Here and There

Grimsbury stands at the confluence of two rivers, some miles inland from the sea, its industry struggling to recover from the return to civilian production following World War 2, and its buildings rising back from the harbour and Lower Town and up and over the steep bluffs on which New Town Sits. Surrounded by forests and a landscape pockmarked with neolithic and other archaeological sites, it is perhaps best known for the nearby Grimsbury Facility, the site of the United Kingdom’s first commercial nuclear power plant, built in 1957. It remains, though, little considered by those outside the town and its surrounds. Located perhaps in the West Country or the northwest of England, this is how many in Grimsbury like it. For Grimsbury has a secret… Magick is never far from the surface in the town and the surroundings. It flows through the ley lines and in and around ancient sites, and from There to Here. Here is the world around us, but There is another realm of existence, a place in between Here and what lies beyond, serving as a nexus point through which mortal men from Here can pass and the denizens of beyond can pass into Here. There is an unnatural world, a place where mortal men will die of thirst and starvation no matter how much they eat or drink. It is best accessed by The Village, an older version of Grimsbury which lies in the There and from which other realms may be found in the rural surrounds as well as monsters and fiends and other dangers. In Grimsbury, magick is to be contested over, between the members of the White Lodge adheres to the ‘right-handed path’ and works to thwart the drive for power and greed of the Black Lodge, whose members follow the ‘left-handed path’. To be investigated and its practitioners monitored, such as by ‘The Chimera Group’, set up by the Military of Defence in the wake of World War 2. To be shared such as the members of The Society of Lightning Strike Survivors whose members meet regularly to share their experiences and prescient visions of the future. To be stolen by the Ironhand, kidnappers and slavers originating from beyond, but accessing the Here via There. It might be 1964, it might be 1974, it might be 1984, or it might be all of them in the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG.

The Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG is published by Unique Publications. As the title suggests it is a Folk Horror roleplaying game set in England. Set sometime in the latter half of the twentieth century, it is inspired by the film The Wicker Man, as well as British television series of the seventies and eighties such as Children of the Stones, The Sandbaggers, Dr. Who, and The Changes. As such its themes are of Ancient Britain, magic and ley lines, errant scientific experimentation, ‘Wyrd’ personalities, and secrets and lies. Mechanically, it uses the Year Zero Engine, first seen in Mutant: Year Zero – Roleplaying at the End of Days, so will be familiar to players of a variety of different roleplaying games. In addition to the rules for character creation, it includes its own magick system, as well as a guide to the setting of Grimsbury, the town and its surrounds, as well as the There. Plus, there are plenty of scenario hooks and advice for both player and Counsellor, as the Game Master is known in the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG.

A Player Character in the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG is defined by his Archetype, Age, Abilities, Skills, and Talents. He will also have Luck Points, Stress, Finances, Reputation, and Contacts, and may be able to use Folk Magick depending on the Archetype. There are twenty Archetypes, each given a single page explaining what they are and what they can do, plus Ability and Skill adjustments, potential flaws, and talents to choose from. The mundane Archetypes are Agent, Archaeologist, Aristocrat, Army Grunt/Soldier, Beatnik/Flower Child, Burglar, Commando, Copper, Mystical Scholar, Paranormal Researcher, Politician, Private Investigator, and Reporter, whilst the mystical are Hedge Witch/Warlock, Potion Maker, Priest, Sorcerer, Summoner, Walker, and Witch/Warlock. All of the latter have the Mysticism Attribute and can use Practical Magick. Age determines how many points a player has to spend on Abilities and Skills, plus his Luck Points and Financial Bonus. Younger Player Characters have more points to spend on Abilities, fewer to spend on Skills, more Luck Points, and no Finance Bonus, whereas Mature Player Characters have fewer points to spend on Abilities, more on Skills, fewer Luck Points, and a higher Financial Bonus. The Abilities are Strength, Agility, Ken—a combination of knowledge, perception, and willpower, and Connect—self-awareness and manipulation of others. They range in value between one and five. The Mysticism Ability is only available to certain Archetypes and represents the capacity to harness and understand Magick. There are twelve skills, three per Ability, and they range in value between one and five, but can go much higher. There are modifications provided if the Counsellor and her players want to roleplay in ‘hardcore’ mode, with lower Ability scores and fewer skills.

