. Particularly the
  upcoming "anniversary" o/EdgeWork.
  3 «* Vampirism and undead
  of like kind
  Is the Edge getting passe? Think you've lived through it all? Continue
  on past death thanks to Alexander Williams.
  9 * * Evolvlns Over the Edge
  Our good friends at R. Talsorian and Justin Schmid bring us a look
  at crossing Cybergeneration with Over the Edge.
  16 .. Al Amaija Today
  All the news you need to read!
  17** Little Scratches!
  Serving the community since 1948.
  23 * * involuntaiy measure
  The Aries gang is expanded and detailed thanks to On the Edge and
  the imagination of Rebecca Teed.
  29 * * Nile magic
  Images, words, ancient gods; John Nephew explores the Saou sect
  and the Egyptian heritage of their magic.
  32 * * Edge watcher
  John Tynes spends too much time watching strange ﬁlms. But you
  beneﬁt from his sloth with recommendations for the next trip to the
  video store!
  Pagel
  
  Kaput meantime
  EdgeWork reaches its fourth issue. Crowd
  clamors for more! Your editor goes insane.
  Card games take over the world. Head of
  Satan seen over Haiti! Film at eleven.
  EdgeWork has come of age. Four
  full issues of cutting-edge
  information about Al Amarja are now
  available. If this is the ﬁrst issue of
  EdgeWork that you've seen, bother
  your local retail store about getting
  you more. Where else are you going
  to get 32 pages of the best
  information about the Al Amarjan
  games you love, without advertising,
  for one low price?
  All right, I'll lay off the sales pitch
  for a minute. I've been very happy
  producing EdgeWork for the folks
  o v e r a t A t l a s G a m e s . E v e n t h a t
  asshole John Nephew kind of grows
  on you after a while. My only regret
  is that I've been unable to produce
  more issues for you, the clamoring
  r e a d e r .
  Woody Eblom, head sales guy and
  cute hippie for Atlas Games, tells me
  that distributors are asking for more
  EdgeWork. Now that we're billing it
  as an on-going supplement for OTE
  and OnTE, more folks are willing to
  give it a shot. You can help out by
  letting your retailer know you
  appreciate being able to get
  EdgeWork locally.
  My real life has kept me from
  devoting as much time as I'd like to
  EdgeWork and thus as I complete our
  ﬁrst "year" of publication, over two
  calendar years have passed since the
  idea ﬁrst found fruition.
  I remember that day in Northﬁeld
  well. John Nephew and I sat at a local
  bistro and enjoyed a meal and a
  couple of beers while we hashed out
  the details of the plan to produce
  EdgeWork. Then it was back to John's
  ofﬁce/apartment where, over the
  better part of a bottle of Glenﬁddich,
  we produced the press release
  announcing EdgeWork.
  W h e n c e t h e f u t u r e ?
  Since then, some really great stuff
  has run through these pages. Atlas
  Games has formed a partnership with
  Trident, Inc. to produce a card game
  based on the same background as
  OTE. I've come closer to joining the
  ranks of Atlas by taking on duties of
  representing the company on America
  On-Line. I've also edited and helped
  write the player's guide for On the
  Edge. On the Edge was named the
  "Best New Collectible Card Game" by
  Games Magazine. Where now?
  The future is full of possibility. I
  still want to get to producing a new
  v e r s i o n o f D a v e A r n e s o n ' s D o n ' t G i v e
  Up The Ship. By the time you read
  this. Trident and Atlas will be
  celebrating the release of the second
  edition of Once Upon a Time.
  I see EdgeWork continuing its
  function as a support vehicle for both
  the role-playing and card games
  connected with Al Amarja. With this
  issue's contents completed, I have
  material for next time already in my
  hands. Others have already
  volunteered to write more. This kind
  of support from the readership will
  help keep EdgeWork more timely in
  its production. Thanks a lot to
  everyone who's helped out.
  The future is full of possibility. I
  hope you'll join me as we continue
  our journey along the edge.
  Together we'll discover new
  mysteries on Al Amarja.
  Page 2
  
  Vampirim and undead of like kind
  their strengths, how often they need ^
  t o f e e d , w h a t n o t . T h i s t i m e i s u s e d t o §
  i n t r o d u c e t o t h e p l a y e r w h a t ^
  l i m i t a t i o n s w i l l b e i m p o s e d o n g ;
  v a m p i r e s i n y o u r s e t t i n g a s w e l l . T h e p
  good GM will not be afraid to say no,
  its vitally important that the
  character ﬁt into the setting with the
  other vampires of the locale, the time,
  and the genre. Having a PC vampire
  that's closer to a superhero that
  avoids working during the day won't
  ﬁt in with a group of vampirim that
  see themselves as cursed, angst in
  bars all night, and have relatively
  low-powered abilities. Most certainly,
  t h e i n v e r s e h o l d s t r u e a s w e l l .
  A d a r k v i s i o n
  Thanks to the rather loose nature Part of telling the player which
  of the Over the Edge mechanics, tone the vampires have consists of
  creating a believable-yet-not- deciding on their limitations and
  munchkin vampire character capable coherence. Following is an
  of ﬁtting in with the other PCs is far exploration of some of the decisions
  from insurmountable. As always, the that might lead to a more dark and
  ﬁrst step is to put together a strong secretive vampiric society. The
  character concept. At this point, the reader's choices and tastes may differ,
  concept will necessarily be loose. In This can be used with ease as a
  fact, the most effective means at this springboard for different
  point are to create the character's conceptions,
  m o r t a l b a s i s i n t h e s t a n d a r d O v e r t h e
  Edge way, treating it as the skeleton BccominS a vampirc
  of the character before their reception First, the turning of a mortal in this
  of the "dark gift," "embrace," "kiss," setting is a traumatic event, one
  or whatever term the apropos group which is resultant in pain and
  of vampirim label the act of turning a torment of the body and soul. Even
  person from breathing, eating, living afterwards, few vampirim can deal
  ﬂesh to ravening, bloodthirsty, sun- with the enhancement of their
  c r i s p e d u n d e a d . p e r c e p t i o n s a n d t h e l o o m i n g p r o s p e c t
  Once the mortal physicality of the of immortality out of the view of the
  character is described, the player sun. Many die screaming while
  must talk the GM into actually thrashing in the morning sun of the
  making him vampire chowder. At this day after their turning. Thus, the ﬁrst
  point the GM is perfectly positioned thing the vampire needs is something
  to accept bribes of nubile members of vitally important to account for the
  the appropriate gender, money, fact the he or she survived even the
  services; in short, whatever the GM's ﬁrst day after the turning,
  devious little heart desires. The GM It might be a dedication to some
  needs ﬁnd out in depth how the esoteric goal, a noble {or vile) idea, or
  player sees the character as a something more arcane. "Protect the
  vampire, what their weaknesses are, family I left behind," might be the
  An interesting challenge to
  handle in Over the Edge
  mechanics is the introduction
  of various forms of undead
  popularized by the writers and
  myth-mangiers at White Wolf
  Games Eaien Studio. Alexander
  Williams leads us through the
  'dark'' waters of bringing
  vampires to Al Amarja.
  Pase3
  
  obsession of someone interested in
  playing a vampire ﬁghting their
  essential nature to do good for
  someone. "To destroy my sire and all
  those of my lineage/' might be the
  obsession of a player whose character
  was involuntarily turned and who
  sought to destroy those that came
  before. If the sire is essentially
  untouchable, this can lead to really
  interesting roleplay.
  The obsession can be thought of as
  a replacement for the motivation of
  the character when alive, but more
  than that, its the vampire's only
  reason for continuance in an organic
  s e n s e . S h o u l d t h e o b s e s s i o n e v e r b e
  completed, the chances are the
  vampire will lie down and cease to
  be, ﬁnding their work done.
  Being a vampire
  In the vein of modern vampire
  ﬁction and ignoring all the centuries
  of mythology that proceeds, a
  vampire is created when a vampire
  d r a i n s t h e b l o o d o f a h u m a n t o t h e
  point of death and then shares a bit
  o f t h e i r o w n b l o o d f r o m a b i t e o r c u t .
  Further, the act creates certain
  tendencies in the ﬂedgling vampire,
  giving a tendency to develop the
  same type of supernatural powers as
  their sire, within reason.
  Vampirim possess certain powers of
  a supernatural bent as the result of
  the turning. The turning causes a
  general fading of skin tone, a
  lightening of the pigment of the eye,
  and the cooling of the skin. Sunlight
  causes vampirim to burst into ﬂame,
  their ﬁngernails are glassy, and they
  do cast reﬂections. The vampire's
  fangs are retractable and are in the
  standard place.
  T h e m e c h a n i s m s
  Now that the GM has sketched out
  the physical traits of the vampirim,
  the decisions need to be recorded
  somewhere for later reference.
  Everything related to a character
  speciﬁcally, needs to be recorded as
  well. Its a deﬁnite need to decide
  what game effect reﬂects the
  weaknesses and strengths of the
  vampire in play.
  The supernatural essence of the
  vampiric abilities is important,
  certainly important to both the player
  and the GM. Some sort of economic
  system to handle purchasing these
  supernatural effects is needed. A
  handy way to deﬁne the economy is
  to give the new vampire three dice
  and tell them to allocate the dice to
  supernatural abilities in any way they
  like. They might pick three traits at a
  die apiece, or splurge and sink all
  three into a single one. For all intents
  and purposes these traits are
  equivalent to fringe powers and have
  all the range of fringe powers. Keep in
  mind that the development of said
  traits are linked to the bloodline of
  the sire, but creativity can be applied
  in large amount when deriving them.
  For example, the sire may assume the
  form of a bat, where the new vampire
  may become a raven or a wolf. A sire
  who climbs walls may give rise to a
  vampiric childe that can assume the
  form of a spider, and a vampire whose
  powers are to manipulate the minds
  of others from afer (telepathy) might
  sire a vampire who does it close with
  a word (mental domination).
  Creativity is deﬁnitely the essence.
  Just because a PC knows the
  bloodline of another vampire, they
  shouldn't automatically know exactly
  what they're capable of, but they
  should have a vague idea.
  The GM is encouraged to keep the
  effect of these "disciplines"
  mysterious, somewhat other-worldly.
  If there are psychics in the area, they
  might detect the use of disciplines as
  a horrible offense against the fabric of
  the over mind. Magi might perceive
  some supernatural force wafting
  about that smells like brimstone and
  leaves the taste of ashes in their
  mouth. Again, be creative. If its
  needed to know if the vampire's use
  is detected, a good rule of thumb
  might be to roll for the detector's
  applicable trait, or a default of two
  dice opposed to the vampire's highest
  The hunger for blood
  is one of the deﬁning
  attributes of the
  vampire.
  discipline (not necessarily the one in
  use). If the detector rolls more than
  half of the vampire's roll, he detects
  the use of the discipline. Range is up
  to the GM, but its suggested that the
  d i c e i n t h e u s e r ' s s c o r e i n t e n s o f
  m e t e r s i s n o t u n r e a s o n a b l e .
  The hunger for blood is one of the
  deﬁning attributes of the vampire.
  Some kind of equivalent of making
  older, more powerful vampires feed
  m o r e o f t e n s e e m s t o b e m e r i t e d .
  Humans give up dice of blood when
  drained and contain six dice of blood;
  only four dice can be drained before
  they die. A vampire needs to drink
  and expend a number of dice in
  blood equal to the sum of their traits
  every week; this may seem somewhat
  vicious, but seems to work out well,
  too. A vampire can store up to eight
  dice of blood. Using disciplines
  requires that a number of blood dice
  equal to the score in the trait be
  burned from the pool. This keeps
  vampires on their toes. That vampires
  at one die in their blood pool are
  aggressive, nearly mad hunters is a
  lovely touch. That vampires with no
  blood in their pool are fully mad,
  hungry things and partly under GM
  c o n t r o l i s e v e n m o r e f u n .
  Healing and experience
  Vampirim can heal themselves of
  hit point damage by expending blood
  dice. They may regenerate as many
  hit points as they can roll on their
  sacriﬁced dice. Further, to better
  mimic the feel that's desired,
  vampires can stay active and effective
  until their hit points reach the point
  Page 4
  
  at which mortals die (a negative value
  equal to their total hit points), at
  which time they cease to be as well.
  Due to the vampirim's natural
  static tendencies, it takes three times
  as many experience die to advance a
  trait than a mortal. This explains why
  the older vampires don't have tens of
  dice in every trait. Further, the fact
  that vampirim have a great degree of
  advantage in their quick blood
  healing of damage is balanced by the
  fact that they can heal in no other
  way. Thus, a wound once taken must
  be healed by blood or it remains.
  Miscellany
  ♦ C o l d i r o n a n d w o o d d o d o u b l e
  damage to vampirim.
  ♦ Sunlight does one die of damage
  per combat turn to a vampire.
  ♦ Vampires are loosely allied into
  cell-like underground groups, with
  only a few vampires knowing
  another vampire (to prevent
  governments ﬁnding one cell and
  tracking them all down).
  C o n c l u s i o n
  V a r i o u s b l o o d l i n e s w i t h s o m e
  differences, in both strengths and
  weaknesses, will come up in the
  course of playing the game. By just
  establishing the basic mechanics and
  leaving most of the speciﬁcs
  undeﬁned, the GM can take the
  players' ideas and weave them into
  the background without fear of
  stepping on predeﬁned histories or
  i n t e r r e l a t i o n s .
  As well as giving a place to start,
  the deﬁned vampirim give the GM a
  setting to violate with later creatures.
  A deﬁnite sense of the unknown,
  injecting wonder and even fear into
  the setting, comes from the still
  unseen creatures of the night.
  Perhaps magic use has been tacitly
  c o n ﬁ r m e d t o b e u n a v a i l a b l e t o
  vampirim, but the PCs then stumble
  on a rare bloodline that use sorcery
  predominantly. A slow introduction
  to a dynamic greater world can lead
  the players to a much deeper
  interaction with the setting.
  Vampires can work quite well, and
  the use thereof, even as PCs, is greatly
  facilitated by using a system such as
  Over the Edge. The openness and the
  pure basis in creativity and ﬂexibility
  is a boon beyond simple
  comprehension. It only becomes
  readily apparent upon thought,
  consideration, and action on
  imagination.
  Sample Characters
  N i c o l a ! V l a d i m i r H a r k o n
  Vampiric Cell Controller
  Aristocrat (4 dice): Born in
  Austria and raised amongst the best
  and brightest at the end of the 1800s
  in England, Nicolai knows how to
  live like an aristocrat and speak with
  the haughty disdain of a king.
  [Speaks with English accent.]
  Cruel Fighter (3 dice): Nicolai
  took to fencing like a ﬁsh to water as
  a boy, but displayed good aptitude in
  every physical combat style...as long
  as he could see the pain on his
  opponent's face. He takes a penalty
  die if trying to ﬁght to subdue.
  [Takes advantage of every
  opportunity to wound in combat.]
  Pase 5
  
