First Impressions - Otherscape RPG (City of Mist Engine)

In this first impression, I'm not going to use my usual approach of going section by section, but rather discuss the significant changes that I see from Otherscape's predecessor, City of Mist*. These observations are based on having read the game through twice, along with Tokyo:Otherscape, and having run the game at Revelation this February. 

*I previously reviewed City of Mist here.

Once again, Son of Oak have delivered an extremely high quality package with glorious artwork and well written text they have taken the learnings from producing the City of Mist Starter Set and baked them into the core rulebook. As a result, you can run the game having read a minimal number of pages. I had all the quick reference pages printed out as a handy guide at the table.

Mechanically, the game shows the same roots as City of Mist, a love-child of Powered by the Apocalypse and FATE. However, it's now stepped a little further away from its original inspirations. The core mechanic remains rolling 2d6 and adding the power rating you get from your characters relevant tags to the result. A roll of ≦6 is a failure and a roll of ≧10 a complete success. In between, a roll of 7 to 9 means that you succeed but with a complication. Your power tags come from the three themes that define your character plus some extras you can draw on from your inventory and your crew theme.

Rather than the two theme types that City of Mist uses for characters, Otherscape has three. You have two that equate to the mythos and logos (called 'Self' in Otherscape) themes in the original game, but also a third one called 'noise' which is your cyberware and technology.

Both books are full-colour hardbacks with high quality artwork that evokes the setting that they are describing. Metro:Otherscape is 368-pages long and Tokyo:Otherscape is 320 pages long. A third book is included, the action database. This is a full colour 106-page softcover full of examples of the effects that you would use with different actions. The boxed set also came with status cards, dice and a GM screen in a large box, along with the trademark A3 double-sided dry-wipe character folios which instantly give you a feel for the game.

 

Having run Otherscape, there are a couple of things that stand out for me which are distinct improvements from the City of Mist. The most significant of these is the change from PbtA style moves to choosing the effect that you wish to achieve from the action you take. This was the standout change for me at the table, as you no longer have to search for the most appropriate move when you hit an edge case. Instead you have to ask yourself, "what am I trying to achieve from this action?", and then match that to one of twelve options (see the right of the image above). This works really clearly and quickly at the gaming table, albeit at the cost of extremely tailored moves.

I am pondering whether it will be possible to roll this back to City of Mist. Some of the discussions on the Discord forum for the game indicate that there may be some challenges with tailored moves used in theme progression that make this more difficult.

The other notable change addresses some of the perceived weaknesses in City of Mist where players overuse power tags. Otherscape makes it very clear that you cannot use tags again to face danger if they have already been used in the initial move that made the player vulnerable. Having recently reviewed the City of Mist core rules to produce an updated quick reference sheet, I was surprised to find that this is actually in them but not so explicitly or obvious as it is here. That may be on my own head, as I came to the game having use the starter set for quite some time.

I'm not certain about the need for the action database, but I did find myself referencing it when considering how I may tailor the response to certain player actions. Part of me felt that this should've been included the core rulebook, but I can see the case for splitting it out; the book would be massive if it was included. I don't think it'll be referenced as much, and I believe that there is a plan to create a digital version.

I loved the game in play, but it hasn't yet given me the same spark and passion that City of Mist does. I think this is a me-problem rather than a Son of Oak problem. I've never really been that much into Japanese cyberpunk, so the Tokyo book doesn't excite me the way I'd hoped. It is written really well, but it failed to give me the GM tingles. The core book, Metro:Otherscape, drew me in more. I wish the example Berlin setting was developed further. However, what's present is more than enough to run a generic myth-fuelled cyberpunk setting. I'm tempted enough to explore the forthcoming Cairo setting, but if that doesn't press my buttons, I suspect I'll be selling this off to someone else who loves it more.

Overall, Otherscape has rolled a 7-9 result for me, a 'yes-but'. That's more about my engagement with the setting than the mechanics, artwork or presentation. If you love Japanese-style cyberpunk and anime, then I wholeheartedly recommend this game. If you like the idea of a myth-fuelled cyberpunk setting then the core book will work for you too.

