Back Somewhat Serious

Mind Games

an unofficial On the Edge™ expansion set

Special thanks to Rob Lightner for his critique and suggestions for making these cards better. As I mentioned to him, a lot of these ideas are kinda dorky, made only to give me some kind of perverse pleasure. If you have ideas on how to improve any of these cards, let me know.

Also, I've started creating mock-ups for some of the cards. Where the card name is a link, click on the link to view a demo of the card. If you have any ideas for the art, send them to me. If I use them, I'll credit you on the mock-up.

On the Edge, Ars Magica, Mythic Europe, and Covenants are trademarks of Trident Inc. Order of Hermes, Doissetep, Grimgroth, and Tremere, are trademarks of White Wolf, Inc. Over the Edge, Al Amarja, Charting New Realms of Imagination, and the Atlas Games logo are trademarks of John Nephew. The use of these trademarks here is without permission, and does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of those properties.

[The above disclaimer is taken verbatim from the Atlas Games Legalese Page, so don't sue me.]

# Name Description Cost AP DP Pull Traits Special Flavor Text
M1 The History of Mental Affliction in Al Amarja Secret 0 -- -- -- Manic, Depressive, BMI Crank to gain 4 pull to call Manic or Depressive cards. Crank any time to add +1 to any attack on a Manic or Depressive. After Monique liberated Al Amarja, a core group of psychotherapists and medical personnel recognized disturbing trends in the island's inhabitants. Banding together, the group cultivated these neuroses in the guise of treatment in order to further their own goals and research. Later, they helped to establish BMI. Their agents, dubbed Manic and/or Depressive by BMI conspirators, are usually former patients who rarely know that they are under BMI's control.
M2 The Secret of Station WDAB Secret 0 -- -- -- Toon Crank to gain 2 pull to call Toon cards. Flip to replace a character's first trait with Toon for one round. Anyone who would be popped by such a character in combat is flipped instead. WDAB producers have found a way to portray Al Amarja citizens in their popular line-up of prime-time cartoons, mimicking their counterpart's actions with startling accuracy (or, perhaps, it's the other way around). Yet, WDAB's increasing cartoon programming cause some to wonder who's really in charge there.
M3 Akorra Encombi Mental Case 6 -- 8 3 Human, Quisling, Psychic, Manic Last Rank. Can't attack. BMI, Government and D'Aubainne characters gain +4 vs. Encombi. Constant treatment by BMI Specialists has made Akorra "worse".
M4 Amelia Westergaard WDAB Program Coordinator 4 2 5 2* Human, Media, Entrepreneur +1 Pull to call Media cards or Toons. Amelia's successful choice of programming on WDAB has made her one of the most influential businesswomen on Al Amarja.
M5 Anna Delaware Discouraging Advice Columnist 2 1 2 -- Human, Media, Depressive Crank to flip a cranked character. Oh, what's the use?
M6 Arne Anders Berserk Biker 2 8 0 0 Human, Aries, Manic Front rank. The best defense is a good offense.
M7 Backstab Whammy -- +3 -- -- Cloak Play any time on any character attacking another character in the same conspiracy. You scratch my back and I'll…
M8 Beeper Gear 3* -- -- -- BMI Pay pull equal to the Character's cost to uncrank him/her. Cards may be cranked out of turn to pay for this effect. BMI professionals are on call 24/7.
M9 Billy Hanson Pitiful Malingerer 1 1 3 1 Human, Media Characters with "Dr." in their names gain the ability "Crank to pop Billy Hanson." Billy is often used in charity drives to help raise funds. However, he has managed to avoid any real medical analysis.
M10 BMI Resource 0 -- -- * BMI, Fringe 4 pull to call BMI cards or 1 pull to call Fringe cards. Unique. The Behavior Modification Institute was founded by Dr. Mercy Trent to help Al Amarjan's citizens cope with the double-lives that many of them lead.
M11 Breakdown Whammy -- -- -- -- Manic, Depressive Flip any one human or mutant character. Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrghhhhh!
