#Cats of Catthulhu

[rpgsandbox]

CATS OF CATTHULHU is the beloved rules-light roleplaying game in which the players take the part of ordinary cats, secretly defending human civilization from the Chaos Cults of the other animals. All the players have to do is act like cats, while the Cat Herder arranges exciting challenges for them—anything from snacky time to daringly interrupting dire rituals.

Ten years after the original publication, we are thrilled and chilled to reveal a new Anniversary Edition, with all material refreshed and compiled into a full-color hardback book with plenty of goodies to boot.

How is Catthulhu “Rules Light”?

In Cats of Catthulhu, the way the story will go is always a mystery. You and your friends play to find out what happens. One person, the Cat Herder, arranges the secrets and situations, and sets the scene, but even they don’t know where the night will end. The players take the role of individual, ordinary cats. All you really need to do is act like a cat.

Here’s how to play.

Listen to the Cat Herder’s descriptions.

Respond like a cat.

When the Cat Herder calls for it, roll two Cat Dice and count the Happy Cats.

That’s about it! There are plenty of details and suggestions in the book, especially to help the Cat Herder. But not a lot more rules.

And there’s no math. Cats don’t do math.

Making Your Cat

Take a look at this free, complete Cat Character Sheet. It shows all the suggested ways to define your own cat — from eye color to lifestyle — without using any numbers.

You pick one from the five Roles in Cats of Catthulhu. Every cat you’ve ever known falls into one of these Roles, often shifting between them over the years.

Catcrobat: The fastest around!

Pussyfoot: Everybody loves this kitty

Scrapper: Rough and tough

Tiger Dreamer: Sleepy mystic that sees visions

Twofootologist: Clever studier of human ways!

The rulebook combines all these details into 30 back stories for different sorts of cats. Pick one, or make your own!

CHALLENGES & CAT DICE

Many things a cat wants to do just happen, because cats can do a lot. But when a cat encounters a real Challenge, whether sniffing out hidden tuna or tackling a big mean dog, the Cat Herder might call for a roll of the two Cat Dice. 

Each die showing an alert, intent Happy Cat counts as a success.

A Sad Cat means a failure of skill or luck.

Almost every risky situation is either a Normal Challenge or a Hard Challenge. For a Normal Challenge, you only need one success on the two dice:

For a Hard Challenge, you need two successes:

You get six Cat Dice in the Boxed Set with a cat-shaped dice tray. You can order the dice separately with a dice pouch as well. Regular six-sided dice can work too, if you count a 1 or 2 as a failure and a 3 to 6 as a success.

The Right Cat for the Job (RCFTJ)

Most Challenges are best met by a cat with the right background. Usually this is a matter of the cat’s Role: a Catcrobat being the RCFTJ to leap up a scrambly slope, a Scrapper best at facing down enemies, and so on. As a player you could also make your case to the Cat Herder that you are the Right Cat based on your background, your previous experiences, or anything you can make up. It’s up to the Cat Herder to approve.

The RCFTJ gets one free success on every Normal or Hard Challenge. This makes Normal Challenges automatically successful — but we roll anyway! That’s because of the two mystical combinations we call Snake Eyes and Midnight.

Snake Eyes

If the two Cat Dice come up double 1s, that's Snake Eyes. The attempt results in an Embarrassment. You describe what happens to your cat, and how you try to play it off. Note that the RCFTJ still passes a Normal Challenge — just in an embarrassing way. Be creative in describing this accidental success!

Midnight

If you roll double 6s — Midnight — it means a Triumph! Describe how your cat sails through the Challenge with ease and style. The Cat Herder might even reward you with a little extra information or victory.

Treats

Finally, every cat starts every session with one Treat. The Boxed Set comes with delicious-looking fish shaped treats, but you can use anything except candy. (Candy is against the rules because it tends to disappear before needed!)

If you don’t like the results of a Cat Dice roll, you snack on a treat real quick (returning it to the Cat Herder) and roll again! Alas, this method doesn’t work on Snake Eyes.

The Cat Herder might hand out more Treats based on clever or hilarious actions. Keep those kitty wits quick.

Dire Challenges

In rare cases, a cat feels compelled to try something incredibly important and incredibly dangerous. When tackling such a Dire Challenge, special rules allow you to roll three Cat Dice — but your cat might get hurt in the process. No Treats allowed. No automatic successes. Use with care.