  Manipulative Lover (3 dice): More
  than a few men wore the cuckold
  horns thanks to Nicolai's efforts when
  his ﬂesh was still warm. He takes a
  penalty die to manipulation rolls
  against those who ﬁnd him
  unattractive. [Haughty and cool in an
  intriguing way.]
  Sadistic temperament (Flaw):
  Nicolai is constitutionally unable to
  resist inﬂicting pain, whether it be
  physical, mental, or emotional,
  whenever possible. Even when its not
  called for or not in his best interest.
  [Sadistic taste.]
  Obsession: In order to establish a
  new order in his life, Nicolai is
  obsessed with the idea of being the
  most powerful vampire in the city.
  Shadowmeld (2 dice): When he
  steps into shadow, Nicolai may add 2
  dice to his chances to hide or evade
  notice (with the burning of two blood
  dice). Sounds originating from him
  are muted and he can move without
  attracting notice. The effect lasts
  until he steps out again into the light
  or light is directed upon where he's
  hiding. [Seems to dim lights very
  slightly in his passing.]
  Shadowsight (1 die): Seeing in
  pitch blackness is part and parcel of
  the techniques Nicolai can use against
  an enemy. Treat Shadowsight like an
  unusual trait to decide when he needs
  roll to use it (for example, seeing a
  sheet of paper on a desk in pitch
  blackness is trivial, but reading it
  takes a certain amount of skill and a
  roll). [Pupils are catlike in dim light.]
  History: Nicolai was turned just
  before the turn of the century by a
  member of the vampiric bloodline
  "Taltores," whose members tend to be
  hand picked for their cruelty and
  whose powers seem to relate to the
  u n s e e n a n d d a r k n e s s .
  Nicolas was turned in England and
  became obsessed with becoming more
  powerful than his sire, then with
  being the most powerful vampire in
  the city. His predations are brutal and
  sadistic, but his wit is rapier sharp.
  Page 6
  He's learned to use his vampiric
  powers to further his designs and
  now is the center controller of most
  of the vampiric cells in his area. His
  ﬁnal intent is to garner as much
  power as he can, quickly, through
  whatever means possible.
  J o h n R u n n e r
  Vampiric Wilderness Fanatic
  Strong (4 dice): John, in life before
  his turning in 1923, was an
  incredibly strong man, though his
  physique isn't built to the bulked-up
  expectations of modern eyes. [Tends
  to do acts of strength casually.]
  Forestry (3 dice): Chopping down
  trees was his life, one he took
  seriously. He worked with axe and
  horse to send logs to the mill. [Knows
  a lot about various trees.]
  Tough (3 dice): Living and
  working in the woods made John
  extremely resilient. The ﬁghts that he
  tended to get into didn't hurt his
  development either. [Scars on various
  parts of his body, including the
  knuckles.]
  Berserker (Flaw): John was always
  a bit of a wild-man. When he sees a
  ﬁght coming (or, after his turning, he
  sees someone deﬁling the land even
  slightly) on a roll of 1 on one die he
  goes into a murderous fury which
  lasts until he removes the cause or he
  rolls another 1 on one die, tested
  every ten minutes. ["Furry," with
  shaggy hair and beard.]
  Obsession: John is obsessed with
  protecting and defending the forces
  of nature and the woods in particular.
  As a result he's developed a more
  than mild psychosomatic physical
  rebellion against technological
  devices. (He takes 1 die of damage
  every hour he's in contact with
  technological devices, 1 die of
  damage for every day he's in an urban
  environment.)
  WOLFBORN (2 dice): John can
  transform his body into a lupine
  form, with all its advantages and
  disadvantages. Detecting his
  differences is reasonably difﬁcult
  (usually 2 dice vs. 2 dice unless the
  observer is particularly skilled). With
  a good roll vs a target of 9, John can
  take only parts of a lupine form
  (fangs, wolf's eyes, slightly increased
  strength), but must burn the two dice
  of blood whether the attempt is
  successful or not. [Lupine-form, takes
  a point of damage every turn he's
  exposed to wolfsbane.]
  Treemeld (1 die): John can meld
  with the trunk of a reasonably sized
  tree, and in so doing, be protected
  from the effects of sunlight, etc.,
  though he is vulnerable to the things
  wood is. If the meld is not done at
  daybreak (or intended to last until
  the next sunset) then the number
  rolled is how many minutes the
  melding lasts. [Leaves a pattern in the
  bark of the melded tree which
  strongly resembles his face and body.]
  History: John was turned in the
  American Midwest in 1923 by a
  member of the bloodline known as
  "Gangranus." The brood is known for
  their fanatical devotion to the natural
  and their distaste for the urban.
  John enjoys running in the woods
  in lupine form and protecting his
  domain from campers, loggers, and
  other forces unnatural. His
  
  possessiveness borders on the
  psychotic, but his brood brothers and
  sisters are all equally unbalanced in
  similar directions, except for a small
  tribe who has turned their back on
  the woods and walks the cities.
  Edwin Archibald Angstan
  Vampiric Actor
  Actor (4 dice): Edwin's turning in
  t h e 1 9 8 0 s c a m e a s a r e s u l t o f h i s
  "slumming it" in disreputable parts
  of the city completely out-of-work.
  Despite his inability to ﬁnd a job, he
  really is decently skilled in the actor's
  art, even understanding quite a bit
  about set blocking and electronics,
  not that he'd sully his hands to do
  anything so menial. [Unconsciously
  projects his voice.]
  Dexterous (3 dice): A great deal of
  pride has been known to exist in
  actors regarding their ﬂamboyant
  gestures. Edwin is almost
  archetypically so. [Walks coins across
  knuckles when still, makes sweeping,
  ﬂamboyant gestures when not.]
  Fencing (3 dice): Edwin took a
  goodly number of fencing lessons "to
  improve his method," as he would
  put it. Staying in shape for it and
  practice were part of what drained
  his coffers so severely. [Uses fencing
  terms in casual conversation.]
  Theatrical (Flaw): Edwin is
  unrepentently theatrical. One word
  will never do when a monologue can
  be made, no tiny gesture be made
  when a sweeping one can be done, no
  word be whispered when it can be
  shouted. Even when he's being
  sincere he comes across as plastic and
  fake. (A penalty die to most social
  rolls when dealing with folks who
  don't know him seems appropriate.
  On the other hand, among other
  "Actors" and Goths it can be seen as a
  positive boon.) [Theatrical in the
  extreme.]
  Obsession: Edwin desperately
  wants to be liked, and is obsessed
  with continually making a good
  impression. Of course, if you persist
  in not liking him, you're either
  bourgeois scum or an idiot (but he'll
  continue trying to "prove himself").
  The Voice (2 dice): Edwin can use
  his voice to convince a target that he's
  perfectly reasonable and that his
  course of action is eminently
  reasonable. Treat his use of the Voice
  something like the Fringe Power
  "Sub-Vocalization" except its spoken
  directly. He can use it on more than
  one person, but they all must be
  within his sight and he burns an
  extra blood die per person in addition
  to the two he burns just to activate it
  on one person. [Voice is especially
  resonant (as if standing in an echo
  chamber) when the Voice is used.]
  Sweeping Entrance (1 die): By
  burning a blood point, Edwin can
  c a u s e c o n v e r s a t i o n s t o h u s h a n d
  heads to turn his way whenever he
  enters a room. Magi who habitually
  shield themselves and psychics would
  get a roll to resist the effect but will
  probably be curious regardless.
  History: Edwin was turned in the
  winter of 1984, "the winter of his
  discontent," as he would put it, by a
  member of the bloodline "Hagena,"
  who had been following Edwin for
  some weeks. The bloodline is made
  up of social gadﬂies.
  Edwin is the archetypal poseur
  wannabe Goth-like actor. Whining is
  probably well-ingrained enough in
  his personality to be worthy of a trait
  of its own, but unfortunately no GM
  likely has that many d6s in their
  travel bag. Turning was considered
  by Edwin to be a great boon to his
  popularity since he learned to
  enthrall folks to listening to his tales
  of personal travail.
  Currently, Edwin is the happy
  lackey of a more powerful vampire
  that ﬁnds his cell necessarily has to
  interact with far too many of the
  young wannabes than his taste
  permits. Edwin is perfect for the job.
  
  J o n a t h i n M a r k e r
  Vampirk Madman
  Psychotherapy (2 dice): In 1993, Jon
  Harker was a successful psychotherapist
  catering to servicing the rich and
  beautiful in Hollywood. He still retains
  his knowledge as well as knows some of
  the other prominent members of the
  community. [Spouts psychological
  terminology.]
  Quick Reﬂexes (3 dice): Jon was
  always a bit twitchy almost verging on a
  certain tame paranoia. Of course, this
  made him a more than competent
  California driver. ["Twitchy," tends to
  jump if spooked.]
  Intelligent (3 dice): Jon was
  certainly one of the most intelligent men
  in his circle, turning down a MENS A
  invitation in order to not mingle with
  his lessers. [Brilliant, piercing gaze.]
  Mild Paranoia (Flaw): Despite his
  understanding of the human condition,
  his own condition was slowly eroding
  from beneath his feet. (Little did he
  know it was being helped along by his
  sire.) Since the turning, the paranoia
  hasn't gotten signiﬁcantly worse, but he
  certainly has more ways to display it.
  [Eyes shift from side to side
  unpredictably at times.]
  Obsession: Jon Harker is totally
  obsessed with the idea that madness is
  really the only sanity and totally
  dedicated to "awakening" all he meets
  t o t h a t f u n d a m e n t a l t r u t h .
  Illusion of the Mind torn Wide (3
  dice): Jon, like his sire before him, can
  project images, moods, thoughts and
  more to the mind of a target, usually as
  drawn from their own phobias,
  paranoias and psychosis. Jon is a
  uniquely educated and talented
  vampire, however, and can use his
  psychotherapeutic knowledge to inﬂict
  completely different insanities of
  perception on a target. [Babies, children,
  small animals etc., are extremely
  distressed by his presence.]
  H i s t o r y : J o n w a s s t a l k e d f o r o v e r
  three years by his sire before he was
  ﬁnally turned, only to join a bloodline
  of vampirim called "Psychoti," all of
  whom share insanity and things related
  to it. Their abilities to affect the
  perceptions of others is legendary.
  After his turning, Jon entered the
  world of the Psychoti with a true
  vengeance, psychoanalyzing some
  previously sane vampirim into the ranks
  and helping some who were almost too
  ill to be of use to ﬁnd enough stability
  to be productive. He's almost always
  done so to promote his "Cult of the
  Liberated Mind," however, his progrom
  to share the freedom of insanity with
  t h e w h o l e w o r l d .
  W i n i f r e d S h a n a n d o a
  Vampiric Love-child
  Seamstress (2 die): Before her turning
  in the late '60s, Winni wasn't terribly
  stable to begin with, but she did make a
  signiﬁcant amount of money doing
  intricate embroidery and stitching.
  [Always has sewing equipment on her.]
  '50s Sitcoms (6 dice): Winni's real
  d e d i c a t i o n i n l i f e w a s t o h e r f a s c i n a t i o n
  with the perfect &milies of the '50s
  sitcoms. To that end, she's a literal font
  of information regarding them.
  [Continuously spouting quotes from
  them, often uses stilted dialogue like a
  '50s sitcom.]
  Drug Use (3 dice): Winni was a bit of
  a ﬂower-child in the late '60s; when she
  wasn't watching sitcom she was lighting
  up a doobie or cooking a little coke.
  (Despite the fact the things don't affect
  her, she still keeps current.) [Somewhat
  glassy, zoned-out look reminiscent of
  Ozzy Osboume even after he dropped
  the habit.]
  Addictive Personality (Flaw): Winni
  becomes easily addicted to anything
  remotely pleasurable or even somewhat
  pleasurable, or in fact anything she can
  be convinced is pleasurable. As a result
  she comes off as clingy, unstable, and
  dependant.
  Obsession: Complete obsession to
  create for herself a '50s sitcom-esque life
  ﬁlls Winni with some kind of purpose.
  Unfortunately for her, her natural
  instability means it comes out looking
  like Leave it to Beaver pictured by Jerry
  Garcia on a serious acid trip. Her
  vampirism doesn't help much, either.
  Theme Music (1 die): Winni is
  surrounded by a non-directional theme
  music which varies by the setting as she
  perceives it. This means that careful
  listening by the bright companion might
  give clues as to what's going on, but
  hearing the same music every evening
  when you wake up gets a bit grating.
  Audience Cacophony (I die): thanks
  to her belief that she's on a '50s TV
  sitcom, Winni subconsciously creates
  the illusory sounds of the audience
  keyed to actions she and her "co-stars"
  make. Applause is all well-and-good at
  the appropriate time, but boos and
  hisses when you're trying to stealthily
  sneak up on some guy can be
  disparaging, since the target of said
  sneak might be made curious.
  Dramatis Personae (1 die): By
  "reading the script," Winni can know
  s o m e o n e ' s n a m e a n d a o n e - s e n t e n c e
  summary of who they are.
  History: Winni's Turning was
  accomplished by the "Psychoti"
  bloodline in 1969, just after Woodstock,
  in fact. She didn't notice a whole lot of
  difference between life before and life
  after, to be honest.
  Winni is one of the less successful
  vampirim still around, but its so hard to
  dislike her slightly glassy yet sunny
  smile and cheerful manner that most
  vampirim have trouble leaving her to
  f e n d f o r h e r o w n . M o r e t h a n o n c e s h e ' s
  set up housekeeping with some obtuse
  mortal, claiming a "day job" and an
  active nightlife. Unfortunately for her,
  its hard to keep her mystic nature a
  secret when, after a bout of lovemaking,
  the catcalls and cheering set in.
  e
  Pages
  
  Evolvins Over the Edge
  The year is 2027, corporations
  rule the world and a deadly
  nanoplasue ravases the earth.
  On Al Amarja, a fatal plasue of
  a different kind rases, spellins
  the end of the next seneration's
  youth. This disease, known only
  as Andros' Curse nnay unlock
  the secrets of Monique
  DAubainne and the world of
  the sub-random.
  This article describes a campaign
  v a r i a n t i n w h i c h R . Ta l s o r i a n ' s
  Cybergeneration is crossed with Over
  the Edge. The two games share a great
  deal with one another thematically,
  but differ in era and setting. This can
  easily be rectiﬁed by using the
  explanations detailed herein, though
  other options exist. Working
  carefully, Al Amarja could be
  updated straight into the 21st
  century, determining what happened
  to the Throckmortons, whether
  Monique D'Aubainne still controls
  the island and what happened with
  the Le Thuys, among others.
  The explanation used in this variant
  assumes time in Al Amarja has not
  advanced as quickly as it has in the
  rest of the world. This allows many of
  the most interesting conspiracies to
  c o n t i n u e t o e x i s t w h i l e s t i l l n o t
  upsetting the timeline of
  Cybergeneration. Thus tied together,
  the best aspects of the game can be
  used in a complementary fashion.
  Also, the explanations and origins of
  the Carbon Plague are not those from
  R. Talsorian's Cybergeneration. In
  Cybergeneration, the true origins of the
  plague are still a mystery. For more
  i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t w h a t i s k n o w n
  about the source of the plague in
  Cybergeneration, see MediaFront,
  EcoFront and VirtualFront.
  The story so far
  Due to a temporal irregularity
  surrounding Al Amarja, time in the
  rest of the world advances about six
  times faster. While over thirty years
  have passed in the rest of the world,
  t h e T h r o c k m o r t o n d e v i c e i s s t i l l a
  couple of years from completion and
  other conspiracies largely remain the
  same as described in the Over the
  Edge rulebook.
  Despite the availability of higher
  technology from outside sources, the
  government
  r e s t r i c t s t h e
  importation of
  such tech into Temporal irre^
  A l 
  A m a r j a 
  a n d 
  ^ 
  ^
  promotes the Chikutorpl's p
  "more reliable, Amarja has CC
  tried and true" disruptions tk.
  technology of inter-dimensic
  t h e l a t e 2 0 t h
  century. As a She is UUawar
  result, most Al
  Amarjans are
  unaware of the technology available
  i n t h e r e s t o f t h e w o r l d a n d d i s t r u s t
  devices they come in contact with.
  Technology that they do not know
  about includes: virtual reality
  computer networks, microfactories,
  nanocircuitry, aerodyne vehicles and
  artiﬁcial intelligences. Weaponry has
  also advanced considerably, but still
  the complete gun ban has persisted in
  Al Amarja despite increased
  infractions by tourists able to sneak
  the new weapons through customs.
  Al Amarja is connected to the
  worldwide computer network, but all
  connections are controlled and
  monitored by the government. Only
  "legitimate" businesses are allowed
  Temporal irregularities:
  Chikutorpl's presence in Al
  Amarja has caused temporal
  disruptions through her
  i n t e r - d i m e n s i o n a l t r a v e l s .
  She is unaware of this effect.
  Cyberseneration^'^ ©1993 R. Talsorian Games, Inc. Cyberseneration,
  MediaFronf''^, EcoFronf"'^, and VirtualFronf"'^ are trademarks of
  R. Talsorian Games, Inc., used with kind permission.
  Pase9
  