M12 Brutal Herzog Cowardly Bully 1 5 4 -- Human, Criminal Cannot attack unless another character gangs up with him. Brutal is a real tough guy when he has someone to back him up.
M13 C142-A Laboratory Rat 2 0 1 * Animal, Lurker +1 Pull to call Animals or Lurkers. Crank to give an adjacent character the ability to bypass to attack a BMI. May be called for 0 cost if Squeaks is in the same conspiracy. Cannot use gear. C142-A escaped from BMI after an experimental drug endowed her with subgenius intelligence. On her way out, she made maps of how to get back in.
M14 Chump Whammy -- -- -- -- Cloak Pop any one character in your own conspiracy (no Save) and lose 1 Influence. Betrayal breeds mistrust, but sometimes it's better to cut your losses.
M15 Clara Bowman Unshakable Housewife 3 2 4 -- Human, Depressive Environmentals and Conditions played on Clara have no effect on her. Everything is fine -- just fine.
M16 Clinical Depression Condition 3 -- -- -- Depressive Target human or mutant gains the trait Depressive and cannot crank or flip, but may be cranked or flipped by other card effects. --
M17 Colossus Stravinski Kami Kaze Cabbie 3 4 4 -- Human, Giovanni's Cabbie, Manic Bulldoze. If Colossus bulldozes, he must continue attacking until he is popped or until he pops the last legal target in the file. He'll get you where you're going, one way or another.
M18 Consumer Culture Environmental 3* -- -- -- SubRandom, Cut Ups Anyone with at least one card in his or her hand may crank this card to replace his or her hand with an unopened booster pack from the On the Edge standard or unlimited editions or any On the Edge expansion set. The original hand is set aside and are considered out of play. This card uncranks on your turn as normal. There's plenty more where that came from!
M19 Daizie Bumbling Bee 4* 4 4 * Toon Each time Daizie flips a character, place a token on her card. Crank to generate pull equal to the number of tokens on Daizie's card (tokens are then discarded when she uncranks). Characters who would be popped by Daizie in combat are flipped instead. Immune: any effect that would permanently remove her from play except in terms of uniqueness. Daizie's skimpy costume and ability to unwittingly foil the plans of those much smarter than she help attract viewers to her prime-time cartoon show. Her tag-line "Whoopsie Daizie!" graces Daizie merchandise around the world.
M20 Dead Celebrity Tour Resource 1* -- -- * Artist, Media Crank for non-Influence pull equal to the number of Artists in your dead pile. You may use counters to keep track. Artistic value often increases after the creator's demise, if properly marketed.
M21 Disposable Man Wasteful Supervillain 4* 3 3 -- Toon Crank to give any one gear in play the ability "Discard after next use" permanently. Characters who would be popped by Disposable Man in combat are flipped instead. Immune: any effect that would permanently remove him from play except in terms of uniqueness. Exclude: Recycler. Disposable Man foils his enemies by voiding the warranties on their favorite gadgets.
M22 Doldrums Condition 4 -1 -1 -1* Depressive Target human or mutant suffers -1 AP, DP and Pull (Pull cannot go negative). A bad case of the blahs will sap anyone's initiative.
M23 Don Rozo Irritable Extrovert 3 4* 2* -- Glug, Manic +1 Power if at least one other Glug is in the same conspiracy. Immune: Astral, Control, Psychic. He's an example of Aggression Therapy carried to the extreme.
M24 Doppleganger Renegade Tulpa 4 * * * Tulpa, Psychic Has the same AP, DP and Pull as the character it attacks, or that attacks it. Some how, somewhere, a tulpa got misplaced. It now wanders around, mimicking anyone it encounters.
M25 Dovid Silverette BMI Janitor 1 3 3 -- Human, Gladstein, BMI, Cloak -- Dovid is a Gladstein undercover agent, sent to spy on BMI; at least they think he is.
M26 Dr. Athanasius Pope Medicinal Mixologist 3 1 4 1 Human, Entrepreneur Crank to make any one character Immune: Manic, Depressive until the end of the turn. Every night is Group Therapy night at Pope's Tavern.