Scrapping

Fights happen. Much of the time, a little pacing, a little snarling, a puffed-out tail, some quick swats, and it’s over. Other times it gets more serious. In Cats of Catthulhu, just how dangerous a fight becomes relies entirely on the player’s decisions. Five levels of intended mayhem determine what you try to inflict on your foe. Even if you lose the roll-off, the worst the baddie can do to you is one level worse than what you went for.

For example, if you face a Scrap and just want to avoid getting hurt, you choose Dodge. No matter how big and menacing the foe, the worst they can do is Stun you — because you didn’t go wildly wading in all teeth and claws.

It’s a unique approach to combat that preserves more options than just murder.

Rules Summary

The Cat Character Sheet sums up ALL this information, right next to the place reserved for your sketch of your heroic feline!

Catventures

It falls to the Cat Herder, aka the game master or referee, to arrange exciting situations for the Player Cats, and take the part of every other beast, human, god, or object in the worlds.

Fortunately, between the main rulebook and De Felis Mysteriis, you get 13 ready-to-go scenarios! Of course, as an ambitious Cat Herder, you will want to make your own cat adventures, or “catventures,” as well. The book walks you through the simple process of arranging Challenges, risks, and rewards to satisfy any group of curious four-foots.

CATS OF CATTHULHU 10th Anniversary Edition Hardback Rulebook

Compiling, revising, and expanding upon all three of the original Catthulhu Deluxe rulebooks, the 10th Anniversary Edition is a gorgeous, full-color collectible hardback with new art and information for players of all experience levels. The book will run to about 300 letter-sized pages with estimated delivery by August 2024.

ART NOT FINAL, ASSETS MAY CHANGE SLIGHTLY

DE FELIS MYSTERIIS 10 New Catventures

Created by a whole litter of brilliant modern RPG writers, De Felis Mysteriis offers ten complete adventures for the Cat Herder to run: enough for a whole campaign of Cats of Catthulhu and more. Estimated 128 pages, delivery August 2024.

ART NOT FINAL, ASSETS MAY CHANGE SLIGHTLY

BOXED SET OF ALL THE THINGS

A durable and beautiful game box contains the hardback 10th Anniversary Edition, a copy of De Felis Mysteriis, six new cat dice, a custom dice tray, five adorable cat meeples, wooden cat treats, a pad of cat character sheets, and extra goodies to boot! August 2024 estimated delivery.

Apart from the beautiful books, art, and goodies, what’s different? Well, we’ve learned a lot after ten years of running Catthulhu and we’re boiling those lessons down for you. Of course, the complete edit is not done yet. We need your support for that! However, here are some changes you can expect to see in the 10th Anniversary Edition.

SIMPLIFIED CHALLENGES: From now on, every Challenge is either Normal, Hard, or Dire. Anything that would be an easy Challenge, your cat just does with no roll.

SNAKE EYES AND MIDNIGHT: Special results from double 1s and double 6s always apply, instead of being an “advanced” option.

SCRAPPING: Fights are just as quick as before, but with a new level of control. Your cat decides how hard to commit to the scrap, and that limits the consequences they can suffer—or inflict.

TREAT USE: A cat starts each session with only one Treat. The Cat Herder is encouraged to award more whenever players do something clever or funny. Also, you can now pass a Treat to another cat!

SCENT USE: Putting your smell on something to make it familiar will be simplified.

WORLDS OF CATTHULHU: The nine extra campaign settings are getting a fresh read-through, especially the extensive fantasy setting of Fuiry and its Status and Trend rules.

And everything else is getting the gimlet eye as well! The resulting whole should prove coherent, easy to understand, and full of fun. Help us make it real!

Kickstarter campaign ends: Thu, April 4 2024 4:59 AM BST

Website: [facebook]

[critsuccesscollective]

'why so many cat ttrpgs' its a long story; anyway note that 'cat' and the cattthulhu books are both first edition (those two have more recent editions out-- cat revised & catthulhu 10th anni)

[1-50thofabuck]

The cat faces going from frustrated/upset to fierce as the numbers increase is too cute!

[theresattrpgforthat]

TTRPGs for people with dyscalculia?

THEME : Dyscalculia Friendly.

Hello friend, I’m going to first point you to the Math-Lite Chaotic Murder Hobos recommendation post I wrote up a year or two ago.

