The Esoterrorists 2nd Edition by Robin D. Laws is a role playing game supplement published by Pelgrane Press. This is the core book for the system, which uses the GUMSHOE rules.
The supplement is available from DriveThruRPG for $14.95 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. It comes in three versions, PDF, epub and mobi, all of which are included in the same purchase, and is also available in printed form from sites such as Amazon. The PDF is the version reviewed and has 162 pages. One page is the front cover, three the front matter, three the Contents and three the Index.
The Preface to the 2nd Edition explains the problem the author discovered with investigative games – namely, a bad dice roll can derail the plot and stymie the investigation – and that the original The Esoterrorists was the game designed to get past that with the GUMSHOPE investigative rules, as well as the Esoterrorists background, based on Dave Allsop‘s World of Unremitting Horror. Players wanted more setting and background material than was provided in the original rules, or the The Esoterror Fact Book, and the 2nd Edition includes GM-facing material intended to compliment that.
The Basics explains that the characters are reality’s defenders against the Esoterrorists, a loose affiliation of occult terrorists who want to tear the fabric of the world and let the monsters in. The characters are drawn from many walks of life and belong to the Ordo Veritatis, a worldwide organisation, supported by the world’s major powers, that works to counter the Esoterrorists. Magic only really functions when people start to doubt reality, and the Creatures of Unremitting Horror are spawned and must be destroyed before they become a part of reality.
Your Character is a section aimed at players and shows them how to create a character. It starts by explaining why this game exists, which is to ensure that RPGs based around an investigative framework allow characters to have the clues they need to work out what’s going on, rather than having a game derail because a needed clue isn’t found. Players first create their character concept, then assign investigative abilities. A character with a single rating point in an investigative ability automatically discovers information or overcomes obstacles. Points can be spent to gain special benefits – more clues – and players should coordinate to assure that every ability is covered between the characters. General abilities allow for failure, unlike investigative ones. Each ability is then described, split into investigative then general, and finally there’s a list of the abilities split the same way; investigative abilities are in three groups, academic, interpersonal and technical.
The GUMSHOE Rules System starts again with details on why the game exists; to ensure that investigatory adventures are not derailed by failed dice rolls. It looks at the structure of a mystery, which in most cases is a trigger to the investigation, the sinister conspiracy behind events and the trail of clues. How this is worked into a story and the clues that can be found, along with the different types of clues and how they are obtained. Tests are performed when the use of an ability is in doubt; the effective equivalent of a skill roll or check. Characters can cooperate with certain types of tests. Sometimes something, good or bad, is definitely going to happen to a PC, and a general test is used to determine which.
Contests are an extensive section, and are what happens when two characters, typically a PC and an NPC, try to thwart each other. Naturally, a major contest is combat. This being a horror game, PC death is a very real possibility, especially when confronting the monsters. There are some rules on handling bigger fights, so they don’t get too complex, and things like armour, cover, ammunition and non-lethal combat are covered – an optional rule is no Tasers. OV operatives have had bad experiences with these against supernatural creatures and there have been accidents against normal ones.
Another type of test is the stability test. Again, given this is a horror game, there is a good chance that characters will suffer damage to their state of mind, and the potential outcomes of this. Finally, there are details on recovering pool points and on improving characters.
The Ordo Veritatis covers the organisation that the characters work for. The Esoterror Fact Book covers similar material, but this section looks at it from the point of view of the GM; the Fact Book can be used for player handouts. Précis explains that the Ordo Veritatis is a cellular organisation that exists to counter the actions of the Esoterrorists. There are a number of scenario premises scattered throughout the section. How the OV finds cases and assigns agents to investigate them, through analysis stations, media, electronics traffic, surveillance and deep cover and informants are covered, with facts known to different levels of the Ordo given to each. Deployment of the characters’ team and their briefing by Mr Verity – always called Mr Verity and can and will probably be a different person each time; Mr Verity is a codename assigned to mission briefers. The investigation and wrap up are covered – it’s vital that the general public don’t really know what’s going on, for the safety of them and the world – and the ethics code of the OV is given. Importantly, the ethics code nearly always has to be adhered to; such as torture is literally counterproductive, as it damages the Membrane the OV are protecting. Agents are psychologically monitored and there are options for characters to recruit more members. By its nature, there is much about the OV that characters do not know, in order to protect the organisation from such as possessed or suborned agents.