M27 Dr. Hannibal Micron Neurosurgeon 3 1 3 -- Human, BMI, Control, Fringe Crank to call a Radio Receiver Implant for no cost onto any character that he could attack. This does not count against the 0-cost card limit. Dr. Micron has found a sure cure for headaches.
M28 Dr. Louis Kessler Hypnotherapist 3 2* 2* 1 Human, BMI '+1 vs. Humans and Mutants. Crank to control any Manic or Depressive. Most BMI patients have had a session with Dr. Kessler -- they just don't remember it.
M29 Dr. Mercy Trent BMI Founder 5 4 5 2* Human, BMI +2 Pull to call BMI cards. Crank to control any BMI. Immune: Manic, Depressive. Its true founder, she is in control of those who think they are in control at BMI.
M30 Dr. Noshiro Tanaka De-Programmer 4 1 3 -- Human, Trident, Neutralizer Flip any time to save a Manic or Depressive. The saved character flips. When the target character unflips, replace the trait Manic or Depressive with Trident or Neutralizer. Exclude: BMI. Dr. Tanaka seeks to undo BMI's damage, one person at a time.
M31 Dr. Svetlana Davidovich Psychoterrorist 4 2 4 1 Human, BMI Crank to give the trait Manic or Depressive to any human or mutant that she could attack. She brings out the worst in people.
M32 Frank Petri Bug Magnet 3 1 1 -- Human Conditions may be played on Frank for no cost. Although he seems 'normal', strange things tend to happen to Frank.
M33 Goth Pittoni Suicidal Serial Killer 3 5 5 -- Mutant, Manic Surprise. Goth must attack a legal target each turn. If there are no legal targets, or if Goth fails to pop a character, he is removed from play, except in terms of uniqueness. --
M34 Groupthink Condition 4 -- -- -- Manic Select another condition in play when this condition is called. Target human or mutant is affected by that other condition as though it was played on him/her. If the other condition is popped, Groupthink is popped, too. Me too.
M35 Growl Bipolar Bear 3 3* 3* -- Animal When called Growl can choose to have +4 AP and the trait Manic or +4 DP and the trait Depressive. Cannot use gear. --
M36 Happy Thoughts Whammy -- -- -- -- -- Pop one Manic or Depressive condition. Play any time. --
M37 The Hoarder Selfish Supervillain 4* 2 4 -- Toon Crank to give any character the ability "Gear may not be moved from [the character]" permanently. Gear may not be moved from The Hoarder. Characters who would be popped by The Hoarder in combat are flipped instead. Immune: any effect that would permanently remove him from play except in terms of uniqueness. Exclude: Recycler. The Hoarder promotes greed and materialism. The Hoarder, Disposable Man and Litterbug form the dark triumvirate dedicated to destroying the planet.
M38 James R. Cartwright Disturbed Writer 3 -- 2 2 Human, Hermetic, Artist, Depressive Last Rank. His stories have become darker and more unsettling. Consequently, more people are reading them.
M39 John Smith Bored Immigrant 1 2 2 -- Human, Burger -- He's hoping his life on Al Amarja will be more interesting.
M40 Johnny Aardvark Toonie Coordinator 2 3 3 * Human, Toon Crank for +2 pull to call Toonies. Johnny's ability to recite the lines from every Melvis cartoon from memory makes him the role model for the Toonie masses.
M41 Katya Pernon Pharmacist 2 1 2 * Human, BMI +2 pull to call Drug cards. Crank to call any number of Cyanide Capsules for no cost. This does not count against the 0-cost card limit. Katya is the lead pharmacist at BMI and also manages the surplus from the toxicology labs.
M42 Lester Rewind Over-Extended Agent 0 1* 1* -- Human, Manic, Aries, Cabal, Chaos, Cloak, Compton, Cut Up, Dog Face, Giovanni's Cabbie, Gladstein, Glorious Lord, Government, Hangman, Hermetic, Le Thuy, Lurker, Net, Neutralizer, Quisling, SubRandom, Terminal, Throckmorton, Trident, Vornite +2 Power vs characters who do not share a trait (other than Human or Manic) with Lester. Everyone owns a piece of Lester.
