[Free RPG Day 2026] Ash & Steel

Now in its nineteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2026 took place on Saturday, June 27th. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Unfortunately, due to vagaries of International Customs, Free RPG Day in the UK did not take place until Saturday, 22nd August.

This review is possible due to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham.

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For Free RPG Day 2026, Magpie Games published not one book, but six—Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root, Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone, Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel, Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind, and Adventure Booklet 5: Water & Mist as well as the Expanded Rules supplement. These are all for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game, one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns for any roleplaying game. This is the roleplaying adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, animated series which are inspired by the indigenous cultures of North America and Asia, in particular, China, Chinese martial arts, and the ability to ‘bend’ or manipulate the four elements—water, earth, fire, and air. Only one person can bend all four elements, and he is known as the ‘Avatar’, and not only does he serve as the link between the physical world and the spirit world, but he is also responsible for maintaining harmony between the world’s four nations. In the roleplaying game, the players roleplay characters, or companions, who are capable of bending one of the elements as well as practising martial arts, all with the aim of protecting the world from harm and those unable to stand up to misuse of power.

As with the other four Adventure Booklets, Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel originally appeared in Wan Shi Tong’s Adventure Guide, which explores and presents adventures in the different eras of the Avatarverse, including the Kyoshi, Roku, the Hundred Year War, Aang, and Korra periods. Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel presents a Hundred Year War Adventure whose action will take the Player Characters from the borders of the Fire Nation to a Ba Sing Se outpost as they accompany, Onomu, a defecting Fire Nation general who is seeking asylum and carrying stolen Fire Nation war plans as leverage to their master, Long Feng, Grand Secretariat of the Earth Nation. Of course, not everyone wants Onomu to reach Ba Sing Se. There are Earth Kingdom rebels who want their own revenge on the defecting general and of course, Fire Lord Ozai of the Fire Nation wants the general stopped and the plans returned. However, that is not everyone who stands in the way of General Onomu and the Player Characters.

The scenario presented in Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel is a chase scenario. It begins in West Heiatu, a Fire Nation colony in the Earth Kingdom and will end when the Player Characters reach the outpost of Ba Sing Se. The scenario details five locations that the Player Characters will visit on the way along with various NPCs that they may also meet at each. Previous scenarios in the ‘Adventure Booklet’ series for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game for Free RPG Day have detailed escalations, events that can be used by the Game Master to increase the tension and sense of danger over the course of an adventure. Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel breaks its escalations down into one per location turning each into an individual mini-adventure. For example, the So Bai Oasis is a quiet stop along the route, far from the ongoing war between the Fire and Earth Nations, that gives the Player Characters a chance to rest after a confrontation between Fire Nation soldiers and the Rough Rhinos, Earth Nation rebels. However, the escalation for the location suggests that the Rough Rhinos catch up with the Player Characters and General Onomu and tear the town apart in an attempt to find them!

What this means is that there is plenty of opportunity for confrontation and conflict, but there is chance too for roleplaying—especially with General Onomu. Initially, she is rude and entitled, still a general of the Fire Nation at heart, and will probably remain so unless the Player Characters intervene and perhaps help soften her attitudes towards those around her. This gives the Game Master a potentially interesting story arc for the general to portray.

Another difference between Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel and the other entries in ‘Adventure Booklet’ series is that it is less open in its plotting and more directed. The Player Characters are not as free in their actions in this scenario than they are in the others in that they have a mission to perform and do have to travel from ‘A’ to ‘E’ via ‘B’, ‘C’, and ‘D’. Yet like those other entries in the ‘Adventure Booklet’ series, its ending is open-ended and determined by the actions and decisions of the Player Characters. These possibilities are discussed and there is solid advice for the Game Master along with detailed descriptions of all of the NPCs, groups, and important locations. In addition, there is advice too for the Game Master on how to set up the scenario if the players are using their own characters rather than the pre-generated quintet which is included in Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel. The five pre-generated Player Characters for the adventure are all 

Air Nomads attending the conference on behalf of the Elders of the Southern Air Temple to help keep the peace and report back on ideas presented at the event. They are all resistance fighters from different nations who met in fighting the Fire Nation. They include Xinyi the Adamant, an Earthbender who suffered at the hands of the Fire Nation; Nalu the Hammer, a Northern Water Tribe warrior who fled south to fight the Fire Nation; Lana the Icon, a Southern Water Tribe spiritual healer who wants to help others; Zimo the Pillar, a Firebender who wants to stop her nation from enacting its plan to conquer every nation; and Xiao the Prodigy, a martial arts master trained by monks who is unsure of using his abilities to fight.

Also included are details of the Basic Moves and Balance Moves in Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game—in addition the Moves for all of the Player Characters—and the techniques that are not in the core book, plus the combat exchanges, statuses, and basic techniques. Long Feng, Grand Secretariat of the Earth Nation is also fully described and there is advice too on how to use Legendary NPCs like Long Feng. Notably, he remains off camera for much of the scenario and there is the possibility that the Player Characters never get to meet him at all! He is a very different NPC compared to the Legendary NPCs in the ‘Adventure Booklet’ series.

Physically, Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel is well presented, sturdy booklet.

Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel is more of a traditional scenario than the previous two entries in the series, being more plot driven and slightly less Player Character-driven. This makes it easier to run than those other entries, an exciting mix of chase and combat, interaction and intrigue in a solidly done scenario with some interesting consequences to explore. Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra will enjoy the background too and overall, Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel is great support for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game.

[Free RPG Day 2026] Fire & Brimstone

Now in its nineteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2026 took place on Saturday, June 27th. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Unfortunately, due to vagaries of International Customs, Free RPG Day in the UK did not take place until Saturday, 22nd August.

This review is possible due to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham.

—oOo—

For Free RPG Day 2026, Magpie Games published not one book, but six—Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root, Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone, Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel, Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind, and Adventure Booklet 5: Water & Mist as well as the Expanded Rules supplement. These are all for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game, one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns for any roleplaying game. This is the roleplaying adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, animated series which are inspired by the indigenous cultures of North America and Asia, in particular, China, Chinese martial arts, and the ability to ‘bend’ or manipulate the four elements—water, earth, fire, and air. Only one person can bend all four elements, and he is known as the ‘Avatar’, and not only does he serve as the link between the physical world and the spirit world, but he is also responsible for maintaining harmony between the world’s four nations. In the roleplaying game, the players roleplay characters, or companions, who are capable of bending one of the elements as well as practising martial arts, all with the aim of protecting the world from harm and those unable to stand up to misuse of power.

As with the other four Adventure Booklets, Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone originally appeared in Wan Shi Tong’s Adventure Guide, which explores and presents adventures in the different eras of the Avatarverse, including the Kyoshi, Roku, the Hundred Year War, Aang, and Korra periods. Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone presents a Roku Era Adventure whose action takes place at the Four Nations Summit & Technological Symposium in Hari Bulkan, the capital of the Fire Nation. Shortly after the opening ceremony with performances and displays by all four nations, Kuchtei, the Fire Nation’s Minister of Education, Science, and Technology bursts into the meeting hall and announces that someone has stolen multiple crates containing rare meteorite metal. When forged, this metal can be used to create unbreakable weapons and devices and so is worth more than its weight in gold! Kuchtei demands that the thief or thieves reveal themselves and when no-one is forthcoming, announces that security will increased and when the perpetrator is found, he will feel the full force of the Fire Nation’s law. In the wake of this announcement, Taqukaq, a famous Waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe approaches the Player Characters, explains the situation, and asks them to investigate, to find out not only who stole the meteorite metal, but also why.

