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What stories will you discover within the secret libraries of the cosmos?
Retrograde is a retrofuturist tabletop role-playing game of blood, ink, and occult printmaking. Designed for adventures focused on investigation, exploration, and survival, Retrograde will take you to the farthest reaches of the galaxy as you unravel the secrets of the cosmos and discover eldritch knowledge humanity was never meant to know.
The Librarian's Index is Retrograde's gamemaster's guide and a roadmap for facilitating collaborative storytelling. Repurposing creative methods and principles from Devised Theatre, the Index provides tips and guidelines for running play sessions, creating adventures, and getting the most out of your games while keeping play safe, fun, and engaging for everyone at the table.
This 32-page zine is created with a letterpress-printed cover and risograph-printed interiors.
The cosmos is bound by blood and ink. What story will you print with it?
Retrograde is a retrofuturist TTRPG of blood, ink, and occult printmaking, created with and inspired by the craft of letterpress printing.
Envisioning a future where faster-than-light travel is made possible by an occult ritual employing mystical Blood Ink, the world of Retrograde is full of technological wonders and esoteric secrets. Explore the ramifications of a human society radically altered by spreading itself thin across the stars and coming across eldritch secrets we were never meant to know...
Mechanically, Retrograde is built around the Retrograde System, a ruleset centered around dynamic Skill Checks. A character's skills are both the Success Threshold for succeeding checks and a Resource Pool that can be spent to turn failed checks into successes – the more you fail, the more difficult success becomes. With a design philosophy inspired by the OSR and emphasizing creative problem-solving, Retrograde is ideal for high-stakes adventures of investigation, exploration, and survival.
The Player’s Manual includes everything you need to start playing Retrograde: roll up a character in less than 10 minutes and start exploring the dark secrets of the cosmos! This 36-page zine is created with a letterpress-printed cover and risograph-printed interiors.
The worst teleportation accident in living memory has rocked civilized space. One week ago, two Vandercook-class interstellar pressers operated by Gutenberg, Ink. teleported into each other, or “Overprinted,” in the Caligo system, killing thousands and causing trillions of credits of losses in destroyed property and lost profits. In the highly-regimented schedule of Blink shipping, such accidents are thought to be impossible, and noise is being made that Gutenberg may lose their exclusive license if the cause cannot be identified and rectified.
Your players are subcontractors detailed by Gutenberg to investigate the incident and find evidence that clears Gutenberg of any wrong-doing. They may just wind up unraveling the galaxy's greatest conspiracy in the process.
Overprint is a fast-paced investigative campaign for the Retrograde RPG. Focusing on the ramifications of the player characters' actions and the reactivity of non-player characters, Overprint is simultaneously high stakes and open-ended – every decision has the potential for dangers, opportunities, and irreversible consequences.
Overprint is designed for play with a Librarian and 2-4 players over the course of 3-5 play sessions. This 52-page hand-bound zine is created with letterpress-printed covers and risograph-printed interiors.
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A retrofuturist gothic horror RPG of vampire hunting, cosmic secrets, and bloody fates
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