GUMSHOE is a system for designing and playing investigative roleplaying games and adventures, emulating stories where investigators uncover a series of clues, and interpret them to solve a mystery. In a GUMSHOE game, the player characters discover something which triggers their investigation, and then the Game Moderator (GM) narrates them through a number of scenes, […]
Author Archives: Cat Tobin
GUMSHOE One-2-One retunes, rebuilds and reenvisions the acclaimed GUMSHOE investigative rules set, as seen in such hit roleplaying games as Trail of Cthulhu and Night’s Black Agents, for one player and one GM. The animating principle behind GUMSHOE states that failing to get key information is never interesting. If you have the right ability and you look in […]
by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan Love is eternal… if you’re an alien monstrosity from beyond all sane conceptions of space and time, an undying horror that seethes and defies our pitiful understandings of entropy and existence. For the rest of us, love’s a brief candle, a momentary delusion to distract us from the horror of existence, our […]
The latest edition of See Page XX is out now! Featuring articles on hitting your best GUMSHOE stride from Robin D. Laws and experienced GM Lisa Padol, factions and chaos magicians for 13th Age, and a recruitment call for Gen Con and Origins GMs. Plus, pick up the 13th Age demonologist class among other hellish goodies in […]
We’re getting close to the end of New Gamemaster Month, and our new GMs will be getting ready to run their first game. If you’re an experienced Trail of Cthulhu GM, we’d love for you to jump into the NewGMMonth social media sites (the Facebook group is here, and it’s @NewGmMonth on Twitter) and share the benefits of […]
by Eric Paquette During my first TimeWatch campaign, I decided to use Backstory Cards to help define the group. Backstory Cards are a rpg tool which helps to establish links between the agents (PCs), other individuals, groups, places, and events in your group’s campaign. Backstory Cards were designed by Ryan Macklin and published by Brooklyn […]
by Lisa Padol Ever since GUMSHOE came out, there’s been a lot of focus on the investigation skills. But it seems to me that the emphasis in discussion is on the wrong thing. The key thing is not that the PCs will always find the core clues (if they are looking in the right place […]
by Mikhail Bonch-Osmolovskiy For all their seeming simplicity, Icon relationships can be tricky to use in a game, as some GMs, myself included, occasionally struggle to offer a satisfying use for them. Icons are just too abstract, too detached, too far away from the daily life of a low-level adventurer. They need intermediaries, something to […]
We’re looking for GMs to run our games at Origins and Gen Con 2018! If you’re interested in joining the GM crew at Gen Con, please email us at support@pelgranepress.zendesk.com with the following info: Your name and, if you have one, a nickname, alias, or online handle that gamers might know you by (e.g. cthulhuchick, Heavy Metal GM) Your convention-registered email […]
The latest edition of See Page XX is out now! Featuring everything you need to know about running your first GUMSHOE game from Robin D. Laws, Kenneth Hite, and Simon Rogers, along with a number of bonus items for Hillfolk and Dracula Dossier Kickstarter backers, and Cthulhu Confidential purchasers. Plus, pick up the 13th Age Demonologist […]