The Enemy – there are more scenario premises in this section – starts by explaining that the Esoterrorists are an international conspiracy covering the world and dating back at least a century. They aim to poke holes in the Membrane, the barrier between the world of immutable physical laws and the world defined by its inhabitants. Esoterrorists summon entities to help advance their goals. The Esoterrorist conspiracy is comprised of loosely-connected cells, not global puppet masters. The Esoterrorists claim to have accomplished magic, and the OV has confirmed the existence of low-level psychic abilities, but these arise without resorting to the Outer Dark. The Esoterrorists do not appear to be controlled by a hierarchy of ODEs either. There are descriptions of different types of Esoterrorists, going by psychological profiles, different types of cells and how cell members, and occasionally cells with the most resources and power, communicate with each other.
Trending Conspiracies has five different Esoterrorist Cells, each of which is given a name, nature, leader and leader psychological profile, as well as details on the cell and their actions, and a scenario premise. This is followed by details on using stats for NPCs; most won’t require such and those that do are played differently to player characters.
Outer Dark Entities are the entities that serve as the terrifying antagonists, being twists on demons, ghosts and the undead, needed where vampires are pop-culture staples and Elder Gods are plush toys. ODEs can require Special Means of Dispatch in order to defeat them, which the characters may know. The section describes and where relevant gives stats for ODEs, with more available, or these presented in more detail, in the GUMSHOE version of The Book of Unremitting Horror.
Scenarios starts with instructions for designing scenarios, referencing the basic mystery structure described earlier. The OV is used as a narrative device to get characters immediately into a situation. There are instructions for how to make plots specifically Esoterroristic, as the focus of this RPG is unusually narrow. The horror elements are juxtaposed with real life and magic is hard to do. This uses examples of taking news headlines and adding Esoterror into the mix. Clues are an important part of a GUMSHOE game, and this information is also covered in The GUMSHOE Rules System. Core clues are vital for moving the story on and characters can’t fail to discover them with the right skill; these may be fixed to certain points or floating through the story. There are other types of clues, which are obtained through the continued use of an interpersonal ability, become relevant later in the plot, are only known by a few or are revealed after an amount of time.
Scene Types are the elements that make up a scenario. Each scene has one or more scenes that lead into it and one or more that lead out from it, with two exceptions. Introductory is the first scene type, and one of the exceptions; no scenes lead into it. Core scenes are essential for completing the adventure and contain at least one core clue. Other scenes are alternate, providing useful but not essential information, antagonist reaction, where opposing forces take action against the PCs, hazards, which are impersonal obstacles, pipe, delivering pipe clues to move things along, subplot, which is self-explanatory, hybrid, which is a combination of scene types and conclusion, which is the final scene type, and the other exception, for no scenes lead out of it. Time is often ignored, but sometimes it becomes important when it is limited. Finally, there are instructions on how to build scenarios on the fly.
Running Scenarios explains that much of what is needed to run a scenario is covered in The GUMSHOE Rules System, but this section covers GM-centric advice; this is quite a brief section of the book. It covers how to make sure that players get the clues that are needed, even if they lack what is strictly speaking the right ability, with any credible attempt to gain the clue succeeding. Clues can be actively or passively obtained, with tips on telling players with the relevant ability that they can use it. Rolling for clues – you don’t – the structure of a mystery and how to maintain the perception of narrative freedom, as well as any track to solving a scenario being the right one. How to end scenes, so they don’t just trail off, and managing pool points, a key part of the system, are covered.
