After a successful (and slightly radioactive) submission process, my first independent title under the Slick Dungeon Press imprint is available now.
It’s a 4-page, high-octane battle royale designed for fast play and maximum destruction. Whether you’re a veteran GM looking for a chaotic one-shot filler or a new player who just wants to punch a building, this game is for you.
Thanks for supporting this new journey for Slick Dungeon!
The game is a fast-paced smackdown fight for 2-6 players and takes about 30 minutes to play. All you need are 7 six sided dice, pencils, paper and the rules. If you do end up playing, it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Come check out my new Substack! Hello dungeon crawlers! I’ve got a bit of news I’m both happy and a bit nervous to share. I have started a new Substack called Insight Check and it is going to be a place where I take a very deep dive into various topics on tabletop roleplaying games. My first piece there is all about why I think 2025 was a landmark year for TTRPGs and could prove to be even more consequential than 2014 when D&D 5th edition released.
If you love this blog, no need to worry, I’ll still be posting here about all kinds of things, including TTRPGs. I just wanted to give Substack a try and see how it goes. Just so you have an idea what is coming up on Insight Check, here is what is coming in the next couple of posts. First, as I said I break down why 2025 was a landmark year for the industry. Next, I’ll be taking a good, deep dive into the Satanic Panic and how that still has an effect on TTRPGs. Then, I will be providing an in depth list of new player tips to help you get your games going with advantage.
There’s no pressure to join and I’m not charging anything for access. But if you have enjoyed my TTRPG work at any point it would mean the world to me if you’d come check out my new Substack.
If you are still hesitant and just want to read the first post I’ve provided a button where you can do that as well.
If you’re still not sold on it, no worries, just keep reading this here blog and we can still be friends. And if you just want to read something TTRPG related right on this blog check out my handy dandy list of Top 5 Call of Cthulhu campaigns here!
As always, thank you for reading. I hope you all have a great start to 2026 and expect more from me soon!
The Enclave TTRPG only requires an understanding of the rules and a bit of paper and pencils to play
Enclave is a tabletop roleplaying game with an ambitious goal. Allow players to play without the use of random number generators like dice or any other assistance outside of pen, paper, and imagination. It’s one of the more interesting games I have played lately and I’m here to tell you who it’s for, who should avoid it, and what’s coming next for the game. I was given a complimentary edition so I could review the game but I have no other affiliation with the makers of the game. My opinions here are all my own. So, let’s dive right in!
What is Enclave?
As I said above this game is diceless. But don’t be fooled, there are rules to the game. And, in fact, playing the game feels a lot more intense than tons of games which do use dice. I’ll get into why that is later in this review but first let’s talk about the concept of the game.
The setting of the game is called Manifold. This is an infinite realm with the locations, events, and inhabitants all determined by the players. Inside of the world of Manifold, there is a group called the Enclave. Each mission starts with a briefing from the members of this entity to the PCs. From there, the players carry out actions, the GM (in this case called a Conduit) narrates NPCs, setting, etc. However, in this game there is a little extra buy in from the players as they can influence parts of the setting.
The structure of the game, in my opinion, is excellent for one-shot adventures, although no doubt, long campaigns are run in this system. Once the mission briefing is done, the action is intense and the game flows very well. Surprisingly so without dice. But there is a caution here. The setup to get to the mission takes more time than many other games. We’ll get more into why that is in a bit.
What do you need to play?
I love a TTRPG that has a low bar of entry to play. Meaning, you don’t need to spend tons of money on things like dice, battle maps, minfigures, core books, etc. And as far as I can tell, this game has the lowest bar of entry of almost any TTRPG I have played. All you need is 2-5 friends, the ruleset, character sheets and something to write with. That’s literally it. No need to invest heavily into lots of extraneous stuff here.
How do you play?
The game is set up with a GM and players. The GM is called the Conduit. The Conduit acts as the moderator of gameplay and narrates the non-player characters and world as in most games. However, there are a few differences. First, there is buy in from the players right at the outset. They give the GM keywords for the Conduit to work with when designing the world. This challenges the GM to incorporate those words into the adventure in some way.
The players and Conduit then talk a little bit about the type of setting they are about to play in. The Conduit generally has final say but the players are encouraged to make suggestions.
Players come equipped with character sheets or make them there prior to the session. The game uses 12 stats that function much like in any roleplaying game with dice, there is just less math involved. There are 6 Classes which each use different Abilities. Again, there is less math involved than in something like Dungeons & Dragons but it would be a mistake to say there are no mechanics here.
While the 6 Classes do represent enough types of characters to slot into most types of scenarios, if I had one complaint about the game, it would be that I would like a few more Classes to choose from. But for your early sessions in Enclave, 6 is probably plenty.
Session time is about 2-3 hours
To run a successful session of Enclave it took my group roughly 3 hours. There are four of us, just to give you a picture of how long it might take. With more people, it will take longer. But one thing to note here, is that the time of actual “in-game” play was probably closer to 45 minutes. We did our character creation, set up the kind of world we wanted to be in (sort of a high-tech fantasy style of setting with a bit of bioweaponry happening alongside magic), and then gave the Conduit time to create the setting.
At the start of the mission, Enclave gives a briefing and then basically teleports the characters to wherever they need to be. There’s no long travel time or mapping things out hex by hex in this game.
We did our mission and then at the end, the Conduit asks for feedback about the session. Players and Conduit all contribute to the discussion, pointing out what they liked and didn’t like and how things could be improved or what they want to see more of.
Who is this game for?
If you’ve been reading this review so far and thought, that sounds like a lot of improvising and character acting all around the table, you are absolutely right! The game is very immersive which I think is a huge strength. Unlike games with dice, there’s no real break from your turn as you need to be paying close attention to what all of the people are doing at any given moment. The Conduit also has to be on their toes to make sure everyone is getting an equal amount of stage time. It’s definitely a balancing act.