  access and then only for business
  contact. Even many multinational
  corporations are not allowed access
  because the government worries that
  they cannot control what information
  comes and goes. Therefore, most
  homes in Al Amarja have old 20th
  century telephones and must go
  through government channels to
  reach the outside world.
  Over the last twenty years, world
  governments have come under
  increasing corporate control,
  resulting in some cases (such as the
  United States) becoming corporate
  nations, merging government and
  company completely. A new breed of
  fascism has arisen from this
  relationship.
  The single biggest event in recent
  history has been the spread of the
  Carbon Plague. Not truly a disease,
  the plague is actually a nanoplague.
  Nanites, microscopic machines, infest
  a body and 20% of the time kill it if
  i t i s a n a d u l t a n d m u t a t e i t i f a c h i l d .
  These mutations vary in a limited
  sense, but are for the most part
  beneﬁcial, hence the description
  "evolving" the child. Most
  governments are strongly opposed to
  this unnatural evolution and herd
  affected children into camps, keeping
  them from the public eye.
  On Al Amarja though, only the
  government and a few groups are
  aware of the Carbon Plague. Most
  only know of Andros' Curse, which
  popped up a few months ago. So-
  called because its appearance
  coincided with the opening of a
  pharaoh's tomb, Andros' Curse kills
  adults and children, though it
  mutates children before killing them.
  This according to Dr. Nusbaum, who
  was appointed by the government to
  deal with this epidemic.
  However, death is not the only
  result of Andros' Curse. A burger,
  named Dr. Lovelace, was able to cure
  A n d r o s ' C u r s e i n a f ﬂ i c t e d c h i l d r e n .
  While he required absolute faith in
  his abilities to heal, his ability was
  found to be real. With a large
  following of healed devotees (both
  child and parent), the Church of
  Desire was formed. Two weeks ago,
  the good doctor vanished leaving his
  son, Alexander, to lead the church.
  Alexander has no healing abilities
  and is not a born leader like his father
  was. The church is upset, and more
  children become infected every day
  with the only option being
  hospitalization and sure death. This is
  a dark time in Al Amarja.
  A n d r o s ' C u r s e
  Andros' Curse is, of course, the
  nanoplague that afﬂicts the rest of the
  world. The different name and
  perception is due to government
  propaganda. A nanoplague is a
  pestilence of microscopic robots
  which affect the human body. In this
  case they are volitional, able to alter a
  person in some distinct manner; they
  kill 20% of adult humans and mutate
  20% of children.
  The nanoplague originated in
  California due to a combination of
  random accident, conscious
  experimentation and sub-random
  inﬂuence. Gregory Northrup, a
  member of Philosopher's Stone was
  conducting experiments using
  nanites to enhance humans. While he
  was making little progress, his
  assistant, a sub-random coed named
  Alisha Fetter helped him make a great
  breakthrough. Just then an explosion
  rocked the building and ruptured the
  safety seals. The super nanites
  escaped and spread. Alisha escaped
  and Gregory died from the
  nanoplague in-ﬂight to Al Amarja.
  The US government, unaware of
  Gregory's work, believes it to be a
  random mutation in nanites being
  u s e d a t a c o n s t r u c t i o n s i t e n e x t d o o r .
  The super nanites spread around
  the world, infecting everything, but
  often remaining dormant for a period
  of time. When they became active,
  they set about mutating their
  surroundings into the super-beings
  they were programmed for.
  Unfortunately, a growth hormone
  must be present to regulate the
  nanites otherwise the host is killed,
  which is what happens in adults.
  Children are affected by the nanites
  by giving them "super" abilities.
  D r . N u s b a u m i s a w a r e o f t h i s e f f e c t
  after having studied individuals
  mutated by the plague. He and
  Monique D'Aubainne decided the
  altered children were too dangerous
  to continue to exist, so the hospital
  h a s m a d e s u r e t h a t m u t a t e d c h i l d r e n
  do not survive long.
  The belief that the nanoplague is
  actually a pharaoh's curse is actually
  part of a government misinformation
  campaign. There is no pharaoh's tomb
  and nor were there any pharaohs
  named Andros in this region. The
  government wants to keep the public
  satisﬁed that this plague is a normal
  phenomena and that there is nothing
  beneﬁcial about it. By supporting an
  interesting rumor, they maintain the
  image that it is nothing more than a
  bad epidemic of some new disease
  that has yet to be cured.
  Dr. Lovelace and the
  Church of Desire
  Dr. Lovelace's past is largely
  unknown. He arrived in Al Amarja a
  few years ago, adopted a son and
  lived quietly working as a doctor at
  o n e o f t h e l o c a l c l i n i c s . W h e n t h e
  PaselO
  
  Andros' Curse hit, his son became
  infected and mutated. Having heard
  t h a t t h e m u t a t i o n s w e r e f a t a l f r o m
  government reports, he prayed for his
  son's recovery. It worked and word
  spread that he had the healing touch.
  Soon, parents from all over the
  Edge were wanting him to heal their
  afﬂicted children. The good doctor
  required absolute faith in his abilities
  from parents and children that he
  worked with. This was easily done as
  his abilities had become legendary.
  Soon a cult arose around his healing
  powers, the Church of Desire.
  Then, two weeks ago. Dr. Lovelace
  vanished without a trace. Some say
  h e w e n t b a c k t o h e a v e n w h i l e o t h e r s
  fear that jealous powers abducted him
  to learn his secrets. In any case, his
  s o n A l e x a n d e r w a s l e f t t o l e a d t h e
  Church without any real leadership
  abilities nor any skill in healing.
  While the Church is holding together,
  this is largely due to the mythic
  quality Lovelace has taken on since
  his disappearance.
  T h e E v o l v e d
  The plague's effects on children are
  to mutate them, giving them new
  abilities through the nanites. There
  are ﬁve major types of nanite
  mutations named: Alchemists, Bolters,
  Scanners, Tinmen and Wizards. There
  are other mutations possible, such as
  Scouts and Jammers, discussed in
  EcoFront and Mediafront, two
  sourcebooks for Cybergeneration, but
  only the main ones will be discussed
  here. The following information
  c o n v e r t s t h e " e v o l v e d " c h i l d r e n ' s n e w
  powers into fringe powers.
  A l c h e m i s t
  A n A l c h e m i s t c h a r a c t e r i s a b l e t o
  u s e i t s n a n i t e s t o t r a n s f o r m m a t t e r o n
  the molecular level, both in shape
  and composition. Materials of all
  kinds except other nanites and living
  t i s s u e c a n b e a f f e c t e d . T h e A l c h e m i s t
  can manipulate matter from simple
  tasks such as altering the structure of
  an element (gas to liquid, liquid to
  solid, etc.) to the extremely complex
  alteration of an object (metal bar into
  circuitry).
  The difﬁculty of the task is set by
  the GM and rolled against by the
  player. For example, making water
  into ice would have a difﬁculty of 3
  while making a gun out of a metal bar
  might have a difﬁculty of 20. Note
  that Alchemists must also stay in
  c o n t i n u o u s c o n t a c t w i t h t h e m a t t e r
  they are affecting.
  The symptoms of a character
  evolving into an alchemist include
  extremely low body temperature,
  shakes and silver slime oozing from
  pores all over the character's body.
  B o l t e r
  B o l t e r s a r e h u m a n t a s e r s .
  Launching wires from two small
  openings are the base of their wrists,
  they are able to guide the wires to
  their targets, and are even able to
  bend the wires around multiple
  corners or other obstacles. They are
  able to store up a charge in their body
  and discharge it through this wire or
  through touch. This charge can be
  extremely powerful. While the touch
  ability requires an unarmed hit to be
  delivered, the taser ability has the
  following ranges:
  Range
  D i c e f o r D e f e n s e
  2 m
  1 0 m
  2 0 m
  4 0 m
  8 0 m
  Damage taken from a Bolter acts
  like taser damage. The Damage Factor
  is determined by the character and
  can be as little as Ix and as high as
  
  7x. However, every successful hit
  drains the character s internal charge.
  Bolters have a 5x charge per die of
  ability. They recharge at a rate of Ix
  every hour. Shocks can be delivered
  via conductive materials.
  When a character becomes a Bolter,
  she ﬁrst becomes extremely nauseous,
  c o n t r a c t s a s e v e r e f e v e r a n d w i l l b e
  bedridden while ill. The character
  will throw up black silvery ooze,
  which may be disturbing.
  S c a n n e r
  In effect. Scanners are mind
  readers. Their nervous system is
  rewired to detect and interpret
  brainwaves. While this normally is
  restricted to surface thoughts or
  emotions, extremely skilled Scanners
  can pick up images and particular
  thoughts. They can even
  communicate fully with other
  Scanners and possibly other Mind
  Scanners. However, if they want to
  maintain their privacy, they can
  throw up "static" ﬁelds which block
  o u t o t h e r S c a n n e r s .
  This ability works the same way as
  Mind Scan (see Over the Edge, page
  178), except that background static
  interferes with the Scanning ability.
  In areas such as near large
  transmitters or close to high tension
  wires, subtract one or more dice from
  the Scanner's attempt.
  The other special ability of
  Scanners is similar to Bolters. They
  can store up a charge and discharge it
  by touch, however it is a weaker form
  and causes damage to the character
  when used. Damage taken from this
  attack acts like a Taser, and the
  Damage Factor can be as high as 5x,
  however for every level above 2x, the
  character takes half the damage
  inﬂicted. Once again, uses drain the
  Scanner's internal charge. Scanner's
  internal charge equals 2x per die of
  ability, which is recharged at a rate of
  Ix every four hours.
  T h e l i n e b e t w e e n S c a n n e r s a n d
  psychics is extremely thin, but
  because Scanning relies on
  electromagnetic ﬁelds and not
  psychic energies. Scanners are not
  affected by Crystal Traps or other
  psychic defense devices.
  A Scanner evolving suffers
  blinding headaches and a buzzing
  sound in their ears. This will render
  the character severely disoriented
  and while ill, the character's sense of
  balance is gone making walking near
  impossible.
  T i n m a n
  T h e a b i l i t i e s o f T i n m e n a r e d i f ﬁ c u l t
  to quantify without describing the
  physical elements involved in the
  mutation. Nanites are present just
  under the skin over the character's
  entire body, which allows the Tinman
  to harden its skin to form an armor
  coating. Also, the arms and legs are
  composed entirely of this substance,
  allowing them to reshape their arms
  and legs at will. The nanite
  substance, known as hexite looks
  silvery black.
  Tinmen are able to do the
  following: reshape their limbs into
  tendrils or sheets, extend their limbs
  up to 2 meters, armor their bodies
  and shape their limbs into speciﬁc
  forms. These abilities have difﬁculties
  based upon the complexity of the
  task involved. Extending an arm
  would have a difﬁculty of 3 while
  shaping a hand into a gun (minus
  cartridge and bullets) would have a
  difﬁculty of 20. The difﬁculty of
  armoring oneself is equal to 3
  multiplied by the number of dice of
  armoring desired, to a maximum of 3
  dice. Reshaping, extension, armoring
  and shaping takes one turn per 3
  points of difﬁculty involved.
  As side beneﬁts of this mutation,
  the Tinman is able to resist pain past
  the irritation point, they can bend
  their joints in any direction and have
  shiny silvery-black arms and legs
  (which is quite noticeable unless
  concealed). The prelude to this
  change is itchy skin on the character's
  arms and legs. Soon after, the
  character's skin on the arms and legs
  will turn into a thick, pasty slime
  which can be wiped off to reveal the
  shiny silver-black new appendages.
  W i z a r d
  Unlike wizards of the Edge, the
  e v o l v e d v e r s i o n i s a m a s t e r o f
  e l e c t r o n i c s . A W i z a r d ' s b r a i n i s
  transformed into a computer and the
  nervous system into a kind of
  m o d e m . T h i s a l l o w s t h e c h a r a c t e r t o
  a c c e s s a n d i n t e r a c t w i t h o t h e r
  computers and link with information
  networks. Anything controlled by a
  computer can be accessed by Wizard.
  The intelligence of the system
  being dealt with is the ﬁrst
  determinant of the difﬁculty of a
  task. When communicating, the more
  intelligent the system, the easier it is.
  For example, talking to an artiﬁcially
  intelligent computer is easier than
  talking to a lighting system, but then
  why would you want to talk with a
  lighting system? However, to get the
  system to work for you, to alter its
  programming or do you a favor, the
  smarter the system is the harder it is.
  For example, communicating with an
  AI might have a difﬁculty of 3 while
  getting it to ﬁnd a program for you
  that it does not itself contain might
  have difﬁculty of 20. Likewise,
  getting that lighting system to turn
  itself on for you would only have a
  difﬁculty of 2, but getting it to tell
  you when it was last turned on might
  have a difﬁculty of 15 and getting it
  to stop working completely would
  have a difﬁculty of 15.
  W i z a r d s a r e a l s o a b l e t o c r e a t e t h e i r
  own programs, they can see and hear
  TV and radio signals and can project
  themselves into computer networks.
  Note that within Al Amarja, there is
  PaselS
  
  no computer networks, so this of
  limited usefulness. The largest danger
  facing Wizards is being attacked by
  other programs because their mind is
  a computer. If their own programs are
  destroyed, parts of their brains are
  fried. But, also because of this.
  S c a n n e r s c a n n o t r e a d t h e m i n d s o f
  Wizards and possibly they are
  difﬁcult to scan for psychics as well.
  W i z a r d s s u f f e r e x t r e m e h e a d a c h e s
  which may place the character in a
  coma while ill. If conscious, the
  character will also be subjected to
  intense shaking and twitching and
  w i l l b e u n a b l e t o m o v e o f t h e i r o w n
  v o l i t i o n .
  Power Groups
  The world of Al Amarja has not
  changed dramatically, but some
  s u b t l e d i f f e r e n c e s h a v e w o r k e d t h e i r
  way into the island's power groups. If
  a group is not mentioned here, then
  there have been no signiﬁcant
  changes in it, or none that this author
  i s a w a r e o f . T h e r e a r e a l s o t w o n e w
  power players in the Edge, described
  a t t h e e n d .
  D'Aubainne Hospital and Trauma
  C e n t e r
  The recent Nusbaum Wing of the
  hospital specializes in handling those
  i n f e c t e d w i t h A n d r o s ' C u r s e . T h e
  recovery rate is incredibly low, but
  people continue to be persuaded by
  government propaganda to bring in
  t h o s e w h o f a l l i l l w i t h t h e C u r s e .
  Those children who are not truly
  infected with the nanoplague are
  "cured" by Nusbaum (one or the
  other of them) and released, while
  those who are truly infected by the
  plague are given lethal injections and
  the bodies are disposed of in a mass
  grave outside of the Edge to the
  north. This secret disposal place is
  known only to high level government
  agents, Nusbaum, Monique
  D'Aubainne and intelligence agent
  David Rapture (see GMCs).
  The Temple of Divine Experience
  No real changes have occurred at
  the Temple, merely the addition of
  Church of Desire services to Tuesday's
  Sommerite parties. While not all
  Sommerites are pleased about sharing
  time with these newcomers, the two
  groups are friendly and cross-
  membership is common.
  While the Sommerites enjoy lots of
  music, the Church of Desire followers
  watch recorded services run by Dr.
  Lovelace before he disappeared,
  followed occasionally by a few words
  from Alexander. These days however,
  he is not in the city, so members
  engage in retelling the feats of
  Lovelace. He is considered by many
  to be a holy man, if not an
  i n c a r n a t i o n o f G o d .
  Earthlinss
  The Earthlings are heavily involved
  in research into the nanoplague (they
  are aware of the plague's true nature).
  While Learned ones study the
  mutations in children. Courageous
  ones are busy ﬁnding those who have
  already "evolved" or who are in the
  process of "evolving" to rescue them
  from the D'Aubainne Hospital. The
  Earthlings are not sure what is going
  on at the hospital; just that evolved
  children who go there die.
  The Earthlings are potential allies
  for evolved characters, as the Wise
  ones have recognized the usefulness
  of the mutations. Unfortunately, they
  a r e h e s i t a n t t o r e l e a s e i n f o r m a t i o n o n
  t h e t r u e n a t u r e o f A n d r o s ' C u r s e d u e
  to the possible crackdown from the
  government. Currently, their goal is to
  gather as much information as
  possible for later use.
  
