A synopsis of the game: Katanas & Trenchcoats is a retromodern tabletop roleplaying game that drinks in
the spirit of '90s gothic media and games. It’s a game about sword-wielding
immortals fighting amongst themselves and against vampires, werebeasts, ghosts,
technomages, hunters, and more! More importantly, it’s a game about that
struggle played out in the style of a supernatural drama TV show.
What
does “retromodern” mean? A game system that—on the surface—has some familiarity
of popular ‘90s RPGs (“retro”) mixed with modern story gaming sensibilities
(“modern”). At its core is a sleek, narrative d10 dice pool system, but always
keeps in mind that the point of the game is to foster moments of overwrought
drama.
One year ago, a small version of this game was released,
entitled Katanas & Trenchcoats, Episode
1: Welcome to Darkest Vancouver . After seeing so many people love that, I want to remaster it
into a full-size book for you that’s even more fun to read and amazing to play.
The setting of Katanas & Trenchcoats is The Darkest Cosmos , a supernatural stewpot of badness that itself has an agenda
that’s never known but always felt. In the center is Earth, most notably the
city of Darkest Vancouver —a nexus of ley lines and other mystical energies, and center
stage for countless power struggles. Darkest Vancouver holds equal
opportunities for scenes of dripping pathos and of sparking katanas.
Beyond that are many different realms: lands of the dead, homes
of the fey, Heaven and Hell, pocket dimensions filled with the fantastic, and
that's just for starters. Some characters are from those places. Others have
timeshare palaces there. And still others like to steal cool junk from said
timeshares.
And further beyond that? Pouring in from the edges of the
Darkest Cosmos is an energy force called Apeiron : the very essence
that imbues the world you and I live in with supernatural charm. Under the
influence of Apeiron, immortals fight eternally, vampires ensorcel mortal
minds, sorcerers create chaotic acts of magic, and car wizards perform miracles
behind the wheel. Apeiron is the power that everyone wants, but it’s also a
super crazy dangerous power. (Imagine if Lucifer and a mountain of C-4 gave
each other a special hug: that doesn’t approach the power of Apeiron.)
What
does all that mean for your game? Your supernatural drama can play out across
lots of places on Earth and beyond. The world itself is the characters' shady
dealer that powers them up while simultaneously putting them into conflict. And
there’s always further power available, if you’ll just indulge in a tad more
mayhem, just one more time…
