In The Yellow King Roleplaying Game, Kickstarting soon at a Kickstarter near you, players portray characters linked across various eras and timelines corrupted by alien supernatural influence. In the third of these linked settings, Aftermath, the investigators are all ex-partisans who fought in a successful rebellion against a tyrannical regime backed by Carcosa. Now they […]
Tag Archives: robin d laws
a column on roleplaying by Robin D. Laws On a recent episode of our podcast, Ken and I talked about adapting Dreamhounds of Paris as a GUMSHOE One-2-One setting. In a moment of rash exuberance I promised to provide character cards for some of its key figures. Use these as a model for your own […]
The scene in which the hero is taken prisoner by adversaries is as deep a staple of adventure fiction as you could ask for. In roleplaying this basic scene has always acted as bugaboo. Players cling vehemently to their characters’ agency. Some would rather have their characters killed than tossed in a cell. If we […]
See Page XX a column on roleplaying by Robin D. Laws In his influential book on the films of Howard Hawks, the late film critic Robin Wood identified one of the director’s key themes as “the Lure of Irresponsibility.” This phrase has stuck in my head over the years, connecting itself to a subject far […]
See Page XX a column on roleplaying by Robin D. Laws Carrying on from last month, here are some more Problem cards to use with GUMSHOE One-2-One mythos creature encounters. For context, see the previous installment. You can download the laid out Problem Cards here. Great Race of Yith Problem from Fighting Challenge: Lightning Gun […]
I acknowledge that the Forensic Entomology ability, as seen in The Esoterrorists, can be hard to love. It’s icky and creepy. And that’s what’s good about it. Also a favorite of forensics procedural shows, for exactly that reason, I included it as a separate item in The Esoterrorists precisely because it dovetails so well with […]
See Page XX a column on roleplaying by Robin D. Laws Adversaries in GUMSHOE One-2-One don’t have game statistics per se. This applies to mundane foes and Mythos creatures alike. Instead, when your investigator encounters something nasty that might want to do her harm, a Challenge block describes all the dangers and difficulties of dealing […]
A column about roleplaying by Robin D. Laws My designs for Pelgrane have all been modular. Each includes several sub-systems one could drop out without affecting the way other parts of the game operate. (I say “for Pelgrane” because one of my games does use a universal engine in which every action is handled in […]
Cthulhu Confidential, the flagship title for GUMSHOE One-2-One, is now available for pre-order! GUMSHOE One-2-One is designed for two players: a GM and a player who takes the role of a solo investigator, solving Mythos mysteries. In Cthulhu Confidential our PCs are hard-boiled shamus Dex Raymond, investigative journalist Vivian Sinclair, and private eye Langston Montgomery Wright. We asked […]
Field agents of the Ordo Veritatis, take heart: the research bureau has authorized the release of a new forensic test, the ODCR. (Outer Dark Contact Residue test.) To perform the test, gather up detritus from an investigative scene such as: dust, hair, discarded tissues, fingernail clippings, organic recycling, food crumbs, pieces of paper, writing implements, […]