Recommended.

Edit: One thing that I forgot to mention above is the status cards and how tiers are now managed. It is far less fiddly and much more intuitive than City of Mist. I do suspect that it may mean that characters are a little more fragile, but I'm not certain, and it will work both ways. 

5 April 2025

An updated City of Mist Cribsheet

I've long been a fan of the one page moves cribsheet for City of Mist presented in the Starter Set, using it at conventions in laminated form. 

However, it does have a significant weakness; there are missing moves. The two key missing moves are 'Stop.Holding.Back.' and 'Look Beyond the Mist', which are often referenced in scenarios. The key downtime moves are also missing.

I spent some time recently doing an updated sheet in the style of the Starter Set which includes the following changes:

Added moves:

• Look Beyond the Mist.
• Stop. Holding. Back.
• Downtime Montage (cinematic).
• Flashback (cinematic).

Guidance on making moves:

• Making a move.
• Determining Power.
• Tag Invocation Rules.
• Burning Tags.
• Statuses.

All areas are cross referenced by page number to the relevant pages in the Player's Guide.

You can download a PDF copy here.

I recommend that you print it double-sided, short-edge binding and laminate.

City of Mist is copyright Son of Oak and all their rights are reserved. This cribsheet is intended for personal use only. Buy the game, it's fantastic!

23 March 2025

First Impressions - Nights of Payne Town (City of Mist RPG)

An epic campaign for City of Mist

Nights of Payne Town came from the kickstarter campaign that Son of Oak ran to create a story arc for their City of Mist roleplaying game and to also sort out their finances for the stretch goals of the original Kickstarter. It is presented as a 294-page full-colour hardback book, gorgeously illustrated and nearly typo-free. Layout and design are clear and help the reader quickly identify information through the use of colour (for example: key clues are highlighted in yellow, story arc clues in a purple).

TL;DR: Nights of Payne Town is a well produced sourcebook for City of Mist with gorgeous production values and an epic story are. It's complex, but well supported, with enough flex in the cases and writing to allow for the players taking different sides and approaches to heal the Fisher King's pain. Recommended.

The campaign is presented in three distinct veins, each of three cases (scenarios). There are interlinks between the veins, but it's recommended to run them in sequence. There's also an over-arching case in three acts which draws the whole story-arc together, triggering at the climax of each vein.

The main plot revolves around the Arthurian Myths, in particular the Fisher King and Holy Grail. However, the cases also link back to the deep background of the City. There's a lot to unpack, and I suspect you may well want to interweave in some cases unrelated to the campaign if you wanted to get the most out of it.

The three veins are the Personal vein, the Mystical vein and the Criminal vein. Each has reoccurring themes; Broken Glass, Alchemical Transformation and Arthur/Camelot. The climax of each vein involves a major villain - Grail Knight - and they're typically very dangerous and broken because of a failed interaction with the Grail.

The first case in the Personal vein is 'Killing Her Softly'. The crew get drawn into an investigation to find a killer threatening the jazz and blues singer Martha Ellis. I've run this scenario at one of the Garricons; it works well, but the clues to the deeper levels of the mystery need to be carefully brought in to avoid it feeling too directed. Once they're in play, the case gathers momentum and moves towards a potentially lethal denouement.

'Carnival of Death' is the second adventure in the Personal vein. It starts off by throwing the crew into a suspicious death in a love triangle, but twists into a macabre carnival of horrors which could be brutal if approached incorrectly. I think I'd be wary of running this early in the campaign because it relies upon a good understanding of each Rift's motivation and history. I think that it would be more effective to get a number of scenarios under the crew's belt to make this work well. It's also worth noting that the carnival itself relies on a lot of improvisation based on the MC's understanding of each Rift's background and drives. An intriguing plot, but l'm not sure how well it would land in reality, shifting from neo-noir detective to horror; I fear it could feel quite disjointed.

