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Epoch movie spoilers11/14/2023 are all common to RPG tables, and can all break the immersion that EPOCH is trying to create. ![]() Breaking character, cracking jokes, munching snacks etc. The first and most important thing to note is that EPOCH is not intended to be a light game. The first part of EPOCH, ‘bone’, deals almost exclusively with advice for how to establish a gaming experience that will draw people in. I should add finally that two of the core book scenarios are available for free along with a quick-start ruleset, in case you’d like to try the game out without committing to the purchase. If the scenarios are of the same quality as those in the main product, they will certainly be worth checking out. I can’t comment on these as I haven’t had the chance to play them, but I understand that one of the scenario books was nominated for an ENnie. Over the last couple of years, several books of scenarios have been released, also in softcover book or downloadable PDF. The PDF cards are serviceable (an issue in early releases whereby the backs and fronts didn’t line up on the printer appears to have been fixed) without being amazing. The PoD cards are printed on high quality cardstock and well laid out, and are an excellent investment if you intend to play the game more than a couple of times. EPOCH is entirely card driven – there are no dice – and you’ll have to either print the cards out from the downloadable PDF, or take advantage of the excellent print-on-demand card deck that is also available. The book concludes with the cards that you need to play the game. ![]() I won’t say any more for risk of spoilers, but the scenarios are well written, tense and provide a good introduction to the game. It also contains three full scenarios that take up more than half the book, and provide classic horror situations for players to explore. The book has three main sections: ‘bone’, which sets out the underlying structure of the game, ‘muscle’ which provides the mechanical ‘meat’, and ‘skin’, tips and hints for the GM on how to create the right kind of atmosphere. My only gripe is that the font used for the headings could be clearer. The PDF is well-laid out and easy to read, with a few grim illustrations to set the tone. I haven’t actually acquired the book, but I am reliably informed that it is of good quality. The purpose of EPOCH, through its guidelines and mechanics, is to draw the players in and have them invest in the characters at the table, so as to make the tension all the more intense when the characters are plunged into conflict with mysterious evil forces.ĮPOCH is available as a PDF download or as a softcover B+W book (with colour covers!). All too often in RPGs we see our characters as numbers on a piece of paper, and aren’t that invested or interested in them as people. We need connections to the characters in order to feel the horror that they feel when their life is threatened by an unknown entity. The central premise of EPOCH is that horror comes from character empathy. The goal is survival, and maybe, if they’re very lucky, victory against the horror will be achieved against the odds. ![]() Over the years Dale has formed some strong opinions on horror in RPGs and how to do it well, and EPOCH is an experiment with mechanics developed to put his ideas into play.ĭuring the course of an EPOCH game, characters will come face to face with a mysterious, likely supernatural horror that will certainly kill some of their number or drive them insane. The numbers dwindle, the group turns on each other, and over the course of a few hours the source of the horror is revealed, confronted, possibly defeated, and maybe just one or two protagonists walk away, bloodied and forever scarred by their experience.ĮPOCH comes from the pen of Wellington based designer and games-master extraordinaire Dale Elvy*. You know the kind of thing: the cabin in the woods, the mysterious creature stalking the group, etc. This review was originally posted to ĮPOCH, or ‘Experimental Paradigm of Cinematic Horror’ to give it its full title, is a narrative-based RPG intended to evoke the survival horror movie genre.
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