My group plays D&D most of the time. Parts of this game felt natural and some of it took more effort. Even having my character sheet in front of me (I played a Gunsligner because, well, Gunslinger) when the Conduit asked me what my Sensory stat was, I found myself almost reaching for imaginary dice. And there were a couple of times where the Conduit started to say “make a check” rather than just asking what the stat was. All this is just to say, it does take some getting used to.
People who love really focusing on the character narrative will absolutely fall in love with this game. People who can really pay attention and want to support other players will also fall in love with this game. If immersion is your thing, this should be your go to game, hands down, bar none.
Who is this game not for?
Big number crunchers, min-maxers, and rules lawyers should all sit this one out. If you want to memorize creature statistics, know exactly what weapon to use to just nuke your opponent, and love the idea of rolling handfuls of dice and adding up the total, this ain’t the game for you.
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to play TTRPGs that way. Everyone has their own preferred style. I tend to lean more towards narrative than mathematics myself but crunchy games are their own kind of fun. Enclave has mechanics, there are numbers, and equipment and all that too. But there is not a lot of math.
Do you hate the part of roleplaying where you have to narrate what your character is doing? If you would rather be the person who just says, “I hit it with my longsword” over and over, this game isn’t for you.
A Gunslinger in Enclave
How I recommend using Enclave
I’ve only played one session of this game so far but I do have some advice on how to make the most use out of it. Because there are so few materials needed, and because it only takes a few players, my recommendation here is to use this as your go to one shot game. If you have a regular group but people can’t all make it? This is perfect. Hardly any setup (although definitely recommended for the Conduit to prepare beforehand and for everyone to read the rules) means you can pull this out pretty quick and not lose a whole night of gaming.
I suspect doing this often enough could lead you to a sort of secondary fill in campaign for those days when people have to miss a regular session. The premise is basically get in, do the mission, get out. It’s not as important the exact same people are there every session. But whoever is there needs to be ready to roleplay.
How do I get Enclave? And what’s next?
If you like what you are hearing here, I have some good news. The original game was funded through Kickstarter. And there is going to be an updated version with more classes, different items, and all sorts of bells and whistles called the Enclave: Aspirant edition launching on Kickstarter soon! I recommend following it if you are interested in potentially backing. It’s an independent game by independent creators and supporters of TTRPGs should show it some love.
Almost forgot the art
You didn’t think I would post a TTRPG review without mentioning the artwork did you? Of course not! The game is only about 60 pages long so there is not a ton of art here. But what there is really pops. Greg Taylor is the artist and there’s some standout work. I do wish there was more of it, so I’m hoping in the next edition he gets a little more page space. It all works quite well as far as the narrative of the rules goes. But it’s clearly a big challenge because one of the core concepts of Enclave is that it can take place in almost any setting. It’s tough to cover all those bases.
Want to learn more about Enclave?
I know it’s hard to get a sense of how a game plays just by reading a review. So, I have some ways for you to see the game in action.
Buy the game! (I mean yeah that’s obvious right?)
There is a YouTube channel where Robby Howell, the creator of the game, explains what it is and has actual plays on there. They are a lot of fun to watch. I’ve embedded the first video below so check it out!
You can join their Discord where they discuss al things Enclave and it’s an active community always looking to get a game going.
Some shameless self promotion here. I’ll be doing deeper dives on rules and gameplay experience, not only for this first edition, but also for the second edition once it is out, so keep an eye out for your ol’ pal Slick Dungeon to tell you more!
In Conclusion
Want a fun, fast paced game, where the focus is entirely on the roleplay and not what the dice have to say? Enclave is for you! Not a lot of prep work, not a lot of math, but a ton of narrative focus.
If you truly do love crunchy games (nothing at all wrong with that either btw) then pass this one by, there are other games for you.
If you’ve played this game before I’d love to hear what you thought in the comments below. Did it take you a minute to get used to having nothing to roll like it did me?
Hello everyone, Slick Dungeon here. I’m finally back to do the next entry in my How to play Call of Cthulhu series. This time we’re talking Skills. I’ll go over what they are and how they are used in the game. If you’re new to this game or haven’t seen my earlier posts, start here.
There is an extensive list of skills in the Keeper Rulebook so I won’t be talking about each one individually here. Rather we’re going to talk about the idea of what skills are, some ways they come up in game play, and some things to keep in mind when choosing skills for your investigator.
Skills defined
This will probably sound obvious but a skill is something your character can do. They will have some skills they excel at and others they are very limited in. A taxi driver in New York City might have excellent skill at Drive Auto but would be unlikely to have great skill in Pharmacy. It could happen but it’s just not likely. And it will depend on the background of your character and the circumstances of your campaign.
The skills in the game are represented by a percentage. The higher your investigator’s percentage is in a certain skill, the more likely they are to succeed at any checks made involving that skill. You are limited by the game rules as to how many skills and to what percentage your investigator can have. And you will want to think carefully about what skills would be best to cultivate not only for your investigator but for the era, location, and circumstances of the scenario you are playing in.
Below I will give you the example from the book so you know what skill points mean.
Skill points
On page 54 of the Keeper Rulebook they have a handy chart you can reference if you are not sure how skilled your character is.
Skill points reference chart from page 54 of the Keeper Rulebook by Chaosium
As you can see, it’s advantageous to be higher in any skill you might want to use in the game. But it’s very difficult to be higher than 89% in any particular skill. This wouldn’t be just someone who spent a lifetime honing a skill, they would also be someone who is more of an expert than almost anyone else.
On the opposite end, anyone with 01%-05% has no skill to speak of. When you have a skill this low, you are sometimes able to increase the skill during the game but you have low odds of succeeding on a skill check involving this skill.
The majority of your skills are going to fall somewhere in the middle of this range. There are differing degrees to which you can be successful with these skills. If your skill is above 50% you could make a living at it but you’re not considered a true expert here.
