Review: The Weird
By Jason Campbell
The Weird is a RPG book by Monte Cook Games. The book is 256 pages with really interesting artwork and design. The Weird is not a rulebook and it can be used in any RPG. It’s a tool to introduce strangeness into any RPG no matter the setting or system. 253 of the pages are devoted to tables using percentile dice to determine the results. A GM is given “dials” to turn depending on how strange results they want to get. This is done by having four columns for each table so that each column gives you a different array of results. The columns are in the categories; “interesting”, “surprising”, “gonzo”, or “whimsical”. You roll percentile dice and decide which category you want to use, then look up that number on the table to find your weird result.
The tables have an extraordinary diversity of subject, for instance; “weird cures for curses”,” weird PC backgrounds”, “weird space anomalies”, “weird crops to grow”, “weird rumors”. In the index the tables are sorted for their suggested genres like fantasy, sci-fi, modern, horror or superhero. But most of the tables work for any genre. In fact I’d suggest trying a table that does not match the genre you’re playing, if you really want some strangeness.
I recently used this when running a one shot of Kids on Brooms. In that case, whenever a PC failed a spell casting roll, instead of it just failing, I would use a table like “weird side effects”. It really made the game silly, weird and sometimes spooky. Then I continued using the book to determine weird locations, dungeons, halls, etc. In this way you could run a weird RPG with near zero prep.
It’s worth noting that the artwork and layout are just as weird as the results in the tables. This means that each table has a different color scheme and artwork, which some readers might find disturbing. But as its main use (in my opinion) is as a tool, rather than reading it cover to cover, this shouldn’t be a problem for most GMs.
You can find the book on Monte Cook Games’ website.
If you’ve read or seen the Weird, let us know what you think in the comments!