  Glugs
  Glugs are aware of the true nature
  of the nanoplague because one of
  t h e m c r e a t e d a s i m i l a r s t r a i n
  thousands of years ago to infect
  "humans," subverting Pharaoh
  control of them. This time, they don't
  k n o w w h o o r w h a t c r e a t e d t h e
  nanites (some think the nanites
  created thousands of years ago went
  d o r m a n t a n d h a v e n o w r e a w a k e n e d
  for some reason). In any case, they are
  working to protect evolved children
  from extermination (which they
  rightfully suspect is Pharaoh
  inﬂuenced) and setting them against
  the Pharaohs and their quislings.
  G o v e r n m e n t
  The government has founded a
  special division dedicated to ﬁnding
  evolved children that have not gone
  i n f o r " t r e a t m e n t . " T h i s d i v i s i o n i s
  composed of twelve DBI cloaks and
  are not especially effective. They
  work largely like the Paranormal
  Investigations bureau, going into
  action only after a report of strange
  powers comes in.
  When they do go into action
  though, they wear black suits and
  sunglasses, carry handguns and take
  kids away for "treatment" and
  quarantine. They wear special
  h e a d b a n d s w h i c h f o r m s t a t i c ﬁ e l d s
  around their minds and use very little
  electronic equipment.
  Kersillian
  The Kergillians are aware of the
  t r u e n a t u r e A n d r o s ' C u r s e a n d k n o w
  about the time shift between Al
  Amarja and the rest of the world.
  They are choosing to keep this
  information to themselves and have
  used the time shift to spread
  Kergillian inﬂuence throughout the
  world and space. Now, many high-
  ranking ofﬁcials across the globe are
  Kergillians and the space station is
  almost entirely run by the Kergillians.
  This has allowed their spacecraft to
  t r a v e l u n m o l e s t e d .
  The current Kergillian plot
  unraveling on the island involves the
  construction of a space launch
  facility. This project is being
  undertaken by Orbital Air under
  Kergillian inﬂuence. This facility will
  further facilitate operations on the
  island. Due to rather generous
  "donations" to Monique D'Aubainne
  the government has turned a blind
  eye to the entire operation. In fact,
  the project is so secret that only
  vague rumors of its existence can be
  found in the Edge.
  M o v e r s
  The Movers have been heavily
  i n v o l v e d w i t h A n d r o s ' C u r s e f r o m t h e
  beginning. Gladstein cell members are
  anxiously gathering as much
  i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e n a n i t e s i n v o l v e d
  as possible while Vornites are using
  e v o l v e d c h i l d r e n f o r t h e i r o w n e n d s .
  Meanwhile, all cells spread
  m i s i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e t r u e n a t u r e
  o f t h e C u r s e . S o m e r u m o r s b l a m e t h e
  Curse on a 1960s CIA biological
  warfare stockpile that was buried
  n e a r A n d r o s ' t o m b . O f c o u r s e
  m e a n w h i l e t h e M o v e r s a r e
  desperately trying to learn the true
  origin of the plague and just where
  that tomb is actually located.
  P h a r a o h s
  When the plague ﬁrst broke out,
  t h e P h a r a o h s w e r e s h o c k e d a n d
  frightened. A similar nanoplague
  broke out ﬁve thousand years ago and
  gave humans supernormal powers,
  partially resulting in the Pharaoh's
  inability to control humans. This
  nanoplague, created by Glugs
  wanting to destabilize the Pharaoh's
  power, died out centuries later, but
  by that time it was too late, the
  Pharaohs could not regain control, so
  they decided to bide their time.
  Just when they thought it was
  their time to regain control, it's back.
  But, they're not going to let it happen
  the same way this time. They fed the
  Andros' Curse story to Monique and
  described vividly the threat these
  mutant children posed to her reign
  and suggested the pernicious
  treatment of this plague. They are
  also using their quislings to inﬂuence
  populations throughout the world to
  f e a r a n d h a t e t h e " e v o l v e d " c h i l d r e n .
  So far, it's working.
  Philosopher's Stone
  This secret society has become
  even more secretive. In fact, members
  do not meet face-to-face anymore,
  communicating through coded e-mail.
  They are aware of their colleague,
  Gregory Northrop's involvement in
  the nanoplague. They knew about his
  work and when he arrived dead, they
  d i s c o v e r e d t h e i n f e c t i o n o f n a n i t e s .
  Now, the scientists are paranoid
  that the government will learn of
  their involvement and punish them
  severely for being partially
  responsible for the plague. Rambeau
  in particular is deathly afraid that his
  m o v e r h a n d l e r s w i l l ﬁ n d o u t
  Northrop's work was kept from them.
  Still, the research continues in their
  respective ﬁelds though they have all
  left the D'Aubainne university under
  the guise of needing increased
  secrecy for their research.
  Page 14
  
  T h r o c k m o r t o n
  Due to the time shift, the
  Throckmorton device is not yet fully
  active, but will be in about two years.
  The net result of this is lots of
  Throckmorton agents all over. In fact,
  the Incorporated States of America is
  run by a Throckmorton, David
  Whindam. The agents have expanded
  their targets to mutated children who
  all pose a serious threat to the
  T h r o c k m o r t o n N e w W o r l d O r d e r .
  Note that Throckmorton
  domination can be detected by a
  scanner if he knows what to look for.
  Otherwise, the beliefs come through
  without any evidence of outside
  inﬂuence. Optionally, scanners could
  be extremely vulnerable to
  T h r o c k m o r t o n d o m i n a t i o n d u e t o i t s
  e l e c t r o n i c n a t u r e .
  Story Ideas
  Depending on which agents the
  characters encounter, Biotechnica
  could be the primeval corporation
  bent on destroying evolved kids or it
  could be the saviors company sent
  from heaven. Then, further
  e n c o u n t e r s c o u l d t u r n t h i s b e l i e f o n
  end. David Rapture, described below
  is a neutral agent in this corporation,
  somewhat aware of the dual nature of
  the corporation, but ignorant of the
  powers behind the scenes.
  Church of Desire
  Type: Cult
  Rep: Led by guy who could do
  miracles, but he's gone
  B r i e f : T h e C h u r c h o f D e s i r e i s a c u l t
  founded by Dr. Lovelace. He
  apparently had the power to cure
  evolved children back to normal. The
  Church is quite large now and is led
  by Lovelace's adopted son,
  A l e x a n d e r .
  A f t e r w o r d o f D r . L o v e l a c e ' s
  miraculous powers spread throughout
  the Edge, parents from all over took
  their mutated children to him to cure.
  He wasn't always successful, but the
  possibility of survival was inﬁnitely
  better than that at the Hospital.
  B i o t e c h n i c a
  Type: Multinational corporation
  Rep: Weird bioengineer guys
  Brief: Biotechnica is a genetics,
  bioengineering corporation that has
  an obvious interest in learning more
  about the nanites involved in the
  nanoplague.
  B i o t e c h n i c a h a s o f ﬁ c e s i n t h e G o l d
  Plaza, but also runs three secret
  l a b o r a t o r i e s a n d m a i n t a i n s a h a l f
  d o z e n c l o a k s o n t h e i s l a n d . T h e t r u e
  internal workings of the corporation
  though give it a dual personality.
  There are two major inﬂuences
  guiding this research though. On one
  side, the Earthlings have heavily
  inﬁltrated the corporation and are
  conducting research on curing the
  plague, improving it and
  understanding it. On the other side are
  Throckmortons who ﬁll the corporate
  ranks and are intent on learning how
  to "take apart" evolved children. Due
  to the secrecy involved in research and
  the size of the corporation, neither
  group is aware of the other. There is
  also nonafﬁliated research which helps
  cloud the true actions of the
  corporation from all members.
  Pase 15
  
  Al Amaija Today
  All the news you need to read!
  N u s b a u m C u r e s C u r s e !
  THE EDGE (AAT)—Dr. Furchtegott
  N u s b a u m , d i r e c t o r o f D ' A u b a i n n e
  Hospital and Trauma center and
  personal physician to Her Exaltedness,
  Monique D'Aubainne, Historic Lib
  erator and Current Shepherdess of Al
  Amarja (may her reign continue in its
  just and liberated policies forever),
  announced today a new treatment plan
  for the ailment commonly known as
  Andros' Curse.
  " W e h a v e i s o l a t e d t h e v i r u s r e
  sponsible for this dangerous malady,"
  Dr. Nusbaum said. "As you might
  expect, it is a dangerous pathogen.
  Untreated, the virus kills all it infects.
  Do not be fooled by those that claim
  m i r a c l e c u r e s . O u r t e s t s h a v e s h o w n
  t h a t t h o s e t h a t ' r e c o v e r ' f r o m t h i s
  ailment were never truly infected. It is
  1 0 0 % f a t a l i f n o t t r e a t e d . "
  Fortunately for citizens of Al Amarja,
  our guests from other countries and
  expatriates living on the island. Dr.
  Nusbaum has formulated a cure to the
  deadly virus. The treatment process is
  long and arduous but offers the only
  hope for those infected with the virus
  responsible for the Curse.
  Early symptoms of Andros' Curse
  mimic those of less-serious ailments. If
  you suspect you have the ﬂu or a cold,
  go to the D'Aubainne Hospital and
  Trauma Center to be tested for presence
  o f t h e v i r u s t h a t c a u s e s A n d r o s ' C u r s e .
  If caught in time. Dr. Nusbaum's
  treatment plan offers the only hope of
  survival for those infected.
  "As a public service. Her Exaltedness
  has ordered that all people on Al Amarja
  be granted access to this cure," Dr.
  Nusbaum said. "No charge will be made
  for the medical service. Monique
  D'Aubainne cares about her charges.
  Cooperation with this plan will insure
  the swift elimination of this threat to
  our peaceful island."
  Sommers Record Auction!
  LONDON (Renter)—The first Karla
  Sommers record ever to be played on
  radio fetched a world record price for a
  commercially produced disc $17,200
  Saturday, Bonham's auctioneers said. A
  spokeswoman said the recording of
  "Hearts of Fire" played by Radio
  Luxembourg in 1972 launched the pop
  star on her way to fame and fortune.
  "This record was the ﬁrst ever played
  (on radio)... It was responsible for
  launching Karla as an international
  music phenomenon," the spokeswoman
  said. "If not for this record, the world
  would have been deprived of Karla's
  music." It was bought by Mikel Barsa, a
  Madrid man who works as a ﬁnancial
  planner and stock broker and plans to
  hang it on a wall at home. "Just touching
  it makes me feel closer to Karla," Barsa
  said. The disc was put up for auction by
  British disc jockey Tony Prince, who
  inherited the record during the
  emptying out Radio Luxembourg's
  library. Bonham's said Prince wrote to
  Ms. Sommers, who conﬁrmed that, as
  far as she knew, Luxembourg was the
  ﬁrst radio station to play a Karla
  Sommers record. The vinyl disc was a
  demonstration copy signed by Ms.
  Sommers—whose name was incorrectly
  spelled "Summers" on the Parlophone
  label. "This will be a family treasure;
  something my grandchildren will pass
  on to their grandchildren" the happy
  n e w o w n e r s a i d .
  E s y p t i a n s
  TI 3 h t e n
  S e c u r i t y !
  LUXOR, Egypt (Reuter) - Egyptian
  police put on a huge show of force
  Saturday to prevent Muslim militants
  from disrupting an opera extravaganza
  that the government hopes will draw
  visitors back to one of Egypt's most
  f a m o u s t o u r i s t s i t e s .
  Men with dark glasses and walkie-
  t a l k i e s 
  c r u i s e d 
  t h e 
  s t r e e t s 
  o f 
  t h e
  s o u t h e r n t o w n o f L u x o r i n u n m a r k e d
  cars as special ﬂights brought the
  audience in direct from European cities.
  Tourism has slumped because of
  attacks on foreigners by Muslim
  militants seeking to embarrass the
  Egyptian government and undermine
  the economy, which relies on tourism
  for up to 20 percent of its foreign
  exchange earnings.
  S e v e n t o u r i s t s h a v e b e e n k i l l e d a n d
  53 people wounded in Egypt since the
  attacks began in October 1992. Earnings
  from tourism fell to $1.78 billion in the
  year up to June, from a peak of more
  than $3 billion in 1991.
  The organizers expect Prince Charles
  of Britain, Queen Nour of Jordan, King
  Juan Carlos and Queen Soﬁa of Spain
  and U.S. actress Jane Fonda to attend.
  Egyptian authorities have spared no
  expense to make sure the event is a
  success, building a pontoon bridge and
  a new road to carry the audience of
  3,000 over the Nile and back as quickly
  as possible.
  They have cut down 300 acres of
  sugar cane along the new road so that
  M u s l i m 
  m i l i t a n t s 
  c a n n o t 
  t a k e 
  c o v e r
  there if they choose to ambush the
  opera goers.
  Page 16
  
