Last week, we gave you a sneak peek at the upcoming Exquisite Replicas RPG from Abstract Nova.

Exquisite Replicas is a role-playing game of paranoia and horror where intolerable choices collide with the fragile hope of what it means to be human. The war must be won, but it is up to the players to decide at what cost.

This week we get to read just a bit about The Anonymous, the characters who face off against alien horrors, risking everything…

The Anonymous

There are a few men and women who can see the Othersiders creeping about our world. They can sense when a person or object is a fake. Unfortunately, they cannot prove any of this to anyone who does not already have the sight. Therefore, they wage a quiet war against the forces of Otherside, while those who they struggle to protect recognize nothing of their sacrifice. They are the Anonymous, so named because they hide their identities behind masks.

To replace a person, the Othersiders must first scan their target’s face and memories. The masks of the Anonymous serve many purposes, but the most important is as protection against replication. Leaving a face uncovered makes a person a target, and the members of the Anonymous are well aware of the wretched fate of those who are taken. The masks are more than simply practical tools, however. They are a symbol of the separation and alienation from society experienced by those who can see.

The Anonymous are tragic heroes. Their war against Otherside has scarred each to one degree or another.

Some of these scars are physical; most are psychological. Any war takes a toll on the human psyche, but when the soldiers are never praised or rewarded by those who they fight for, when those who have fallen will never be recognized for their sacrifice… well, the results are even more dire. The Anonymous can lose more than just their lives in the struggle against the Othersiders, they risk their humanity itself.

To fight this war, these ordinary people will break apart everything that once symbolized their normal lives. The masked Anonymous will likely have to resort to theft to protect their community from the ultimate thievery of the Othersiders. And while replicated items will obviously need to be destroyed, what about the simulacrum of those who they love? Can these average people, thrust into extraordinary circumstances, be pushed to murder? Then again, their victims aren’t real people, are they; and the word murder isn’t used in times of war. Regardless of the justification, those characters who make up the Anonymous will be forever changed… by the war, by their experiences, and by themselves.

Exquisite Replicas – Available August 2008

More Exquisite Replicas previews are on the way at Flames Rising and soon there will also be free downloads at www.abstractnova.com.

Look for Abstract Nova products at Indie Press Revolution and at GenCon Indy this August (booth #2115).

Tags | abstract nova, aliens, exquisite replicas, gencon, rpgs