When our GM bought these decks to the table, I felt he'd wasted his money. After all, everything on them in in the rulebook so why not just roll on the appropriate table?
Well you can, if you really want to. But these cards are a truly excellent gaming aid! Having a reference card beside your character sheet is really useful. We love the idea so much that we've taken to writing down NPCs on blank playing cards.
As a player, these cards mean that I have little need to open the rulebook in the middle of play. When we find an Artifact, the GM draws a card and looks at the item name before handing it over to us. Then while we're all passing the card around and discussing it, the GM is busy looking up what the item actually does for himself or rolling up the next zone sector. Or maybe cramming live insects into his mouth. I honestly have no idea because all my attention at that point is on our new toy.
Mutation cards keep the story flowing too. When we meet with one or more of The People, the GM just draws as many Mutation cards as he needs and we carry on. With the added plus that we know that none will have the same tricks that our PCs do!
And when our PC with Parasite messes up his Mutation roll again, we've just enough time to laugh while he scrub off another attribute point and draw a new Mutation.
Threat cards are just plain sinister. Every week the GM shuffles that red deck, draws a card and chuckles to himself. We never know if we'll survive the night.