One thing to keep in mind as you are looking at your skills (and that I tended to forget when I first started playing) is that you typically want to roll under your skill percentage to succeed. This is beneficial because the higher percentage you have, the easier it is to succeed. However, progressing in that skill becomes more difficult the higher your percentage is. For example, if you are learning to skateboard and you have never done this before, it’s easy to go from novice to neophyte. But once you become a well known and skilled skateboarder it is much more difficult to go from amateur to professional. And even harder to go from professional to expert.
Skill specializations
Within certain skills there are specializations. For example your investigator might be great at a particular kind of science. Maybe they are a physicist. While a physicist understands science broadly, she isn’t necessarily an expert in biology. The rule book will tell you which group of skills have a specialization. Another example is fighting. You can specialize in certain types of fighting. But if the skill group is specialized you can’t be an expert in that general skill. Our physicist can be an expert in physics but she can’t be an expert in just science in general.
Opposing Skill
For many of the skills listed in the book, there is a section giving guidance about opposing skills and what the difficulty of success is. Let’s go back to our example of the physicist. She wants to conduct an experiment in her lab. She has all of the proper equipment and a hypothesis. She’s up to date on the latest academic research. And she’s got plenty of time to complete the task.
In this situation, the Keeper will likely call for an opposing skill check with a regular difficulty. This means to succeed at her experiment, the player would need to roll equal to or below the skill value of the investigator.
This is a normal experiment where things go well.
Now, let’s take that same example and add some complications. Instead of doing the experiment in her lab, our scientist has found a strange substance in the woods. It’s an area where people have been disappearing and there is no explanation for it. She goes back to her lab but it has burned down. She has some equipment at home and can use her small kitchen for the experiment. This is going to be far more difficult than the first example. This will likely be considered a Hard check by the Keeper. In this case, our investigator has to roll equal to or below half of her skill value. If her skill is 80%, instead of rolling equal to or under 80, she must roll equal to or under 40 to succeed.
Finally, there is an Extreme difficulty. For this, let’s use our example above but add more complications. Now, she’s in her house conducting her experiment but someone set a fire to her house and she has to work fast. In this case the player must roll under one-fifth of her skill value. She has to roll a 16 or less to succeed. Not impossible but very difficult.
Pushing and combining Skills
We’ll get more into this as I dive deeper into game mechanics in a future post but there are sometimes chances to “push” a roll. Basically what it gets down to is when you fail a check there may be circumstances which allow you to roll again. However, as nice as that sounds, there are risks. If you push a roll and then fail again, something even worse than your first failure is likely to happen. It’s a balance knowing when you should push a roll and when you should take the loss. And it’s one of the things that makes the game fun!
Another type of roll you might be asked to make is a combined skill roll. There are two ways this can happen. In the first situation you will roll once but compare your result against two skills. For this result to succeed you have to roll under both skills. If you have a skill with an 80% and one with a 60% and you roll 70 you do not succeed. The second way this can happen is the Keeper may allow you to use one roll and compare the result to either skill. In this example, if you have an 80% in one and a 60% in the other and you roll a 70 you do succeed because you rolled under 80.
This can feel a little awkward at first but as you play it will start to come naturally. And we’ll talk about it more in a later post.
Optional rules
There are some optional rules in the end of chapter on skills in the Keeper Rulebook. These have to do with transferable skills in the specializations and languages. I’m not really going to go into those here. These rules are optional so it’s up to the discretion of the Keeper. What they boil down to is when you become more of an expert in one particular part of your specialization, this might transfer into the skills in the rest of that skill group. It does make sense that someone who already speaks three languages might have less difficulty in understanding a fourth than someone who is monolingual learning a second language. But we’ll leave that up to your Keeper.
In conclusion
Skills in Call of Cthulhu are a huge part of the game and integral to how an investigator operates in the game world. The chapter on skills has a ton of options so it does help to know what the background of your investigator is before even looking in that part of the book. We’ll get more into how they are used as I continue this series.
In the next post I’ll get into some specifics about game play rules, not including combat, chases, sanity, or magic. I’ll touch on each of those subjects with later posts. For now, I hope this helps you to understand skills a bit and I’ll see you next time!
The 2025 TTRPG challenge is a little tricky. Even if you love tabletop role playing games, it’s not always possible to play a game with your friends. Scheduling is a nightmare. Not all of the activities here are playing TTRPGs. But everything is related to them. Just do your best and try to get as many checked off as you can. Get your free copy here or at the image below. And get started on your challenge!
Slick Dungeon’s 2025 TTRPG Challenge!
Here’s how I plan to meet the challenge!
I’m going to play a new system I have been reading called Along the Leyline. It’s a rules lighter form of D&D. I’m excited to give it a shot. I’ll also be reviewing it here.
Check this blog later this year for something I write for a TTRPG. Can’t say what it is yet but I’m excited for it!
I’m going to read the rules for The Walking Dead role playing game.
I’m going to play the Alien role playing game.
I’ll watch a cosmic horror film for this one.
I’m going to read the Pathfinder player manual
I’ll either do Savage Worlds or Pulp Cthulhu or maybe even Achtung Cthulhu for this one.
I can always re-watch E.T.the Extra Terrestrial for this one.
Kobold press has a great monster manual called the Kobold Guide to Monsters. I’ll be reading that.
Call of Cthulhu for this one!
Not sure what kind of handout I will make but once I do, I’ll share it here.
I hear good things about Dungeon Crawl Classics so I’ll go with that one.
I hope you enjoy the challenge! Don’t forget to let me know if you play along and how it goes if you do.
Cthulhu by Gaslight by Barton, Hardy, Mason, McDonald, Ross & Wade.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wander the streets of London on a foggy night when Jack the Ripper was on the loose? What if there was something even more dangerous out there lurking in the darkness? If you want to unleash cosmic horror in the Victorian era, Cthulhu by GaslightInvestigators’ Guide is for you. I just got my hands on the book and I’ve given it a flip through so I wanted to share my thoughts with you all here. I’ll probably do a deeper dive into the nuances at a later time. But just to sum it up in a nutshell, it’s Call of Cthulhu but set in Victorian London. And I can’t wait to play it.