  Little Scratches
  Serving the community since ig48!
  Dies stellt meine Privatmeinung dar Lots of weird things happen to light
  und hat mit keiner meiner bulbs. They can indeed put a dead
  Organisationen zu tun. short across the line when they burn
  out. Natalie s aged Italian mother has
  Taxis are the easiest to obtain, ready a ten-lamp chandelier in her dining
  when you are and provide direct room,
  service to your destination.
  Depending on the number in your By removing female plumbing the
  party, they could also be more cost- greys increase efﬁciency. Host females
  e f f e c t i v e . a r e u s e d t o j u m p s t a r t n e w c r e a t i o n s .
  At the edge of 3 or 4 months, they
  The Revolution is here! We will no become viable with relatively
  longer put up with the society that rudimentary technology. It is also
  destroys its future. The grups are the likely that greys use a second form of
  enemy; we shall protect our own! You selﬁsh gene. They probably drop
  h a v e b e e n w a r n e d . s a m p l e s o f s o m e o f t h e i r f r a g m e n t s
  into the host gene pool.
  Hawaiian sovereignty. Those words
  are on the lips of people from across I heard recently that microwaves are
  our community. They may be the foremost cause of certain kinds of
  whispered or shouted, the contents of stomach cancer. Does anyone know if
  prayers, poetry and prophecies, this is true? Are microwaves
  themes in songs and speeches, dangerous in any way scientiﬁcally
  l e c t u r e s a n d s e r m o n s . T h e c a l l f o r v e r i ﬁ a b l e ?
  Hawaiian sovereignty is unavoidable
  in Hawaii today. It will not be Believe and you will be cured! The
  silenced. It will not slip quietly away. Church of Desire offers the only hope
  I t i s h e r e t o s t a y. a g a i n s t A n d r o s C u r s e . D r. L o v e l a c e ' s
  spirit heals those that believe.
  The Alliance has acted as a kind of Services Tuesday evenings. Temple of
  lightning rod for criticism. Critics the Divine Experience,
  have again started to question the
  value of the Alliance. For example, Aries recruitment drive! Recent
  they criticize the Alliance because it changes in the socioeconomic ﬂux of
  has not single-handedly and the Flowers Barrio require the
  decisively ended the Bosnian conﬂict addition of more security. Are you
  and transformed the security made of the right stuff to join the
  landscape of Europe into one of peace Aries? Applications taken Wednesday
  a n d h a r m o n y . a t 3 : 0 0 p . m . ; b r i n g p r o o f o f b i r t h d a t e .
  marak marak marak marak marak
  marak marak marak marak marak
  m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k
  m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k
  m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k
  m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k
  m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k
  m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k
  m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k
  m a r a k m a r a k m a r a k
  Hang out with a Shaker and you'll
  think your dog is looking at you
  funny. These guys can make you
  think your sick grandmother is secret
  agent for aliens quicker than you can
  say "cheese" for the hidden camera
  that must surely be watching you
  right now.
  Page 17
  
  There was a price to the cures, Dr.
  Lovelace insisted that children have
  complete faith in him before he made
  any attempt to help them. Parents,
  eager to help in any way possible,
  believed as strongly as possible in
  L o v e l a c e . T h i s c r e a t e d a n i n s t a n t c u l t
  following that grew exponentially in
  the early days. The government,
  u n s u r e o f h o w t o t r e a t t h i s n e w c u l t
  decided to watch from behind the
  s c e n e s s i n c e L o v e l a c e w a s h i m s e l f
  helping to remove the disease's
  dangerous side effects.
  Then, one day it all ended
  suddenly. Dr. Lovelace en route to a
  service on a Tuesday evening never
  showed. His limousine was never
  found, his associates that fateful
  night also gone. Only Alexander,
  Lovelace's adopted son and the
  Church remained. Taking the reins of
  power, Alexander became the new
  leader, though reluctantly and the
  Church continued to exist. There are
  no more cures, as Alexander does not
  have his father's ability, but legends
  of Lovelace's power grow every day.
  There are now over 5,000 followers
  in the Edge, many of them highly
  devout. Dr. Lovelace has become a
  saint to most, a god to some. The
  m i r a c l e s h e w o r k e d h a v e n o t b e e n
  forgotten, and people long for his
  return. Evolved children hide
  amongst cured children awaiting
  Lovelace's return. Members of the
  Church believe that he will come
  back, but some fear the government
  ﬁnally decided to get rid of him.
  Others feel he has returned to the
  heavens. In any case, the Church
  s u r v i v e s o n f a i t h a l o n e .
  Pubes characters are
  the most common
  player characters in
  an evolved Edge
  campaign.
  T h e R e v o l u t i o n
  Type: Evolved movement
  Rep: Mutant kids slamming the
  government
  Brief: The Revolution is a
  movement of evolved kids working to
  protect other evolved kids from
  government genocide and improve
  acceptance of evolved kids
  w o r l d w i d e .
  Back in the States, corporations
  rule the country. Not from behind the
  scenes like now, but directly. The
  country is now known as the
  Incorporated States of America and
  fascism is reaching new lows.
  Fighting this oppression is the
  Revolution, which is composed of a
  handful of the best the last
  generation had to offer. Working
  with them are evolved kids, because
  this is really their battle, it's their
  future and their survival they're
  ﬁghting for.
  The Revolution in Al Amarja is
  limited largely to the Earthlings who
  are secretly working with Revolution
  leaders (in fact Alt is a Wise One). In
  the Edge, ﬁve cells of Revolution
  members, mostly evolved kids, are
  operating on behalf of the Earthlings
  (though they think they're doing it
  for the Revolution). The typical
  operations involved include rescues
  of evolving kids, capture of data
  relating to the nanoplague from any
  other source and undermining the
  government (not very successful).
  Running an evolved
  Edge campaign
  Running an evolved Edge
  campaign requires the basic
  assumptions that player characters
  will most likely be evolved pubes or
  adults in some way involved with the
  nanoplague. This understanding
  translates into certain differences
  from the standard Over the Edge
  campaign, as described below. If you
  are taking your Cybergeneration
  campaign and switching it over, the
  transition is much simpler, new
  information is simply added.
  C h a r a c t e r s
  Pubes characters are the most
  common player characters in an
  evolved Edge campaign. They are
  designed using the Over the Edge
  character generation rules, though
  w i t h t w o G o o d t r a i t s a n d o n e F l a w .
  Evolved powers must count as one of
  these traits, so it is recommended that
  characters develop them later when
  they have Experience Pool dice to
  buy the ability. Also, this allows you
  to roleplay the sickness.
  If you wish to remain true to the
  Cybergeneration character concepts, a
  yogang should be selected for each
  character by the player. Yogangs are
  essentially types of pube gangs.
  Within each type, there might be a
  dozen or more separate gangs. The
  Cybergeneration universe has several
  yogangs, including:
  B e a v e r b r a t s : K i d s f r o m t h e ' b u r b s
  who look like good normal kids, but
  are actually great at breaking into
  places and pulling nasty pranks.
  'Facers: Aspiring actors who use
  high tech masks and wigs to change
  their appearance in an unreal way.
  GoGangers: Motorcycle gangs who
  tear up the street with their souped
  up machines. Typically older kids
  and very territorial.
  MallBrats: Young grifters who
  deal in everything and anything they
  can get their hands on. In the Edge
  they're known as PlazaBrats.
  MegaViolents: Sadistic warped
  kids who make satanists look like
  nice guys. These guys are oriented
  t o w a r d v a n d a l i s m a n d m a s s -
  d e s t r u c t i o n .
  Rads: Political agitators who
  organize demonstrations and boycotts,
  often indoctrinated by movers.
  Squats: Aspiring Garbagemen.
  Taggers: Spray-paint artists with a
  message. These kids may not have the
  skill of the older artists, but they sure
  get around.
  TinkerTots: Aspiring
  oppenheimers with more drive than
  education (hey, they're only kids!),
  but still able to jury-rig tech better
  than their parents.
  Page 18
  
  Vidiots: These guys wanna be
  cloaks when they grow up, tinkering
  with surveillance gear that would
  m a k e t h e D B I s a l i v a t e .
  The character's yogang will most
  likely affect the kind of traits and
  ﬂ a w s t h e c h a r a c t e r w i l l h a v e . F o r
  example, a Vidiot might be an
  electronic security wiz, but be a nerd.
  Meanwhile, that Megaviolent could be
  strong and mean, but prone to
  beserking. Other common pube traits
  include blending (the ability to blend
  in with crowds) and little angel (the
  skill of looking absolutely innocent
  even after having been caught
  breaking into a government building).
  G M C s
  A l e x a n d e r L o v e l a c e
  Confused child, cult leader
  The adopted son of Dr. Lovelace,
  Alexander is as much a pawn in the
  Church of Desire as he is a leader.
  Possessing no real leadership skills or
  fringe powers, Alexander's authority
  in the Church is based only on the
  kinship shared with his vanished
  f a t h e r . U n s u r e o f h i m s e l f a n d t h e
  church, Alexander is questioning
  what to do next. He has regrets about
  being "cured" and is now wanting to
  join the Revolution. He is very
  c o n c e r n e d a b o u t t h e d e a t h s o f
  e v o l v e d c h i l d r e n a t t h e h a n d s o f t h e
  government, but realizes the direct
  confrontation is tantamount to
  suicide. He wants to do something,
  but needs others to help guide him.
  US Russian boy, age 19, 165 cm, 50
  kg, pale skin, light brown hair, pale
  blue eyes. Wears white robe with
  open hand with rays extending from
  palm symbol on back and stethoscope
  that Dr. Lovelace used to always wear.
  Languages: English.
  Innate Goodness (4 dice):
  Alexander is quite simply a good guy.
  This is what has kept him in charge of
  the Church. While some zealots
  would take over the worship the
  memory of Lovelace, Alexander is
  charismatic enough that people still
  listen to him even though he has no
  idea what to say. Alexander
  unconsciously uses this trait to gain
  contacts in the Revolution, as no one
  doubts his motives. (Friendly smile)
  Intuitive (3 dice): Alexander is
  also very good at knowing whether
  people are worthy of trust or not.
  This has allowed him to choose the
  best people to advise him in the
  Church. Again, not a conscious
  ability, Alexander simply thinks of
  himself as knowing people.
  Alexander can often tell if someone is
  lying to him or working against him.
  Unfortunately, this only works for
  people and not for events, he cannot
  tell what is the best course of action.
  This is mainly due to his ﬂaw.
  (Surrounded by good people)
  Doubter (Flaw): Plagued by doubts
  about everything, Alexander remains
  practically paralyzed. His followers
  make most of the decisions regarding
  the church, he is more of a ﬁgurehead
  because he cannot take a stand on
  anything. He is even worried about
  reiterating his father's preachings for
  fear that they might be incorrect.
  W h e n e v e r A l e x a n d e r i s f a c e d w i t h a
  decision, he will tend to retreat rather
  than face having to make a choice.
  (Paces a lot)
  Pa3e19
  
  D r * J o h n L o v e l a c e
  Faith healer, cult leader
  Born Thomas Brown, Lovelace was
  born in Night City, California to a
  corporate family. He studied medicine
  under corporate scholarships and
  later went to work for the same
  company he grew up with,
  Biotechnica. His work was largely
  experimental, involving
  breakthroughs in the development of
  nanosurgeons and other nanite
  technologies. He became a leading
  researcher and married a security
  supervisor in the corporation. They
  shared humanitarian values and
  together smuggled medical
  technologies to street hospitals,
  giving this technology for free and
  doubtless saving thousands of lives in
  the process.
  One day, something when wrong.
  His wife was gunned down in the
  street while delivering medical drugs
  to the hospital and he knew that
  Biotechnica had something to do with
  it. He had probably been spared
  because of his usefulness, but he
  c o u l d n ' t c o n t i n u e t o w o r k f o r a
  company that had killed his one true
  love. Escaping to Al Amarja, he
  changed his name to Alexander
  Lovelace and tried to live in obscurity,
  adopting a son and leading a quiet life.
  He knew leaving the company had
  signed his death warrant and it would
  only be a matter of time before an
  agent came to kill him. But, perhaps if
  he could hide long enough, they
  would give up.
  When the plague hit, his son
  became ill and Lovelace, fearful for
  his son's life, prayed for a miracle to
  save his son. It worked and his son
  got better. Lovelace, aware of his
  innate ability with nanites became
  suspicious, but kept his suspicions
  secret. Nevertheless, word of his
  healing ability spread and he was
  soon being asked to cure children
  from all over Sunken Barrio, and then
  from all over the Edge and soon from
  other parts of the world.
  After limited research, Lovelace's
  suspicions were conﬁrmed, this was a
  nanoplague, but still he kept this
  secret. Nothing could be gained by
  disputing the government's claim. In
  the meantime, his growing popularity
  threatened his discovery by
  Biotechnica, but at the same time he
  realized he could use this fame to
  protect himself. Building fanatical
  followers, he soon had an army at his
  disposal should the need arise.
  For some reason, Biotechnica never
  did make a move on him. It was the
  government. They got to his driver
  and one night, instead of pulling up
  in front of the Temple of Divine
  Experience, the back of the limousine
  was gassed and he was dropped off at
  the D'Aubainne Asylum. The other
  passengers were killed and the driver
  was paid to forget everything. He is
  still in the Asylum, where
  government agents, helped by a
  quisling, are trying to discover how
  he cures kids. They were going to
  return him, but something went
  wrong and he has gone insane.
  US English man, age 43, 174 cm, 83
  kg, pale skin, brown hair, dark brown
  eyes. Wears straight jacket and
  mumbles about insects eating brains.
  Languages: English.
  Nanite Control (4 dice): Lovelace
  is able to psychically manipulate
  nanites, though this ability requires a
  clear idea of what he wants them to
  do and cooperation of the organism
  they inhabit. If the psychic energies
  of the organism are opposed to his
  manipulation of nanites, he cannot
  work his power. He can still work
  this power, but only on believers (to
  whom he has no access). However, it
  is now entirely in his mind, he does
  not know what he is doing.
  The difﬁculty of curing an evolved
  child who is a fanatic is 7, whereas
  curing an evolved child who does not
  believe has a difﬁculty of 21. (Has
  fanatical followers.)
  Medical Doctor ^3 dice): Lovelace
  was once a very good doctor, both
  theoretical and practical. Currently,
  this knowledge buried deep in his
  mind though he still can tell what
  drugs he is being given. (Examines
  pills before eating them.)
  Born Leader (4 dice): While
  Lovelace was never in any great
  position of power while working for
  Biotechnica, he always led his
  research divisions and was recognized
  as a person who was going
  somewhere. As the leader of a cult, he
  was revered by all who met him. Now
  though, his leadership abilities are
  also absent while his insanity reigns.
  (Makes other people feel good about
  themselves.)
  Insane (Flaw): When ﬁrst brought
  in to the Asylum, Lovelace believed
  he had ﬁnally been captured by
  Biotechnica and went berserk,
  screaming that he would avenge his
  wife. Completely ignorant of his true
  past, the psychiatrist on duty had
  him sedated and put him on a regime
  of antipsychotic drugs.
  Unfortunately, because he was sane to
  begin with the drugs have driven him
  mad. He now thinks that he is being
  eaten by nanites. (Wipes imaginary
  bugs off his shoulder and shakes his
  head to the side.)
  Pase 20
  