What I understand about dyscalculia is that in can affect the ability to do mental math, but I'm not sure how much it affects number recognition. I have a few games here that ask you to read the faces on a die, but I don't think any of them expect you to do any addition. I hope you find something fun on this list!

Cats of Catthulu, by Joel Sparks.

CATS OF CATTHULHU is the beloved rules-light roleplaying game in which the players take the part of ordinary cats, secretly defending human civilization from the Chaos Cults of the other animals. All the players have to do is act like cats, while the Cat Herder arranges exciting challenges for them—anything from snacky time to daringly interrupting dire rituals.

In Cats of Catthulhu, the way the story will go is always a mystery. You and your friends play to find out what happens. One person, the Cat Herder, arranges the secrets and situations, and sets the scene, but even they don’t know where the night will end. The players take the role of individual, ordinary cats. All you really need to do is act like a cat.

It might be a bit difficult to get your hands on them, but the original dice for Cats of Catthulhu don’t have any numbers on them; instead, they have sad cats and happy cats. Whenever a cat does something, they roll 2 of these dice. Rolling a Happy Cat is a success; rolling a Sad Cat is a failure. The reasoning behind these dice is: cats can’t do math!

If you can’t get your hands on cat dice, you can use any old d6, and regard 1-2 as Sad Cats and 3-6 as Happy Cats. You’ll also want to get some kind of physical token to use as Treats, which are player currency used to allow free re-rolls. Cats of Catthulhu is great for groups who are mostly getting together to just have a fun time, ready to act silly and get into all kinds of shenanigans.

DUSK, by Gila RPGs.

Equipped with the latest suntech, you are tasked with venturing out into the Dusk, and helping bring a new dawn to humanity. The Dusk does not want you there. 

Good luck.

In DUSK, you play as Shards, survivors on the planet Obron after the devastating nova-event that saw your world destroyed. Now you wield powerful technology fueled by pieces of your dead sun, in hopes of surviving another day. DUSK uses the LUMEN 2.0 system, and is a diceless RPG focused on resource management rather than luck or chance. 

As a diceless game, DUSK feels a lot different from a number of other diceless games, and I think that’s because of the style of game it’s working off of. LUMEN games are more about strategy than they are about narrative, and in DUSK that’s carried forward in the form of Suntech, items that require energy to power and provide specific advantages.

DUSK is still a relatively new game, but the designer is prolific in the amount of quality work he’s released in the past - and so when he says that there’s more to come, you best believe there’s more to come. If you’d still like to roll dice but you like the idea of the setting in this game, you might want to check out NOVA, which also uses the LUMEN system but gives you dice to roll or LUNA, a game about cultists trying to destroy the moon. Both of these games use pools of d6’s and ask you to look for the highest number, so I don’t think there’s that much math involved.

CASE & SOUL, by Briar Sovereign.

CASE&SOUL is a lightweight tabletop game for telling action-packed stories in the mecha genre. CASE&SOUL is designed for one-shots and short to mid length campaigns. Speed through a lightweight downtime; hire freelancers to pad out your Crew’s skills on missions. Customize your playbooks with SOUL moves, and enjoy a cut-down FITD gameplay with just the essentials for fast and flexible sessions.

Forged in the Dark games use a dice pool, rather than abilities with modifiers. You add dice from various places on your worksheet, and try to roll at least one 4 or higher. Rolling a 4 or 5 is usually a mixed success, and rolling a 6 is a complete success. Personally, I’m a big fan of games that use dice pools, as I’m also not a fan of trying to add up all of those numbers, and having to just look for the single highest dice helps speed up action resolution.

At the same time, Forged in the Dark games can have a lot of moving pieces at once, especially if the GM wants to track a large number of factions, or players want to plan multiple-stage missions. CASE & SOUL advertises itself as a slimmed-down version of these kinds of games, but I can’t tell whether or not that is the case when I look at the character sheets. What intrigues me is the CASE and SOUL tracks; I think your CASE is your Mech, and it receives Harm differently than your SOUL, which is an interesting way to measure how much your mech is (or is not) part of you.

Keyforge: Secrets of the Crucible, by Edge Studio.

