Category: LateGaming

This is the category for LateGaming (and Crucible Design) books.

Twilight Tangents 2.0 – ZOMBI

So, we decided to change some things.

  1. Twilight Tangents is by far our best selling book. People just love zombies in Twilight: 2000. It’s probably been tempered by the release of The Walking Dead but it’s still a solid seller.
  2. I had a load of writing for Zombi stuff that I wanted to use but it seemed out of place in with the psychic powers stuff.
  3. Twilight Tangents is also my oldest supplement by a country mile. It was the first thing I put together for the Free League Workshop so its update was well overdue. I mean it’s been up there for about four years!

We’re splitting Twilight Tangents into two separate books – so if you previously got it you won’t lose access to anything Zombi-like or even the rules for Psychic Abilities. You’re getting the Twilight Tangents upgraded Zombi content for free and retaining all of the previous book.

Twilight Tangents: Zombi warps the cold realism of Twilight: 2000 into a fungal nightmare of paranoid aggression, plague-scarred survivors, and walking corpses born not of mysticism, but bioweapons. Set in a world where Agent INFERNO, an engineered mould, has twisted fear into fury and death into zombification, players navigate a crumbling civilisation where trust is deadlier than bullets and infection is only a breath away.

This sourcebook reimagines the apocalypse with horrifying biological plausibility: zombis driven by neural-hyphae infestations, panicked survivors clutching to faith, violence, or denial, and institutions turning to the dead as weapons of control. It’s not survival horror. It’s a war against your own instincts, played out across ruined cities, quarantined zones, and overrun compounds. With new campaign options, adversaries, factions, life paths, and grim narrative hooks, Zombi doesn’t ask if you’ll survive, only how much of your humanity you’ll lose before the end.

We will be following this up later this year with two new books. Twilight Tangents: Espers and Twilight Tangents: Lycanthropes. I’ve not started writing them yet but the summer is coming up and I’ll have plenty of time to put stuff together.
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Twilight Tangents: Espers

The Mind Is a Weapon – But Who Pulled the Trigger?

Twilight Tangents: Espers tears back the veil on a secret war fought not with bullets, but with thoughts sharp enough to kill. Born from classified experiments and the shattered psy-ops of The 23rd Letter, these are the invisible soldiers of the Twilight War; remote viewers, psychic assassins, telepaths embedded in command bunkers, and precognitive assets burned out before their twentieth birthday.

The Twilight War didn’t just scorch the Earth. It ruptured the human psyche. This supplement brings full psychic warfare to Twilight: 2000 4th Edition, revealing how nations cultivated Espers to manipulate battlefields, undermine leadership, and rewrite reality one mind at a time. Players step into a world of neural blacksites, psionic backlash, mental conditioning, and conspiracies so deep they were never meant to be remembered.

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Twilight Tangents: Lycanthrope

We didn’t create them. We just stopped giving them a reason to hide.

In the smoke and chaos of the Twilight War, something older than humanity emerged from the forests, the mountains, and the ruins. Not a bioweapon. Not a myth. Something that had always been there, watching. Waiting.

Twilight Tangents: Lycanthrope is a savage expansion for Twilight: 2000 4th Edition, introducing werewolves not as fairy tale monsters, but as apex predators whose packs have turned warzones into hunting grounds. These aren’t cursed peasants or Hollywood beasts. They are strategic, feral, and organized and they remember what humanity has forgotten: how to stalk, how to kill, and how to survive.

From black-ops werewolf handling units to insurgent packs tearing through the last enclaves of civilisation, this sourcebook explores lycanthropy as a battlefield reality. Inside: new lifepaths, rules for transformation, hunting instincts, and feral politics. The beasts are real. And they’re not hiding anymore.

New books!

We released two books this month.

