"5150:NB or The Department" Topic

Hi all

Got my birthday coming up and I usually treat myself to/get my girlfriend to order a new ruleset, the ones that have caught my eye are:

5150: New Begginings and The Department of Fabricant Management

Clearly what I want to use it for will have a big impact, and my initial thoughts are something almost exactly like Blade Runner.

I'm aware that The Department is very similar (if not exactly the same) but heard that 5150:NB is pretty open ended, but not really seen any true Blade Runner-esque AARs.

I have THW's Larger Than Life already, so I've got a little buy-in already there, but I'm also English so TD in £s and no import expenses etc. is very tempting too, although the PDF is very cheap.

As you can see (or not) I'm really undecided, any helpful advice?

"Help me TMP, you're my only hope."

If you want Blade Runner, go with the Department. It's custom-made for it. 5150:NB is designed to be more versatile and not really tied to one style of play as much – it can do almost anything scifi related with some tweaking, but it isn't as good at that one specific thing as the Department.

Mind you, both the Goalsystem game engine the Department uses and the core Chain Reaction engine are extremely adaptable. They have different approaches, but both produce excellent play experiences and can be tweaked to fit everything from historicals to fantasy to scifi and superheroes, and more. IME CR is a bit better at mass combat stuff, GS has a bit more character detail – but they're both top notch.

Clearly, you should get another girlfriend and ask for both. :)

The Department is much closer to Blade Runner and designed for solo/team play. It has features like interactive crowds that add atmosphere.

I'm going to continue TMP tradition and throw out a non-solo suggestion, as well: Rezolution. Rez is very Blade Runner-esque, but not built for solo play.

I'd go with The Department. I haven't had a chance to play it, but I've read some of the rulebook and it looks quite good. Also, note that the Department is multiplayer cooperative. It can be played solo, but is not only designed for solo play.

I don't know much about Rezolution, but it seems to have a pretty good reputation and it's available as PDF via wargames vault
link

If you only want to do Blade Runner type games then go with the Department, like others have said, as it is designed for that.
If you want a more open ended game that can cover Blade Runner and more NB might be better suited for it
As for solo and same side, co-operative, THW has been doing that since 1998.
It's really all about the gaming so find what you like and enjoy!

Thanks everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it.

I'll go for The Department hard copy at this stage I think (have to look into postage though).

5150:NB remains very high on the Wishlist too, I might be able to convince her in a bit to let me get it, have to wait and see!

I jsut bought the Department rulebook and read through it in the last couple of days. I fully plan on running a three player campaign, I love Blade Runner and Noir style and I'm now busy assembling miniatures and scenery. I think the rules are very well presented and not too difficult, and most of all theiy are very thematic, especially with the campaign system. the scenarios are also great and should help keeping things interested.

The price for the hardcopy is also fair and the postage to Germany was low, so you should be good in that regard :)

As for New Beginnings, I bought the PDF a few months ago and read through it. I too feel it's more of an open-ended game with a LOT of random tables and options to consider. It would also need a lot of preparation to make it into something resembling Blade Runner, it's pretty generic which is a good thing too if you want to add stuff later, or even from other THW books.

So like Ed said, The Department for a game that is thematically perfect and useable without much to prepare, and New Beginning if you like to tinker with stuff and expand and modify your game world.

If you like "The Department" and want to try a Star Wars type game take a look at "Blasters and Bulkheads" which also uses the Goalsystem engine.

Tim

That's a benefit to both systems: versatility and multiple periods using the same framework.