Reading TTRPG - 52th edition

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Here's a new edition of Reading TTRPG. Some French creation, that's rare enough to be highlighted. And just as rare (if not more so) is a LARP. It's almost Christmas, so treat yourself and others with indie games, and feel free to put a few games under the tree, even if it's virtual. Please check out my lists: Games I want to play, Games I played, and Solo TTRPG I might try.

Triage, by Linou MajorZéro

This is a product only available in french.

I've been seeing Linou MajorZéro's name circulating for several months now, and we've even been interacting here and there, and it's about time I took a closer look at her production. More than games in their own right, they're mostly scenarios, with a leaning towards the horrific, leaning slightly towards Cthulhu. Not really my cup of tea, I must admit, and the reason why I wasn't all that interested in Chromatopsie, for example. But Triage seemed different. An assumed absurd corpo side, an ever-present touch of horror, an assumed and radical one-shot proposition. I took advantage of a big promotion by Lulu, and went for it.

So, Triage is not a game but an open scenario, a mini-sandbox self-sufficient. A game system is proposed (the house system, in a light version), but I haven't really looked into it. I know my tastes, and I don't think I'll ever get interested.

But let's start with the graphics, which is what strikes you at first glance. Cédric Chaillol was in charge of the layout, and while it remains fairly classic, the design elements are really cool. Between the fake “motivational” posters, the decrepit corpo atmosphere and the magnificent cover, we're spoiled. Hats off to you, Cédric. It's not overflowing with illustrations, but is that necessary? The atmosphere is there.

The text also helps to set the mood. I'm not going to give away the plot, which is based on a twist, but you should know that you'll be wandering around in a crazy business, where the absurdity of administration is brought to the spotlight, where the happy managers/director of happiness no longer hide the horror of their situation. Think The Office if it had been a horror movie, think Asterix's Twelve Labors, think LinkedIn. The big plus is the French atmosphere. In the names, in certain denominations, you can feel the old French company atmosphere and all its clichés.

One slight regret is that the scenario is designed to be played by characters from another story, to be integrated into a campaign as an interlude. I would have liked to see pre-written characters, to have, directly in the text, the possibility of playing the scenario as a one-shot. Even if the stakes become, inevitably, different. But the way Triage is conceived makes it easy to get this by yourself.

This scenario is a good pick. Although it's still a Dungeon-Crawl system (ah, didn't I tell you ^^), the scenario isn't on rails and offers plenty of freedom in the way it unfolds. Above all, it has a real personality and atmosphere all its own. And with these ideas, I just hope to see Linou and the DCC team think even more outside the box and explore other, even more alternative, avenues of game design.

Triage is available on the Dirty Clean Crew website.

Elevator Dogs, by Blind Archivist

I like heist games. I also like fiction involving heists, robberies and thugs, where things don't necessarily go well (who said Fiasco?). And here, we're only going to play the conclusion of a heist. For 10 minutes. In person.

Elevator Dogs is a Larp, a Live-Action Roleplaying game. You play bank robbers. They've just recovered loot from the top floor of the city's tallest building. The loot is in a briefcase. But the robbery didn't go as planned, and there was more action than expected. We're all armed. And we find ourselves in the elevator that will take us to the first floor, our escape route. We've got ten minutes to spend in this elevator. And there may well be a mole among us.

So off we go for ten minutes of roleplay. At the start of the game, each player receives a card/paper with a rule written on it. What they own. Who they really are. What actions they can take. The gameplay actions are reduced: pull out a gun, shoot with it, pull out a taser, shoot with it, pull out your police badge, blow everything up... And nobody knows what's waiting for us downstairs. There are several possible endings.

5 minutes of explanation, 10 minutes of play, very simple visual rules (we mime our weapons and equipment). And space-wise, just enough to represent an elevator. Perfect for discovering Larp!

Elevator Dogs is available on itch.io

Peace was never an option, by Adam Schwaninger

Un jeu en une page, recto-verso, format livret, qui va nous proposer de vivre une aventure rocambolesque dans la peau d'un groupe d'animaux variés qui veulent juste faire des trucs d'humains : un pique-nique, un cinéma, ou que sais-je encore (il y a une table de trucs normaux d'humains).

On choisit un animal, on démarre quelque part, on essaie de faire un truc d'humains, et ça vire au chaos. Voilà le pitch du jeu, et sa proposition. Au niveau du système, on est sur du PBTA très classique (2d6+Carac, avec juste une manoeuvre basique et l'échelle des réussites).

Il manque peut-être un peu de cadre à la proposition, qui s'égare sans doute un poil trop sans proposer quelque chose de fort (un braquage, une vengeance, un pique-nique justement !). Le petit truc bien vu, par contre, c'est cette troisième caractéristique. Chaque animal a une valeur en Move (Déplacement) et Sneak (Discrétion). Mais aussi une caractéristique unique, que lui seul peut utiliser. L'oie peut cacarder, la chèvre filer des coups de tête, le raton laveur a des mains...

Ca permet de vraiment différencier, et d'offrir des opportunités différentes à chacun. En une page, ce jeu ne va pas plus loin, mais fait de manière simple ce qu'il souhaite faire. Pour jouer vraiment sur le pouce, même sans avoir lu le jeu avant, c'est parfait. 5 minutes plus tard, une chèvre, une oie et un raton-laveur dévalent les allées du supermarché en étant sous perfusion de Coca-Cola. Une extension existe, ainsi qu'une version remaniée, mais je n'ai pas eu l'occasion d'y jeter un oeil.

Peace was never an option est disponible sur itch.io