GUMSHOE divides abilities according to whether failure at that ability can drive narrative. Because it is never interesting to fail to get information, you never fail with your investigative abilities. General abilities, on the other hand, do offer the possibility of something interesting—if often horrible—happening when you fail a test. You can fail to run […]
Tag Archives: GUMSHOE
The following article originally appeared on DyingEarth.com in June 2006. June brings us to the completion of work on our webstore. Substantial progress has also been made on all of our outstanding manuscripts, and what’s more, new roleplaying games in the pipeline – yes, that’s plural. And remember at the store, you may obtain a free […]
This post originally appeared on DyingEarth.com between 2004 and 2007, but could prove useful for the many subsequent GUMSHOE systems. A column about roleplaying by Robin D. Laws On a fundamental structural level, RPG sessions are their own beast, and are unlike movies, TV, and books. However, these related storytelling forms are always worth looking […]
by Ambar Hammond The time has finally come for the release of the Game Master Tools for The Black Book GUMSHOE Gaming Software! The Beta test for the Game Master tools re-released on July 1, 2020, and the official launch of the new tools will take place on August 1 at 6:00pm. Join The Black […]
A question from the mailbag – how do you assign values to the general ability scores of Gamesmaster Characters in GUMSHOE games? How much Scuffling should a cultist have? How do you rate a gorilla’s Health? GUMSHOE’s area of focus isn’t finely balanced tactical combat (F20’s just down the hall, guys), so the honest answer […]
Recently retrieved from The Royal Opera House, London. Edom Operatives believe “O.” to be Olivia Liu, informant working with anti-vampire operatives in Europe. A full report of the events at the opera house are contained here. (Hastily handwritten text reads: “I heard you were here. We need to talk. O.”
A group of unknown antagonists recently rescued a reporter from a kill squad in Marrakesh; they were then spotted in London at the site of an assassination. What follows is an intercepted internal memo from a mysterious organization calling itself EDOM. Interested agents who want a more detailed account of the events as they transpired […]
In the latest episode of their easily spotted podcast, Ken and Robin talk Invisible Men, coarse vs granular ability lists, and Ken’s last book raid for the duration.
In part 2 of Gar and Robin’s Play-By-Clip game, Gar walks us through his process for allocating GUMSHOE general ability points. And his character examines an alarming message he was not meant to read. GUMSHOE is the groundbreaking investigative roleplaying system by Robin D. Laws that shifts the focus of play away from finding clues […]
In response to Gar’s senseless assault on a beloved GUMSHOE ability, Robin reluctantly reveals a terrible secret. GUMSHOE is the groundbreaking investigative roleplaying system by Robin D. Laws that shifts the focus of play away from finding clues (or worse, not finding them), and toward interpreting clues, solving mysteries and moving the action forward. GUMSHOE […]