  D a v i d R a p t u r e L a n g u a g e s : E n g l i s h , F r e n c h , A I
  Perverse Biotechnica cloak Amarjan patois, Arabic, Japanese.
  David Rapture was sent to Al Attacks: 3 dice
  Amarja to ﬁnd and kill Thomas Defense: 3 dice
  Brown, aka John Lovelace. He is one Hit Points: 21 (endurance)
  of Biotechnica's top secret agents and Con Man (4 dice): David Rapture is
  one of their most expensive agents. known as Silver Tongue for a reason.
  Under the cover of a rich playboy. He is an expert fast talker, rivaling
  David spends company money movers and their ability to manipulate
  without concern. It s all part of the people. This ability has made him a
  job, he explains to his superior. So is great cloak as he is able to penetrate
  his obsession with women in black levels of security that direct espionage
  leather. High-priced escorts are often would render impenetrable. (Seems
  seen leaving his deluxe suite in like a really nice guy.)
  C e s a r ' s 
  H o t e l . 
  M a r t i a l A r t s 
  ( 3 
  d i c e ) : 
  R a p t u r e ' s
  Beneath his lustful exterior, David training did not stop at spying, he
  Rapture is a highly experienced cloak has also been trained extensively in
  who has discovered more about the the martial arts. (Meditates.)
  nanoplague than he cares to pass Danger Sense (3 dice): Keeping
  along. He knows who Lovelace really himself out of danger is half of his
  is, the true "cure" the D'Aubainne work, so his innate ability to detect
  Hospital's uses, where the bodies are bad situations has contributed greatly
  dumped and that the Andros' tomb to his survival. This ability has led
  rumor is false (he checked it out him to detect attempts to poison him,
  himself). However, he is reluctant kidnap attempts by mover agents
  pass this information on to his trying to learn his secrets and sense
  superior, who works under the cover the volatile situation he is embroiled
  of a high-priced escort known as in with Biotechnica. (Always
  B l a c k 
  W i d o w . 
  w a t c h i n g 
  h i s 
  s u r r o u n d i n g s . )
  In the course of his investigations,
  David ﬁgured out who Lovelace was
  after he became famous, but kept his
  distance wanting to learn more. He
  actually joined the Church at one
  point, but was turned away by
  L o v e l a c e ' s s o n . T h i s m a d e D a v i d
  question his cover and caused him to
  stay back even further. He came to
  believe that Lovelace could really cure
  kids, obviously a divine gift. Believing
  that Lovelace could be a saint, he
  decided to keep this information to
  himself and explain that Brown could
  not be found. He remains in Al Amarja
  investigating Andros' Curse for
  Biotechnica, but again he feeds them
  gossip and rumor, keeping the real
  information secret.
  Canadian Male of Polish ancestry,
  age 54, 183 cm, 83 kg, tan skin,
  graying dark brown hair, brown tired
  eyes, thin and weak looking. Wears
  stylish Al Amarjan clothing and a
  silver cruciﬁx (he is a lapsed
  Catholic).
  Pase 21
  Lecherous (Flaw): Not part of his
  act, David Rapture is addicted to sex
  a n d h a s a l e a t h e r f e t i s h . W h i l e h e i s
  
  not particularly into sadomasochism,
  he is not opposed to it. This weakness
  has led to some rather dangerous
  situations (a government agent
  wanting to ﬁnd out what he knew
  posed as a seductress and almost
  learned a great deal before he clued in
  things were not right). This weakness
  of his leads him into countless sexual
  relations, many of which are with
  plants from different conspiracies.
  This is how much of the current
  information about Andros' Curse has
  leaked to the rest of the Edge.
  Crossing systems
  If you wish to bring your
  Cybergeneration characters to the Over
  the Edge universe, conversion is quite
  simple. With the player, determine
  what the character's two traits will be
  (often based on the character's
  yogang skill and highest stat) and let
  the player decide which will be the
  superior trait and which will be the
  s i d e t r a i t . T h e c h a r a c t e r ' s w o r s t s t a t
  will generally serve as the character's
  ﬂaw, but does not necessarily have to
  be. Determine Attack, Defense and
  Hit Points using the character
  generation system of Over the Edge.
  Story Ideas
  There are many approaches to an
  evolved Edge campaign, depending
  on the player characters, campaign
  setting and time frame. For example,
  you could start the campaign before
  the plague begins to spread and
  introduce the players to the
  nanoplague along with the
  characters. Or, using the Al Amarjan
  setting with adults, investigations
  into Andros' tomb could reveal the
  government lies and a deeper Pharaoh
  conspiracy or they might ﬁnd a real
  tomb (who knows, maybe a forgotten
  Pharaoh was actually buried on the
  island, asleep for centuries).
  H o w c h a r a c t e r s r e a c t t o t h e
  nanoplague will affect the direction
  the campaign takes. While some
  c h a r a c t e r s w i l l b e c o n t e n t t o u s e t h e
  powers and not question the origin,
  evidence of mass genocide of the
  evolved by the government cannot be
  ignored for long. A meeting with
  David Rapture could set off a series of
  investigations that lead to a ﬁnal
  decisive confrontation with the
  government.
  The Church of Desire could also be
  a launching point for the campaign.
  A recently evolved friend could be
  brought to Lovelace by her parents
  and perhaps cured. When other
  members of the group evolve, some
  may want to be normal again, but
  Lovelace has vanished. Or, maybe the
  characters don't want to be cured and
  neither did some Church kids, and
  saving them could be the focus of the
  adventure. The characters could
  themselves be the cause of Lovelace's
  mysterious disappearance.
  A less directly plague driven
  campaign is possible by focusing side
  elements, such as Throckmorton
  nearing absolute power. This buildup
  in the futuristic world of 2027 could
  force characters off the island to seek
  out technologies to help them ﬁght
  this menace. At the same time,
  widespread Kergillian inﬂuence will
  interfere with much of the characters
  activities. Even the intrigues within
  the corporate world of Al Amarja
  could set any group's power struggles
  on edge as they are forced to
  c o n t e n d w i t h i n t e r n a t i o n a l
  companies' agendas.
  Page 22
  
  Involuntary measure
  Rebecca Teed, University of
  Minnesota sraduate student,
  president of a local role-playins
  club, and widely-recosnized
  evil senius, applies her
  particular insisht in this
  installment to the Aries sans. In
  particular, she hishlishts those
  sans members that have
  earned themselves
  appearances in On the Edge.
  E r i k G u d n e
  Aries warrior/Courageous Trident
  w h e n Tr i d e n t r e c r u i t e d G u d n e
  three years ago, he was an aspiring
  m o v i e a c t o r w h o h a d w o r k e d i n
  Hollywood for years as a stunt man, a
  bit part actor and as a tech. Trident
  speciﬁcally wanted him to inﬁltrate
  the Aries gang (as a Swede with an
  Aries birthdate, he seemed ideal).
  They were justiﬁably concerned that
  A r i e s w a s v u l n e r a b l e t o i n ﬁ l t r a t i o n
  and takeover by Nazi or other
  "Aryan" groups. So Gudne packed up,
  went to Al Amarja and joined Aries.
  Since then, he set up and maintains
  r a d i o c o m m u n i c a t i o n s w i t h i n t h e
  gang. He has become one of Hans
  Knudson's two right-hand men (along
  with Thor Runestone) and is very
  well-liked by most of the gang. In
  turn, he has become attached to "his
  boys," and even gotten himself
  tattooed with the gang symbol. His
  Trident superiors are neither
  surprised by or worried about
  Gudne's loyalty to his Aries "family;"
  they don't foresee any major conﬂict
  o f i n t e r e s t a n d i n t e n d t o l e a v e h i m i n
  place indeﬁnitely. Gudne's principles
  are likely to serve Trident's ends
  admirably within the Aries Gang. At
  the moment, Gudne's major anxiety is
  the rising power of Glorious Lords
  (he is exchanging intelligence on this
  matter constantly with Trident HQ).
  He's also trying to deal with internal
  problems within the gang such as
  racism (is there some Nazi
  inﬁltration?) and Maran's exploitation
  o f t h e l o c a l l o w - l i f e s .
  Wears shades, a t-shirt, fatigue
  pants, a vest with lots of pockets &
  combat boots. Has the Aries symbol
  t a t t o o e d o n h i s f o r e h e a d . C a r r i e s a
  concealed knife, a walkie-talkie and
  an obvious cattle prod. Often seen
  driving a pickup truck, sometimes
  with various Aries gangers.
  Swedish man, age 30, 180 cm, 80
  kg, fair skin, blue eyes, short black
  hair, clean-shaven.
  Languages: Swedish, German,
  English (with a very slight accent).
  Attack: 3 dice, X2 (knife), X3
  damage (stun only. Stinger Mark V)
  D e f e n s e : 3 d i c e
  Hit Points: 21 (big, healthy guy)
  Acting and disguise (4 dice): He
  really is very good. He can't
  impersonate speciﬁc people, but he's
  acquired costumes and information
  a
  o
  g"
  <2
  c
  " D
  ■ o
  Page 23
  
  over the years that would let him act
  in quite a few roles (DBI inspector,
  low-life, etc.). (Mentions that he used
  to be a screen actor.)
  Fighting (3 dice): Uses a melange
  of techniques he learned as a stunt
  man, and more recently, from training
  with other Aries. (In excellent shape.)
  Communications technology (2
  dice): His training as a camera and
  sound man in Hollywood has been
  turned to espionage. He has received
  further training from Trident and is
  learning on his own. (Always ﬁddling
  w i t h h i s o w n o r a n o t h e r A r i e s '
  walkie-talkie, lots of books and
  manuals on electronics, etc.)
  C a n ' t 
  h e l p 
  g e t t i n g 
  i n v o l v e d
  (Flaw): Gudne's tendency to treat
  other people's problems as his own
  was what originally attracted Trident
  to him. But putting his ideals ﬁrst
  does get him into trouble. He's
  spoken out against Knudson on
  occasion, taken sides in intra-gang
  struggles, and persuaded Aries gang
  members to help in not-speciﬁcally
  Aries matters. (Asks people about
  themselves.)
  P o s s i b l e u s e s
  If your players are Trident agents
  or allies, Gudne is a possible contact.
  If they are endangered by Glorious
  rescuer or have useful advice. On the
  other hand, if they're up to no good
  in Flowers Barrio, he's a potential
  enemy. In general, as the
  "conscience" of the Aries gang, he
  makes an interesting foil for his
  gangmates.
  S a x o l f H e r m a n n
  A r i e s w a r r i o r
  Hermann has been part of Aries
  since it formed, years ago. He lived in
  West Germany until he was 16, but
  h i s f a t h e r t h r e w h i m o u t o f t h e h o u s e
  w h e n h e l e a r n e d H e r m a n n ' s d a r k
  secret (see below). Hermann made his
  way to Al Amarja and worked odd
  jobs in Flowers Barrio, enjoying the
  art and music scene (especially the
  Sommerites). He was recruited by
  Hans Knudson, who thought that
  brawny Teutons had better things to
  do than wait tables, and has been
  very happy among the Aries ever
  since. He tries to keep his Sommerite
  practices quiet: using headphones,
  relabelling his tapes, wearing
  business suits to Sommerite events,
  but it's the worst-kept secret in the
  gang. But no-one tells Knudson, who
  considers Sommeritism insipid and
  doesn't believe men should worship
  women, especially live ones who have
  mocked the Aries gang on TV, as
  K a r l a S o m m e r s h a s . H e r m a n n i s
  considerably more liberal than the
  average Aries on many subjects and
  disagrees with Knudson on many
  policies, but never speaks up.
  Runestone, on the other hand, has
  infuriated him to the point that he
  has criticized that worthy since
  Runestone began to acquire a
  following. Much to his surprise,
  many Aries listened to him. He's
  made a lot of friends within the gang
  over the years and has more inﬂuence
  w i t h t h e m t h a n h e k n o w s .
  Wears jeans, combat boots, a
  bandolier, a scarf and, sometimes, a t-
  shirt and maybe a jeans jacket. He is
  occasionally riding a motorcycle and
  c a r r i e s a w a l k i e - t a l k i e a n d a k a t a n a .
  H e w e a r s a b u s i n e s s s u i t a n d a n o o s e
  a n d t i e s h i s h a i r b a c k w h e n h e ' s
  trying not to look like an Aries. He
  h a s n o v i s i b l e t a t t o o s .
  German man, age 27, long, wavy
  brown hair, fair skin, hazel eyes,
  c l e a n - s h a v e n .
  Languages: German, English
  (ﬂuent but accented).
  Attack: 3 dice, X3 damage (katana)
  D e f e n s e : 3 d i c e
  Hit Points: 21 (brawny)
  Perceptive (4 dice): A man used to
  hiding things himself, Hermann is
  very good at noticing other people
  doing the same. He's good at
  detecting lies, noticing people
  following him or acting strangely,
  pays attention to whom people speak
  to, etc. (Perpetually watchful eyes.)
  Fighting (3 dice): Years of training
  and a healthy physique have made
  him a competent brawler and
  swordsman. (Fighter's stance.)
  Concealment (3 dice): Includes
  disguise, avoiding pursuit, hiding,
  blending into a crowd. (Don't notice
  him right away.)
  Dark secret (Flaw): Sommeritism is
  an excellent smoke screen, which is
  why he continues to try to conceal it
  now that it's pretty much out. What
  he really wants to cover up is the fact
  that he's gay and has a steady
  relationship with a man who is also a
  Sommerite (and not an Aries, doesn't
  even live in Flowers) for several years.
  If this were to be discovered, he
  w o u l d b e t h r o w n o u t o f A r i e s a n d
  driven from Flowers, assuming
  Knudson just didn't kill him ﬁrst. He
  doesn't want to give up his friends in
  A r i e s a n d h i s h o m e i n F l o w e r s .
  Besides, he isn't educated enough to
  get a good job elsewhere. (Reluctant
  to talk about himself or his past.)
  P o s s i b l e u s e s
  If the PCs are friendly with Aries,
  Hermann may pass information on to
  them instead of to Knudson (he
  d o e s n ' t w a n t t o d r a w K n u d s o n ' s
  attention). This information would
  probably be something he noticed.
  (E.g., Gudne talks regularly to people
  who aren't part of Aries both in
  Page 24
  
  person and over the radio. Could he
  b e i n v o l v e d i n o n e o f t h o s e
  conspiracies?) Hermann could also
  serve as a red herring. The PCs may
  notice Hermann wearing a business
  suit and sneaking away from Flowers.
  What is he up to? Hermann is very
  susceptible to blackmail if the wrong
  person learns his dark secret. Most of
  the conspiracies (e.g., the Movers)
  could care less about Aries, but Sir
  Arthur Compton backs their rivals,
  now enemies, the Glorious Lords, and
  their power would increase
  substantially if the Aries were
  horriﬁcally decimated. He may use
  Hermann to set them up.
  Kalev Maran
  A r i e s w a r r i o r
  Maran is actually one of the few
  Aries Gang members born on Al
  Amarja. He was orphaned when he
  was in his early teens when his
  family's house (and many others in
  the neighborhood) burned down. He
  became a low-life in Flowers Barrio,
  surviving by eating out of garbage
  cans and preying on the few who
  were weaker than he. When the Aries
  Gang began to take the area over,
  Maran quickly realized the
  possibilities and offered them his
  services as a messenger and a spy. He
  was usually well-rewarded by the
  relatively happy-go-lucky and
  generous Aries gangers.
  As Maran grew, both physically
  and in terms of resources, he made
  sure to maintain a position of power
  within the low-life community. Two
  years ago, he got a lucky break. Hans
  K n u d s o n a n d a f e w o f h i s b e s t m e n
  were ambushed and trapped by
  G l o r i o u s L o r d s . M a r a n c o n v i n c e d
  f o u r o t h e r l o w - l i f e s t o a t t a c k t h e
  Satanists from behind, enabling
  Knudson and his men to escape.
  K n u d s o n r e w a r d e d M a r a n f o r t h e
  rescue with a place in the Aries gang.
  Maran has no real friends within the
  gang, spending his time rounding up
  and indoctrinating low-lifes, whom
  he uses as spies and expendable
  troops. Although his low-lifes have
  brought him a number of victories,
  they've caused other Aries to view
  him as a coward (Runestone),
  dishonorable (Nadjaﬁ), or just plain
  evil (Gudne). As long as Knudson
  doesn't complain to him, and he
  won't as long as the low-lifes are
  dumb enough to follow Maran,
  M a r a n d o e s n ' t c a r e .
  C a r r i e s a t l e a s t o n e o b v i o u s k n i f e
  and several concealed ones. Usually
  wearing jeans, a leather jacket,
  combat boots. Has the Aries symbol
  tattooed on his stomach and chest.
  Generally accompanied by one or
  m o r e l o w - l i f e m i n i o n s .
  Al Amarjan (primarily of Arab
  descent) man, age 25, 178 cm, 80 kg,
  olive skin, brown eyes, short straight
  black hair, unshaven.
  Languages: Al Amarjan patois,
  English, a few words of Arabic.
  Attack: 3 dice, x2 (knife)
  D e f e n s e : 3 d i c e
  Hit Points: 21 (tough)
  Persuasion (4 dice): Maran quickly
  seeks to learn the fears and hopes of
  his mark and plays on them to
  convince his victim to do his bidding.
  With low-lifes, he adds the offer of
  food and protection, plus a little
  intimidation, to render them
  Page 25
  
