Muckraker RPG in Playtest

For a little over the year, I have used this blog to explore science fiction scenarios. The short fiction format of these posts allow me to play with a wide variety of ideas and overtime I have started to get a sense of a “Muckrakerverse,” a world of science fiction whimsy populated by mild-mannered Alien Reporters.

I have written a simple RPG rule set that combines my love of sci-fi with tarot-based storytelling mechanics. I hope that the Martian Muckraker RPG will allow for an imaginative, story-first rules-light investigation-centered role playing game. At the basis of Martian Muckraker stories are characters with other-worldly ancestry stranded on Earth who try to reveal the truth about aliens to Earthlings who are in denial at best or openly hostile at worst.

This Friday two of my players, and few others on meetup agreed to give the new rule set a try! If you would like to sneak a peak at the rules and perhaps try them yourself, the rule book is a free download on Itch here: https://muckraker.itch.io/martian-muckraker

I would love any feedback so I can work to make the game better.

At the center of character creation is the memory spread. Each player draws three tarot cards that each represent a post memory of the character. The player can tap a memory if they believe that it would provide them with inspiration on a dice roll or would provide them with insight into the motivations of a Non-Player Character.

Throughout the game if doubles are rolled a tarot card is pulled and generates a plot twist! Adding tension is a rising hazard level which measures how close the investigators are to having their cover blown!

Would love any feedback on the rule set and I will do a follow up post discussing how the first game with these mechanics went! If it goes well, in addition to the Martian Muckraker I may adjust the rules for a genre-agnostic interpretation currently called Tantalizing Tales with Tarot.

This is a sneak peak of the area of investigation for the Martian Muckraker RPG’s first game:

Wish me luck. And is there a role playing niche that you wish was filled? Maybe you should try your own hand at game design.