In the center of the universe hangs the Crucible, a gigantic artificial world created by the enigmatic Architects and home to countless beings and cultures. Here, impossibly advanced technologies mix with arcane powers to make for a setting unlike any other! Uncovering the secrets of this mysterious world will take all your skills—but the potential rewards are boundless…

Explore this world of boundless opportunity in Secrets of the Crucible, a new sourcebook for the Genesys Roleplaying System set in the KeyForge universe!

You’ll need the Genesys Rulebook for this one, because the main reason I’m recommending Secrets of the Crucible is because of the dice system. Genesys dice don’t use numbers; they use symbols that represent success and failure - and they also have symbols that deepen the nuance of each roll. You can roll advantages or disadvantages that calibrate exactly how much you succeed, as well as triumphs or despairs that give you the same kind of highs and lows as a Nat 20 or a Nat 1 in D&D. This means that each roll tells you so much more about what’s going on around you than just whether you open a door or sweet-talk a guard.

As for the setting, Keyforge is originally a card game published by Fantasy Flight games, about a world called the Crucible, full of secrets that various factions are competing to unlock. It reminds me of the worlds of Magic: the Gathering or League of Legends, with various settings that look very distinct from each-other, and represent different styles of play.

SHIVER, by Parable Games.

WHAT IS SHIVER?

SHIVER is a tabletop roleplaying game that lets players bring their favourite scary movies, spooky tv shows, and horror stories to life. Ever wanted to play through the plot of your favourite film on the tabletop? Or wanted to make sequels, prequels and original stories in the worlds of pop culture you love? SHIVER lets you play that!

SHIVER is setting neutral allowing you to play any story, anytime, and as anyone. Want to play a game of teens in survival mode against a zombie horde? Kids on Bikes who dread exploring a haunted house on Halloween night? Or perhaps a medieval monster hunter looking for a werewolf, vampire or mage? SHIVER can deliver stories and characters for anything from cult pulp classic to Cthulhu fuelled eldritch mystery.

The designer of SHIVER set out with the goal of making games easier for his friends, who had similar struggles with games that had too much math involved. Players roll six-sided and eight-sided dice with various symbols on them, looking for the symbol that represents their character's strengths. The more difficult the task is, the more of the required symbol you need. The game itself is recognized as a class-act horror game, good for everything from pulp-action to gothic fiction to slasher horror. If you don't have the special dice, you can substitute with d6's & d8's, or you can use the free Dice Roller designed for this game.

Tournament Arc, by Biscuit Fund Games.

Are you looking to experience the triumphs and defeats of Space Hyper-Basketball? Need to feel the epic highs and dizzying lows of card games in the post-apocalypse? Want to face the trials and tribulations of the cheese-rolling World Circuit?

Tournament Arc is your very own collaborative sports anime experience, made in the diceless Belonging Outside Belonging engine popularized by games like Dream Askew and Wanderhome. In every thrilling episode, you’ll play the part of the Team as they negotiate the complexities of their daily lives, explore a collaboratively created world, and, most importantly, play the Game.

Tournament Arc is both diceless and GM-less, and is designed to tell stories about teambuilding and competitive sports, although the setting appears to be pretty flexible. The Belonging Outside Belonging game system provides each character type with prompts, and sorts those prompts into different categories. Usually there will be some things you can always do that generate tokens as well as narrative obstacles, and then other things that you can only do when you spend tokens - and as a result, also help characters confront those narrative obstacles. If you have players that like having something tactile to keep in their hands as they play, you might like Tournament Arc.

Warehouse Bitches, by Darling Demon Games.

The Time Worm arrived as it was prophesied just as the crown fell upon his head, and all potentials collapsed into a single haunted citadel, which you call Hex City. You are transgender punks and goths from earth, and in this place your powerful hearts make you witches, daemons, beast-people and arcane architects. We bide our time, smoking and drinking, playing video games and eyeing the crumbling walls of our enemy, The Lord of Olympus.

In Warehouse Bitches, you play as one of the titular warehouse-dwelling trans folk in the hellish Hex City. In this GMless Belonging Outside Belonging game with a unique coin-flip mechanic, you'll wield magic, build allies across the city and fight back against the bastards in subtle ways.

I’ve already explained a bit about how Belonging Outside Belonging works, but Warehouse Bitches adds another layer by using coins as tokens. Using coins, your options are different depending on whether or not the coin is on Heads or Tails. The moves on your character sheet are not just differentiated between Strong and Vulnerable, they’re also differentiated between Heads or Tails, and you must have matching sides of the coins showing in order to be able to use those moves. Characters also have Magic moves, which require the player to flip every coin they currently hold, and reassign those coins based on whatever side they land on.