The scenario presented in Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone is like a murder mystery in a cosy country house a la Agatha Christie, except the Player Characters are not investigating a murder, but a theft and are at a conference rather than a country house. Nevertheless, they are in a small environment, there are numerous witnesses to interview and interrogate, and there are multiple suspects. This though is a scenario for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game, which means that whilst there are multiple suspects, there not one set culprit and not one set solution to the crime. Instead, the Game Master is expected to build the adventure plot and story around the actions and investigation conducted by the Player Characters. There is also not a given end to the scenario, but a discussion of how it might end, along with advice on running the scenario as a whole. This covers how to pace the scenario, escalate the situation with events, both create and handle good clues, and running the investigation. In particular, how to shift the story from its investigative process and interaction with the various NPCs and factions to combat scenes and back again, as well as some answers to additional questions that might arise during play.

Beyond this set-up—and it is a very detailed set-up—the Player Characters are free to approach the investigation however they want. To that end, all of the NPCs, groups, and important locations are described in detail and backed up with the solid advice for the Game Master. In addition, there is advice too for the Game Master on who to set up the scenario if the players are using their own characters rather than the pre-generated quintet which is included in Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone. The five pre-generated Player Characters for the adventure are all Air Nomads attending the conference on behalf of the Elders of the Southern Air Temple to help keep the peace and report back on ideas presented at the event. They include the excitable and ambitious Bo the Bold; the spirit seer Chegu the Icon, reluctant about her revered position and who also comes with an air bison; Ema the Idealist who is building devices that mimic airbending abilities; Sherah the Pillar, a covert operative; and Norbu the Rogue, a troublemaker and thrillseeker glad to be away from the temple.

Also included are details of the Basic Moves and Balance Moves in Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game—in addition the Moves for all of the Player Characters—and the techniques that are not in the core book, plus the combat exchanges, statuses, and basic techniques. Taqukaq is also fully described and there is advice too on how to use Legendary NPCs like Taqukaq. Also detailed are the various Techniques used in the scenario by the NPCs not found in the core rulebook. In some ways, the Game Master advice is so complete and feels longer than the broader description of the situation in Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone and the summit location.

Physically, Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone is well presented, sturdy booklet.

Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone is not a scenario in the traditional sense, but very much more of a highly detailed set-up backed up with all of the background, stats, and advice that the Game Master needs to respond in what will very much be a Player Character-driven investigation and story. This makes it a bit more complex to run than the previous Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root and the Game Master needs to prepare it with care to cover most eventualities. Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra will enjoy the background too and overall, Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone is great support for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game.

[Free RPG Day 2026] Earth & Root

Now in its nineteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2026 took place on Saturday, June 27th. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Unfortunately, due to vagaries of International Customs, Free RPG Day in the UK did not take place until Saturday, 22nd August.

This review is possible due to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham.

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For Free RPG Day 2026, Magpie Games published not one book, but six—Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root, Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone, Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel, Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind, and Adventure Booklet 5: Water & Mist as well as the Expanded Rules supplement. These are all for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game, one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns for any roleplaying game. This is the roleplaying adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, animated series which are inspired by the indigenous cultures of North America and Asia, in particular, China, Chinese martial arts, and the ability to ‘bend’ or manipulate the four elements—water, earth, fire, and air. Only one person can bend all four elements, and he is known as the ‘Avatar’, and not only does he serve as the link between the physical world and the spirit world, but he is also responsible for maintaining harmony between the world’s four nations. In the roleplaying game, the players roleplay characters, or companions, who are capable of bending one of the elements as well as practising martial arts, all with the aim of protecting the world from harm and those unable to stand up to misuse of power.

As with the other four Adventure Booklets, Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root originally appeared in Wan Shi Tong’s Adventure Guide, which explores and presents adventures in the different eras of the Avatarverse, including the Kyoshi, Roku, the Hundred Year War, Aang, and Korra periods. Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root presents a Kyoshi Era Adventure whose action takes place in Ba Sing Se, the massive, heavily fortified capital city of the Earth Kingdom. Its Lower Ring is home to many ordinary citizens as well as ‘Daofei’, organised bands of criminals and outlaws who live according to sophisticated codes of honour and conduct, as well as honour. The normal hustle and bustle of the Lower Ring have been thrown into chaos as the city’s Anti-Corruption Task Force, led by Yong, a highly diligent earthbender, rips it apart in search of Mengyao, a notorious Daofei has been identified as the kidnapper of the two children of Fire Nation Ambassador Quin. As Yong and his men tear the Lower Ring apart, targeting citizens and criminal alike, the Ambassador has sent in her own highly-skilled Fire Nation guards to find her children as she does not wholly trust the motives of the Anti-Corruption Task Force.

As the lives of ordinary citizen and criminal alike are disrupted in the Lower Ring, the Player Characters are approached by Rangi, famed firebender and companion of the Avatar, to help keep the district stable and to search for Mengyao before any riots break out before she returns with the Avatar. The Player Characters have an advantage in that most of them are former outlaws who live in Ba Sing Se and are trying to make up for their past misdeeds. This gives them a shared connection and backgrounds, even though hidden, may be useful in finding the accused Daofei and keeping the Lower Ring from following into further chaos. They consist of Tao the Adamant, a waterbender who grew up on a pirate ship and lost the person most important to him when they took the blame for a crime Tao committed; Masaru the Bold, a technologist and former thief who wants to turn over a new leaf and still support her family; Sarnai the Guardian, a weapons-user and former criminal who has found a family in the other Player Characters; Jing the Prodigy, a clever potion-maker and concocter who is worried that her creations will fall into the wrong hands; and Quartz the Successor, an earthbender who is heir to a criminal empire, but is not sure if that is what he wants.

Beyond this set-up—and it is a very detailed set-up—the Player Characters are free to approach the problem however they want. To that end, all of the NPCs, groups, and important locations are described in detail and backed up with solid advice for the Game Master. This covers movement around Ba Sing Se, creating more Daofei, ways to escaleate situations and increase the action and tension, handling bystanders and also Rangi and the Aavatar, and exploring various situations that are likely to occur as the scenario plays out. There is advice too for the Game Master on who to set up the scenario if the players are using their own characters rather than the pre-generated quintet which is included in Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root. This consists of asking the players why their characters are in Ba Sing Se and how they know Mengyao and the Game Master making adjustments as necessary. It adds too, scope for flashbacks that explore prior incidents or exploits in Ba Sing Se, but this cannot be used too often without an escalating penalty that ultimately, will force the Player Characters to recall events that went badly for them.

Also included are details of the Basic Moves and Balance Moves in Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game—in addition the Moves for all of the Player Characters—and the techniques that are not in the core book, plus the combat exchanges, statuses, and basic techniques. Rangi is also fully described and there is advice too on how to use Legendary NPCs like Rangi. Also detailed are the various Techniques used in the scenario by the NPCs not found in the core rulebook. In some ways, the Game Master advice is so complete and feels longer than the broader description of the situation in Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root and Ba Sing Se.

Physically, Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root is well presented, sturdy booklet.

Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root is not a scenario in the traditional sense, but very much more of a highly detailed set-up backed up with all of the background, stats, and advice that the Game Master needs to respond in what will very much be a Player Character-driven story. Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra will enjoy the background too and overall, Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root is great support for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game.

Cthulhoid Choices: Ripples

Call of Cthulhu is the preeminent roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror and has been for over four decades now. The roleplaying game gives the chance for the players and their Investigators to explore a world in which the latter are exposed, initially often indirectly, but as the story or investigation progresses, increasingly directly, to alien forces beyond their comprehension. So, beyond that what they encounter is often interpreted as indescribable, yet supernatural monsters or gods wielding magic, but in reality is something more, a confrontation with the true nature of the universe and the realisation as to the terrible insignificance of mankind with it and an understanding that despite, there are those that would embrace and worship the powers that be for their own ends. Such a realisation and such an understanding often leave those so foolish as to investigate the unknown clutching at, or even, losing their sanity, and condemned to a life knowing truths to which they wish they were never exposed. This blueprint has set the way in which other games—roleplaying games, board games, card games, and more—have presented Lovecraftian investigative horror, but as many as there that do follow that blueprint, there are others have explored the Mythos in different ways.