The Personal vein ends with 'Broken Glass', a scenario which places the City in peril from the actions of one of the Grail Knights. This investigation brings the characters directly in the line of fire from the person responsible for the previous two scenarios. It's likely that they won't be able to defeat the villain unless they're willing to make sacrifices that will change them forever. However, they will learn important clues to the overall plot that links all the scenarios. I like this scenario - it feels climatic and dangerous, and will need some clever thought to succeed without the risk of significant loss.

The next vein is the Mystical one. The vein starts with 'The Furnace', another case which I've run at a Garricon. It focuses around drugs which only affect Rifts, and an investigation into missing persons. It's quite a dark case, and the potential exists for the characters to lose hard if they mess up. That said, a bit of ingenuity from the players will solve this; it certainly did when I ran it. The case also gives a glimpse into more active elements of Rift society, perhaps offering a vision of what life can be if the crew members more fully embrace their nature. The location in the case also links back to the Personal vein, although this may not immediately be apparent.

The second case in the vein is 'The Cult of the God-King', which was a new scenario for me. The scenario very rapidly moves away from the more classic noir detective style, reminding me strongly of some weirder aspects of the Marvel Netflix Daredevil and Iron Fist series. This is a more complex scenario, and the MC will need to think and develop on their feet. That said, the key scenes are all there. The case links back to the Furnace and provides clear threads beyond to pull on. Indeed, the Mythos of Ariadne can become an ally for the crew if they play things right. This is a potentially deadly and messy investigation into a secretive cult. Perhaps the only saving grace for the crew is that the cult does want to remain in the shadows; that said, they won't hesitate to use deadly force.

As an aside, it's worth noting that every case has an ' 'aftermath' section which asks questions about the outcome. This is really useful - it helps the MC consider how the present scenario may affect the future ones. It also gives hooks to add in further cases or events. The space for reflection is a good thing.

The final case in the Mystical thread is 'The Alchemist'. Once again, it focuses upon one of the Grail Knights, Armand Kai. Kai embodies the themes of transformation throughout this vein. He is a master alchemist, trying to find a way to cheat death having crossed paths with the Fisher King. The case is described as either a cinematic dungeon-crawl or a heist. Frustratingly, there is a set of heist rules referred to from the PDF supplement 'Fortune Row' which aren't reproduced here. I think I'd prefer to use a heist style approach here as the location is absolutely brutal. It will be hard to come through this without your Rift being transformed in some way; that is the theme of the case and vein, but it would also be very easy for this to be catastrophic potentially ending their involvement in the ongoing campaign. The MC will need to think about this carefully when preparing to run this; it's dangerous, magical and transformational.

Overall, this vein very strongly brings on its themes of transformation and alchemy. it feels magical and dangerous, reminiscent of some parts of the Netflix Marvel Daredevil & Iron Fist series when they engaged with 'The Hand'. I think I would probably interspace this with the other veins or it could be overwhelming and quickly push away from the noir aspects of City of Mist which drew me into the game in the first place.

The final vein is the Criminal vein, which opens with 'Albion Awakens'. This vein is a direct counter-point to the Fisher King myth at the heart of the campaign.

The case is an investigation into a new biker gang which has been taking over the streets of the White diff District. The crew will become involved in the rise of the Rift of King Arthur, and will be able to chose between supporting or opposing his establishment of a power base to oppose his enemy. This is an ongoing conflict between Arthur and the Fisher King, twisted by the Dolorous Stroke. The case steadily escalates as the Arthurian myth exerts itself in a conflict to control the city. I like this case; it blends myth and noir well, working together and resonating. It feels a more natural fit with the theme of the game than some of the other cases.

The Criminal vein continues in 'Home is where the heart is'. This case puts the crew investigating a real estate corporation which is devouring the local neighbourhood. They've done it before, elsewhere, and the methods were the same. People leave, businesses fail, intimidation is rumoured. The crew have plenty to investigate, and the trail will lead them towards the dark and dangerous horror at the heart of the case. I like this scenario - it'd also work well as a standalone game for a convention - and it's a good second case for the vein. The only thing to be aware of is that there's a good possbility that the end of this case triggers the next, final case in the vein immediately.

