tremulus (PBtA)
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tremulus is a storytelling RPG where you and your friends get together and create a haunting story in the vein of HP Lovecraft's works.
Want to See Something Really Scary?
We all do. tremulus lets you and your friends make terrifying stories together. No experience necessary. And dice? You only need a pair of regular old six-sided dice¸ like you find in most family board games. If you've never played any roleplaying games in the past¸ then this is a great game to start with.
"tremulus looks creepy and intense. It's the kind of thing you think you want to avoid at all costs¸ but instead can't help but be drawn toward..."
-Monte Cook¸ Co-designer Call of Cthulhu D20 Roleplaying Game and the creator of the upcoming Numenera
What if I Know Nothing About Lovecraft?
If you know what scares you or your friends¸ that knowledge and the guidance found in tremulus will give you more than enough to get going. (It's not homework¸ but if you haven't read any of HPL's work¸ go find some. You're in for a real treat.)
"Sean Preston wrote a game that reflects the horror play style I've always had to shoehorn into existing systems. tremulus takes you from zero to full immersion in mere minutes¸ and its narrative unfolds like a story penned by Lovecraft himself."
-Ron Blessing¸ Co-host of RoleplayDNA and Smiling Jack's Bar & Grill (and the much missed The Game's the Thing…let's bring this back).
Is it Easy to Learn? (Short answer: Yes!)
Novices and experienced gamers alike can sit down and start playing right away. All the information you need to play your character is found in your playbook¸ so there is nothing to memorize¸ and once you get going it becomes second nature. And you only need 2d6. All rolls are player-facing and serve to drive the story forward.You never roll without a reason. (And the Keeper never rolls at all.)
"Deceptively simple¸ never dull¸ tremulus is not for the faint of heart but the inquisitive soul. It makes it dead easy - frighteningly fun¸ even - to tell stories to scare the hell out of yourself."
-Matt Forbeck¸ Award-winning game designer and author
Based on the Apocalypse World Engine
The rules of tremulus are based on Vincent Baker's Apocalypse World and influenced by elements of Fiasco and FATE. New elements drive the game into more investigative directions¸ handle sanity loss and madness¸ and streamlines the role of the Keeper (the game master.)
"tremulus takes classic Lovecraftian gaming and combines it with the growling¸ dangerous engine of Apocalypse World. The playbooks have all the flavor you want and everything you need to play on a single double sided sheet. Every decision that sends poor Dr. Meridian on the spiral of lost sanity and health is in the hands of the players. Perfect for a spooky one-shot¸ a campaign built through play or something to get jaded fans of Cthulhu Mythos roleplaying excited again."
-Rob Wieland¸ Flames Rising
Mechanized Narrative
When some folks think of storytelling games¸ they think of games without a central game master or dice or task resolution system. This is not always the case. There are a wide variety of storytelling games. tremulus has a game master called the Keeper¸ and each player has a character (as defined by their playbook). Rolls determine success¸ partial success¸ or failure of their actions (called moves). Wanna surround yourself with wordnoise about tremulus? Check out RWR: Episode 1: The tremulus Edition !
"tremulus is one of those rare games where things can go horribly¸ horribly a