PERMAFROST for Twilight 2000. – the horrors of the nuclear winter d66 Horrid Things in an Abandoned Storage Unit
Permafrost is a battlefield where the cold itself is the deadliest enemy. In a world stripped of sunlight and warmth, survival is a desperate dance with the elements. Every step leaves a trail in the snow that can lead to rescue or betrayal. Soldiers fight not just the enemy but the creeping numbness in their fingers, the exhaustion that sinks into bones, and the isolation that whispers doubts into every sleepless night.

In this frozen world, every choice matters. The line between survival and surrender is as thin as the ice beneath your feet. Trust is a luxury. Supplies are lifelines. Every day the wind grows stronger, the silence deeper, and the darkness colder. This is the world of Permafrost, where the cold always wins.

 In this system-neutral supplement, you’ll find:

  • 66 meticulously unnerving items, from taxidermy mistakes and coded journals to whispering hearing horns and boxes of cadaver teeth.
  • Creeping lore that unfolds across entries—clues, contradictions, and recurring figures like the forgotten doctor J.H.T.
  • In-world artifacts, notes, and final confessions that suggest something in the unit is waking.
  • A perfect resource for horror RPGs, investigative campaigns, or unsettling one-shots.
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The 23rd Letter, 3rd Edition playtest doc

It’s out there in the wild. We are inviting you to the Playtest.

Either join our little Discord or, if you already own The 23rd Letter 2nd Edition, check your inbox as you’ll have been sent a link.

The highlights are

  • New character options in a new archetype-based system
  • More focus on The Network
  • Explosive escalation of Psychic Talents with Stress
  • New system compatible with Year Zero Engine (allowing you to take advantage of supplements for Twilight 2000 or even Blade Runner)
  • Foundation of a new story arc for the mid-21st Century

Where you can help?

  • Tell us what you like and what you don’t like.
  • Help us decide the final art style for the game
  • Find us on the Discord and chat about what you want or need in a game.

The 23rd Letter 3rd Edition

So, we have been working a lot on this. The rules are probably 90% complete but we keep finding little places where we think a rule or guideline is needed. Like today it was clarifiying how Hideouts function mechanically in relation to Heat from the authorities.

We are starting to look at design and layout and starting to put together an art list. Art? I mean, there was zero art in the first two editions. Yes, there will be art in this edition. Some of the new concepts need some art to illustrate.

Changes we can talk about?

  1. It’s less of a gun game. We have greatly simplified this.
  2. It’s still lethal. It’s easy to be taken out of the fight.
  3. We have changed the system considerably
  4. Psychics are much more powerful, but still vulnerable
  5. Greatly expanded rules for running the Network
  6. Oh, the metaplot. Play it or ignore it. There’s a metaplot

And we are looking for a couple of playtesters. Get in touch.

New Release: CONTRACTORS for Twilight 2000

It’s been a while and a lot of research but also a lot of fun.

CONTRACTORS for Twilight 2000

CONTRACTORS is a supplement for Twilight 2000 4th Edition detailing the operations of private military contractors in the years leading up to the Twilight War. It provides a slightly different backdrop to the game but could be an excellent introduction to the Twilight War for intrepid players who want a little more story before the war.

Build your ex-Special Forces team and then construct your Private Military Company. Choose from more than a dozen mission briefs and get your Merc team out into the world.

New Equipment. New Specialisations. New Rules. Just add Soldiers of Fortune.

23rd Letter, 2nd Edition PDF

After a lengthy delay, I released the PDF of the second edition of The 23rd Letter.

Anyone who has the print edition gets it free (so, if you have it, get in touch).?

There’s a third edition (different time period, different metaplot) coming so don’t rush out and get it unless you want some amazing stuff. ?You’ll see it and all of my books at https://www.lategaming.com/buy-the-books/

New Release: Kick Murder

Well, tonight we hit publish on our new #TTRPG: Kick Murder

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/419543/Kick-Murder

“Your Emotions Make You Human, Even The Unpleasant Ones Have A Purpose”

In Kick Murder, the players are catapulted into a world of danger and uncertainty. Their humdrum jobs, their dangerous jobs, the sorts of jobs that no-one would want to do – no human anyway. And the moment they discover that they’re not so different from their human masters is their first Moment – the first opportunity they have to escape the Containment of their life.

