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Disaffiliated's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| SUBSTANCE | #14 | 4.012 | 4.333 |
| STYLE | #17 | 3.395 | 3.667 |
| Overall | #17 | 3.703 | 4.000 |
Ranked from 6 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
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Comments
Like with Copper Glow a year and a half ago, E5Burrito has once again created something extremely appealing to me. DISAFFILIATED is a rules-lite, narrative-and-investigation centered RPG, cross-compatible with FIST if you so desire.
DISAFFILIATED reminds me of Delta Green in vibes. In DISAFFILIATED, the characters are underfunded, undersupported, and pitifully human in the face of the paranormal. Unlike FIST, characters do not have paranormal powers. Instead, a system of Traits and Skills describe their learned abilities as clandestine agents.
Mechanically, DISAFFILIATED is simple, but it takes a more structured approach than FIST, encouraging planning and social interaction. I think the RTP and KIT system is an excellent way to get players thinking ahead about their actions without getting bogged down in the details.
There's a lot of stuff in here that can be useful both within DISAFFILIATED and in any game. The mission structure system is excellent for keeping players making decision and engaging with the narrative, and the guide for creating paranormal threats and campaigns about them is truly awesome. The example mission provided is very cool, and it has some neat "The God Whale"-like post-human stuff going on.
I'm not entirely sure I'm sold on the Out Of Commission system of health. It feels like there's not really any reason not to push through being OOC, unless you're in a situation where you can immediately get rest.
Also, a small nitpick: It's a little weird that The Director is referred to with he/him.
DISAFFILIATED is a grounded and intrigue based RPG filled with all the fear and uncertainty of a newly post-Cold-War world, and it would make for an incredible experience with the right group. I'd recommend it. I'm definitely excited to get together a group and play it!
Thank you for your review, and especially for pointing out what stood out as tension points!
I need to rework the presentation of OOC at a minimum, for sure. It's ambiguous right now if 'pushing through' just makes you vulnerable for the rest of the scene or for the rest of the session. (Edit : My post jam version now reduces the recovery time from a few hours to a few minutes of secure, peaceful recouperation.)
Re : The Director, that's a specific NPC rather than another title for The Referee...which I should probably look for a way to emphasize early on. Given that they're forced-retirement age in 1991 (heavily implied in the cover letter's background text), and three-letter-agency recruitment typically cuts off in one's early 30s, they've been in the field since the late 50s or so. Anyone but a male would have almost certainly hit the glass ceiling before being put in charge of the Agency. Pushing the game even a decade into the future would have allowed me to use gender neutral terms, but then I'd miss the sweet spot between the Cold War and the (openly acknowledged) War on Terror.
This game has about four months of playtesting behind it, but I've had to reassemble it mostly from memory. I'm interested in your opinion, but ESPECIALLY about things that don't make sense or seem incomplete. I've tried to err on the side of brevity and leaving some fruitful voids, but suspect that'll come with being overly ambiguous in places.