What is Cthulhu by Gaslight?
The tabletop role playing game Call of Cthulhu famously introduced players to the role playing potential of cosmic horror. This is a game where the heroes are decidedly human, and although investigators can be heroic, the odds of overcoming the darkness are slim. There is magic, but it’s dangerous and often deadly. The monsters in this game are so far beyond comprehension to the human mind that just seeing one is enough to drive most people to madness. There are no elves, dwarves, or halflings to help out. The players, referred to as investigators, are dreadfully, horrifically, on their own. The game is typically set in 1920’s America. But cosmic horror knows no bounds of time or place so it can often be interesting to change the location or the time period for a different flavor of play.
The gaslight era refers to the Victorian age when Queen Victoria ruled the United Kingdom. It was a time of great progress, full of innovation, and ushered in new modes of communication and transportation. But it was also a time when strict class structure was prevalent, economic and societal disparities were larger than ever, and the world was trying to come to grips with how to move forward. It’s a natural match to place cosmic horror in the same location and time period when Charles Dickens was the most famous author of all time, penny dreadful novels were available on ever street corner, and Jack the Ripper was the first killer to become a global media sensation. The potential for change, dread, and horror in this era is nearly unparalleled.
Cthulhu by Gaslight evokes this mood beautifully for a fun and terrifying experience.
What do I need to play?
As far as role playing games go, Cthulhu by Gaslight is pretty light on needed materials. You will need the Investigators’ Guide and a set of role playing dice (d12 excluded). And, of course, you need a group of people to play with.
If you have played Call of Cthulhu before, you likely have the Call of Cthulhu: Keeper Rulebook but it is not essential to have this to play the Gaslight version. In the Gaslight Investigators’ Guide they include the complete rules needed, including character creation. Still, it is nice to have the Keeper Rulebook to reference as a separate book. Do keep in mind, a Keeper book specifically for the Gaslight edition will come out sometime in the future. If you don’t have the 7th edition Keeper Rulebook already, and you only want to play in the Gaslight edition, wait until that comes out rather than buying the Keeper guide for the core game.
In other words, Cthulhu by Gaslight Investigators’ Guide is almost completely self contained. You will need the dice and friends, but you can get along with just the one book. But my advice here comes with a couple of caveats.
Two things to consider
First, if you have never played any Call of Cthulhu it can be difficult to be the Keeper. The Gaslight Keeper Rulebook is meant to give the Keeper new tools to help facilitate play and delve deeper into the history of the game. Since that book is not out yet, you may want to hold off being the Keeper until you have at least some experience with the 7th edition of Call of Cthulhu. But, it’s clear if you are experienced or creative enough, you can definitely start campaigns with just the Investigators’ Guide.
Second, if you are already an expert in the Victorian era, you might not need the upcoming Keeper Rulebook at all. It is possible to just take the original 7th edition rules, fiddle around with them a bit, and plop your investigators right into a different time period. The Investigators’ Guide for Gaslight makes it much easier and it’s a fantastic reference. But if you don’t have the disposable income to purchase the book, you can always consider putting in more work and creating Victorian campaigns of your own.
Whether or not you should buy Cthulhu by Gaslight Investigators’ Guide is up to you. But so far, I find it a great resource full of interesting tidbits, more useful for the historical aspect than the rules breakdown. I already do play 7th edition though so your circumstances may be different.
Where can I get Cthulhu by Gaslight?
There are two ways to get the book. The first, and most obvious, is directly from Chaosium. The hardcover is $49.99 and you can grab it here. There is a leatherette edition which looks absolutely gorgeous but runs at a hefty price of $99.99 and you can get that here. And Chaosium does have a PDF version you can get for a very reasonable price of $24.99 and you can get that here.
One nice thing about buying any of the physical books at Chaosium is you do get a free PDF of the book included. If you have plenty of space on your bookshelf, getting one of the physical books is the best way to go.
However, if you are like me, and your shelf space is running low, drivethrurpg can be the way to go. You can only get the PDF version there. If you are only getting the PDF version, consider purchasing it for $24.99 through my affiliate link here. It costs the same but I get a small amount of the proceeds. This helps me to keep this blog going and is extremely appreciated.
Anything else I should know?
Do keep in mind this book is labeled for mature readers. I think it can be adaptable for kids. But it touches on themes of violence, gore, drug use and sex. That’s something to keep in mind even if you are only playing with adults. A lot of horror games deal with sensitive topics like these. Just be sure you know where everyone at the table stands on what their tolerance levels are for certain topics.
The art in the book is fantastic. Check out just one piece below. It’s so evocative of the era and leaves a bit of mystery to the imagination. The book is full of great atmospheric examples like this.
A foggy morning in London during the Victorian era
Don’t forget about the free downloads. In addition to the information in the book, you can get plenty of free goodies. On the Chaosium website you can get blank investigator sheets, pre-generated character sheets, a Gaslight London map, and a player maps pack.
Anyone can get these free downloads just by visiting the website. If you really don’t want to buy the Cthulhu by Gaslight Investigators’ Guide but you still want to play in the Gaslight setting, all of those handouts go a long way to making it easier.
And the last thing to know is, if you want to make your game a little more action filled, or a little more like the show Penny Dreadful you can do so using the Pulp Cthulhu rules. This is a separate set of rules I won’t get into here. But those rules make for tougher investigators and more frequent combat.
In Conclusion
The Gaslight setting won’t be for everyone. If you already have enough of the Cthulhu resources, time, and imagination, this book is not necessary. But, if you want a new setting with an easy reference guide, some killer artwork, and tons of advice and tips, get your copy. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens when I take investigators out of the usual Cthulhu settings and put them in the fog filled streets of London when the night was lit by gas.