Warehouse Bitches has only 4 playbooks as it stands now, so a group of 4 players is probably the largest group that can play the book as it stands now. The game is GM-less, but looking at the rules, I think it would be possible to have someone pick up the GM role in order to introduce complications and narrate the actions of various other factions in town. Similar to other BoB games, there are zones that have various elements and details that need to be decided as you play, which will also help provide events and interesting features that keep the game fresh and exciting.

[fengtianshi]

That's a wonderful perspective to bring into "Cats Of Catthulhu" rpg!!!!

[tristanoberon]

La de años que hacía que esperaba ver los dados de Cats of Catthulhu bien de precio en algún lado... ¡Gracias @dungeonmarvels por hacer que los sueños de un niño se hagan realidad! #CatsofCatthulhu #CthulhuMythos https://www.instagram.com/p/CqDTEZ-NaTE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[andsotheuniverseended]

played a cats of catthuluhu one shot last night and my character went out in a (literal) blaze of glory bc a) im a dramatic bitch b) the cult leader was trying to sacrifice his brother and most importantly c) the dm (my sister) really wanted to kill someone for the fun of it and i live to serve

[residentmedieval]

‘Call of Catthulhu: Night of the LOLcats’! Illustration for Role-playing Public Radio. Based on this game.

This one was really fun to do. The game, as run by Ross, is such a heady stew of memes and weird concepts, that I had no other choice but to get a little experimental with it.

[airic-fenn]

If youre pissed that WOTC is revoking its old ogl, you might be wanting to boycott them go play other games for a bit.

Now Im not a die-hard expert on all the ttrpgs out there, but there are a few that I particularly like and recommend if you dont know where to start:

• Ryuutama

I love Ryuutama so much. Its a lot simpler than dnd and really gives older japanese rpg video game vibes. Its very cozy fantasy with a heavy focus on adventuring and story telling than on battling. The english translation was actually a kickstarter thing, and it’s also in dire need of more homebrew content because there was supposed to be a translation of the supplement but thats probably never gonna happen anytime soon, if ever.

• Call of Catthulhu

No, I did not spell it wrong. Put simply, Call of Catthulhu is Call of Cthulhu but with cats. You all play cats. Dont let that fool you though, it can get surprisingly tense and gruesome if you play it right. You’ll probably love it if you were a warrior cats kid.

• Delta Green (and CoC in general)

“Modern” (1980’s) setting for (actual) Call of Cthulhu. The CoC games are fun if you like mysteries, conspiracies and yknow. cosmic horror stuff.

• Traveller

A scifi rp where you play a dude in space (an explorer, traveller, soldier or trader). This one is fun because character creation is VERY extensive and is part of the gameplay, but before the story starts. You make roles to determine all of the things that happened to you prior to the adventure like, did you go to university, have you suffered any life-altering injuries to your mind or body bc of some terrible accident, did you accidentally get aged 50 years older by getting zapped through a wormhole? Fun stuff like that. My friend calls it the existential crises rpg.

• Pathfinder

I mention it obligatorily because people tell me its the most like dnd without technically being dnd but I havent played it.

Anyway there are definitely so many more games but those are the ones I’ve played (other than pathfinder) and enjoyed. Feel free to reblog with your own additions to the list.

[aliceundrground]

Offline a lot lately but still working hard and getting things done ;u; More of our December orders going out.

[callofcatthulhu]

[prokopetz]

very seriously; have you a game system specifically for playing a group of kittens? or what's adaptable to that?

There are a fair number of tabletop RPGs specifically about playing as kittens or cats – it really depends on what kind of game you're looking for. For example, if you're aiming for hidden-world fairy tale shenanigans, Steffie de Vaan and Elizabeth Chaipraditkul's Kitten Witches might be the ticket. Conversely, if you're interested in running a magic boarding school romp (where the school happens to be for kittens), Stentor Danielson and Cheyenne Grimes' Laser Kittens may be more your speed. Cosmic horror where kittens fight Cthulhu? Joel Sparks' Cats of Catthulhu. OSR-style dungeon crawling, as cats? Kirt Dankmyer's The Cat Hack. Like, pick a genre, basically!

