Review: Pinebox Middle School

"And I would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids." - Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

For a long time, I couldn't think of anything I'd like to play less than college students fighting the supernatural while dealing with course assignments and teenage romance. That's the East Texas University setting for SWADE, that is.

And then Pinebox Middle School appeared. Same thing, but with 12-year-old supernatural sleuths. The only way you could make that less interesting to me is to use Gumshoe as the rules engine.

Still, it didn't really cost me anything, being part of a much larger bundle; sufficiently good ideas and writing have changed my mind before; and it does me good to be dragged out of my silo from time to time and stand, blinking, in the harsh light of new concepts. Let's see if this one can convert me.

In a Nutshell: Savage Worlds implementation of the popular kids-on-bikes-investigate-supernatural-weirdness trope; setting, Plot Point campaign, a dozen short scenarios. 210 page PDF from 12 to Midnight and Pinnacle Entertainment, available here for $20 at time of writing.

What's Inside

• Back to School (5 pages): An introduction to the setting, which is Pinebox, Texas, the same small town which hosts ETU and (I believe) a number of adventures by 12 to Midnight. Characters are kids aged 11-14 who get mixed up in the dark secrets and ancient mysteries of Pinebox. Tone ranges from Scooby Doo through Stranger Things to It.
• Characters (15 pages): Character creation; PCs are automatically human, with the Young (Major) and Small Hindrances. Attributes are bought with 3 points not 5, and may not exceed d6, except for one which can be a d8; actually that's a good rule of thumb for any PC. 10 skill points instead of 12, and skills max out at d6, except for two which can be bought up to d8; no skill may be bought up over d8 with Advances. 11 new Hindrances, 12 new Edges. Extracurricular activities and family situation, and how they affect the PC's statblock.
• Gear & Gadgets (20 pages): I glaze over at gear chapters at the best of times. This one is focused on items kids can afford and carry, and which won't draw unwelcome adult attention. PCs are each assumed to have a cellphone, and some means of transport such as a bicycle. This chapter also includes the 'Clubhouse', a setting-appropriate version of the group lair which is now found in most SWADE settings and companions; as usual, this can be upgraded as the PCs advance.
• Setting Rules (6 pages): There are half a dozen of these, the most interesting of which are the variant advancement rules; kids advance, and shed their Hindrances, as they grow up and shift to higher classes in the school. I should also mention the McAllister Maxim, which is that - as in Home Alone - damage to humans is nonlethal by default; players must deliberately specify lethal damage to risk killing someone.
• A Guide to Pinebox (13 pages): Descriptions and maps; your typical small American town and its environs, with a focus on the middle school. Locations, climate, wildlife, NPCs both present and missing, that kind of thing.
• The Principal's Office (10 pages): The GM in this setting is called, naturally enough, the Principal. This chapter gives more detailed descriptions of the local region, sites of interest, a list of which NPCs you need to introduce before each of the Plot Point scenarios, random tables of weird events, strange places and weather.
• Magic and the Supernatural (14 pages): Since PCs don't have Arcane Backgrounds, magic requires finding and performing rituals. This chapter covers rituals, how they work, how they interact with technology, required components, possible complications. There are also half a dozen new Powers appropriate to the setting, including consecrate ground and seance, and magical talismans to be found and used.
• Adventure Generator (10 pages): Many Savage Worlds settings have one of these, intended for one-shot filler adventures. Draw cards to determine the who, what, why, where, supernatural opponent, victim, and plot complication. There's an example of the generator in use.
• Descent into the Inferno (44 pages): A campaign in nine main adventures, three per year during the group's time in middle school. This links in to other Pinebox products, although they are not required to run it. I was interested to see the adventure summaries show the cell phone signal strength for each location.
• Savage Tales (38 pages): A dozen or so stand-alone adventures to be sprinkled in between the main ones. Including the campaign scenarios, there are 22 in total, which I would expect to last my group for 6-12 months.
• Characters and Critters (28 pages): The bestiary, divided into new monstrous abilities (the most interesting of which is Possession), notable (named) NPCs, typical Extras, creatures (both natural and supernatural), demons, and ghosts. These are in addition to the Saturday Night Special monsters in the various adventures.

...and we close with a list of inspirations and an index.

What I Liked

• Unusually, PMS is set in the present day. A lot of horror is set in earlier decades, because when everyone has a cellphone, there are security cameras everywhere, and people are constantly mindful of the threats posed to children, a lot of the usual genre tropes and plots don't work.
• The new Hindrances and Edges; if you want to make your SWADE setting pop, this is your main tool for doing so. I especially liked Annoying Sibling (gets in the way at inopportune moments) and Imaginary Friend (a poltergeist that has taken a shine to you).
• The comments on diversity and disabilities, which explain how these work in the game without being irritatingly long and preachy.
• The fact that the book includes a Plot Point campaign and numerous Savage Tales. I must grudgingly admit that the Plot Point campaign is pretty good.

What I Didn't Like

• Adults are slow and stupid, leaving the kids to face down Elder Gods and cannibal serial killers on their own. This is a common trope of the genre, indeed children's fiction in general, and otherwise every session would last about ten minutes before one of the players says "We call the cops." But I still don't like it.
• Child PCs are a lot more alike than adult ones, due to the mandatory Hindrances and attribute and skill point caps.

Conclusions

This is a well-written book, and looks like a solid implementation of the genre. If you like this kind of thing, you could do a lot worse, especially with the campaign and one-shots included.

However, I have not been converted; I still do not like this kind of thing, so I will not be running it or playing it. Though I might strip some of the adventures for parts.