To create a character, a player decides on his character’s Age and from this spends the given points on Abilities and Skills, whilst noting down the other factors. He also chooses an Archetype, noting down its benefits. He chooses two Talents. One of these will come from the Archetype itself, for example, ‘We Served Together’ and ‘Do you know who I am?’ for the Politician, whilst the other comes from a general list, such as ‘Crime Scene Investigation’ and ‘Smuggler’.

Our sample Player Character is Snowdrop Jones, the daughter of a hippy who grew up on a commune. She grew up sickly, but the den mother prepared many home and other natural remedies to treat her. In the process she learned many of the recipes and more, gaining more of an education in the old ways and superstitions than from what modern schooling could offer. She has a reputation for being dreamy and a short attention span, but she cares about people and magic, using what she knows to help.

Name: Snowdrop Jones
Archetype: Beatnik/Flower Child Age: 23
Health Points: 5

Stress Points: 8
Luck Points: 5
Magick Points: 7
Financial Bonus: -2
Carrying Allowance: 40

ABILITIES/SKILLS

Strength: 2
Agility: 3 Sneak 1
Ken: 3 Detect/Observe 1,

Magickal Focus – Folk Magic 1, Magickal Focus – Potion Making 2, Willpower 1
Connect: 4 Read 1, Manipulate 2, Heal/Console 2
Mysticism: 4

TALENTS
Just the Thing, Keeper of the Old Ways

FLAW
Short Attention Span

Mechanically, the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG uses the Year Zero Engine, which requires rolls of six-sided dice, the aim being to roll sixes as they count as successes. To have his character undertake an action, the player assembles a dice pool formed from the combination of an Ability, skill, gear, and assistance from another Player Character. Typically, a single Success is required for a Player Character to achieve his aims, but further Successes may grant a Bonus Effect determined by the Counsellor. If four or more Success are rolled, the result is a Critical Success, but a Critical Failure if four or more ones—or Banes—are rolled.

Any result with no sixes counts as a failure. At this point, the player can decide to ‘Push the Roll’. This allows him to roll the entire dice pool. A Pushed Roll that generates Successes means that the Player Character achieved his aim, but a Pushed Roll that generates Success and Banes, means that the Player Character achieved his aim, but with consequences, whilst a Pushed Roll without any Successes and one or more Banes is a failure with consequences. The Counsellor has a table to which she can refer to determine what the consequences might be. These might be that the Player Character suffers a fainting spell and loses two Stress points, gains a revival, or wakes up on a train with no idea how he got there, all depending upon the situation in which the action was attempted.

A Pushed Roll also has one other side effect and that is that the Player Character loses a point of Stress, reflecting how unnerving or odd he finds the world of Grimsbury right now. Particularly unnerving or scary situations may require a Player Character to make a Stress Check. Any rolled Success means that the Player Character has passed, whilst no Successes are a failure and the Player Character loses another point of Stress. Worse though, any Failure with a Bane means that not only is the Player Character’s further Stress reduced by one (or more), and he will also commit an involuntary action as determined by the Counsellor, such as falling over or dropping an item or crying out. Lastly, should a Player Character’s Stress be reduced to zero, he is in a state of Panic and needs to roll on the ‘Panic Effects’ table. He could suffer from a cardiac arrest and drop dead or he could suffer from hallucinations for the next few hours.

If all else fails, a Player Character can also rely on Luck. This can be burned to reroll any check, revise a fact or scene, or to use an additional Folklore Magick action and have it succeed. However, burning Luck triggers a Stress Check. Luck is very slow to recover, resetting at the end of an adventure or at least refilling over the course of a year of game time.

Combat in the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG, like most roleplaying games using the Year Zero Engine, is short, brutal, and often nasty. Although many of the Archetypes in the roleplaying game will rely upon it, more interesting is the use of Magick in the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG. It encompasses more than just casting spells, including ritual, sacrifice, chemistry, celebration, performance (singing & dancing), gathering, geomancy, and more. The roleplaying game keeps the description of magick quite broad, so allowing for the creativity of the players and their character when using it. Magick is also woven into the landscape of both the Here and the There, so the environment, whether that is the alignment of the planets or a nearby ley line, will also often affect Magick and its casting.