I also see potential here for connecting stories to some other Cthulhu settings. While it has a much different feel, I could see investigators go from Cthulhu by Gaslight to Down Darker Trails, the western setting for the game. There’s a much different set of skills needed to navigate London than there is duking it out in the wild west. A journey where we go from one spot to the other could make for some unforgettable TTRPG experiences.
If you’ve played in this setting, I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to tell me in the comments below.
And, if you’re looking for some recommendations for other Call of Cthulhu campaigns, check out my post here.
Until next time, stay safe, you never know what’s lurking in the fog.
Hello folks. I’m the first to admit that I love a dark and gritty horror tabletop role playing game like Call of Cthulhu or Vampire the Masquerade. But there are times in life when you just need a break from that. Or from your favorite fantasy game involving elves and whatnot. Maybe you want to run around an office as a Nepo Baby, reminding everyone who your father is. Or you need a game where you can let the perfectionist side of you shine. If you are looking for a fun game that is easy to learn and great for a good time, I highly recommend Interns in the Dark by Adam Yee.
Before I go any further, I just want to say, I have no affiliation with this game in any way and this is in no way sponsored content. I just really enjoyed it when I got to play it so I wanted to share it with all of you.
What is Interns in the Dark?
Interns in the Dark is a tabletop role playing game. It utilizes the same rule set Blades in the Dark uses. In case you don’t know about Bladesin the Dark, it’s basically a heist TTRPG. It’s a lot of fun to play and easier to pick up than something like Dungeons & Dragons.
Interns in the Dark flips the script on that game and makes it more of a comedic take on a heist quest. A couple of weekends ago, I got to play a session at Big Bad Con and it was one of the highlights of the convention for me. I’m not going to go over rules extensively here but I’ll tell you some basics and you can decide if it’s something you want to get for your own gaming table.
The premise of Interns in the Dark
You live in a place filled with highly successful businesses called The Bay. No matter what your character does in the game, they start working for a soul sucking mega-corporation. You might work for The Jungle, Metabook, Trinance, Ghougle, or Stonks Inc. Or your GM may decide to make their own. These companies are super innovative. At stealing each other’s intellectual property.
When you go to work, you are an innocent intern who is crucial to the success of your company. Succeed and you may be rewarded. Fail and there will be consequences.
The characters of Interns in the Dark
There are several archetypes you can play.
The Jock
Pretty much what it sounds like. You’re into sports and you’re athletic. Also good at teamwork.
The Weeb
Embrace your inner anime fan with this one. Lean into the weird and have a great time.
The Techie
Love gadgets? You’ll fit right in. You are obviously good at tech skills.
The Perfect
We all know someone like this. If you don’t then you are the perfect. You get the job done and done right no matter the cost.
The Nepo Baby
You have connections and everyone knows it. Because you constantly remind them.
The Empath
You’re way good at all the feels. And it helps you make a lot of friends.
The Mascot
You dress up in a costume. People may not know who you are but they instantly recognize your outfit.
A session
A play session of the game can run from 2-4 hours usually with 3-5 players. Making a character is easy if you’ve played any TTRPG before. If you haven’t, it might take you 30 or so minutes to figure it out.
You can play single one shot sessions to have a nice break between your other games. But you can also play a longer campaign with the book over multiple sessions.
It’s really up to you how your group plays but if you need a good dose of humor these days (and who doesn’t?) this is a great one to add to your bookshelf.
When I played, I was the mascot and we got away with our heist after a bunch of tech bros who took on the characteristics of all the U.S. ex-presidents landed their cybertrucks on top of our U-haul. But there’s no telling how a game of yours might turn out.
How can I get a copy of Interns in the Dark?
Want to start for free? Get the quickstart rules here. This is an independent TTRPG creator though, so consider giving a donation at least.
Want just the PDF? That will cost you $25. How about the softcover? That will run you $40. You can get both versions right here.
Personally, I recommend the softcover. It’s a completely reasonable price for any TTRPG book. The art is a lot of fun and it makes it easy to flip through. But needs vary so grab whatever version makes the most sense for your table.
Other than the book, all you need are some character sheets and 4 six sided dice for everyone at the table. No need to run out and get super fancy dice. (Of course that’s always fun to do though, so no shame if you still decide to do that.)
In Conclusion
I’ll probably post more about this game on occasion and get into mechanics and whatnot. But for now, just trust me, it’s a lot of fun, especially if you just need a lighthearted break now and again with your gaming group.
Have you played this one? If so, what character archetype did you play and did you succeed at your mission? Let me know in the comments.
Looking for something a little more serious?
I know a fun game involving interns is not for everyone. If you would rather play a great cosmic horror game, in my book, you can’t go wrong with Call of Cthulhu.
William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion: A Historical Call of Cthulhu RPG Adventure by David Waldron and Shannon Nicholls
Hello Investigators! I’ve got a cool review for you today with an ENNIE nominated one shot for Call of Cthulhu! This one is a bit unusual as it’s based on historical events and real locations. If you love Call of Cthulhu and you are looking for a new one shot scenario for your table, William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion is perfect for you!
(Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through this post I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you)
What is William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion?
William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion is a one shot scenario for Call of Cthulhu 7th edition. Before I go any further, I should make it clear that while I was given a complimentary copy of the scenario by the creator David Waldron. However, this is post is in no way sponsored by the creators of the scenario.
In the scenario you will find a scenario based on historical events in the 1890s in Ballarat, Australia. You will find several historical figures in the scenario, including William Bailey, Emily Bailey, Thomas Learmonth, and the Stephenite cult.
One of the coolest parts of the scenario is that all of the Investigators are also historical figures. This makes it fun to play around in the time period.
The scenario also contains 7 NPC stats, 8 player handouts, 4 pre-generated character sheets, and 4 maps.
What’s it About?