Cthulhoid Choices is a strand of reviews that examine other roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror and of Cosmic, but not necessarily Horror. Previous reviews which can be considered part of this strand include Cthulhu Hack, Realms of Crawling Chaos, and the Apocthulhu Roleplaying Game.

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Something terrible happened to the town of Shingleford in 1962. The enigmatic, if friendly, Peddler came to town and sold the people what they wanted. Trinkets. Trinkets which unknowingly twisted their resentments into Curses and as they became exhilarated by the eldritch power granted by their Trinkets, their owners cast Curses on others and spread the influence of the Peddler. Fortunately, due to the efforts of a troop of River Scouts led by Hilda Buckle, under the eye of the Watcher, these Curses and the influence of the Peddler were stopped in 1962. Unfortunately, it was not without loss, for it led to the deaths of several of the River Scouts. Sixty years later, the Peddler returns, spreading Curses once again, poisoning the river and the lands on either side of its banks. It is another group of teenagers, who discover the old River Scouts clubhouse, abandoned after the events of 1962, who turn it into a den and are then visited by the ghost of a young girl who told them of how she helped lift the Curse in 1962. Other ghosts asked them to read the River Scout Pledge and provide protection for the Clawfoot and Shingleford once again, presenting them with Sashes that will help them defeat the Curses.

This is the set-up for Cryptid Creeks, a roleplaying game of eldritch investigative horror, that takes its inspiration from films such as The Goonies and Stand by Me, television series like Gravity Falls and Stranger Things, and graphic novels such as The Lumberjanes. Although a roleplaying game of eldritch investigative horror, and thus adjacent to it, Cryptid Creeks is not a roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror and does not involve the Cthulhu Mythos. Published by Hatchlings Games following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it is described as ‘Cosy Horror’, meaning that it is suitable for a family audience, much like its earlier roleplaying game, Inspirales. Cryptid Creeks is also ‘Carved from Brindlewood’, which means that it is a Powered by the Apocalypse system roleplaying game, but one using the lighter, more investigative-focused variant of Brindlewood Bay. Ripples: Cryptid Creeks Curse Collection is the first supplement for Cryptid Creeks.

Ripples: Cryptid Creeks Curse Collection is primarily a collection of eight Curses, mysteries and situations, that the River Scouts can investigate, determine a cause, and ultimately resolve. Three of those are set in the present, but of the rest, Ripples takes the River Scouts—the characters and their players—somewhere interesting, and that is the past. These five Curses are the ‘Ripples’ of the title and they take place over the course of the summer of 1962. They explore what happened that fateful summer when the Peddler was stopped for the first time and the River Scouts were disbanded. They are triggered by certain situations and also tell the stories of the River Scouts who lost their lives in the effort to defeat the Peddler and whose sashes the Player Characters in the modern day were given and wear as River Scouts. They are essentially flashbacks in which the players roleplay not their usual characters, but the River Scouts of 1962.

Each Ripple is introduced by a Seed, of which three are given for each Ripple. The playthrough of a Ripple requires some changes to the play of Cryptid Creeks to take into account the fact that events of each Ripple have not yet taken place and thus not yet had an effect on present of the modern day. Thus, there is no River Phase or associated Riverbank Stops and Playbook Moves tied to the River Scouts’ Clubhouse Collection and the Sash of Ages are unavailable. Instead of the River Phase, the ‘Bond Move’ allows a one-to-one moment with another Scout to gain a Clue or Advantage on a subsequent roll. Similarly, the ‘Guidebook Move’ replaces the ‘Hilda Move’ to gain advice on the current situation. The most radical change is the inevitability of character death, since the players are roleplaying the original River Scouts who in the future will become the Clubhouse Ghosts. However, such deaths take place offscreen and River Scouts cannot recall exactly how they died, but once they do, the dead characters become Ghosts, not just for the rest of the Ripple, but all subsequent Ripples. This sets up a challenge in that Ghosts cannot communicate with the living, only themselves, and can only impart information gained from an investigation via a haunting.

Of the five Ripples, ‘The Cryptid Creek’ must be run first and ‘The Curse of ’62’ must be run last, but the others can be played in any order. ‘The Cryptid Creek’ handily takes the Navigator and her players through the process of going back into the past and into what is the very first encounter with the Watcher and the Curse he suffered at the hands of the Peddler. ‘The Curse of the Old Hackitt House’ explores a haunted house and how its owner became a figure of both fear and fun; ‘The Curse of the Lich Root’ examines how and why the flora around Shingleford changed and warped following the events of the town gardening competition in 1962; and in ‘The Curse of Heartwood Locket’, the River Scouts make a new friend as they find out why the forest became strange and seemed to strike back at the loggers working it in 1962. Lastly, ‘The Curse of ’62’ confronts the River Scout with the terrible events that led to the deaths of the remaining Clubhouse Ghosts and the temptation of Hilda Buckle aged twelve, which will set in motion of the events and involvement of the new River Scouts in the modern day.

The five Ripples are not the only Curses explored in the supplement. The other three are all set in the modern day. Children run wild in ‘The Wildren’s Curse’ and the River Scout must find out if faeries are involved or there is another cause; the people of Shingleford are beset by waking dreams in ‘The Curse of False Awakenings’ and the River Scouts must find a way to shift between the realities of ‘The Night’, ‘The Library’, and the ‘Waking World’ to locate the cause and deal with it; and lastly, ‘The Curse of the Rogue Playthings’ has the River Scouts chasing after an beloved, but beloved toy, now awakened, that is breaking into houses and toy shops to steal other toys. Of the three, ‘The Curse of False Awakenings’ is the most challenging to run and play, yet feels like a more traditional weird mystery. The other two provide inventive ways in which different aspects of childhood can be explored. Lastly, ‘Ripples’ closes with short, but entertaining piece of fiction.

Physically, Ripples is tidily organised. It is light on artwork, but what is there is good. What stands out is the layout, which is not only well done, but includes pages colour-coded to each Ripple or Curse. For example, ‘The Curse of the Old Hackitt House’ involves a haunted house, so its pages are dark grey, but ‘The Curse of the Lich Root’ involves plants and so has light green pages. It is a small detail that adds a difference between the various Curses and Ripples.

The Ripples are a fantastic idea, enabling the Navigator and her players to journey back into the past and explore the events that set up the here and now. They work better played before—as a prequel—the events of Cryptid Creeks or doing the campaign itself with the flashbacks worked into the main story. This is not to say that they cannot be played after a Cryptid Creeks campaign has been finished, but the ramifications of the original River Scouts’ actions and deaths will be not as great if run as a sequel. Any Navigator wanting to run Cryptid Creeks should definitely look at Ripples: Cryptid Creeks Curse Collection as a possible addition to her campaign because it will add depth, back story, and just for one last summer, bring the Clubhouse Ghosts to life.

Relatives at Risk

Nephews in Peril: A Collection of New Mysteries in BRINDLEWOOD BAY is a companion volume to Brindlewood Bay: A Dark & Cozy Mystery Game. Published by The Gauntlet, Brindlewood Bay upended the traditional concept of murder mystery scenarios in roleplaying and changed what we play. In the traditional murder mystery scenario, the Keeper has the answers to hand—the victim, the suspects, the culprit, the means, and the motive—and the players and their characters have to deduce which of these is correct. In Brindlewood Bay, there is no set solution, but there are plenty of suspects and motives, and it is up to the players and their characters to hypothesise who the culprit is and why he committed the murder, and put it to the test. If passes, the murder mystery is solved. If not, the players and their characters must continue their sleuthing. Plus, the players are doing this with elderly female amateur detectives as their characters, such as Jessica Fletcher and Miss Marple, for example. Brindlewood Bay changed how we thought about investigative scenarios in roleplaying and how we played them. Besides the rules, Brindlewood Bay: A Dark & Cozy Mystery Game also detailed numerous murder mysteries, the Dark Conspiracy behind them that threatens the future of the quiet New England tourist spot, and a little about the town itself. Nephews in Peril: A Collection of New Mysteries in BRINDLEWOOD BAY presents the Keeper and her players—and their Mavens—with even more of this.