Kick Murder is a tabletop roleplaying game inspired by great movies – Blade Runner, Equilibrium, Never Let Me Go, THX1138, GATTACA, Logans Run, Cloud Atlas, It’s an interpretation of this seminal science fiction in RPG form.

We examine the hubris of humanity, the moral implications of genetic engineering and of making moral shortcuts. Repros represent an underclass of humanity, discriminated against from birth for what they are and what they represent. Their creators, like mythological counterparts, left the Promethean fire of “emotion” available to them and for that they strive, juxtaposed with a cold and un-empathetic Natural upper-class of human.

We do not dwell on the Naturals outside of their position as oppressors. We wish our Repros to defy social conformity and revolt against a social order which conspires against them even before they are born. The Repros therefore represent innocents (though they may be far from innocent) attempting to return to Eden (Earth) where they can live out what remains of their lives in peace.

Kick Murder is a 32 page core book with three additonal PDFs of Adventures (Furukontakudo, The Prodigals and Ad Terminum)

Announcing Twilight Tangents – a multi-world sourcebook for Twilight: 2000 4th Edition

I’ve produced a couple of books for T2K4e but I’m really enjoying putting together this latest one. This book describes three alternate futures for the T:2000 game. Things to spice up the game.

GET IT NOW on DTRPG

Here’s some of the opening prose from one of the Tangents.

For your own reasons, you joined the Army and when SPR came looking for recruits, you volunteered. You were put into a squad with ten others. You trained together, you ate together and you slept in the same billet. You had to talk to doctors and psychologists – and then they gave you some injections which knocked you out.?

When you woke, you could feel something was wrong. For one thing, eight of the beds were empty. You and one other person were lying in bed. But that wasn’t the worst of it. There was something in your head – a tickle you’d not felt before – a feeling that wasn’t quite an irritation.?

Later that day, Staff Sergeant Mottram came in and sat with you. She told you that you were special. She told you she was there to help you through it. And she told you all this without her lips moving at all.?

Next day, you were alone in a room with Sgt Mottram; a room with a glass window on one side. You heard her voice in your head again and she told you something was going to happen and to just relax and let it happen.?

And then it happened. You felt the tickle, heard a noise like the rushing of blood in your ears and the world changed. You were special. You could do something special. You were unique.?

Then you were filed into a room for paperwork and then back into your uniform to join all of the other special, unique people in SPR. It’s like Basic all over again, except after your morning run you’re all filed into warehouses and made to set fire to things, read minds, and delve into people’s memories. Usual stuff.?

But at night you think about those eight empty beds and you wonder where they took number 9. Because you haven’t seen her since.?

Astute readers and fans of this site (both of you) may notice that this sounds a little like The 23rd Letter. And indeed it is. I’m debating whether to make a full sourcebook for T:2000. It’s a similar game to The 23rd Letter – actually slightly less crunchy but that’s no bad thing. T23L was always described as a bit of a deadly gun game.

T2000: CZTERY – Four Mystery Scenarios for Twilight:2000

Now available through the Free League Workshop, four mysteries for Twilight: 2000 referees who want something mysterious in their game. Ready to slot into an existing campaign or you can use the places (and maps) provided.

This does the work of expanding the environment of post-apocalyptic Europe from military missions and bleak survival to mystery, conspiracy and mythology. From the fertility gods of old, to a modern curse, from a lost child to revenge beyond the grave. In the lonely forests, there are things that move unbidden and mysteries that should remain mysteries.

The stats within are for Twilight: 2000 4th Edition but the scenarios and encounters can be used for any WW2 era or modern day mystery game

Includes high res maps of important locations and also a lower res doc for reference.