(This is where I usually give folks the gears for giving vague criteria, but given how you asked, I suspect the fact that "tabletop RPGs where you’re a cat" is a whole genre comes as a surprise to you.)

[darksaphire2002]

CatThulhu

Octopussy

Cat-O-Pus

My latest creation.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Heya! I was wondering if you had any recommendations for ttrpgs that are easy to teach the basic rules of in ~10 mins and good for running one offs!

I work with an organization that runs dnd games at conventions and breweries and we've been trying to branch out from DnD lately, but unfortunately since so many people know how to play 5e already it's the easiest to just keep using that.

THEME: Easy To Teach

Hello there, I totally sympathize with you on this! I’m first going to direct you to my First-Time GMs post just to take a look at some of the games I’ve listed there. I definitely recommend Pugmire and Visigoths vs. Mall Goths as the top two from that list. I’m also going to stick to games I’ve personally played before. I'm also going to @gayandtrashy because they asked a very similar question.

Enjoy!

The Vampire Next Door, by Cat Elm.

It's the late 2000s, school's out for summer, and you're headed out of town to stay with your grandparents in the idyllic Yorkshire village of Wymton-on-Tee. Your summer plans include exploring the countryside, and most importantly enjoying Grampy's famous chocolate chip cookies…. except that you're pretty sure that Vladimir Alucard, Grommy and Grampy's new neighbour is an evil bloodsucking vampire.

And none of the adults will believe you.

The Vampire Next Door is a roleplaying game for 3-7 players, intended for single-session or short form play. It's an homage to classic shows like Scooby Doo, Mona the Vampire, and Gravity Falls, where it's down to the kids to be smarter than the adults and save the day.

I’ve played this game with a first-time GM, and it was fantastic. The GM had an outline of the village that she could use to reference when the players wanted to go somewhere new, and the rules were very easy to understand - 4 stats, 4 dice attached to them, and 3 levels of difficulty. The goal is to acquire 4 pieces of evidence indicating that Vlad is a vampire, so once your kids have the evidence, it’s just a quick ending narration scene and you’re done! (If you want a shorter game though, I’d recommend reducing the evidence required to 3 pieces instead.)

Kids on Bikes, by Hunters Entertaiment.

Kids on Bikes is a Collaborative World Building RPG set in small towns with big mysteries. It is a rules-light storytelling system that gets players into the action fast. Kids on Bikes takes place in a more mysterious time, where anything and everything could happen. 

I’ve run a hack of Kids on Bikes for friends before, most of which hadn’t played much outside of D&D prior to playing. The tropes that are present in Kids on Bikes streamline character creation, because each trope presents you with dice already assigned to stats, and recommendations for strengths and flaws. Worldbuilding can be done by the GM or collaboratively depending on what the group is more comfortable with. The GM is presented with a a Difficulty chart that they can reference to determine how difficult its is to do something. If you have a larger dice, you’re more likely to succeed, but players also have resources such as adversity tokens, which can be spent to add bonuses, ignore the effects of fear, or activate special abilities attached to each character.

The best thing about Kids on Bikes is that once you’re comfortable with the system, you can branch out into the other games that use the same rules! This includes games such as Teens in Space, a game about science-fantasy exploration, or Kids on Brooms, a game about magic schools.

Cats of Catthulu, by Joel Sparks.

In Cats of Catthulhu, players take on the roles of a variety of ordinary-seeming cats fighting conspiracies of cosmic chaos. Mighty spirits such as Snarlyathotep, slimy Phatphroggua, and Hastpurr of the Yellow Eye inspire their cultists to destroy civilization-but that’s where all the comfy furniture is! One person acts as the Cat Herder, arranging the secret plots, challenges, and rewards and guiding the others through the process of making an adventure. Rules are light and quick, emphasizing player cleverness and the fun of being feline. There’s plenty of darkness and chaos in the world, but our fuzzy heroes can handle it!… Usually.

This is another game I’ve run for new players before! The game mentions special d6’s with cat dice on them, but you can honestly use any old d6. There is a short, defined list of character options with helpful charts to give your players some inspiration. To do something, you’ll roll 2d6. You’ll want to get at least one Success on your dice, although in some situations you might need 2 successes to get what you want. If you are the Right Cat for the Job, then the task is easier for you, and if you have a Treat that you can spend, you might even get to re-roll!