Nephews in Peril: A Collection of New Mysteries in BRINDLEWOOD BAY gives the Keeper a total of twenty new Mysteries, seven of which are of a new type of Mystery, which change the way in which Brindlewood Bayy is played—ever so slightly, and details more of Brindlewood Bay itself. It does not waste any time beyond simply listing the contents and describing the first mystery. After all, the Brindlewood Bay Keeper already knows what she is getting as far as the content goes. Each follows the same format as the core rulebook, with sections labelled, ‘Presenting the Mystery’, ‘Moments’ for various particular scenes, ‘Suspects’ complete with their quotes, ‘Locations’ with a guide on how to ‘Paint the Scene’ at each, ‘Clues’, and ‘Void Clues’, the latter connecting the mystery to the Dark Conspiracy playing out behind the scenes in the town. Also included is a ‘Complexity’ value, which represents the number of elements of the solution that the players and their Mavens need to discuss and hypothesise before they can make the ‘Theorise Move’ without a penalty. Some of the Mysteries do include elements that only come into play once parts of the Dark Conspiracy have been revealed, so the Keeper will need to pick which ones she wants to run and when. Further, some also have special rules, such as that for Brindlewood County Charity Poker Tournament which the Mavens can enter in the first mystery, ‘Dead Man’s Hand’.

The mysteries vary in tone. So, ‘Dead Man’s Hand’ takes place at a charity poker tournament, whereas ‘Lies and Dolls, or A Very Brief Tenure’, in which a corpse is discovered at the Museum of Brindle-Dolls, home to a collection of historic, locally-made dolls, and is thus a bit creepy. There is a sequel to ‘The Great Brindlewood Bay Bake-Off’ , with the Mavens again judges, but this time at Faversham’s Favourite Fudge competition at a farmer’s market in a neighbouring town, in the process, expanding the world of Brindlewood Bay, if only a little. The title of the latter, ‘Fudge, Jury, and Executioner’ is in the running for the best named mystery in the book, although ‘The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soulless’ and ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Murder’ are almost as good. There are classic locations for murder mysteries too such as auctions, high school reunions, and carnivals, but also odder ones too, such as at a high school wrestling tournament. One of the most potentially fun is ‘A Throng of Vice and Liars’, set at the Mavens’ own headquarters, The Candlelight Booksellers which is hosting fantasy author, Herb L. L. Paxton, currently facing some criticism about how long it is taking him to finish the sixth volume of what was originally planned to be a trilogy. It very knowingly and amusingly pokes at fandom and fantasy, both onscreen and on the page.

Seven of the Mysteries are ‘Sweeps Week Mysteries’. These are designed emulate the type of stunt episodes of a television series in the USA in the eighties and nineties, typically involving a weird plotline or celebrity guest star, intended to attraction higher advertising revenue. In Nephews in Peril, ‘Sweeps Week Mysteries’ are intended to be played late in Dark Conspiracy campaign, as Mysteries after the campaign has been completed, or as one-off Mysteries. ‘Sweeps Week Mysteries’ emphasis the supernatural rather than murder, and to account for this, instead of solving a murder, the Mavens are answering key questions about the mystery. Further, there are limitations on the mechanics, most notably negating the effect of several Maven Moves, removing the Occult Move, and the replacement of the ‘Theorise’ Move with the ‘Answer A Question’ Move. Where in normal murder mysteries, there are Suspects, here there are Side Characters, and where in normal murder mysteries, solving a mystery would be enough, here the Mavens get rewards. These can come in the form of new Moves, recurring Side Characters, decorations for the Cosy Little Place, and so on.

The ‘Sweeps Week Mysteries’ start out with the amusingly named ‘The Hex Files’, which finds the Mavens on a road trip to Who Dunnit? Con, a mystery book convention in California when they discover an overturned car in a ditch outside of Devilwood, New Mexico—a New Mexico which looks surprisingly like Vancouver—and it so happens that there are bodies of two dead FBI agents in the vehicle with files about missing persons on the road on their person. ‘Dressed to Kill’ shifts the mystery to the Peak District in the United Kingdom, whilst in ‘Let the Night One In’, the Mavens are invited to visit another famous crime writer, this time living in an isolated town in the Canadian north in deep winter when the sun never rises and people are going missing… There is a good mix of mystery types to these ‘Sweeps Week Mysteries’ and they show off the flexibility of the Brindlewood Bay mystery format, though with some mechanical changes.

The third part of Nephews in Peril is devoted to ‘The Village of Brindlewood Bay’. This expands greatly upon the setting presented in the core rulebook that add a mixture of new and old businesses, old and new locations. So, there is Historic Brindlewood Congregational Church, The First Well Historic Restoration Trust, and Minuteman Memorial Statue versus the Foam coffee house and Nerdcore, which caters to nerd culture including players of Sorcery: the Coalescence! Each entry includes a description that explains what it does and its role in the community, details of its proprietors and employees, and with ‘Pose a Question’, a reason why a Maven might visit. The sense of Brindlewood Bay as a place is further developed in the last part of the supplement is ‘A Cozy Little Place’ which gives advice for the Keeper in bringing the town to live and playing up its cosy nature, developing each Maven’s attachment to both her home and community. The aim is to provide a counterpoint to the rash of murders that beset the town and the growing realisation that something else is going on with the Dark Conspiracy. The advice is optional, but if used it can enhance the setting of Brindlewood Bay.

Physically, Nephews in Peril is clean and cosy, and thus in keeping with the main rulebook. It is well written and engaging, but the illustrations by Cecilia Ferri are stunning, veering between showing the Mavens joyously having the time of their cosy lives, not just in Brindlewood Bay, but around the world.

Although entirely optional, Nephews in Peril: A Collection of New Mysteries in BRINDLEWOOD BAY can be both expand the play of Brindlewood Bay: A Dark & Cozy Mystery Game and continue its play even after the Dark Conspiracy at its heart has been confronted and thwarted and the campaign is over. Nephews in Peril: A Collection of New Mysteries in BRINDLEWOOD BAY simply gives you more. More mysteries and more cosiness and more of Brindlewood Bay itself, but also a slightly different way to way to play which remains faithful to the inspiration for the roleplaying game itself.

Mavens, Mystery, Murder, & Mythos

Just occasionally, along comes a roleplaying game that makes you sit back and think. A roleplaying game that upends your expectations. Brindlewood Bay: A Dark & Cozy Mystery Game does exactly that. It changes how you think about how you roleplay investigation in mystery games and it changes who you roleplay. The mystery—as opposed to the mysterious, which has always been there—has long been a part of roleplaying, all the way back to The Maltese Clue, the scenario published by Judges Guild in 1979. It really came to the fore with roleplaying games like Call of Cthulhu, Gangbusters, and Justice, Inc. and more recently seen in the GUMSHOE System with roleplaying games such as Mutant City Blues, which combines superheroes with the police procedural. What these all do with the mystery is provide the Game Master with a plot and a set of clues that the players and their characters investigate and hopefully piece together the clues to uncover the mystery. In other words, there is always a set solution as to who did what to whom and why. And in such roleplaying games, the investigators are detectives and investigators, typically young and in the prime of their careers. Neither is the case in Brindlewood Bay. Instead, Brindlewood Bay asks what if there was no set solution and instead the solution to the mystery could be constructed from the clues uncovered by the players and their characters and would be, if not absolutely correct, then very nearly so? Very nearly so that when hypothesised and put to the suspects, turned out to be case solved? And instead, Brindlewood Bay asks the players not to roleplay police detectives or private eyes, but asks them to take the roles of elderly, retired women turned amateur sleuth in the manner of Miss Jane Marple or Jessica Fletcher.