M43 Liorah Kelly Sketch Artist 2 1 3 -- Human, Law, DBI, Artist Crank to add +1 to an attack on any Criminal. Liorah helps others track down dangerous criminals, and sells seascape drawings at the local market in her spare time.
M44 Litterbug Sinister Slob 4* 4 2 * Toon +2 Pull to call Gear. Gear called by Litterbug may be placed into any conspiracy as though it were a character. Gear so placed cannot be used by any character, cannot be cranked for effect, and does not block characters. Characters who would be popped by Litterbug in combat are flipped instead. Immune: any effect that would permanently remove him from play except in terms of uniqueness. Exclude: Recycler. Litterbug threatens to bury the world in garbage.
M45 Loftus Williams Transfer Patient 0 3 1 -- Human, Burger, Manic -- Loftus' psychiatrist recommended that he come to Al Amarja for treatment and relaxation.
M46 Martyr Complex Condition 4 -- -- -- Depressive Target human or mutant gains the trait Depressive and the ability to Martyr for any character. Target must martyr for the next character popped in the same conspiracy. --
M47 Mary/Jane Vengeful Schitzophrenic 2 1* 4* -- Human, Depressive If Mary is popped and not Saved, she is flipped instead. When she unflips, she returns as Jane with 5 AP, 1 DP, pull=0 and the trait Manic instead of Depressive. When the going gets tough, Mary gets going and Jane gets tough.
M48 Melvis Animated Alien 4* 7 7 -- Toon Immune: Control. Characters who would be popped by Melvis in combat are flipped instead. Immune: any effect that would permanently remove him from play except in terms of uniqueness. Melvis is one of the most powerful, and therefore most popular cartoon character on Al Amarja. Or perhaps it's the other way around.
M49 Method Stacks Registered Nurse 2 2 3 -- Human, BMI Crank to add +1 to an attack on any Manic or Depressive. A senior nurse at BMI, he has the inside scoop on most of BMI's case histories.
M50 Modol Tablet Gear 1* -- -- -- Drug, BMI Character is Immune: Manic, Depressive and loses the traits Manic and Depressive until the end of the turn. Discard when used. A drug developed at BMI is used to help keep its patients even.
M51 Mope Sullen Mutant 1 3 3 -- Mutant, Depressive, Psychic Combatants with, and characters adjacent (not diagonal) to, Mope suffer -1 Power. Hanging around Mope can be a real downer.
M52 Nancy Drone BMI Orderly 1 3 3 -- Human, BMI -- Nancy keeps the wrong people out and the right people in.
M53 Nazar Hazahd Mad Prophet 1 1 1 * Human, Low Life, Psychic, Manic +1 Pull to call Low Lifes. Nazar's predicts a time when the low shall rise and become a force to be reckoned with.
M54 Nazar Hazahd Clairvoyant 2 2 3 1* Human, Throckmorton, Psychic +1 Pull to call Low Lifes and Throckmortons. It turns out Nazar was right.
M55 Nervous Humphrey Co-Dependant Hypchondriac 2 * * -- Human, Depressive Gains +1 Power for every character with "Dr." in his or her name in play. Nervous gains self-confidence when there are a lot of professionals around to tell him how screwed up he really is.
M56 Nino Tower Terminal Security Guard 3 4 4 -- Human, Terminal, Government, Manic Immune: Surprise. Cannot be bypassed. Nino has become hypervigilant since being put on probation for letting so many questionable persons into Al Amarja.
M57 Obsessive Compulsive Behavior Condition 2* -- -- -- Manic Play on a cranked human or mutant only. Target character must crank (or flip) each turn to perform the last action it took before the condition was played, if possible. Target may not crank or flip for any other reason (although, target may be cranked or flipped by other card effects). Again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again…
M58 Partial Calloway Sporadic Psychic 2 1 2 -- Human, Psychic Flip to view a card, chosen randomly, from another player's hand. Although she can't control what visions she receives, they usually turn out to be accurate.
M59 Pepper Liebowitz Irrepressible Optimist 3 2 2 -- Human, Vornite, Manic Combatants with, and characters adjacent (not diagonal) to, Pepper gain +1 Power. Immune: Depressive. Pepper is naturally helpful, sometimes to her own detriment.