Download here on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/385349/CZTERY–Mystery-Scenarios-for-T2K4

An old ZOMBI review…

Because ZOMBI is back on sale, I figured looking at an old review might be timely.

From Caliverbooks (Valkyrie mag)

Zombi RPG
Crucible Design

Zombies have appeared in RPGs since D&D first appeared. Those early zombies were the sword fodder for many questing bands. Recently though the zombie horror movie has become a focus for games. Zombi, along with All Flesh Must be Eaten (AFMBE) from Eden Studios, are both part of this new wave, yet they take very different approaches to the same subject.

The skeleton of a character is similar to Crucible’s earlier game Space Ninja XDO Cyber Crisis. Ten traits (including close combat, scrounging and medicine) along with a character’s panic statistic (which simulates their reaction to the presence of the zombi menace) define a character. This system leads to characters that are significantly less detailed than those found in AFMBE but are also quicker to generate from scratch.

The game’s muscles are embodied in its simple mechanics. A dice roll, modified by the panic statistic if there are zombies about, is compared to a trait or an opponent’s roll. This mechanic is readily applied to a variety of death dealing methods. Zombi relies more on a referee’s judgment than providing rules, and so this section is considerably less detailed than AFMBE combat rules. Then again, how often do you need rules for dogfights in a zombie horror game?

The meat on the carcass in Zombi comes in the background section. The setting is detailed in a few pages and is straightforward enough. The Zombi plague-infected dead rose from the ground at the end of 1999 and shortly afterwards the widespread collapse of civilization ensued.

A wide variety of encounters with other survivors, from a loner in a recreational vehicle right through to major settlements, are suggested. This is where Zombi really shines. Instead of a long list of optional twists on the zombie, as found in AFMBE, they are treated as a force of nature. Zombi suggests they are used to force disparate groups of survivors together, creating the tensions from which great stories spring.

Zombies aren’t neglected though, along with game statistics come a random appearance generator and rules for the zombi plague. The book is rounded out with over thirty short adventure hooks.

Zombi is a sixty-eight page, A5 booklet. The layout is clear and effective with competent black and white, full-page illustrations. It certainly isn’t as pretty as AFMBE but the presentation certainly doesn’t detract from the product either.

While the system is competent, the focus on the living rather than the dead is where Zombi’s real strength lies. Anyone considering running a game in the zombie horror genre would make a wise investment of a bit of cash if they picked up a copy of Zombi. A nice little game that won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

Zombi is a game very much like the films that inspired it. There are zombies everywhere, it wasn’t made on a blockbuster budget and it’s full of interesting ideas.

ZOMBI now available on DTRPG

ZOMBI is now on DTRPG. Originally distributed in hardcopy through the US and Europe, this is the first digital version.

The first few pages of this journal have been destroyed by fire and by weathering. The actual location of the structure is unknown. It becomes legible halfway down page six.

“Though the sun overhead had been baking the skin from their backs, his men had been digging without pause for several hours. After all, they were two hours behind schedule and they were losing money with every minute that passed.”

Some pages have been damaged describing the outer defenses of the structure.

“The stone rolled away quite easily, surprising two of the men who panicked in their attempt to get out of the way. The stone rolled on, oblivious to their cries and over a mans leg, crushing it from toe to knee. I didn’t notice until later for my attention was riveted to the space the stone had left. A hole, an opening!”

“Laverne could not decipher the hieroglyphics. He would shake his head and mutter about eternal life and how there was no opposite to eternal life. I didn’t understand what he was talking about. I had what I wanted. In a few days I would be recognised among my peers with this discovery”

“Two men in the workforce have died. The first one, the man whose leg was crushed, was stricken with a strange fever that seemed to abate but an hour later he was awake again and attacking the other people in the camp. He’d managed to kill his nurse before the men subdued him. Apparently they had to smash his skull open with a spade to stop him.”

“Five men came from the village today. They spoke to the workers in private. First they herded all of us into a single tent. Maurice shot two of them before they knocked him senseless. Then have taken the charges and the equipment and resealed the chamber. They are returning now. I think we may be in hot water.”