There is more to Brindlewood Bay: A Dark & Cozy Mystery than just this, but at its heart, this roleplaying game is Murder She Wrote with a semi-improvised plot/mystery and everyone being Jessica Fletcher. Of course, Brindlewood Bay offers more options than just playing Jessica Fletcher, but the idea of roleplaying elderly female amateur detectives is utterly delightful. Published in 2022 by The Gauntlet following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Brindlewood Bay is designed to be played by between two and four players as well as the Game Master and casts the Player Characters—known as Mavens—as retirees in the eponymous small coastal Massachusetts town, a former whaling port that has long since transformed itself into a charming tourist spot. The Player Characters are members of the Murder Mavens, a mystery book club that meets weekly on the top floor of The Candlelight Booksellers every Saturday evening, and has done so for a decade now. Their favourite writer is Robin Masterson, the author of The Gold Crown Mysteries series by featuring the globe-trotting super-sleuth, Amanda Delacourt. As well as their own hobbies and activities, sometimes and much to the chagrin of the local authorities who resent their meddling, the Mavens stumble onto crimes and through a combination of astuteness, savviness, and the fact that old ladies often get overlooked, solve crimes. Brindlewood Bay can be played as a one-shot, but it is really set up to played as a campaign. The campaign unknowingly pitches the Mavens against a dark cult known as the Midwives of the Fragrant Void, Hellenic death cult working to summon the ‘Children of Persephone’, chthonic monstrosities that will bring about the End of All Things. As the campaign progresses, the Mavens and the cult conspiracy will become aware of each other, and ultimately, the Mavens will not only be solving murders, but saving the world too! (Though there are possible other outcomes as well…)

A Maven is defined by five Abilities—Vitality, Composure, Reason, Presence, and Sensitivity—each rated between ‘-3’ and ‘+3’, a name, a Style that reflects her outlook on life as much as how she dresses, and a Cosy Activity that is her favourite hobby. The Style might be ‘Alexis Carrington Colby’, ‘Hippy Dippy’, or ‘Office Hours’, whilst the Cosy Activity will be something like Cooking, Gardening, Knitting, Pointing, or Scrapbooking. It should be noted that Brindlewood Bay is a very American game, so some of the references, especially the Styles may not necessarily be familiar and may require a little research. A Maven also has a Maven Move, a special action or benefit that can be brought into play. For example, the ‘Frank Columbo’ Move means that society’s elite underestimates the Maven and whenever she is amongst the rich and famous, her Meddling Move will always grant her an extra clue; the ‘Dale Cooper’ Move increases a Maven’s Sensitivity and the Keeper—as the Game Master is known—will grant Void Clues in the form of a disturbing dream at the beginning of each session; and the ‘Jim Rockford’ Move means that the Keeper narrates an answering machine message that the Maven receives asking to undertake a task that if completed will earn her Experience Points and will get odder as a campaign progresses. Ironically—and self-admittedly—all of the Maven Moves are named after male detectives, highlighting the lack of strong female roles within the genre. That said, the extra and alternative Maven Moves do include some named after female detectives. All of the Maven Moves are delightfully clever, if not actually witty, and like any good Move in a Powered by the Apocalypse they tell a lot about the Mavens.

To create a Maven, a player chooses a name, Style, and Cosy Activity, as well as defining her Cosy Little Place. She assigns a single point to one of her Abilities and chooses one Maven Move. The creation process is simple and easy and made all the easier by fitting onto a third of the character sheet that is as much worksheet as character sheet and by the step-by-step process being explained by the section that takes both the Keeper and her players through the first session of Brindlewood Bay from set-up through safety tools and character creation to the first mystery and beyond.

Name: Pearl
Style: Jackie O
Cozy Activity: Charity Events

STATS
Vitality 0 Composure +1 Reason +1 Presence +2 Sensitivity -1

MOVES
Jonathan Hart

Mechanically, Brindlewood Bay uses a stripped down version of Powered by the Apocalypse, the mechanics first seen in Lumpley Games’ Apocalypse World. To undertake an action or ‘Move’, a player rolls two six-sided dice, adds one of his Maven’s Stats, adds his Maven’s Investigative Style and aims to roll high. The results are either ‘No’, ‘Yes, but...’, ‘Yes’, and ‘Yes and…’. A result of six or less is a ‘No’ and lets the Keeper add a Complication; roll between seven and nine, and the result is ‘Yes, but…’, and successful, but comes with a Complication; a roll of ten or eleven and the result is a ‘Yes’; and a result of twelve or more and the Move is ‘Yes and…’, indicating that there is a bonus to the Move. A Complication hinders the Maven’s investigative efforts and is primarily played by the Keeper as a Reaction to a Maven’s action. This Reaction can be environmental such as the Maven getting lost, aggressive and have the killer attack the Maven or sabotage her efforts, or social, like being threatened with being blackballed at the country club. A Reaction at night will place a Maven in greater danger than one in the day, and it even possible for a Maven to be killed. One special Reaction, allowed just once per mystery, is ‘Cut to Commercial’ when the Keeper lets the player of an imperilled Maven narrate a commercial of some kind (there are prompts), when the story returns, the Maven will have found a way to succeed.

Unlike most versions of Powered by the Apocalypse, the rules in Brindlewood Bay include an Advantage and Disadvantage mechanic. Thus, when a Maven has the Advantage, which can come from her Style, Cosy Activity, one of her Maven Moves, or the situation, three six-sided dice are rolled instead of two, and the best used. Conversely, when she is at a Disadvantage, her player rolls three dice and keeps the lowest two. Another difference between other roleplaying games using Brindlewood Bay and Brindlewood Bay is that it does not make use of Playbooks, each of which provide an archetypal character and its associated Moves. Instead, Brindlewood Bay provides a standard set of seven Moves that all of the Mavens can use. The first four Moves—‘The Day Move’, ‘The Night Move’, ‘The Cosy Move’, and ‘The Meddling Move’ are all to do with collecting Clues. The primary difference between ‘The Day Move’ and ‘The Night Move’ is that failure and Complications are likely to be more dangerous at night. ‘The Cosy Move’ is when the Mavens share a moment over a Cosy activity and in the process discover a clue that will help, but not conclusively, solve the mystery. ‘The Meddling Move’ is when the Mavens actively look for a clue.

The fifth and sixth Moves are more specialised. ‘The Gold Crown Mysteries Move’ occurs when a Maven says, “This reminds me of something that happened to Amanda Delacourt!” and together the players work out how the current situation recalls a scene from one of Robin Masterson’s mystery novels. It can only be done once per mystery and must refer to previously unmentioned entry in the series, but always results in a Yes and…’ outcome, whether an action or an addition to the mystery. It is thus a powerful move. ‘The Occult Move’ is used whenever a Maven attempts an action related to the occult and somehow tied to the Midwives of the Fragrant Void. This is unlikely to be used in the opening stages of campaign as the Mavens are unlikely to be aware of the Midwives of the Fragrant Void. It will often justification as why a Maven might attempt it and it is not without its dangers.

The seventh Move is the ‘Theorise’ Move. This happens at the end or near the end of the game when the Mavens gather their collected clues and deduce the identity of the murderer. The roll is only modified by the number of clues and secrets found so far, minus the Complexity of the murder. This is most radical and innovative element of Brindlewood Bay. The Keeper will have a body and then lists of locations, suspects, and clues that make up the mystery, but will know neither which of the suspects committed the crime and which of the clues are important. In fact, when the Keeper does give the players and their Mavens a clue, she picks a clue from the given list based not on which seems the most significant, but on which seems the most interesting. The Mavens are free to search for clues and talk to suspects and when clues are revealed, it is the players and their Mavens that assign them meaning and significance; effectively ‘play to find out what happens’ through the emerging story of the investigation.