  completely obedient. He's quite
  capable of convincing people of
  things that are really completely
  untrue, if it is useful to do so.
  (Assures his victims he can help.)
  Fighting (3 dice): Having grown
  up on the streets, Maran has become a
  fairly dangerous man even without
  his allies. He's fast, strong, well-
  practiced with both knife and hands
  and he's an expert in dirty tricks. He's
  also a competent tactician, which is
  one reason why he survives when his
  low-lifes don't. (Often playing with
  his knife.)
  Knows Al Amarja (3 dice): Not
  only does Maran know where to hide
  from trouble, he knows where others
  go too. He also knows where to go
  a n d w h o t o t a l k t o i f h e w a n t s
  something. (Always seems to have a
  bolt-hole to escape to.)
  Ruthless manipulator (Flaw):
  Maran's "expenditure" of several
  low-lifes has gotten him in trouble
  with both Trident (through Erik
  Gudne) and the Le Thuys (he has
  taken away potential recruits) and he
  may have others. He is not afraid to
  try and make use of less desperate
  people, should he get any kind of an
  edge on them (thus possibly getting
  himself into even deeper trouble).
  (Looks people over speculatively
  when he meets them)
  P o s s i b l e u s e s
  Should your PCs ever wind up
  helpless, on the run without allies or
  other resources, have Maran take care
  of them. He'll be glad to get them out
  of harm's way for a price, and a steep
  one at that. Alternatively, Maran
  could be helpful to a powerful party,
  supplying them with information or
  low-life allies, again, for a price or at
  Knudson's orders. Finally, PCs may
  decide for some reason to destroy
  Maran or his power-base, in which
  case, Maran will be sure to call in his
  A r i e s a n d l o w - l i f e a l l i e s .
  Abbas Nadjaﬁ
  A r i e s w a r r i o r
  Nadjaﬁ, with his Middle-Eastern
  heritage, solemn demeanor and Virgo
  birthdate, doesn't exactly ﬁt in
  perfectly witb the Aries gang. He's
  obviously accustomed to gang life;
  he's a fearless brawler, extremely loyal
  to his buddies, and he loves his
  battered Harley. But he won't
  consume alcohol or any drugs other
  than caffeine (to which he is
  thoroughly addicted), he likes
  classical music and reads constantly.
  All anyone knows about his past is
  that he's from Kansas, where he and
  his brothers got in trouble with the
  law. He made it to Al Amarja alone
  three years ago and doesn't want to
  t a l k a b o u t i t .
  He has many friends in the gang,
  despite his oddities, as he is very
  good-natured, in a quiet way, and
  always willing to help his gangmates
  with anything he can. Since he's
  chosen Knudson as his boss, he obeys
  Knudson's orders implicitly and has
  expressed no desire for power and
  promotion.
  Because of this docility and
  Nadjaﬁ's useful skills and his lack of
  ambition, he's become one of Hans
  Knudson's right-hand men. Nadjaﬁ
  seems also to be bound by his own
  code of honor. He compiles sky charts
  for Hans (motorcycling to a hill
  outside of town to observe the stars),
  does some computer hacking (getting
  people's places and dates of birth, etc.
  out of the DBI and other government
  record centers) and does short-range
  daily horoscopes, in additional to
  usual Aries patrols and duties.
  Wears jeans, motorcycle boots, and
  a sleeveless shirt. Carries a laptop
  computer and a katana.
  Arab-American man, age 20, 175
  cm, 70 kg, dark skin, brown eyes,
  black hair (ponytail, full beard),
  t a t t o o s v i s i b l e o n b o t h a r m s .
  Languages: English (perfect
  Midwestern accent), some Al
  Amarjan patois
  Attack: 3 dice, x3 damage (katana)
  D e f e n s e : 3 d i c e
  Hit Points: 21 (disciplined)
  Rationalist astrologer (4 dice):
  Nadjaﬁ's predictions tend to be much
  more short-range, but sometimes
  m o r e d e t a i l e d t h a n K n u d s o n ' s . H e a l s o
  n e e d s a l o t m o r e d e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n
  before he can begin a horoscope.
  K n u d s o n h a s f o u n d t h e s e a u s e f u l
  supplement to his own for planning
  and has the good sense to ignore
  Nadjaﬁ's advice to go to a more
  rigorous system himself. (Does
  horoscopes using a computer.)
  Martial arts (3 dice): Has had
  k a r a t e l e s s o n s s i n c e h e w a s ﬁ v e a n d
  has been practicing diligently for
  years. (Tightly controlled movement.)
  Computer operation/
  PROGRAMMING (3 dice): He wrote the
  accounting program for Sad Mary's
  and his horoscope software. He also
  has a number of passwords and the
  requisite skills to get him into most of
  the DBFs databases. (Thinks that
  Windows is for wimps.)
  H a s 
  t r o u b l e 
  w i t h 
  p a r a n o r m a l
  (Flaw): Nadjaﬁ has always believed in
  astrology and it supports his rather
  d e t e r m i n i s t i c w o r l d v i e w . A n d h e
  knows quite well that the Glorious
  Lords are not entirely human. But
  confront him with something entirely
  Pase 26
  
  out of his experience, say, an obvious
  alien, and he'll freak. He'll probably
  stare at it catatonically until he's in
  mortal danger or until someone yells
  at him, in which case he gets a chance
  to snap out of it. (Always insists that
  "there's a rational explanation for
  everything.")
  P o s s i b l e u s e s
  Obviously, this character is, in
  large part, a plot hook. He can tell
  PCs just enough of the near future to
  get them where the GM wants them
  and where they otherwise have no
  reason to go, if he or Hans Knudson
  are on friendly terms with the party.
  I f t h e P C s a r e e n e m i e s ' o f H a n s
  Knudson/the Aries Gang, this
  c h a r a c t e r i s a n e x c u s e f o r K n u d s o n t o
  be prepared to deal with them.
  Secondarily, Nadjaﬁ is a relatively
  important person within the Aries
  gang, whether he is friend or enemy
  to the characters. Finally, there's some
  great role-playing potential in
  Nadjaﬁ. If the characters think that
  the Aries Gang aren't all that weird,
  just a bunch of Viking motorcyclists,
  they should be just a little freaked
  when they deal with this guy who
  not only knows all about where
  they've been and what they've done
  (from breaking into their government
  records), but also has some
  frightening ideas about where they're
  going next.
  T h o r R u n e s t o n e
  A r i e s w a r r i o r
  " T h o r R u n e s t o n e " a r r i v e d o n A l
  Amarja just over a year ago. His real
  name is Sigmund Svensen and he had
  n e v e r b e f o r e l e f t M i n n e s o t a . H e h a s
  wanted to join Aries since he'd heard
  of it in his early teens. He was a
  f a n a t i c S C A m e m b e r a n d f e l l i n w i t h
  Odinists in high school. Odinists in
  M i n n e s o t a d o b e l i e v e i n t h e Te u t o n i c
  pantheon, but also in an aggressive
  racist agenda. Svensen was born
  under the sign of Aries. He was
  disgusted, upon his arrival, to learn
  that the Aries Gang included
  n o n w h i t e s a n d J e w s . I t ' s b e e n m o r e
  than worth it though; as an Aries
  ganger, Runestone has lots of
  opportunity to ﬁght and even kill
  dangerous opponents. His prowess
  and his devotion to Odin quickly
  gained the admiration of those Aries
  not offended by his frequently and
  loudly vocalized beliefs that Aries
  membership should be restricted to
  "Aryans".
  Knudson has ignored Runestone's
  opinions on gang membership and
  goals, made him a lieutenant within
  the gang (the other is Erik Gudne),
  and his emissary to other parts of the
  Edge. Runestone is big and scary
  enough to make it though other
  gangs' territories without a heavy
  e s c o r t . K n u d s o n k n o w s b e t t e r t h a n t o
  put nonwhite or Jewish Aries under
  Runestone's command, but doesn't
  stop Runestone from verbally abusing
  them and bullying them. Gudne has
  i n t e r v e n e d o n a n u m b e r o f o c c a s i o n s
  to protect other Aries from
  Runestone. Runestone especially
  d i s l i k e s t h e f a c t t h a t M a r a n a n d
  Nadjaﬁ are among Knudson's favored.
  Pase 27
  
  Maran simply avoids Runestone, but
  Nadjaﬁ gets extra harassment to make
  up for this fact, Nadjaﬁ recently
  retaliated by ﬁnding Runestone's real
  name in his DBI ﬁles and telling it to
  the rest of the gang (much to
  Runestone's embarrassment).
  Wears a leather jacket, sometimes
  with a t-shirt, jeans and motorcycle
  boots. Has the Aries symbol tattooed
  o n h i s f o r e h e a d . C a r r i e s a b a s t a r d
  s w o r d a n d a w a l k i e - t a l k i e a n d r i d e s a
  motorcycle.
  Swedish-American man, age 20,
  208 cm, 100 kg, fair skin, blue eyes,
  long brown hair.
  Languages: English (with a
  Midwestern US accent), German.
  Attack: 4 dice, x3 damage (sword)
  D e f e n s e : 4 d i c e
  Hit Points: 35 (huge)
  Fighting (4 dice): No two ways
  a b o u t i t : R u n e s t o n e l o v e s h i s w o r k
  and does it well, whether with battle-
  ax, barstool or his bare hands. He's
  quite prone to going berserk as well.
  (Challenges the best of Sad Mary's
  gladiators to combat for fun.)
  Large (bonus die): His great
  strength, reach and mass give him a
  bonus die for certain rolls, such as for
  ﬁghting and for intimidation. (Over
  two meters tall and powerfully built.)
  Motorcycle riding (3 dice): He's
  skilled enough to throw weapons and
  strike while on a moving motorcycle
  and to perform a lot of "stunt"
  maneuvers, except that he does his in
  real, moving trafﬁc. (Can be seen
  threading through heavy trafﬁc on
  the streets of the Edge on his cycle.)
  Contacts within the Edge (3 dice):
  Runestone knows the Edge and it
  knows him amazingly well given how
  long he's been there. His contacts are
  people he's met while playing
  messenger-boy for Knudson:
  shopkeepers, other gangs, etc. Get
  yourself onto Runestone's bad list and
  he'll ask around until he ﬁnds you.
  (Can be seen talking to people all over
  the Edge.)
  Deathwish (Flaw): Utterly unafraid
  of death in battle, but so far, he's
  proven too tough to kill. This is not
  true of some of the Aries on patrols
  t h a t h e h a s l e d . M o s t A r i e s d o n ' t
  want to appear cowardly by not
  following a leader who charges into
  combat, but the death toll is now
  high enough that no-one ever
  volunteers to join his once-popular
  patrols, unless they are very drunk or
  high (which is only going to push the
  casualty stats up higher). (Hopes for a
  death in battle against a worthy foe.)
  Insufferable Bigot (Flaw):
  Runestone is not as extreme as many
  O d i n i s t s : h e d o e s n ' t b e l i e v e t h a t
  "non-Aryans" should be
  exterminated or enslaved, but he's
  convinced that they are mentally and
  spiritually inferior to "Aryans" and
  thinks they should not be permitted
  in responsible positions of society,
  s u c h a s " w a r r i o r " o r " l e a d e r . " H e a l s o
  disapproves of romantic relationships
  between "non-Aryan" men and
  "Aryan" women. He's expresses his
  opinions loudly and often, although
  K n u d s o n w o n ' t l e t h i m e n f o r c e t h e m
  through physical means, and his
  range of expression increases if he's
  drunk or on drugs.
  P o s s i b l e u s e s
  Runestone is both an example of
  the kind of problem that the Aries
  gang's unusual ethos will attract and
  a paragon of Aries virtues at the same
  time: fearless, loyal, but utterly
  obnoxious and somewhat dangerous
  to many of the people he should be
  working with and protecting. For this
  reason, he makes a handy piece of
  l o c a l c o l o r . R u n e s t o n e a n d A r i e s l i k e
  h i m a r e a n o t h e r r e a s o n t h a t t h e A r i e s
  gang will never be very united. He's
  also tougher than the average PC, and
  can be used to give them
  something to be afraid of
  before they run into a really
  dangerous enemy that will
  just kill them if they get
  cocky. Finally, he can serve
  as a red herring in a search
  for Nazi conspiracy activity
  (the real contact is
  probably someone a
  bit more subtle).
  Page 28
  
  Nile magic
  John Nephew, President, First
  Baboon and Chief Obstacle of
  Atlas sames, desisned the
  latest On the Edge expansion,
  "Arcana." In explorins the
  "mystic s—" of Al Amarja, he
  expanded upon the Saou, a
  Sroup ﬁrst introduced in
  Sample OnTE cards. This article
  explains their Esyptian masic in
  Over the Edge.
  Egypt, land of the Nile, is steeped
  in magical tradition going back
  thousands of years. Much of its lore
  has been studied, in vulgar form, by
  Egyptologists. In fact, any good
  Western library probably has a book
  or two discussing the magic of
  temples, tombs, hieroglypics and
  papyri.
  Outside of mainstream scholarship,
  however, there is also a secret
  tradition that perpetuates esoteric
  knowledge in a direct line from the
  priest-magicians who served the
  pharaohs. (Some of this lore has
  found its way into other traditions,
  too, transmitted by Copts, Greeks,
  Arabs and others.) Individuals and
  small cabals, such as the Saou of Al
  Amarja, continue the tradition.
  T h e r e h a v e b e e n i n e v i t a b l e
  changes—for thousands of years
  there has been no divine king to lead
  the rites, for instance—but much
  ancient wisdom and practice has been
  faithfully preserved.
  This article reveals some secrets of
  the Saou. The information is in some
  respects incomplete. Our contacts on
  the island continue to search out
  general information and particular
  techniques and spells. In the
  a
  meantime, I hope that this admittedly
  f r a g m e n t a r y k n o w l e d g e i s o f v a l u e t o § -
  t h i s 
  m a g a z i n e ' s 
  r e a d e r s . 
  z
  C o s m o l o g y 
  i
  M o d e r n s c i e n c e h a s r e n d e r e d
  obsolete many Egyptian beliefs about
  the physical world. Adepts of this
  magical tradition still cleave to their
  metaphysical inheritance, however.
  The center of it is the belief in heka,
  the spiritual force that permeates
  earthly life and is the source of the
  magician's power.
  In ancient Egypt, the magician was
  a technician, skilled in manipulating
  the force of heka and winning the
  favor of the gods. Magic was an
  inseparable part of state religion—
  and state security. The pharaonic
  magician-priests not only honored the
  gods of the Nile, they worked daily to
  ensure the health and prosperity of
  the kingdom. Their magical
  ceremonies kept evil spirits and
  mortal enemies at bay.
  The ultimate goal of this activity
  was the preservation of ma'at, order.
  Chaos, whether natural or political,
  was the great fear of the Egyptians;
  the orderly progression of matters,
  like the regular annual ﬂooding of the
  Nile and the orderly enthronement of
  one king after another, was their
  d e s i r e .
  Today's Egyptian adepts no longer
  serve a divine king in the body of the
  pharaoh; they no longer lead
  magniﬁcent rituals to protect a
  kingdom. But they remain devoted to
  ma'at, and are acutely aware of the
  encroaching chaos that threatens to
  engulf our world (even if it is more
  subtle than ancient droughts and
  pestilence). And, their magic retains a
  strong emphasis on defense and
  protection, and subtlety in that.
  Page 29
  