Mechanically, knowledge of each of the different types and areas of Magick is treated as a different ‘Focus’, an area of specialist understanding. This ranges from ‘Brew Potions’, ‘Dimensional Travel/Gates’, and ‘Enchant Items’ to ‘Read Minds’, ‘Illusion/Disguise’, and ‘Summoning’ via ‘Mental Control’, ‘Nature – Plants’, ‘Foresight/ Portents/Visions’, and ‘Heal Up’. The player of a practitioner of Magick does not roll to see whether a spell or other magical outcome succeeds, but to see what its effect is and how effective it is. This is called a ‘Magickal Effect Roll’ and in general it works like a standard skill roll in the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG. The base dice pool consists of the Player Character’s Mysticism and a Magickal Skill plus one die per Magick Point invested in the use of Magick. The dice for Player Character’s Mysticism and a Magickal Skill are rolled together, whilst the dice for Magick Points are rolled separately. A roll with no Success and no Banes means that the attempt succeeds with the desired effect. If Successes are rolled, the Magick has an even greater effect than intended. However, if Banes are rolled—and they can only be rolled on the dice for the Magickal Points—there are consequences. This might be as simple as the effect draining more Magick Points than intended (and if that drains all of the practitioner’s Magick Points, there is a chance he will die), the effect simply fizzling out, being more amazing or disastrous than intended, and so on…

All Magickal effects require a minimum of a single Magickal Point. This will be enough to get the desired Magickal outcome, but does not guarantee it. What a player is doing when his character expends more Magickal Points, is not trying to achieve a greater effect, but trying to increase the chances of the desired effect. It has a brute force feel to it, unsubtle and with a higher chance of consequences. Magickal Points can be recovered through rest, through certain abilities and items, and even conducting a Recharge Ritual on or near a Ley Line. Ley lines can also be used to boost Magickal actions, transport practitioner’s of Geomancy, and more.

The setting of Grimsbury is described in in engaging detail, focusing upon individual and interesting locations such as the Old Square in Lower Square with its funicular railway up the bluff to Upper Grimsbury and the Lunchroom, serving the dockworkers daily, where the soup is good, there is time to chat or exchange microfilm, and the owner, Mrs. Mablethorpe, is a dab hand with the potions. Magic tricks can be learned at Ash’s Magic Shop and performances at Rodney’s Puppet theatre have taken on an air cruelty when the puppets talk about Rodney, whilst beyond the town walking paths follow the same routes as hunters did thousands of years ago from cairn to standing stone, the Grimsbury Facility, a secretive team of technomages at the nuclear power plant is investigating far more than just subatomic particles—it is attempting to understand and control the There. The landscape is dotted with neolithic sites and burial mounds like the Hill and Crown, marked with a spiralling path and topped with an ancient sacred grove where Druids still make sacrifices to appease the spirits. Gates and potential gates can also be found, each one offering a connection between the Here and the There, though the means of activating them is rarely the same twice. There is an unnatural and unsettling, faded quality to There, but in the counterpart to modern Grimsbury, the village it once was, a man in a tweed suit with a pot of tea on the go, maintains a chalkboard of names, tasks, and opportunities, an inn stands with plenty of patrons, but no sight of any proprietor, and at the Camera Shoppe, film can obtained that will reveal the invisible. A wonderful range of personalities are detailed, as are numerous factions, such as a flock of shape changing birds that really like to share secrets, the Grimbury Ramblers who walk from one neolithic stone to the next in search of the Blessing of the Stone, and the Conclave, Travellers that move from beyond to There and Here in search of the entities which would do great evil across all of There.

All of this is supported by some decent adventure seeds, both in the Here and the There, some of which are quite grim. There is some serviceable advice for Player and Counsellor alike. However, the rulebook does not include a beginning scenario and it does not include much in way of advice on running the game in the long term. The biggest omission is the lack of threats. No NPC is given stats and neither are there any stats for any magickal threat or threat from the There. To that end, the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG requires a companion detailing more of this aspect of the setting.

Physically, the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG is cleanly and tidily laid out.

The Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG has an engaging sense of otherness to it with the descriptions of the various Archetypes and of the Grimsbury of the Here and the There that somehow give a sense of somewhen between the 1950s and the 1980s. The rules are tried and tested, but the magick system offers a degree of flexibility combined with a sharp edge of danger if pushed too far. Yet the lack of mechanical threat and NPC and monster stats hinder the use of the setting by the Counsellor, which may persuade her to look to other rules that might provide the numbers and those threats where the Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG does not. The Grimsbury English Folk Horror RPG is a very likeable setting as written, but it awaits completion and further support in anticipation of an excursion to its Here and There.