There are two further actions which involve a Maven ‘putting on a Crown’. ‘The Crown of the Queen’ explores the femineity of the maven via a flashback to a scene involving the Maven’s late partner or a relative, a private moment, a recent romantic or sexual situation, and so on. Each can only be used once and enable a Maven to escape adversity or a dangerous situation as well giving the player to think about and roleplay a different side to his Maven. ‘The Crown of the Queen’ actions can be triggered in any order, whereas ‘The Crown of the Void’ must be triggered in order. There are fewer of them and they represent the growing influence of the Midwives of the Fragrant Void’s upon the Maven. If they are all ticked off, the last one forces the Maven to retire from play as she is lost to the Void…

Brindlewood Bay includes several ready-to-play mysteries. Each includes a description of the mystery, a way to present it, moments that the Keeper can use to set the scene or add tension, lists of suspects, clues, and locations, and a Complexity value. This ranges between six and eight and represents the number of elements of the solution that the players and their Mavens need to discuss and hypothesise before they can make the ‘Theorise Move’ without a penalty.

Now Brindlewood Bay can be played as a one-shot mystery in which the mavens investigate a mystery, but that mystery is always going to be mundane, because in the long term there is the greater mystery, the conspiracy and aims of the Midwives of the Fragrant Void. That conspiracy is the most detailed part of the Brindlewood Bay background, but unlike the clues of the mundane mysteries, the clues behind the conspiracy and its Mythos—known as Void clues—slip out inadvertently, sort of accumulating to the point where the Mavens and their players being to realise that something else is going on. It is likely at this point that the ‘Occult Move’ comes into play, it is likely that the Mavens being to dabble in occult in order to understand and stop the Midwives of the Fragrant Void, it is increasingly likely that a Maven might die, and it is even likely that a Maven might join the Midwives of the Fragrant Void. The descriptions of the Midwives of the Fragrant Void and The Children of Persephone do flirt with Lovecraftian influences, and perhaps one group might want to bring those into play more, but the Midwives of the Fragrant Void is more of cosmic threat than a Lovecraftian one. However without this conspiracy, Brindlewood Bay cannot be anything other than best suited for one-shot play as narratively it has no scope for development.

The advice for the Keeper in Brindlewood Bay is extensive and detailed, and particularly helpful in guiding the Keeper through the shift in perspective and playstyle that Brindlewood Bay demands. And then helpful in guiding her player through that same shift. Storytelling games have been around for over two decades now and when first published, they also represented a shift how a roleplaying game was played and considered, but the shift that Brindlewood Bay demands of its Keeper and player is even bigger. Not just how a roleplaying game was played and considered, but also how a mystery is investigated and played out and how the decisions of the players and actions of their Mavens determine the story and build the world around them. The advice also covers the structure of play and the structure of the campaign, it breaks down the anatomy of a mystery, and it gives an extensive guide on how to run the first session and thus first mystery of Brindlewood Bay. It takes the Keeper and her players through the Maven creation process, explains to them what to expect, and shows the structure of play, providing a template that the Keeper will return again and again.

There is not so much a learning curve to Brindlewood Bay so much as an adjustment, and the book does a fine job of helping everyone through that. However, the downside is that upon first reading Brindlewood Bay, the reader is left wondering how to create a Maven. Literally everything in the game—the situation, the Moves, the Conspiracy, and the given Mysteries—is presented before the actual process of Maven creation. This is given in the ‘Session One’ guide at the very back of the book. It is fine once you know it is there, but there is also nothing at the start of the book to say that it is. The character sheet for the Maven does help with her creation, but neither that or other sheets for the roleplaying game, like ‘The Dark Conspiracy’ worksheet is included in the book.

Physically, Brindlewood Bay is clean and cosy. It is well written and engaging, but the illustrations by Cecilia Ferri are stunning, veering between showing the Mavens joyously having the time of their cosy lives and the foreboding nature of the conspiracy at the heart of the roleplaying game.

There are moments in a roleplaying session when the players will say something about the current storyline or situation and the Game Master will think to herself, “Oh that’s good. That is so clever and better than what I had thought of, I am going to steal that.” Brindlewood Bay does not so much make that implicit as make it part of its play. It shifts the standard mystery roleplaying set-up from having to find the clues and work out what they mean with the Game Master knowing the answers to finding the clues, working out what they mean, and then giving them meaning. And then it hands the process of that deduction not into the hands of traditional action hero detectives, but to grannies and little old ladies, asking the players to roleplay from the perspective of the older woman and use charm and wits and insight to solve the crime rather than fists and guns. Both demands are radical, but delightfully so. Brindlewood Bay: A Dark & Cozy Mystery Game is a wonderfully cosy, brilliantly innovative game that genuinely asks us to think differently about how we play and who we play.

Cthulhoid Choices: Cryptid Creeks

Call of Cthulhu is the preeminent roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror and has been for over four decades now. The roleplaying game gives the chance for the players and their Investigators to explore a world in which the latter are exposed, initially often indirectly, but as the story or investigation progresses, increasingly directly, to alien forces beyond their comprehension. So, beyond that what they encounter is often interpreted as indescribable, yet supernatural monsters or gods wielding magic, but in reality is something more, a confrontation with the true nature of the universe and the realisation as to the terrible insignificance of mankind with it and an understanding that despite, there are those that would embrace and worship the powers that be for their own ends. Such a realisation and such an understanding often leave those so foolish as to investigate the unknown clutching at, or even, losing their sanity, and condemned to a life knowing truths to which they wish they were never exposed. This blueprint has set the way in which other games—roleplaying games, board games, card games, and more—have presented Lovecraftian investigative horror, but as many as there that do follow that blueprint, there are others have explored the Mythos in different ways.

Cthulhoid Choices is a strand of reviews that examine other roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror and of Cosmic, but not necessarily Horror. Previous reviews which can be considered part of this strand include Cthulhu Hack, Realms of Crawling Chaos, and the Apocthulhu Roleplaying Game.

—oOo—

Shingleford is in danger from manipulation and catastrophe. It is not the first time that this happened to the town which stands on the mouth of the Clawfoot estuary. It happened in the autumn of 1962 and was stopped, but can it be stopped this time? The enigmatic, if friendly, figure of the Peddler has come to town, selling the townsfolk what they want in the form of little Trinkets he takes from his travelling case. When the owners of these Trinkets sleep, the Trinkets take their deepest resentments and twist them into Curses, and in this way, their owners become Cursekeepers, exhilarated by the eldritch power granted by their Trinkets and now capable of casting their Curses on others, whether that is an individual, their family or other group, or an establishment. These curses will grow and threaten to overwhelm the community. If these Curses and the influence of the Peddler were stopped in 1962, how can they be stopped today? Simply through the efforts of the River Scouts, the stories of Hilda Buckle, and the careful eye of The Watcher. The Watcher is an intelligent animal or cryptid, a spirit of the river who will inform the River Scouts of new Curses and keep a watch over them. Hilda Buckle is an old woman who lives in a shack on Bulrush Island further upriver and who has a reputation for telling fanciful stories, fanciful stories that begin to look very much the events that are occurring in Shingleford and up and down the river. The River Scouts are local teenagers who discovered the old River Scouts clubhouse, abandoned after the events of 1962, and upon turning it into a den, were visited by the ghost of a young girl who told them of how she helped lift the Curse in 1962. Other ghosts asked them to read the River Scout Pledge and provide protection for the Clawfoot and Shingleford once again, presenting them with Sashes that will help them defeat the Curses.

This is the set-up for Cryptid Creeks, a roleplaying game of eldritch investigative horror, that takes its inspiration from films such as The Goonies and Stand by Me, television series like Gravity Falls and Stranger Things, and graphic novels such as The Lumberjanes. Although a roleplaying game of eldritch investigative horror, and thus adjacent to it, Cryptid Creeks is not a roleplaying game of Lovecraftian investigative horror and does not involve the Cthulhu Mythos. Which means it offers a similar style of play, but without the familiarity with or issues of anything Lovecraftian. Further, in keeping with its inspirations and with the age of its protagonists, it is designed to be played, if not necessarily run, by a teenage audience. This does not mean that it cannot be enjoyed by more mature playing group, but it is in keeping with the publisher’s other roleplaying game, Inspirales, aimed at a similar age group. Published by Hatchlings Games following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it is described as ‘Cosy Horror’, meaning that it is suitable for a family audience. Cryptid Creeks is also ‘Carved from Brindlewood’, which means that it is a Powered by the Apocalypse system roleplaying game, but one using the lighter, more investigative-focused variant of Brindlewood Bay.