The final case in this sequence, 'The Streets Bleed Neon' brings the Criminal vein to a close. This case feels apocalyptic as the Rift of King Arthur makes a flawed attempt to forge a superweapon to enable him to directly assault the Fisher King. The problem is that the power's unleashed threaten the city and the Mist itself. The case takes the form of loosely linked scenes; depending upon the choices the crew take, they could be on either side, and perhaps change their mind along the way. The events and outcome are the clearest link to Fisher King, and may help to reveal the heart of what is going on. Unlike the other Grail Knights, Arthur is actively working against the Fisher King and unaware that he unwittingly supports his aims.

The final section of the book is the overarching case, 'Percival'. This is a case in three parts, each one triggered by completing the final scenario in a vein. The revelations from each of these unlock secrets about the Fisher King and the potential to encounter him. Ultimately, these secrets are the elements which will allow the crew to solve the story arc and save the City.

Reflecting on working my way through the cases, I'd like to run this if I can find the players who would want to commit the time to it. I've run at least three of the cases standalone and they worked well. I do think that the campaign as a whole needs some work to get the best out of it, but all the bones are there. It's strongly written and in my mind's eye I can imagine this as a Netflix Marvel style series. I think I'd start with some other cases to ground the crew (perhaps from the starter set, but that would leave certain threads unresolved).

In summary, Nights of Payne Town is a well produced sourcebook with gorgeous production values and an epic story are. It's complex, but well supported, with enough flex in the cases and writing to allow for the players taking different sides and approaches to heal the Fisher King's pain. 

Recommended.

15 August 2022 

Returning to the City [Revelation 2022]

The crew for this weekend's game.

I'm just finalising preparation for Revelation 2022 this coming weekend, pulling together the City of Mist material. I'm running a scenario from the 'Nights of Payne Town' campaign. I've actually run a couple from this before at previous conventions, and I'm minded to offer it as a mini-campaign option at some point in the future.

The players all selected pre-generated characters from the copious selection that have been produced for the game, and we've an interesting mix. One of the key bits for me was to produce a table with the mysteries and identities that underpin their characters and also the weaknesses. This is so I can push their buttons appropriately during the game session.

Looking through the material I have already printed, I suddenly realised that I've run this at least three times previously at conventions; twice face-to-face and once virtually using Roll20. This time, I'm running 'The Furnace', the kick off to the mystical vein of the campaign.

It's a fun game and system.

23 February 2022

Game Pitches for Revelation 2022

The Furnace - City of Mist

Someone is aggressively pushing a new drug on the streets of the City, a drug that apparently makes your wishes come true. Marketed as "Candy", the rumours swirl around town. What will your crew do to protect your neighbourhood from the spread of this narcotic, which seems to affect rifts more than most? An Ill-fated case of sweet temptations and stolen dreams.

5 players, Slot 3
Tags: Adult themes, Noir, Marvel Netflix level supers, drugs, myths, fairy tales

It started out with a kiss... how did it end up like this? - Impulse Drive

Heiress Jacinta Almánzar has disappeared and her family want her back. They suspect that she's been kidnapped so have posted a bounty on her recovery. You have a ship, and debts to pay, so a recovery mission for a missing socialite seems a perfect opportunity, especially when the family are so desperate that they'll cover reasonable expenses. How long can you string this out and help your bank account while making sure no one else gets there first?

Slot 5, 5 players
Tags: Adult themes, SF

Revelation, the Powered by the Apocalypse and Forged in the Dark convention is happening on 26th and 27th February 2022 and registration is still open. The scenarios above are my pitches.

More details here: http://revelationgames.org.uk/

2 January 2022

First Impressions - Shadows & Showdowns (City of Mist RPG)

Evocative artwork as expected from City of Mist books

TL;DR: 'Shadows & Showdowns' delivers a great package for the MC of a City of Mist campaign. It contains a great mix of material to support, expand and sustain extended play. The artwork is excellent and the material sparks ideas and opportunities to build upon.