Players should skip this section. If you want to play the scenario, make sure to let your Keeper know and have them read ahead.
Spoilers Follow!
I will try to keep the spoilers light here but there are going to be some in order for me to talk about the scenario.
In the 1890’s there was a man named William Bailey. He was a successful business man who made his money in the gold trade. But the way he came about his success was far less than ethical. Bailey made many enemies, not the least of which was the Learmonth family. Bailey fooled them into thinking a gold mine was worthless, bought an anonymous stake in said mine, then kept the mine for himself, thus making himself a wealthy man. With his ill gotten gains, Bailey purchased a mansion. Recently, Bailey has seen strange things happening at his mansion. He assumes this is revenge on the part of the Learmonth family but there is a more supernatural explanation here.
Meanwhile, Bailey’s wife Emily has been in contact with the Stephenite cult. This was a real cult at the time. They have convinced Emily to allow a seance to cleanse her home.
Emily keeps this fact a secret from her husband. William, wanting to get to the bottom of things, has hired the Investigators to figure out what is going on.
I won’t go further into the details of the scenario here because what happens next is going to depend on your players.
How long does it take to Run?
The story is a one shot so it should only take about 2-3 hours to run. For some great context and an example of how the scenario was first created, you can check out this YouTube video. They have some great costuming ideas too if you want to make it even more fun at your table!
William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion Live Play
What are the Cons?
No scenario is perfect and any Keeper is always going to have to do some work to make things perfect for their table. There are some points, especially in the setup, that can feel kind of railroaded here. In a short scenario, I don’t see that as a bad thing. But there are some Keepers who can’t stand that at all so do be forewarned.
As far as the maps go, they are a little tough to read but this is because they are actual public domain sketches of the real place. My table used them just fine. But there were some areas where I had to take a pretty close look to make sure I was looking at the right place.
Overall, the pros far outweigh the cons here and it’s an enjoyable scenario, no doubt.
How can I get a copy of William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion?
If you’re still not sure if you should get this scenario let me remind you of a few things. First, this is nominated for an ENNIE. If you don’t know what that means, it’s like the Emmys but for tabletop role playing games. It’s not easy to even be nominated for one, so this scenario stands out.
Second, this is quite reasonably priced. You can get a PDF, a color soft cover, or both. The price ranges from $3 – $10 depending on the option you choose.
If you’re just itching to get your hands on it, you can purchase it right here!
In Conclusion
My table had a good time with this one and I think yours will too. You might even learn a bit of history while you are at it.
It’s a great way to spend a couple of hours and there is a nice, creepy payoff if your Investigators make it through.
So, if you are looking for your next Call of Cthulhu 7th edition scenario, I think you’ll like William Bailey’s Haunted Mansion.
P.S.
If you’ve already played this one and are looking for another historical Call of Cthulhu scenario, I humbly suggest trying my scenario Trouble on the Rock set on Alcatraz Island in 1934. It’s on sale right now for only $3.99!
And if you are new to Call of Cthulhu, check out my how to play series starting here!
Marvel Multiverse Role Playing Game Core Rulebook by Matt Forbeck
Hello Marvel fans and tabletop gamers! I have with me the Core Rulebook for the Marvel Multiverse Role Playing Game. I wanted to take a quick look at chapter two of the book. We’ll be going through chapter by chapter on this blog so if you want to, follow along. Some chapters I will take a much deeper look at than others but my goal here is to give you the basic information of what you need to know if you are considering playing this game.
If you want to see the review of chapter one, check it out here.
(Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through this post I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you)
CHAPTER 2 – Core Mechanics
This chapter is a short five pages but it gives us almost everything we need to know to play the game. I’ll give a short breakdown of the rules below but for full rules you’ll need to read the book.
There are only a few core concepts you need to know to get started. If you master these, the game flows fairly easily for the most part. There is going to be some addition and multiplication in this game. It’s nothing that should be too intimidating but if you are like me and can struggle with math at times, there’s no shame in using a calculator when needed.
Let’s take a look at the concepts.
The Action Check
The action check is the most basic check of the game. While roleplaying, there are plenty of things you should be able to do without making a check of any kind. For my examples in this post, I am going to use Matt Murdock, aka. Daredevil to demonstrate.
If Daredevil, dressed as Matt Murdock wants to walk into his law offices to talk to his partner Foggy Nelson, there is no check needed whatsoever, he just does it.
Now, let’s say Matt is walking into the law offices and sees Foggy is being held captive by Wilson Fisk, aka, The Kingpin. Matt is able to hear the commotion and knows his partner is in trouble. He needs to take action. But he also needs to do so without letting Foggy know he is, in fact, Daredevil. In this case, Matt wants to act like he is stumbling around and just so happens to knock out Fisk. To try that, whoever is playing Daredevil is going to need to make an action check.
To do that, you take 3d6’s and roll them. In this game this is called rolling the d616 (more about that in a minute). Once the total of the dice is added up, the player then adds any ability scores needed to the total. The player is trying to roll higher than a Target Number the Narrator has given them. (More on this later as well).
If the player rolls high enough, Daredevil is able to pull off his stunt. If not, something else happens, determined by the Narrator.
d616
In this game, the only dice you need are d6’s. But, it’s good to have one die a different color or size than the other two. The way rolls work is the two dice on the outside of the roll (the 6’s in d616) are added up like normal. But on the middle die, also called the Marvel die, both the 1 and the 6 are counted as a 6. We’ll get more into this in further posts but for now, suffice it to say, the higher you roll the better, and if you can get your dice to come up 616, that’s the best result you can get. Ability scores can add even more to this number but we’re not going to go into those in this post because they are better explained during character creation.
Target Numbers (TN)
If you play Dungeons & Dragons you would think of this as the DC of a roll. Basically there is a number the player needs to meet or exceed for success. Most of the time the Narrator sets this based on the circumstances of what is happening in the game. But there are some NPC and player stats that may cause this number to have to be adjusted.