A River Scout in Cryptid Creeks is defined by five attributes—Athletic, Smart, Cool, Smooth, and Attuned—which range in value from ‘-3’ to ‘+3’, and are used to modify dice rolls. He will be defined by a Playbook, which defines the base value for the attributes, a gift from the Watcher, provides Moves or actions particular to each Playbook, gives Setback and Perks, and offers ways in which the River Scout can improve himself. The six Playbooks are Athlete, Medic, Musician, Bookworm, Sailor, and Misfit. For the most part, they conform to high school type roles, though with a couple options which fit the setting of Cryptid Creeks. These are the Sailor, who will help the River Scouts get up and down the Clawfoot, and the Misfit, who is a little bit special because he is the Watcher’s champion and can work with the Eeries, the chaotic, tiny cryptids which watch over Shingleford for Curses and deliver messages to and for the Watcher. Each Playbook also suggests touchstones, or characters from films and television, that fall within the Playbook.

To create a River Scout, a player selects a Playbook and assigns one point to his attributes. He also picks one ability as well as the Watcher’s Gift. The process is simple and straightforward.

Every Scout has access to six Basic Moves in addition to the Moves of his Playbook. The Scout Move is carried out when a River Scout wants to do something risky or face a fear; the Eldritch Move is rolled when facing or dealing with the supernatural; the Snoop Move is for searching for Clues or conducting research; the Crew Move is for clearing Misfortunes and for strengthening bonds between the River Scouts; the Hilda Move is used when a River Scout wants to do something based on a story that Hilda has told him; and lastly the Answer a Question Move is made when the players feel that their River Scouts have gathered enough clues to discuss and then attempt a hypothesis about the nature of a Curse. As Cryptid Creeks is an investigative roleplaying game, the Snoop Move is a strong focus of the game, there is a certain delight in the Hilda Move which enables a player to add detail to the setting through play.

Mechanically, Cryptid Creeks is quite straightforward. To have his River Scout undertake an action, a player rolls two six-sided dice. On a roll of six or less, the result is a miss with a reaction; a roll of seven to nine is a hit with a complication; a roll of ten or eleven a straight hit; and a roll of twelve or more a triumph with a benefit. A player can also roll with Advantage, meaning he rolls three dice and uses the two highest, or Disadvantage, meaning that he rolls three dice and uses the two lowest. Advantage may come from a Move, the situation, or a useful item from the Clubhouse Collection. Disadvantage can come from the situation or a Misfortune.

In addition, each River Scout has access to a Sash, given to him by the ghosts in the Clubhouse. These can be used—and the roleplaying game advises that the players use them when a Curse is near its peak and the situation is much tougher—after a roll has been made to increase the success rating rolled. Narratively, a Sash has two effects, one that is out of game and one that is in game. The out of game effect is that it enables a player and his River Scout to view one dangerous path, represented by the poor roll, but as advised by the ghost who gave it to the River Scout, chose a path with better outcome that pushes them towards defeating the Peddler. The in-game effect depends upon whether the player chooses to lift his River Scout’s Sash as ‘The Sash of Ages’ or ‘The Sash of Endings’. When ‘The Sash of Ages’ is lifted, it invokes a nostalgic memory of a time before the character joined the River Scouts, whilst when ‘The Sash of Endings’ is lifted, the River Scout suffers from dark visions. For example, a ‘Sash of Ages’ for the Sailor Playbook is ‘A flashback showing your earliest memory in a boat’, whilst a ‘Sash of Endings’ might be ‘Ends in Ruins’ in which, ‘The townsfolk desperately search through the charred remains of the dinghy, even as the mast collapses.’ Each Playbook lists several of both types of Sashes which are crossed off as they are lifted. When a player crosses off the last Sash, his River Scout must retire.

Given its ‘Cozy Horror’ genre and the age of the River Scouts, it is no surprise that Cryptid Creeks has no combat system. Technically, it does not even have a damage system. Instead, a River Scout can suffer Misfortunes that can be physical, psychological, or supernatural, such as an allergic reaction, sprained ankle, being confused or horrified, or feeling a buzzing in the brain or being drawn to the Peddler. These can come about because of a player’s roll, of a River Scout’s action, and so on. A Misfortune means that River Scout’s player rolls with Disadvantage, and worse, when a River Scout suffers his fourth Misfortune, his player must mark off a Sash without the benefit of Lifting it. Narratively, Misfortunes and their mechanical effect can be negated by the Crew Move, played whilst travelling or at the Clubhouse.

Cryptid Creeks is played in four phases—the ‘Beginning of Episode’ Phase, ‘Investigation’ Phase, the ‘River’ Phase, and ‘End of Episode’ Phase. The ‘Beginning of Episode’ Phase includes a recap, a clubhouse montage, and the Navigator—as the Game Master is known—introduces a new Curse. In the ‘Investigation’ Phase, the River Scouts search for clues and gather information, which takes up the majority of play. The ‘River’ Phase is triggered whenever the River Scouts travel up and down the Clawfoot and enables the Navigator and players to expand the setting by adding and detailing new locations, the Navigator to showcase the setting and its eldritch elements, and the River Scout to share more emotionally touching scenes. In the ‘End of Episode’ Phase, the River Scouts claim the rewards for breaking a Curse, play out any scenes linked to Sashes lifted during the session, gain Experience Points for answering ‘End of Episode’ Questions, and in the appropriately named ‘Smores & Dreams’, the players can discuss that they liked about the episode and want to see more of.

For the Navigator, there is good advice on running the four different Phases, how to handle clues, locations, and side characters, and how to interpret the various Moves. There is also a breakdown of what a Curse looks like and the principles of being a good Navigator. These include rooting for the River Scouts, following their lead as they explore and expand the setting of Clawfoot and search for Clues, shift the spotlight between River Scouts, balance the cosy versus the eldritch, bring the world to life, embrace the otherworldly nature of Clawfoot, and keep collaboration with the players in mind. Although there is advice on how to run Cryptid Creeks as a one-shot, it is made clear that the roleplaying game is not intended to be run in a ‘monster-of-the-week’ format, but rather as a series consisting of several episodes. What this means is that although the River Scouts will initially be facing one Curse, the likelihood is that they will be facing two or three as the campaign progresses. A Curse consists of a main threat and several ‘tendrils’, associated dangers such as eldritch horrors and difficult Side Characters that typically want to stop the River Scouts. A Curse also has its own Sash, which can be Lifted like the River Scouts’ own, but without needing to tick their own off.

Beyond this, Cryptid Creeks provides the Navigator with tools and advice to create her own Curses, from concept and themes to presenting the Curse and clues to it and more. Almost half of Cryptid Creeks is devoted to the eight-part campaign or series, ‘The Peddler’s Revenge’ in which the River Scouts discover the threat to Shingleford and Clawfoot, investigate the Curses being laid upon the region, and ultimately uncover the secrets behind the Peddler. The campaign is supported by descriptions of various places in Shingleford and along the Clawfoot, but best of all, there is a pilot episode that the Navigator can use to kick-start her campaign. It provides a step-by-step guide that helps the Navigator teach the rules of Cryptid Creeks and explain what the roleplaying game is about to her players and then again, step-by-step, shows the Navigator how to show her players how to play and the flow of the game. Up until this point, Cryptid Creeks looked to be a good roleplaying game to run for a group of younger players who were new or relatively new to roleplaying games, ideally by a Game Master with some experience under her belt. Yet, the ‘Pilot Episode’ really shifts Cryptid Creeks away from this. It is very well done and really helps the neophyte Navigator—whether new to being a Game Master or new to Powered by the Apocalypse—grasp how Cryptid Creeks is run. The advice and step-by-step introduction of the ‘Pilot Episode’ make what was already a good starting roleplaying game for the players, into being a good one for the Navigator too.