Transcript from the journal of missing archaeologist Alain LaFontaine unearthed in Egypt, 1992. LaFontaine discovered an unknown pyramid and went missing after a workers dispute in 1907. Translated from the original French.

What if the people who were dead got up one day?
What if they got up and started killing other people?
What if the people they killed just got back up and killed some more people?
What if it had already started?
What if that day was yesterday?
Zombi is a roleplaying game set in the world of the Zombi. The Dead walk the lands, killing and eating the living. Society has fallen and the only thing left now is to break out, find an island somewhere, live a little…before then end. But there must be more than just static and deserted cities out there? Sometimes you hear the radio talk for a while, sometimes you see lights in the sky and they remind you that even as the streets are haunted with shambling, rotting monsters, humanity is out there waiting for a chance to reclaim everything.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/380498/ZOMBI

And we released the chargen and combat rules for ERIS MODERN, the system used in The 23rd Letter and our upcoming superhero game.

Nor Gloom Of Night – now available on DriveThruRPG

Nor Gloom Of Night is a post-apocalyptic setting for your favourite modern RPG. Become a horse-riding agent of the Reformation States twenty years after the fall of the United States of America. The dangers out there are many; from self-proclaimed warlords to diseases long thought eradicated by modern medicine, from the people themselves to the harsh winters of the North West of North America.

You, and your compatriots, as Greycaps, are the line drawn between the rebirth of civilisation and the fall into a dark age. It’s up to you to uphold the ideals of the past and propel us into the future.

Today I released Nor Gloom Of Night on DriveThruRPG for $5/Pay What You Want.

I’d love for you to give me some feedback after a read.

Now – back to writing our superhero game and the third edition of The 23rd Letter.

Two Books on sale at DriveThruRPG

In an attempt to calm this raging passion I have for writing, I’ve begun to embark on putting my books on DriveThruRPG – the pre-eminent site for selling RPGs online.

Testament and Creed are two books of a trilogy of games. Both are set at the end of the world, in the Jude-Christian sense. The Rapture is upon us and in the first book, Testament, the players are witnesses to the Rapture. In the second, Creed, they are part of the problem with their sorcerous ways.

The third book, Rapture, where the player takes the role of an Angelic Being during the Rapture and the Apocalypse, will be written if the other two do ok.

SpaceNinjaCyberCrisis XDO

SpaceNinjaCyberCrisis XDO is set in the world of San Metro, a massive city home to some 45 Million people. Highlights of the city include the Bay Marina, The Spire, PersComm Tower, The Sumarii Building and The Arch. The city also receives some 10 Million commuters on the complex public transport and ground traffic network.

The city is also home to vigilantes such as the Boom Boys with their pirated high-tech power armour, covert Military Police (The Red and Black SOX) and organised crime. San Metro Police Department is stumbling under the workload. Vigilantes like the Boom Boys can only do so much to help. Perhaps it is time for another group to aid the city?

Continue reading “SpaceNinjaCyberCrisis XDO”

Current work…writing scripts

For the last few months, on top of travelling and attending a bazillion courses, I’ve been writing.

I’ve written five short scripts in the world of THE 23RD LETTER. I’ve written two more in the world of STATUS: REFUGEE. I’ve written one horror script. And I’m looking at writing some scripts based on FRONTIER and QABAL very soon. And there’s one very special property that I would love to pitch to the BBC…

Two of my scripts are going into production in 2017 and I’ll be doing a “mobile phone” shoot of one of my scripts probably over the upcoming holidays.

So, all change.

Asshat Paladins blog

Matt Borselli has a quick writeup of his experience with Crucible Design, and more specifically The 23rd Letter, on his blog, AssHat Paladins.

I enjoyed chatting about it – getting involved in my own narcissism obviously – and it brought back a lot of memories.

Part two will be out in a week or so so subscribe to his blog if you want to catch it.