This game is cute, humorous, and excellent for short games, although there’s definitely room for longer stories if there’s interest.

Spectaculars, by Scratchpad Publishing.

Spectaculars is a tabletop roleplaying game where players create their own comic book universe, craft heroes and villains to populate that universe, and then play through full-length campaigns to tell incredible stories of heroism and villainy in a world of their own creation. This box set game gives a gaming group everything they need to play the game, and to create their own consistent campaign that spans multiple comic book genres.

Through play, each copy of Spectaculars evolves into its own unique comic book universe; in essence, the players create, through play, a rich backdrop against which their heroes and villains clash. The nature of the setting is determined by the players. Spectaculars makes it easy to create a fully fleshed-out setting, guiding you the process of creating the setting’s major elements at the time they come into play.

This is another game that I’ve seen a new GM pick up with excitement - and continue to run! This is a superhero game that takes a lot of inspiration from recognized superhero media, so it’s great for folks who are looking to emulate what they’ve seen on television. This is a really big game, with a lot of tools to help the GM run the game - including adventures with plenty of places to slot in thematically relevant villains and obstacles. There’s also plenty of collaborative world-building, giving the players a say in what they want to see, while also taking the burden off of the GM.

The physical copy is also really good at making you excited to play. It comes with tokens, dice, character pads, and plenty of GM tools and toys!

If you’re interested in a similar game that uses the same system but takes place in a fantasy city of crime, then check out Dusk City Outlaws, which is by same publisher!

External Containment Bureau, by Mythic Gazetteer.

External Containment Bureau is a game of paranormal investigation and bureaucracy using a lightweight, hackable version of the Forged in the Dark design framework. You play as trained agents of the External Containment Bureau, an organization tasked with the study, identification, and containment of paranormal phenomena. The Bureau authorizes agents to make use of these phenomena to give yourself incredible powers (so long as the proper forms are in order). But take care: using paranormal energies inches you ever closer to joining the ranks of the paranormal yourself. Will you transcend humanity in the line of duty? Play to find out.

External Contaiment Bureau is great for fans of SCP or Control, and is also a sleek, simple introduction to the world of Forged in the Dark games. Your players will add dice to their pool from a list of resources on their sheet, whether that be from their background as paranormal academic, or their special weapon commissioned from R&D. It simplifies the Controlled, Risky, Desperate pool from Blades in the Dark, and also imports the Mystery Clock from games like Brindlewood Bay and The Between, which also have a good reputation for being beginner-friendly. There are also a number of adventures available for new GMs to run, such as the Sidhe Conservancy of Portland, which pits you against the Fae, or Checking Out, which places you in a hotel that slowly erases your memory.

Other Posts to Check Out

Top 5 TTRPGs for Beginners

Introductory Games

First Time GMs (repeat of the first link at the top)

Some Final Advice

If you have any regular GM’s who you’re hoping to introduce to new games, find out what pieces of media they really like. Then go hunting for games that fit that description. When it comes to picking up a new game, nothing is more motivating then finding out there’s a story you want to tell, regardless of whether or not it means learning a new system.

One of my friends started running a Pokemon campaign because he loves the games so dang much - and he’s got a dedicated party of players! Another friend found Mausritter and got really excited because he just loved the idea of playing tiny mice on adventures. A third friend is starting to determine if she wants to hack the Cypher System to make it work for Horizon Zero Dawn. If I can compare popular pieces of media to the games that I want to run, I get folks signing up in droves - I’ve advertised Studio Ghibli, Star Wars, Really Gay Teenagers, and Bloodborne to great effect.

[appendingfic]

what's Pets Face Supernatural Horrors Except Maybe Nothing Supernatural is Happening?

It's an homage to Bunnicula. The original book series was about a cat who read too many mystery and horror novels who believed the new albino rabbit adopted by the family was a vampire. But unlike the cartoon adaptation, there was no concrete evidence of that fact.

The concept would be very much the same as the original book, but with the thematic basis of the sort of cosmic horror captured in the rpg Cats of Catthulhu. I've got sadly nothing more than vague ideas about the animal characters.

[trans-mouse]

If you’re looking to pick up a new tabletop RPG, cats of catthulu is available for free rn on drivethrurpg. It’s real good and very simple

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/128633/Cats-Of-Catthulhu-Book-I-THE-NEKONOMIKON