M60 Pointless Meaningless Meanderer 0* 0 0 =0 Human, Low Life, Depressive Does not count against the 0-cost card limit. Not everyone has a purpose in life.
M61 Popularity Contest Environmental 4* -- -- -- Media The object of the game is now to start the turn with 12 characters in your conspiracy (or 24 in a team's combined conspiracy). While Popularity Contest is active, players may not accumulate Influence. This card pops, and is popped by, any other card that changes the object of the game. It's not what you know, but who you know that counts.
M62 Portland Smythe Comic Shop Owner 1 1 2 1* Human, Entrepreneur, Slacker +1 Pull to call Toons, Slackers and Book cards. Portland runs the MicroCosmix store, a popular hang-out and information distribution center for collectors and hipsters alike.
M63 Rabid Weasels Gear 3 2 2 -- Animal, BMI, Fringe Character may have the Rabid Weasels fight in his/her place in any combat. The character is not affected by the combat. The weasels are not affected by conditions played on the character using them, nor can they use Gear. Discard after this card is used. Secret BMI experiments produce bags of rabid weasels that occasionally are shipped for disposal.
M64 Radio Receiver Implant Condition 4* -- -- -- BMI, Fringe Target can be controlled by any character with a Remote Control Transmitter. BMI professionals have found that, sometimes, self-control isn't enough.
M65 The Recycler EcoHero 4* 4 4 -- Toon Crank to take any one gear in any dead pile, or any one gear played into a conspiracy by Litterbug, and play it on The Recycler. Characters who would be popped by The Recycler in combat are flipped instead. Immune: any effect that would permanently remove him from play except in terms of uniqueness. Exclude: Disposable Man, Litterbug and The Hoarder. The Recycler is one of the more popular cartoons on WDAB primetime. Early Recycler comics are valued highly by Toon enthusiasts.
M66 Recycler #1 Gear/Secret 1 * * * Book, Toon User gains +1 power vs Recycler, Disposable Man, Litterbug or the Hoarder. User may crank for +2 pull to call Toons and may call bulleted cost cards as though s/he has the trait Toon. Unique. Only one copy of Recycler #1 is known to still exist, the remaining issues having been destroyed by Disposable Man.
M67 Remote Control Transmitter Gear 4* -- -- -- BMI, Fringe Crank character to control any target with a Radio Receiver Implant. --
M68 Rochelle van der Horst Chief Animator 2 2* 2* 1* Human, Artist, Media, Toon +2 Pull to call Toon cards. +2 Power vs Toons Rochelle's creations often take on a life of their own.
M69 Safari Jones Urban Hunter 2 4* 4* -- Human, BMI, Neutralizer +2 vs Manics and Depressives. BMI pays him to recapture escaped patients.
M70 San Xiao Ping Mail Courier 3 3 2 -- Human, Government May Bypass one active character. He knows where everybody lives.
M71 Separation Anxiety Condition 2 -- -- -- Depressive Target human or mutant flips whenever gear or a condition is (re)moved from the character. Breaking up is hard to do.
M72 Solidarity Environmental 4 -- -- -- -- Players may have four ranks in their conspiracies while Solidarity is in effect. If a player has four ranks when Solidarity is popped, s/he must immediately discard all cards in one rank to bring it back to three. If the conspiracy has less than four ranks when Solidarity is popped, then no cards are discarded. The players loses Influence equal to the Pull of any characters that are discarded this way. Unity among the masses can be a powerful thing. But it can also be devastating when it falls apart.
M73 Sparky Johansson Cartoon Voice-over 1 1 2 * Human, Media, Toon +1 Pull to call Toons. Sparky provides many of the voices of the cartoon characters shown on WDAB.
M74 Starwalk Fidgety Lurker 2 4 4 -- Mutant, Lurker, Manic If Starwalk is not cranked, she must move to another legal position in your Conspiracy during your Shift phase. She is not cranked when moved in this way. Starwalk's new penchant for jumped espresso has had a couple of effects.
