Ahhh, Masterbook! West End Games’ ill-fated attempt at a universal system. For some reason, they decided to build it using the mechanical framework of Torg (dead, slightly complicated) instead of Star Wars (alive, very popular, simple). And instead of just using the Torg system as is, (cinematic, flexible), they kept tinkering with it until it was more complicated and less exciting. Weird!

This is The World of Bloodshadows (1994) box set, which contains a copy of the Masterbook rules, the Bloodshadows setting book, two d10s and the drama deck (which is used throughout the game to alter the proceedings in surprising ways). It’s sort of the inverse of the World of Darkness, in that the supernatural is obviously co-existing with a hard-boiled humanity (at least in the cities; you don’t want to risk the wilderness). Niche reference, but it reminds me a lot of the HBO movie Cast a Deadly Spell (1991). Have I never mentioned my love of this film here before? Fred Ward as a hard-boiled PI named Lovecraft, who, in a world where everyone uses magic, he refuses to do so. Fun stuff, check it out.

I would play this game. I would probably roll it back to Torg-like rules, or just use WEG 2.0’s later D6 conversion or the current Savage Worlds version. The setting is exciting! Humanity, trapped in walled city-states, embroiled in the metaphysical war between order and chaos; when you think about it, Bloodshadows is really just manifesting all the theming in a hard-boiled detective story as tangible actors in the world. It’s brilliant!

The cover, by Ken Barr, suits the mood nicely, right down to its semi-generic quality. Interior artists are Jaime Lombardo, Ron Hill, Tom O’Neill, Dan Schaeffer and Karl Waller. Bonus: each illustration is credited. Waller’s work here is my favorite. He differentiates from his D&D style with lots of flat black and zip-a-tone, which adds a lot of weight.