Customer Reviews

Transhuman Space (HC)

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I've been following various transhumanist/cybernetic "movements" for years and have dabbled with "hard science" RPGs like Traveller, Underground and Millenium's End. Of course, Cyberpunk 2020 is at the top of the genre.

The well-researched writers of Transhuman Space masterfully integrates the most salient aspects of our continuously evolving and chaotic state of science and society into a haunting yet beautiful vision of our future. Even if you've never played GURPS or roleplaying games, the background information on the world of 2100 is worth the price alone.

Pulvers manages to incorporate today's conceptual technologies such as virtual reality, genetic manipulation and artificial intelligence into this game universe without the superficial pulp of sci-fi pop-futurism.

One point is that I don't recommend this game for novices unless every player has at least the main book and has a firm grasp of the technologies involved. The only drawback in terms of popularity is that THS does have a high learning curve because there are just so many new entities, each with its own game mechanics, that don't exist at this level in most other games. (Slinking, mind emulation, telepresence, smart matter, surveillance society, augmented reality, 3D printing, uplifting, etc.)

One of the writers even goes as far as to say Transhuman Space does not use theoretical technologies such as faster-than-light travel or teleportation and certainly does not use psionics, magic or supernatural game devices. In some ways, Transhuman Space is more mature in its science than Star Trek. THS does for space RPGs what Delta Green did for Cthulu.

For its subject matter, Transhuman Space is also refreshingly void of political posturing or trite moralism. The world of 2100 makes no apologies about cloning, eugenics, "parahumans" bred for slavery, etc. It comes off as a sobering cautionary tale rather than condescending finger-waving and preaching.

Finally, here is a game that reflects how human nature will affect the future. I have played many games in relation to human self evolution, (deep blue, Stradrive, trinity, cyberpunk 2020, Traveler, etc.) but this is closer than any others. There is no FTL, no matter transporters, and no aliens that we did not create ourselves. It is set in our own solar system; which has been sadly neglected by other games in the sci-fi genre. And the culture of humanity has changed greatly, and yet it is still similar enough that I could grasp it easily. The motivation is the same, the means have changed. Overall I would say that this game is one of the best out there. Even if you are not in to games, just reading it is worth the price of admission.

Capsule: This book is incredible. The setting is mature, brilliant, and manages to be both extremely believable and deeply weird. The game system suffers from the clunky GURPS mechanics, but you are by no means tied to them. Applying the game world to an actual roleplaying game is daunting but well worth it.

The gameworld takes place in the solar system, in 2100. Earth is still doing well. Earth orbit, the Moon and Mars have well-established colonies. The Asteroid Belt, Jupiter (including the oceans of Europa) and Saturn's island of civilization are the frontiers. Everything else is wilderness, and the setting does a good job of establishing how BIG the solar system is. It has a strong post-cyberpunk influence: very strong IT and biotech. Faster-than-light travel, teleportation, psychic powers, etc do not exist. The world is neither dystopia nor utopia- it's naturalistic; advances in technology and the march of history have replaced today's problems with tomorrows. Players can play humans (genetically enhanced or not), bioroids (biological androids), artificial intelligences, uploaded human brains, or uplifted, genetically engineered animals. The setting explores both the upside and the potential for abuse of all these technologies.

The THS setting blew my mind. The creativity here is gigantic-- and the fact that so many great ideas meld together so seamlessly into one consistent vision really impresses me. I've played many tabletop RPGs, and this is the first one that I would without qualification label as hard science fiction. This book and its supplements are meticulously researched. The physical and social sciences are state-of-the-art. The gameworld is daring and provocative, but doesn't pick sides or get preachy, but doesn't descend into fan-service exploitation fiction, either.

The sheer vastness and variety of the game world is a challenge to GMs. Most of the early supplements gave you a specific region in detail (underseas colonies, earth orbit, the developed world, etc). Most of the later ones have tried to help GMs build a manageable game out of it all. My advice is to pick a region (such as the Duncanite asteroid bases) and run most of your game there. There is far too much to fit into one game, and even a narrow game will give your players more than enough to explore.

The setting does NOT depend on the game system, though of course you're encouraged to use it. The GURPS rules provided are clunky, and to my mind mostly get in the way of your players enjoying a good drama. However, most of the units provided can be converted over to any other game system with little effort. What's important here are the breadth of Pulver's vision, the depth of detail and the world's consistency and potential for great storytelling.

This is easily the most in-depth campaign background that Steve Jackson Games has ever produced. It's easy to let it overwhelm you. DON'T LET IT! Like fine wine or single malt scotch, Transhuman Space is a wonderful thing for somebody who can focus on what's important to them and avoid the perils of excess.

The setting provides a dozen wonderful little corners of the solar system worth of exploration. In the year 2100 humans have learned to live on the bottom of the ocean, in the clouds venus, the red deserts of Mars, and the baren rocks of of the asteroid belt, to name just four. The concept of "human" no longer has a concrete definition for anybody but extremists.

You can play a human with the admirable traits of a cat (sleek coat, always landing feet down, and the ability to get out of any bad situation by Totally Freaking Out), a sentient computer program on the run from the authorities, a space pilot plying the profitable lanes between Earth and Mars, or a sentient robot.

This game takes an optimistic view of our future as a species, and lets you be a whole lot more than you can be. Worth every penny.