'Shadows & Showdowns' was one of the stretch goals for the original City of Mist Kickstarter. It's one of the items that helped them run out of funds. It's one of the reasons I was really frustrated with the Kickstarter. You see, some time after the original game funded, Son of Oak did a second Kickstarter, which had a bumpy start (as it had to be relaunched) and caused some bad feelings as it was needed to fund the art for the' campaign book' stretch goal from the original funding round. A tacit admission that they couldn't deliver without more cash. It's a funny situation - do you back further, knowing they've already messed up, or do you walk away? Reader, I doubled down. And I'm glad that I did.

Son of Oak fixed their communication and sorted their planning and finances. With this release, they have delivered an excellent product that will help MCs to run a better campaign. The Campaign Book', 'Shadows & Showdowns', is a 312-page full colour hardcover with stunning genre appropriate artwork. It is split into four main sectors:

a) 'If dreams could kill'- expanded character tools

b) 'Overlooked attractions'- locations to drop into your game

c) 'Don't believe the Truth'- details of the Avatars who are the movers and shakes in the City.

d) 'Suits unveiled'- background on the Mist and its Gatekeepers.

Lots to look at, so let's drop in. 'If dreams could kill' starts by discussing how to create unique themekit, a template or blueprint for a theme. This is a short outline of the elements that a theme contains. It's nothing that you couldn't get from studying the existing themes, but it's useful as a quick reference and guide. There are also four new Mythos themes and two Logos themes to expand the options in the core book. The Logos themebooks are 'Struggle' (a character with some kind of personal challenge) and 'Turf' (a connection to a place or organisation that you lead). The Mythos themebooks bring the power of conjuration (summoning or creating beings or objects), a fated destiny, access to an enclave, or a familiar to aid you.

Whenever I look at themebooks, I start to think about how I could recreate a specific character, often from the Marvel Netflix series (which are my go-to reference points for the game). What I like about the themebook approach is that there are different ways to build a specific character depending upon the focus that you want to give them.

It's a shame that these new themes aren't also available as theme cards or stand-alone playbooks like those created as extras for the initial release of the game. I guess the sales of the extras weren't as strong as Son of Oak hoped.

There's a good guidance piece on converting existing mythic personages into characters for use with a City of Mist campaign. This suggests focusing on three key features that define the character and make it unique, and then works up two examples (Puss in Boots, and the New Year). A selection of legendary archetypes (for example a knight/warrior) linked to fictional/mythic examples are given, with suggested themes to use. This ties nicely to an overview summary on quick character creation.

The section rounds out with an extensive selection of Mythos & Logos theme kits to draw upon, followed by examples and discussion on how to address veteran characters and how to use extra themes through season finales or moments of evolution, or as transient benefits (for example, an ally gained against a particular opponent who may need more development than just a single tag).

There are some great examples of Relics, themes that could serve a character, or as a Macguffin, or assist an enemy. Similarly, examples are given for familiars All-in-all, a useful chapter for both the MC and players.

Chapter 2- 'Overlooked attractions' is probably the most useful section of the book as it provides a wide selection of locations and NPCs to drop into a game. As an MC, these are gaming gold-dust. They both spark ideas and give ways to answer player questions. The examples are broken into categories;

• Accommodation
• Contacts
• Information
• Meeting places
• Recovery
• Rivals & troublemakers
• Security
• Shopping
• Street encounters
• Transportation
• Workshops

There are suggestions how to use the encounter, danger information and themes where appropriate. For me, this is the section that makes the book essential. It makes life easier for an MC and is well executed.

The third chapter is called 'Don't Believe The Truth' and details the Avatars who are the movers and shakers in the City. They can be used as antagonists or patrons, or both. Their history is outlined along with the resources and objectives of the group. The Key Avatars are described in depth. with bios, motivations and the resources that they can bring to play. These assets include their allies and minions, key locations and the related dangers and themes. These are presented as a set of interlinked pyramids in a similar way to those used for cases.

It's fair to say that the various council members do not see eye-to-eye and will manoeuvre against each other while also working to prevent the emergence of new Avatars that may upset the status quo. Except when new blood presents an opportunity to undermine their rivals.