Physically, Cryptid Creeks is brightly, breezily presented with engaging cartoonish artwork. The depiction of the Peddler in particular, looks like a version of David Tennant’s Doctor Who, but with tentacles coming out of his Mod suit! The roleplaying game is also well written and far from a difficult read.

Cryptid Creeks is not an introductory roleplaying game, but it definitely can be used to introduce players to the hobby and it can be a Navigator’s first roleplaying game as a Game Master. The advice to that end is very well done and this is combined with the accessibility of both the Powered by the Apocalypse mechanics and the setting of Clawfoot with its cosy familiarity and the unsettling nature of the threat that the River Scouts and their home face. If looking for a ‘Cosy Horror’ roleplaying game or a Game Master’s first roleplaying game, Cryptid Creeks is a good choice. If looking for both, Cryptid Creeks is the perfect choice.

[Free RPG Day 2025] :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game

Now in its eighteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2025 took place on Saturday, June 21st. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Thanks to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day.

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Two days ago, a terrorist cyber team was able to identify, isolate, and take control of an anomaly in cyberspace. An informant in the Tokyo Tangle has identified the team as belonging to the Ōgama marauders, a radical terrorist organization which has been frog-like yōkai who have been attacking civilian targets in the Megacity, likely in an attempt to destabilize the local government. The team’s target is the anomalous cyber Domain, BNZ4I-10, known to display cutting-edge or supernatural capacities with regard to data control. Now that Ōgama have control of BNZ4I-10, it has the ability to manipulate the flow of data throughout cyberspace. This includes the capacity to redirect data packets, including highly sensitive information sent from secure locations, into this anomalous Domain. With this, their cyber team has unchecked reach and significant advantage in terms of access to communication.

Although the location of the physical server hosting this Domain cannot be determined, but communications access has been gained. You will be placed in Harness and projected into the Domain’s virtual representation. Your objective is to infiltrate and take over BNZ4I-10, eradicate Ōgama presence and code, and transfer control to Section 7. As a secondary objective, identify and secure any tech or artifacts used by Ōgama operatives to control or access the server.

Mission begins.

This is the set-up for :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game, a quick-start for :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG, published by the Son of Oak Game Studio, best known for City of Mist, the Pulp Noir, Urban Fantasy storytelling game. It is a narrative roleplaying game set some time during the next century in which the Player Characters are inhabitants of a dystopian Megacity who make a living undertaking dangerous jobs that their employers want temporary, deniable assets for. Typical tasks include hijacking, extraction, procurement, security sweeps, and so on. More recently, the Player Characters have made contact with something inexplicable, a legend or a Mythos that they hitherto only thought to be fiction, but is currently proving to be actually real. Almost as if it was out of a book of myths and legends, they find themselves capable of warping reality in a way that can only be described as magic! It uses a variant of the Powered by the Apocalypse mechanics, called the ‘Mist Engine’ and the :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game includes a short strike mission, ‘BNZ4I-10 Cyber Anomaly’, that can be played through in a single session with the three pre-generated Player Characters provided.

A Player Character in :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG is defined by four sets of themed Tags. These Themes vary, but can include Esoterica, Expertise, Affiliation, Assets, Artefact, Personality, and more. Each Theme set contains five Tags which can be used as a ‘Power Tag’ or a ‘Weakness Tag’. For example, the Wilson has the Tags of ‘Oni Strength’, ‘Demonic Durability’, ‘Rapid Regeneration’, ‘Acute Sense of Smell’, ‘Muscular Overgrowth’, and ‘Easily Angered’ for his Oni Mask Theme. A Theme also has background details that develop and explain who the character is. Each Player Character has a set of items which can be used as Tags too.

The three Player Characters in the :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game are ‘Genji’, a grizzled detective working for the Bureau of Onmyu, a secret government organisation that that tracks Mytho-related activities that are a threat to Tokyo and the rest of Japan; ‘Unagi’ is a scavenger and urban explorer looking for her kid sister who has also received the boon of Unagi Hime, the Eel princess; and ‘Wilson’ is a gaijin ronin, an ex-soldier turned mercenary armed with a cutting edge rail gun, who wears an Oni mask which gives strength and endurance. Each Theme comes with some colour text which gives it and the Player Character some context. Lastly, each of the three pre-generated Player Characters comes on a double-sided A3-size sheet, with a full illustration on one side and the full stats and details on the other, including an explanation of the roleplaying game’s core mechanic.

Mechanically, to have his character attempt a task a player rolls two six-sided dice. If the result is ten or more, the Player Character succeeds without Consequences; if it is seven to nine, he succeeds, but suffers Consequences; and if six or less, the Player Character fails and suffers the Consequences. To the roll, the player adds as many Power Tags as he can and which are appropriate, but has to deduct any Weakness Tags that apply. The resulting value is the Player Character’s Power. This can be spent on various Effects—Attack, Influence, Boost, Create, and Restore. They can also be applied to Challenges and Threats in an attempt to overcome them. Each Challenge or Threat has a rating or a ‘Limit’, for example, to get past an encampment of bandits with two men on watch, the Limits might be ‘stealth: 2’ and ‘wounded: 3’. In the first example, the Player Characters would apply the Effects from a stealth-related Tag to exceed the Limit, whilst in the second, the Effects from an attack-type Tag would be used. This can be done over multiple attempts with the Effects stacking each time, but if successful will change the status of a Challenge or Threat. Thus, the ‘stealth: 2’ Limit changes to ‘evaded-2’ and the ‘wounded: 3’ Limit to ‘wounded-3’.

However, there are ramifications if a Challenge or Threat is not dealt with succinctly or is even ignored. The Narrator can apply Consequences. This might be something as straightforward as ‘bleeding-3’ for a wound, ‘burning-1’ from a fire, or ‘lost-4’ if in darkness, but Limits themselves could change. For example, the Limits for the bandits could change to ‘hunted: 3’ and ‘wounded: 4’, now that the Player Characters failed to get past the encampment. The :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game includes a list of possible Effects, advice on running the roleplaying game, and possible Challenges, Threats, and Consequences that the Player Characters might face and suffer.

The adventure itself, ‘BNZ4I-10 Cyber Anomaly’ is set within cyberspace into which each Player Character and his abilities are projected, a process known as Harnessing. What this means is that whilst what is actually happening is that lines of code are running and interacting with each other, they are visualised and anything a Player Character could do in meatspace, he can do in the virtual space too and it will look exactly what it does in the real world. BNZ4I-10 is a ‘thin place’, a place where the mythic and the real meet. BNZ4I-10 actually looks like a shrine, complete with several pagodas, a bathhouse, and a pond. These locations are not mapped out in detail, but they do not need to be. Both these locations and the Ōgama marauder threats are described in detail enough that the Master of Ceremonies—as the Game Master is known in :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG—will handle how they react to the actions of the Player Characters. The scenario be played as is, but options explore what might happen if the Player Characters are betrayed by their employer or they betray their employer.

Physically, the :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game is well presented. The artwork is good and the writing decent. All three Player Character sheets come separate from the main book and there is even a sheet of Tracking Cards to cut and use to keep track of Effects being applied to Threats and Challenges and Limits being reduced.

If the :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game is lacking anything, it is an example of play or the rules in play. Without either, it is not quite as easy to grasp as it could have been, presenting more of a challenge to learn for anyone new to roleplaying or new to the narrative style of play employed in :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG. However, for the experienced Narrator or the Narrator willing to grasp its slightly different rules, the :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game is a solid, engaging introduction to :Otherscape – The Mythic-Cyberpunk RPG, with an exciting strike mission that puts the Player Characters in the heat of the action.