The narrator also still has the freedom most of the time to determine if something is impossible. If it’s impossible it cannot happen. For example, if Daredevil wanted to fly to the moon unassisted, even though he has no flight powers, he can’t do that even with the best die roll result.
Fantastic Rolls
Any time the middle die comes up with a 1 it’s called a fantastic roll. If you roll a 1 on that die and you exceed the target number, you get a fantastic success. This means you do the thing you were trying and also something else good happens. What that thing is can be suggested by the player or the Narrator.
If you have a fantastic roll but your result adds up to less than the target number, you still fail at what you were trying to do but something good happens to mitigate the results a bit. This also is determined by the player or the Narrator. Ultimately, Narrators have final say but player suggestions are often welcome.
The absolute best result you can get is a roll of 616. This is called an Ultimate Fantastic roll. In D&D it would be a critical success. If you roll this, outside of checking against something the Narrator has deemed impossible, you automatically succeed. These rolls can often be the most fun part of the game and can turn the tide of a battle or the narrative in an instant.
Edges
Also like in Dungeons & Dragons there is what amounts to an advantage/disadvantage system in this game. If you are in special circumstances where your hero has an advantage, they get an edge. For example, if Daredevil is fighting someone and the lights are off, Daredevil has an advantage because he doesn’t need to see to fight.
This can stack as well. If Daredevil has and advantage because the lights are out, and he’s sneaking up on an unsuspecting thug, he’d have two edges.
What happens here is with each edge you get, you can re-roll one of your dice and take the higher result. So, with two edges you might have an initial result of 5, 3, 5. You can then decide to re-roll any two of the dice you want. And you get to keep the better result. So if you re-roll and you end up with 5, 1, 6, you’d want to keep the second result. Remember the 1 = 6 so the result on the second roll is 17 compared to the original result of 13.
Trouble
The flip side of edges is trouble. This works in the same way but in the opposite direction.
If Daredevil is trying to fight bad guys and suddenly loud music comes on, he has trouble due to his highly sensitive hearing.
This also stacks, so if Daredevil is not only in a spot with loud music but there is a crowd of people blocking his way, he’s got two instances of trouble.
In these cases you re-roll however many dice you have equal to the amount of trouble. This time, instead of taking the better result, you have to use the lower result.
Edges combined with Trouble
Where this gets really tricky is when you have circumstances which provide edges and trouble. You can have an instance where a character has three edges and two troubles. Or three troubles and two edges, etc.
In those cases, the edges and troubles cancel each other out and you have to take what is left.
If Daredevil has an edge because it’s dark and one because he is sneaking up on someone, but he has trouble because he has been awake for more than 18 hours, he’s got an edge.
If Daredevil has trouble because he’s in a noisy place, and he doesn’t have his weapons with him, but he’s sneaking up on his opponent, he has one trouble.
Hopefully that makes sense but if you play the game for a while, you’ll get used to quickly figuring out how many edges and troubles there are to deal with.
IN CONCLUSION
There’s a few key rules in this chapter. Once you’ve got them down, they become pretty easy to understand but it can take a few sessions to get the full hang of them. There’s a bit of math involved but it’s not anything overly complicated. There are definitely parallels to Dungeons & Dragons but these rules, ultimately, are a lot more streamlined than those.
Next time, we’ll be taking a look at character profiles. There’s quite a bit of info in that chapter but it’s one of the most fun parts of the game. In the meantime, if you are interested enough to buy the book, check out how to do that below. Otherwise, see you next time!
HOW TO BUY THE BOOK
If you have read enough to realize this is a game you want to try out there are a few things you can do to get it. The different methods have some pros and cons so I’ll go into that a bit as well.
And, I’m not trying to make the hard sell here but if you want to help out this blog, buying through the links below goes a long way and it won’t cost you any extra.
You can pick up a copy at your local friendly gaming store. The books should run around $50-60 bucks and not only do you get to support a local business, you get to walk away with a copy in your hot little hands that day, no muss, no fuss.
You can buy a hardcover copy on Amazon for $32. This is a great way to get the core book, although you will need to wait for it to be shipped to you. If you want to help this blog out buy your copy here.
You can get a copy for Roll20 for $30 on drivethrurpg. However, a couple of warnings here. First off, you’re not getting a physical version of the book this way. Also, you need to have an account on the Roll20 Virtual Table Top in order to access the content. (This is a free account and there’s a link in the purchase description on the Drivethrurpg site if you don’t already have one) Finally, and this is my biggest complaint about this purchase method, if you buy this through Drivethrurpg you are not getting a PDF of the book. As far as I can tell, there is no way to get a PDF of this book at this point. If you do want to buy this version and use it on Roll20 it’s a great option. And if you want to help this blog out you can buy your copy here. You can still read the digital book on basically any web browser this way, you just don’t get a PDF.
If you happen to have Marvel Unlimited, you can get the test version of the book by typing in Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game: Playtest Rulebook. This will be an earlier edition and some of the rules have changed but it’s got the basics.
If you don’t have Marvel Unlimited and you are willing to shell out $17 to get the Playtest book, you can get it on Amazon. If you want to help out this blog buy it here. Again, it’s not the full current book but it does cover the basics and it gets you started at a lower price point.
Special Bundles
If you are all in on the game and have cash to spare you could really go all out in a couple of ways.
If you are already big time into Roll20 anyway, the best value through drivethrurpg is to get the Marvel Multiverse RPG Roll20 Mega Bundle. This will give you the core rulebook, a short module made for the Roll20 system called Revenge of the Super-Skrull, and The Cataclysm of Kang. Just remember this is only for Roll20 and does not include PDF’s. To help out this blog, buy it here. Right now this is on sale for around $70 and is the best deal if you don’t need physical books and want to play on Roll20.
