Spooky radio dramas have a long history of influencing pop culture. Shows like The Shadow featured a main character who used fear as a weapon to scare criminals into confessing or giving up. Modern shows like Evil or Interview With The Vampire can trace their lineage back to Lights Out and Inner Sanctum
Welcome To Night Vale revitalized the form in 2012 with a potent mix of surreal imagery and dark, absurd humor. Fans fell in love with the weird tales coming out of the small desert town and helped turn it into a pop culture sensation. The show is a foundational aspect of the narrative podcast genre and has become a brand that tours the world and sells merchandise to fans.
Renegade Game Studios is crowdfunding a new chapter in Night Vale’s pop culture influence. Welcome To Night Vale: The Roleplaying Game hope to bring players together to tell their own strange stories about The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home while also never, ever mentioning the Dog Park. The company gave me an advanced look at the game for this article.
Welcome To Night Vale Roleplaying Game Contents
The first book in the boxed set is The Citizen’s Guide which illustrates how Renegade’s Essence20 Roleplaying System was adapted for this setting. As the podcast is about exploring the mysteries surrounding the town, the game focuses on investigation over combat. Players can take on the roles of their favorite characters or create new citizens to get wrapped up in the strange goings on.
Game Masters will enjoy The Host’s Guide thanks to its advice on how to tell stories that feel like the ones on the podcasy. It also has good general advice together such as how to run a fulfilling Session Zero that maks every one excited to play. The book finishes up with game mehcanics for some of the famous residents of Night Vale that can be used as allies, rivals or enemies in the stories told by the game.
The Visitor’s Guide highlights many of the weird, memorable locations in and around the town. Fans will love the details on their favorite places and organizations, while players and Game Masters will find a lot of inspiration for their stories here. There are event ads, tickets and coupons that could get printed out and used as props in the pages of this book.
I won’t get into too many spoilers for The Skeleton Gorge Incident, which is the full adventures included in the boxed set to kick off a campaign. It lets players interact with some of the most famous parts of the setting…even if that interaction might put them in mortal danger. The story gives fans a chance to experience one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: an internship at Night Vale Community Radio.
Welcome To Night Vale Roleplaying Game Impressions
I really like how self contained this boxed set feels. This seems like it could be the perfect gift for someone that loves the show regardless of whether or not they are already into RPGs. It also is a great way to get Dungeons & Dragons players to branch out and try something different.
I like who quickly the boxed set moves to get players in the game. There are 11 pre-generated characters that are built to get into The Skeleton Gorge Incident quickly. While building your own character is fun and deeply rewarding, something picking up a character and making it your own is just as satisfying.
The materials were written by folks who have a clear passion for the show. Finding the balance between important game information and interesting media tie-in trivia can be tricky. The creators have nailed that here as I enjoyed reading it as a potential Host and as someone who enjoys the show.
Welcome To Night Vale: The Roleplaying Game is on BackerKit through October 30th, 2024. Backers get priority access to the game before it hits retailers as well as art prints and other Backerkit exclusives. The game is slated for a May 2025 release.