  The workings of magic
  Two mechanisms undergird the
  practice of Egyptian magic: sound
  and image. These mechanisms are, not
  surprisingly, common to many other
  magical traditions. Many of them
  inherited from the Egyptians.
  Words are inherently magical,
  especially names. The power of sound
  goes back to the origin of the
  u n i v e r s e . T r a d i t i o n t e a c h e s t h a t t h e
  origin of the cosmos was its naming.
  If one could comprehend this
  primordial name, one might hold
  ultimate power. Knowing the True
  Name of a being or object allows one
  to bring it into existence or threaten
  i t w i t h a n n i h i l a t i o n .
  Images hold creative force. Images,
  whether two- or three-dimensional,
  may through resemblance hold some
  of the essence of the original.
  Therefore, power over the image
  amounts to power over the original.
  (Not surprisingly, Egyptian adepts
  don't like being photographed!) The
  power of an image may be used
  positively, when an adept enacts rites
  over the image of a sufferer who is
  healed. Or, the ritual destruction of
  an image of something hostile may
  protect the adept.
  Egyptian magic is defensive above
  all else, aimed toward preservation of
  existing order. This is reﬂected in the
  spells and abilities that the tradition
  makes available to its adepts. Black
  magic is extremely rare (although
  there are some obviously offensive
  spells, such as The Harem
  Conspiracy); but even basically
  benign spells can be applied by
  misguided souls toward selﬁsh or
  shortsighted ends.
  Healing magic
  Fighting disease and similar mortal
  hardships is a primary role for magic
  in this tradition. Egyptians did not
  reject a rational view of illness; they
  complemented it. After all, even a
  modern diagnosis may simply be
  showing the symptoms of the hostile
  intentions of a malicious sorcerer, an
  evil spirit, or a jealous dead relative.
  If you don't cure the hidden cause,
  then the patient is likely to fall prey
  to a new malady (perhaps a more
  serious one) no sooner than modern
  m e d i c i n e h a s c u r e d t h e o l d .
  Healing magic is typically
  characterized by up to three
  elements. First is the magician taking
  the role of a benign divinity, to
  command out an evil force (like an
  exorcism) or summon the power of
  still higher beings. The "Plea of Isis"
  is a spell like this. Second is the
  introduction of unpleasant substances
  into the ill body, to drive away
  malignant presences. The spell
  "Healing Statue," for instance,
  enchants water so that it is repulsive
  to disease-causing forces. Finally,
  pleasant substances may be given to
  the ill, so as to attract good spirits
  which may cure the mundane illness
  or do battle with evil spirits present.
  Mural magic
  Mural magic, as the Saou call it, is
  a good example of the power of both
  image and word. A mural is painted
  to depict beings (it
  u s e d t o b e t h e
  pharaoh, mainly; now
  an adept will paint
  himself) performing a
  speciﬁc rite or casting
  a spell. It must be
  c r e a t e d w i t h t h e
  appropriate
  i n c a n t a t i o n s a n d
  consecrated materials
  (plaster, paints, etc.) to
  be effective. Creating a
  mural requires one day
  o f i n t e n s i v e l a b o r o n
  the part of the adept
  per level of the spell
  t h e m u r a l i s i n t e n d t o
  produce. (To make a
  w o r t h w h i l e m u r a l
  typically takes quite a
  long time.)
  The adept can
  "activate" the mural
  through a spell
  ceremony called
  "Opening the Mouth"
  (described among the spells below).
  What is depicted in the mural comes
  into effect as though performed anew.
  (This may save much time and
  expense, especially if the rite is one
  which would normally require the
  presence of several adepts.)
  Egyptian spells
  The following ﬁve formulaic spells
  have been unearthed. Undoubtedly a
  great many more exist. Also,
  variations of most spells, exist as the
  descriptions below note.
  These spells arise from the Egyptian
  tradition, but a magician from a
  different background should be able to
  learn them. However, a GM may apply
  a penalty die when persons from
  outside the tradition are attempting to
  learn their ﬁrst Egyptian spell. (See
  Over the Edge, page i8o for how to
  learn spells.) This is because this
  tradition has its own idiosyncracies
  and subtleties that might be difﬁcult
  for, say, a practitioner of voodoo to
  grasp at ﬁrst.
  Pase 30
  
  E x e c r a t i o n h e a l i n g m a g i c t h a t t h e w o r d s c a r r y .
  L e v e l 
  l o 
  T h e 
  w a t e r 
  i s 
  t h e n 
  a d m i n i s t e r e d 
  t o 
  a
  Magicians tend to attract enemies, patient—orally or intravenously,
  and Egyptian adepts are no exception (Obviously, the latter method is a
  to this rule. This simple spell modern invention.) Each casting of
  provides a modicum of protection the spell produces water that will
  against known foes. heal one die of damage. Adepts who
  The adept creates a ﬁgure to are expecting trouble ahead will store
  represent his foe. He inscribes the the water in vials, thermoses, etc. The
  foe's name (mundane or True) all over healing water retains its potency for
  it. Then the object is ritually about a week.
  mutilated, burned, or buried. Many variations of this spell exist.
  T h e r e s u l t o f t h e E x e c r a t i o n i s t h a t w h e r e i n t h e w o r d s a r e w r i t t e n o n
  the target suffers a penalty die (two papyrus, pottery, or another surface
  penalty dice if the target's True Name in lieu of a statue. Note that each
  was known and used) in all actions counts as a different spell to be
  directly opposed to the adept. learned: If an adept knows Healing
  Every adept has a unique variation Beer Keg, the spell will not work by
  on this spell. In ancient days, writing the words on a wine jug.
  potsherds might be used instead of a
  ﬁgure (especially if one had a lot of Opcnins the Mouth
  enemies and was concerned about Level 4
  time and money). One modern adept This spell is a staple in the
  has reported success in using a ﬂoppy Egyptian tradition. Its primary use is
  disk, the sectors ﬁlled with nothing to activate magical murals, which
  but ASCII text repeating the target's themselves produce other spell
  name. When a magician learns this effects. To cast the spell the adept
  spell, he chooses which object to use. chants magical phrases while
  touching the mouth, hands, and feet
  The Harem Conspiracy of the ﬁgures in the painting.
  L e v e l 
  1 3 
  O p e n i n g 
  t h e 
  M o u t h 
  h a s 
  o t h e r 
  u s e s
  A rare instance of overtly hostile known to higher-level initiates of the
  magic, this spell takes its name from Egyptian mysteries. For instance, it is
  an event under the reign of Ramses needed to activate magical ﬁgurines.
  III. The conspirators attempted to
  immobilize the guards of the The Plea of ISIS
  pharaoh's harem, and then do away Level 9
  with the king. They used a secret This spell generates an antivenom
  spell unearthed covertly from the in the target's bloodstream for any
  royal archives. Although the guards natural toxin, from nettles to tree
  were paralyzed, the conspirators were frog poison. (Countering synthetic
  caught before the plot culminated. toxins is 50% likely.)
  To cast this spell one must create, In Egyptian myth, the child Horus
  by hand, a waxen image of the target. is bitten by a poisonous animal. Isis
  As the wax hardens and the correct takes her child into the heavens and
  words are spoken, the target will be demands that he be healed, or she
  overcome by a growing stiffness, will stop the sun from shining. The
  climaxing in a paralysis of all non- heavenly powers agree to heal Horus
  autonomic muscles. The spell lasts in order to preserve ma'at.
  until the wax is softened once more. Casting the spell, the magician
  relates this tale with words and a bit
  H e a l i n g S t a t u e o f p a n t o m i m e . F i n a l l y, h e
  L e v e l 
  1 2 
  e x t i n g u i s h e s 
  a 
  ﬂ a m e 
  w i t h 
  t h e
  Magical inscriptions are written all pronouncement of Isis's threat,
  over a statue, over which water is The poisoned person's blood is
  then poured. The water absorbs the rapidly cleared of the toxin.
  Pase 31
  e
  
  Edge watcher
  John Tynes provides a suide to
  brainwashins available over the
  counter at your local video
  store now or that will be soon.
  A f t e r H o u r s
  Hapless burner gets drawn into
  fringe weirdness; is this Al Amarja?
  Nope, just late-night LA. Plenty of
  oddball characters and situations with
  juideto
  B e l i e v e i t o r
  DVCr the not, this is one of
  J 
  t h e 
  b e s t 
  h o r r o r
  ﬁlms ever made.
  0 soon Basic knowledge
  of The Exorcist is
  helpful, but the
  movie is so creepy and strange it
  stands on its own. Great for anyone
  using supernatural horror in their OTE
  series. Highly recommended.
  a n i c e s t r e a m - o f - c o n s c i o u s n e s s f e e l .
  A l i c e
  Mixture of stop-motion animation
  Fanny and Alexander
  Lengthy period drama from Ingmar
  Bergman. Typical but well-done
  dramatic fare about family squabbles
  and live-action in this retelling of Alice and intrigues, but includes some ghost
  in Wonderland by Jan Svankmayer.
  Creeeeepy! The White Rabbit is a
  taxidermied fellow who keeps leaking
  stufﬁng from his body. A two-tab
  dropper if ever there was one.
  Angel Heart
  Mid-80s supernatural thriller set in
  1 9 5 0 s N e w O r l e a n s f r o m A l a n P a r k e r .
  Moody, bloody, and strange. Lots of
  voodoo and quest-for-identity kind of
  s t u f f i n a c l a s s i c h a r d - b o i l e d d e t e c t i v e
  f r a m e w o r k .
  B a r t o n F i n k
  1920s period piece from the Coen
  brothers about a screenwriter in a
  freakish LA hotel. Chock full of good
  scenes, and the hotel would be a great
  one to pop up in Al Amarja.
  Five Million Years to Earth
  A metal cylinder discovered in the
  London subway circa 1960 is ﬁrst
  believed to be an old Nazi bomb;
  nope, it's a spacecraft that triggers
  genetic imperatives of mass purging
  implanted in early homo sapiens by
  M a r t i a n s . B u t i t ' s c o o l ! F i n a l s c e n e s o f
  London aﬂame, with crowds of
  ordinary citizens hunting down and
  killing anyone who is 'different' are
  riveting. Lots of great pseudoscience
  and terriﬁc psychic/mindpower stuff.
  Page 32
  stuff and a freakish portion dealing
  with a crazy bishop and a magical but
  disturbing pawnbroker's shop,
  complete with a reality-bending
  androgyne kept in a locked room.
  F a u s t
  Another freakfest from Alice
  director/animator Jan Svankmayer.
  This one is nearly 100% live action,
  but features terriﬁcally creepy old-
  world marionettes in key roles
  including a human-marionette sex
  scene. It's a retelling of the Faust
  story, but done very strangely.
  The Kingdom
  Four-hour Danish TV miniseries
  released as a four-hour movie in
  America. A cross between Twin Peaks
  and ER; oddball hospital soap opera
  storylines mingle with bloody
  Exorcist-style hauntings. OTE
  contributor Robin Laws gives this
  one high marks.
  The Mystery of Rampo
  1990s Japanese ﬁlm about a real-life
  mystery writer, Edwardo Rampo, in
  1930s Japan. A novel he writes seems
  to come true, and he investigates.
  Becomes very surreal and strange; the
  freakish rich guy's manor house and
  personal habits beg to be reworked as
  an OTE island estate. Mostly live-
  a c t i o n w i t h s o m e a n i m a t i o n a n d
  computer visuals.
  P r i n c e o f D a r k n e s s
  Creepilicous 80s ﬂick from John
  Carpenter. Way cool marriage of
  pseudoscience and the supernatural ala
  Five Million Years. Has goofy elements,
  but worth watching. The stuff dealing
  w i t h t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n o f d r e a m s
  backwards across time via some particle
  physics bullshit is OTE-ish, in a very
  Throckmorton sort of way.
  S h o r t C u t s
  Incredibly depressing early 90s
  ﬁ l m f r o m R o b e r t A l t m a n t h a t
  captures the feel of urban desperation
  inherent in OTE's cityscapes. Multiple
  storylines and overlapping characters
  remind me of an OTE campaign in
  s t r u c t u r e .
  S t a l k e r
  Russian ﬁlm from the early 1980s.
  Posits that the 1908 Tunguska blast in
  Siberia created a space where your
  deepest wish comes true; area
  b e c o m e s a r e s t r i c t e d i n d u s t r i a l
  w a s t e l a n d i n t o w h i c h S t a l k e r s
  illegally guide those who want to ﬁnd
  the heart of the Zone. Existential,
  weird, and chock full of stunning
  visuals. Possibly my favorite ﬁlm of
  all time, and deﬁnitely my favorite
  director (Andrei Tarkovsky).
  Wings of Desire
  W i m W e n d e r s f r o m t h e m i d - 8 0 s .
  Heavenly angels drift unseen among
  mortals, eavesdropping on their
  thoughts and envying them their
  passions. Ghostly and moving, this
  could easily spawn an OTE storyline.
  The sequel. Faraway So Close, is
  heavier on plot than mood and not
  highly recommended despite a cameo
  f r o m M i k h a i l G o r b a c h e v.
  
  G E V i / O R K
  T he periodic supplement of the best information
  on all things A1 Amarjan returns! The fourth issue of
  Edge Work, the fanzine devoted to Over the Edge
  T
  M
  by Atlas Games, has more of the most cutting-edge
  information about the surreal, dangerous, and down
  right weird setting for the critically-acclaimed game.
  In addition, the 32 information-packed pages also support
  On the Edge^*^. the collectible card game that shares a
  background with GTE. On the Edge was recently named
  the "Best new Collectible Card Game" by Games
  Magazine. This issue of EdgeWork brings you informa
  tion that helps link the card game with the role-playing
  game, allowing you to use material from one in the other.
  Top that off with new ideas for magic by John Nephew,
  Atlas Games President, stud-mufﬁn, and all-around cool
  guy (he's paying Brent $100 to type this) and you've got the
  best information to expand your A1 Amarjan universe. All
  in new, lower-calorie, non-ozone-depleting advertisement-
  free packaging (accept no substitute)! See the best the
  weW have ,o offer:
  v i o i x r
  MOJIlZONTAl. SYNC
  - C O L O R l U R S T
  U O N T A L
  I w h o r t M w t e l
  front covei>ph((togra-
  phy, desipf^Bigital
  manipjil^ti<fnPj
  1 i Z / /d
  iiadkCc^^f design,
  lorbMr^pdryption pro-
  rammip
  tent ferguson
  V l |
  ' - - c 
  ^ r 
  * 
  '
  .-••a:
  9 i a n d
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Over the Edge/Over The Edge [2nd ed]/EdgeWork/EdgeWork 4 Scan.pdf