Listen up choombas! Do you want to find a table top role playing game that puts you in a dark future full of bold action, evil corporations, advanced weaponry, cybernetic implants, and a whole bunch of fun? If so, good news, you’re in the right place. I’m not going to waste any more time because you never know when the megacorps are listening so let’s get right to the list!
(Note: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through this post I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you)
5. Altered Carbon
Altered Carbon Core Rule book
Do you like your dystopian future mixed with a little neo-noir? Altered Carbon the Role Playing Game takes you into the world first created by Richard K. Morgan and then seen on the Netflix series of the same name. If you have enough wealth and influence you can re-sleeve your consciousness into any body you can afford. There are several Archetypes (classes in D&D terms) to choose from, a great setting in Bay City and a decent tech system going here. While it’s definitely got similarities to Cyberpunk Red and Cyberpunk 2020, there are enough differences here to make it a fun game with some new twists. You’ll especially enjoy it if you have watched the series or read the books.
It’s not a perfect role playing game and you don’t have to be too familiar with the source material in order to have a good time. There is a good mix of storytelling and combat action. If you love the books or the show this is a great one to pick up. Right now you can get it on drivethrurpg here for around $25.
4. Cyberpunk 2020
Cyberpunk 2.02.0 2nd Edition Core Rule Book
Without this game, there would be no Cyberpunk TTRPG’s. If you like an OG style to your gaming but still want to feel the edginess of lurking around a dark future, fighting megacorps and hacking your own biology with cyber tech, you can’t go wrong with this one. This game is a bit more crunchy than the latest version of Cyberpunk and it has the feel of something made in the 1980’s thinking about the future (because it was) but it’s still one of the best out there. The combat is fast paced and deadly and while you find advantages for altering yourself, if you go too far it will bring you to the edge and you may find yourself in cyberpsychosis, unable to control yourself.
This is an out and out classic and there’s good reason people still play this one today. You can get this a few ways on drivethrurpg, including getting the PDF, a softcover, or a PDF + softcover. They all have varying prices but right now the best deal for this game is to grab the Cyberpunk Essentials bundle which gets you the PDF plus five other supplemental titles to help you amp up your action in Night City. The bundle is on sale here for $40.85. Or you can just grab the core stuff you want here for between $15-$45 depending on what version you buy.
3. ShadowRun Sixth World
Shadowrun Sixth World Core Rule Book
Unlike most other Cyberpunk style TTRPG’s, Shadowrun has always had magic as part of its core premise. What if you took Lord of the Rings and mashed it up with Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? You’d get something like Shadowrun Sixth World. There was magic at one time. The world changed and looked a lot like ours until megacorporations took over everything. And suddenly, magic returned. Now, there are a select few people, orcs, dwarves, etc. who resist the pull of the megacorps. These folks are called Shadowrunners and you can join their ranks.
This game is a good fun blend of fantasy and far future dystopian sci-fi. It’s definitely not for everyone and there are plenty of arguments over which edition is the best one. For plenty of players older editions may be better but I recommend Sixth simply because it is the most current and probably the easiest one to access if you have never played Shadowrun before.
if you just want to dip your toes in to this one and see if it is for you, they have a decent starter set here for $10. Or, if you are willing to pay just a bit more you can grab the core book here for $20. (On sale for $16 as of this writing)
2. Cities Without Number
Cities Without Number Core Rulebook by Kevin Crawford
From the absolute game design genius that is Kevin Crawford comes Cities Without Number. He has designed a space game called Stars Without Number, a fantasy game called Worlds Without Number and has now given us the kind of cyberpunk TTRPG you can expect from him. The first line of the description perfectly sets the mood here. “The world is neon and dust.”
This is a sandbox style game with lots of interesting old school mechanics and plenty of guidance on how to create missions for players. If you like to mix and match things and brew up your own kind of adventure this gives you a ton of tools to do so. Not to mention, this game is fully compatible with the other games in the Without Number series.
The best part? You can actually get almost all of this game for free! In the free version you get 227 pages of jam packed rules, setting and advice. You can grab the free version here.
But, for this game and any others that Kevin Crawford puts out, I highly recommend purchasing the books. Why? Because Crawford puts a ton of work into these books, they have great art, and you get even more goodies with the paid version. You can get the full version here for $25-$90 depending on if you want PDFs or physical hardcover versions. At any price, this game is a steal. And if you have all three of the Without Number books, you can homebrew one heck of an amazing campaign that takes you from the stars, to the world to the city and generates memories that will last a lifetime.
1. Cyberpunk Red
Cyberpunk Red Core Rule Book
The video game Cyberpunk 2077 had an absolute disaster of a launch, although I hear it’s pretty decent now. CyberpunkRed, however, had no such trouble and delivers an excellent immersive experience if you want to get your hands dirty in a world where huge megacorporations have been shattered and everyone is scrambling to live their lives, make a living, seize opportunities, or plot some revenge. It’s a fun and fast paced game and if you like movies like Blade Runner or The Matrix series this one should be right up your neon lit alley.
With this one I recommend starting with the Cyberpunk Red Jumpstart Kit. This comes with a book of lore and adventures that take place in the setting and a book of rules to use for gameplay. You also get six pregenerated characters making getting started much faster. There are also some maps and standees here to use. Fair warning you may need to read the rules a couple of times to get the full feel for it as not everything is 100% clear on the first read.
The Jumpstart Kitretails for $30 on drivethrurpg but right at this moment you can get it for $10 which is a steal. To get the Jumpstart Kit click here.
If you’re convinced and want to just go all in on Cyberpunk Red you can get the core book for $30.
This version is just as bombastic and full of attitude as the original was but with a more streamlined rule system and some interesting moral questions. It’s a super fun game and without doubt one of the best Cyberpunk games you can get.
In Conclusion
A dark dystopian future with lots of cool tech is a great setting for a table top role playing game. I’m sure there are tons of others out there that I haven’t mentioned. Do you have a favorite? If so, feel free to shout it out in the comments below!