M75 Stick of Dynamite Gear 2* +4 +4 -- Weapon, Toon Combatants who would be popped by the combat are flipped instead. Cannot be used in conjunction with another weapon. Discard when used. These explosive red cylinders are the favorite gags of Toon enthusiasts.
M76 Synaptic Manipulation Condition 3* -- -- -- BMI Target Animal, Glug, Kergillian or Pharoah can be targeted and affected by Manic and/or Depressive conditions and whammies. Non-human minds are not usually subject to human weaknesses; but, BMI has found a way to fix this.
M77 Terrence Codgers Jumpy Operative 1 4 3 -- Human, Cloak, Manic Terrence is automatically popped when attacked by any character with Surprise. Terrence hates surprises.
M78 Tiffany Trilobite Cartoon Champion 4* * * 2* Toon, Cut-Up +1 Power for every Toon in play. +1 Pull to call Cut-Ups and Toons. Immune: Control. Characters who would be popped by Tiffany in combat are flipped instead. Immune: any effect that would permanently remove her from play except in terms of uniqueness. Despite all attempts to remove her from the airwaves, Tiffany continues to develop an ever increasing fanbase.
M79 Tihua Chichetzu Alchemical Engineer 2 1 4 * Human, Guild, Fringe, Astral Crank to pop one gear card currently on Tihua and generate 1 Pull. +1 Pull to call Guilds. Tihua has +1 Pull when cranked. Tihua has discovered the secret of turning junk into gold. However, she hasn't admitted to her colleagues that she does so through magic as much as through science.
M80 Toon Con Resource 0 -- -- * Toon Crank for 4 Pull to call Toon cards. Unique. This convention attracts an assortment of fanatics.
M81 Toonie Generic Fanatic 1 1 2 -- Human, Toon Not Unique. May Gang Up with any other Toonies. Toonies are the ubiquitous fans of the Toon industry. They are really obnoxious, and dangerous in numbers.
M82 Toonie Generic Fanatic 1 2 1 -- Human, Toon Not Unique. May Gang Up with any other Toonies. Toonies are the ubiquitous fans of the Toon industry. They are really obnoxious, and dangerous in numbers.
M83 Unexpected Side-Effects Whammy -- -- -- -- -- You may call a condition onto a Character who already has a condition, even if that Character cannot normally be targeted by the new condition. The new Condition gains the traits of the first Condition. If the first Condition is popped, so is the new one. Sometimes you get more than you bargained for.
M84 Various Lynx Gun for Hire * * * =0 Mutant, Criminal Various's Power equals the amount of pull used to call him. After combat, if Various is not popped, he returns to his owner's hand and any gear or conditions on Various pops. Various gives only as good as he gets.
M85 Wallow Gruesome Hemophile 2 6 4 -- Mutant, Glorious Lord, Manic Wallow flips each time he pops a character in combat. Wallow has a disgusting ritual he performs after each kill.
M86 Walter Reflex Copycat 2 2 2 -- Human, Depressive Conditions played on adjacent (not diagonal) characters affect Walter as though they were played on him, as well. With no personality of his own, Walter borrows from those around him.
M87 Worm Icky Extraterrestrial 4* 4 3 -- Alien Bulldoze. May not use gear. If Worm wins a combat, it may continue and attack any character adjacent to its previous target using normal Bulldoze rules. Up to three targets may be attacked this way each time Worm bulldozes. Eeewwww... YUK!
M88 Yakwoman Deluded Superhero 4 6 6 -- Human, Manic, Toon -- This Toonie believes she really is Yakwoman.
M89 Zachary Taylor Undercover Orderly 2 2 3 -- Human, DBI, Cloak Flip any time to cancel the action of any BMI, including combat. This action pops all gear and conditions on Zachary. DBI assigned Zachary to keep an eye on BMI. He periodically undergoes rigorous deprogramming to avoid becoming controlled by those he spies on.
M90 Zombie Condition 3 -- -- -- Astral, Saou Target human loses all special abilities and traits (other than Human) while this condition is in place. Target Human is Immune: Manic, Depressive while Zombie is in effect. Don't just do something, stand there!
Back to Top Last Updated: 09/29/99