Leaves crunch underfoot, the air chills, Jack-o-Lanterns leer from front porches – Halloween approaches. What better time to review a new horror rpg? In this case, the horrifically inspired Myrrorside from Parallel Publishing.
The conceit of the brilliantly horrific Myrrorside is there are two realms, mirror images of each other. One realm, our realm, is based on the foundations of science and logic; magic, here, is weak and monsters hide themselves in dark places, out of view. The other realm – Myrrorside - is one of horror and magic, where technology rarely works and the worst horrors our imaginations could conjure up commonplace. Some people – and many monsters – can travel between these realms.
Myrrorside is founded on a slick a simple game system. Characters have four attributes: Physical, Mental, Social, Attunement (the latter representing closeness to Myrrorside and its powers). Attributes and skills are rated on a step system, from d2 (terrible) to d12 (superlative). Situations may result in advantages or disadvantages causing step-up or step-down in rolls. When trying to perform a task, a player rolls the relevant Attribute and Skill, selecting the higher total.
Character generation is quick and easy, though with just enough options to provide depth. All Stats begin at d6 (save for Attunement, which starts at 0), with players selecting a +1 step up on one Stat of their choice. They then select skills, quirks with provide bonuses, and up to three burdens – for each taken players can compensate with another quirk, a step-up to an attribute, or step-ups to three skills. The whole process should take no more than 10 minutes.
Interestingly, characters are intended to be young adults, reflecting the teens and college-age individuals who dominated the horror flicks of the 1980s/90s. Optional rules are provided for younger or more mature characters. Whatever the age, its up these heroes to prevent monsters from emerging through the gates of Hell – so to speak – and rage across our world like a cold front.
Damage is measured in four ways: Physical for harm, Mental for distress, Social for humiliation, and Attunement in the case of some magic. Damage results in stresses that reduce Stats. When a Stat reaches 0 something catastrophic occurs, including perhaps death. It’s a unique system perfectly suited for a horror game.
Adding extra dimension to the game are a pair of innovative mechanics: Pulse and Collateral.
Pulse, in a nutshell, represents characters’ heartbeat and rising tension. Pulse quickens as terror slowly ratchets up and the emotion drain of the adventure begins to take its toll on player characters. The higher the Pulse, the more penalties impact you and your ability to do things.
Collateral, for its part, is essentially lucky, but at a cost. Players can accept collateral to succeed a test they otherwise would have failed. If a player chooses, he need never fail a test whatsoever. If it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. If a character ends the session with collateral she must accept a disadvantage of some sort – essentially, suffering some permanent trauma for accepting collateral.
The GM section provides helpful advice for running horror sessions, a pretty extensive bestiary of evocative monsters from Myrrorside – each one capable or bringing a character’s career in heroics do a literal dead-end, a grimoire of spells for those who learn how to harness the magic of Myrrorside, and some unsettling magic items (called enchantments).
There are even optional rules for a GM-less game.
All in a tight, beautifully illustrated book. Author Angus McNicholl demonstrates dark ingenuity in both his words and the world he crafts.
Myrrorside is no fire-sale horror roleplaying game. It’s the real deal, well done, slick, balanced, inspired.
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