Station Duty: A Campaign Frame for Esoterrorists has what is stated to be an alternative campaign framework. Instead of the characters being assigned missions and travelling across the world, they are based in a small town investigating a series of mysteries. It starts with a breakdown as to how the section is laid out. Groundwork has the town and the station jointly created by the GM and the players. The characters are created first; some may be Ordo Veritatis agents whilst others are town residents who are inducted in over the course of the first investigation. How the town is created is covered; it could be the players home town or a fictional one. Notable and key places and landmarks are created, along with a rough map, how local knowledge is defined and used and the importance of keeping track of the town. A sidebar references using Fear Itself to create local residents.
Ordo Veritatis Briefing is the beginning of a station duty mission and has the characters briefed by Mr Verity on an intercepted Esoterrorist call and dispatched on their mission. Following this are details on how to create a station, its facilities and assets.
This Town Eats People explains that the narrative model for a Station Duty campaign is a television series, with each game session an episode. Some episodes are monster of the week, with little connection to the main plot, whilst others are focused on the myth arc. There are narrative arcs on what the enemy will do in reaction to the OV operatives’ actions, and character arcs for PCs. The campaign framework includes a number of investigation outlines and an introductory adventure.
Important NPCs in the town are also described; each has three different options depending on whether they a Potential Victim (sometimes a PoVic with Gun), Influencees who have been affected by Esoterror or a full-on Esoterrorists. Several key locations are then described, important places in the town. Each has two different types of description, neutral and sinister. This is followed by stock footage, descriptions for certain places, again neutral or sinister. Following this are different examples of the enemy the PCs may be facing, with different motivations, and different schemes the Esoterrorists could be carrying out. Finally, there are several examples of local news, complete with newspaper articles, one normal and one that has been annotated by someone.
Operation Prophet Bunco is an adventure in which the characters investigate a preacher’s apocalyptic predictions in order to curb the damage such predictions do to the Membrane.
Addenda has the Investigative Ability Checklist, for writing down what abilities are essential, optional and unused in an adventure, so players can be informed, the complimentary Investigator Matrix to note down character abilities, an Ordo Veritas Record Sheet, a Scenario Worksheet, an Adversary Worksheet, an Esoterror Cell Worksheet, a Station Duty Town Sheet, a Station Duty Scenario Worksheet and a Station Duty Town Reference Sheet.
The Esoterrorists 2nd Edition in Review
The PDF is thoroughly bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. The Contents is to a similar level of depth. Navigation is okay. The text maintains a two-column format and seemed to be mostly free of error. There are a number of black and white illustrations of different type, some being tweaked photographs. Presentation is okay.
Whether or not this game appeals is going to depend on one fundamental point, the thing the GUMSHOE system revolves around; that PCs with the necessary skills (and this can be a very broad term) will find the clues they need to complete an investigation. They may not use or understand the clues correctly, but they will not fail to find anything essential. This is the key part of the system, and it isn’t for everyone; anyone who doesn’t like this will need to use another system.
The supplement itself is a combination player and GM book, which can sometimes be a bit awkward. There is more setting information, but as this is the real world with a horror element added, only certain areas are covered. The Esoterror Factbook and The Book of Unremitting Horror are definitely useful to have with this; they aren’t absolutely essential, but they do contain more background information and, perhaps most importantly, more creatures. Fear Itself may have some useful material, but as it’s even more dangerous than The Esoterrorists, it is less essential.
The Esoterrorists is a horror investigation game, in some ways familiar to anyone who’s played Call of Cthulhu, but with some differences. The main one being, as described, the fundamental part of the GUMSHOE system. There is also an attempt to make the horrors more, well, horrifying; some existing creatures have been rather diluted in their terror effect over the years. The Esoterrorists 2nd Edition is a different, yet in some ways familiar, horror investigative game, and it can be found by clicking here.
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