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 […]
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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, […]
a column about roleplaying by Robin D. Laws The release date for Cthulhu Confidential, flagship product of the GUMSHOE One-2-One game, creeps up on us daily. For International Pelgrane Day, I ran its intro scenario for gamer and science TV presenter Marty Jopson, which you can check out here. This mystery features one of our […]
A rules option for GUMSHOE horror games In situations where a Sense Trouble test might reveal the presence of danger from an otherworldly or eerie source, offer the players a chance to pay a price later in exchange for a benefit now. One player gets an automatic success at a Sense Trouble test by agreeing […]
A column about roleplaying by Robin D. Laws Over the years I’ve occasionally been asked, most often by Simon, how GUMSHOE and player narrative control might work together. My answer has always been the same—uh, they kinda mostly don’t. GUMSHOE assumes that the solution to the mysteries the PCs investigate remains fixed once established in […]