CHUM
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CHUM IS A LIGHTWEIGHT ROLL-AND-PLAY SOCIAL TTRPG ABOUT BEING LOST AT SEA¸ SURVIVING A SHARK ATTACK! THINK OF EVERY SHARK MOVIE YOU'VE EVER SEEN- THIS IS THAT¸ IN A GAME. PLAYERS TAKE ON ROLES AND TRY TO EITHER GET RESCUED OR KILL THE SHARK¸ HOWEVER UNLIKELY THAT MAY BE.
CHUM uses our new Urgency Engine game system for fun¸ tense¸ snappy one-shots that require zero prep to sit down and play and cater to all levels of RPG experience. You only need two regular six-sided dice¸ a pencil and a character sheet to play. Only the person running the game needs to be familiar with the game's rules¸ everything can be explained to the players including character creation.
Players take on occupations simply by rolling on a table for them. Most occupations will be familiar to anyone who's ever seen a shark attack movie¸ such as a grizzled local boat captain or the college athlete on spring break. Players can also roll on the personality quirks table to further frame their role-playing¸ but there's an optional twist- the gamemaster can give a player a secret motive instead! Secret motives pit players against one another¸ adding another layer of tension to the already dire scenario at play.
The Urgency Engine uses a very cool and very simple Hope/Panic mechanic as its core resource for players. Succeed on action rolls and you gain Hope¸ which is great. Hope may be spent on rolls to make them succeed¸ and the more you have the less likely you are to be attacked! Fail on action rolls and you lose Hope and gain Panic¸ which is bad. Sharks love to attack the most panicked person¸ and if your Panic gets too great it could trigger additional unpleasant consequences.
The game includes six unique scenarios¸ ranging from the classic¸ grounded "stranded at sea” to over-the-top science fiction plots involving some wild sharks and even a seafloor laboratory setting. There are 8 unique sharks in the game the gamemaster can choose from or roll for¸ so players can never get too comfortable even when playing over and over.
CHUM is a blast to play¸ and a perfect game to introduce newcomers to the world of tabletop RPGs. You can buy the full-color 37-page PDF today¸ and there is a print run coming soon if you'd prefer a zine copy! Sign up for our newsletter to find out when the imminent print run launches!
(Purchase includes color PDF and B&W printer-friendly landscape file)