The final chapter provides plenty of information on the Gatekeepers and Agents who work for them. These are the allies of the Mist, who exist in a state of tension with the Avatars of  'The Truth' and could be an existential threat to any Mythos who goes too far. I'm not going to discuss this in any depth as it is potentially a major spoiler for canon campaigns. That said, there is enough here to turn a traditional City of Mist game on its head and run a crew dedicated to suppressing the actions of emergent mythic beings and concepts.

The chapter rounds out with a discussion of what the Mist is. A variety of options are given, but its left for the MC to decide what their reality is. The published material combines two of these theories.

The book ends with appendices providing indexes of the Mythoi, Dangers and themekits that it contains, followed by a list of Kickstarter backers.

To conclude; 'Shadows & Showdowns' delivers. It contains a great mix of material to support, expand and sustain a City of Mist campaign. The artwork is excellent and the material sparks ideas and opportunities. 

Recommended.

My original City of Mist review can be found here.

31 October 2021

First Impressions - City of Mist RPG

TL;DR: Two gorgeously illustrated core books, with somewhat overblown writing and a game system that's the bastard love-child of FATE and PbtA. They just scream mystery and neon-noir. Clear references, a decent introductory scenario, only lacking a decent index. You can dip your toe into the water with the Starter Sets from 2019 (or 2016) if you're unsure of spending £70 on core rules. This is the best neon-noir game I've seen and it channels Marvel Netflix. Recommended.

My copy of the City of Mist RPG landed after the Kickstarter campaign over two years ago and I was instantly put off it by the sheer size of the book. Weighing in at 500-pages and over 2kg in weight, the only RPG volumes that I own that come close in scale are the original printing of Traveller T5 and Grimtooth Traps Collected Edition. Based on the mock-up pictures on the Kickstarter pages, I'd been expecting something like the Blades in the Dark or Scum and Villany hardcovers, but instead, I got an unwieldy and impracticable hardcover old-school telephone-directory sized volume. The packaging was flimsy and inadequate, but fortunately, mine escaped damage in the post. This is a book that needs to come with a complementary coffee-table so you can read it.

In the interest of fairness, I went back and looked at the campaign as I was writing this, and I accept that my own assumptions from other Powered-by-the-Apocalypse (PbtA hereafter) may have led me to think that this was digest (6x9") sized, but the images above don't show a lot of size differences between the starter kit and the core book.

Core Book (first printing) and MC Screen.

That said, the book is high quality, full colour and packed full of original art. The artwork is gorgeous and really evocative. The layout is mostly good and well structured, but I find the introductory paragraphs are in too-large a font size (a minor niggle), and the lack of a decent index in a 500-page core rulebook is simply unacceptable.

Fortunately, a more layout savvy friend of mine who had also backed the game at the same level found a solution to the scale by re-sizing the core text to crown quarto and doing a cheap colour print through an online print-on-demand provider. I used their files to get a copy of the book to read. This was under half the weight and practicable to read and use at the table.

Crown Quarto easy to handle print.

Just as I started to dig into reading the book, the creators ran another Kickstarter; this was for an adventure campaign book, plus a new printing of the core rules into two volumes, plus funding for the artwork for the stretch goal 'campaign book' from the first campaign. This didn't leave a good taste in my mouth; it was an admission that they'd screwed up the first take at the core rules and that they'd messed up the campaign finances (something I'd assumed from the packaging materials used). Like an idiot, I backed this (partly to ensure that the original campaign was fulfilled, partly because I wanted the campaign scenario book if it saw the light of day). I didn't feel especially good about this and put the book away again because I was annoyed with it again. I did consider selling the game but stepped back.

Considering how big the City of Mist Kickstarter was (1762 backers, $105k), I've seen very little of it at the table at UK conventions. Even Revelation (a PbtA themed con) wasn't showing it. I got a game in 2018 at Continuum, but that was with the original starter book, which didn't show the rules revisions that had gone on.

And yet, City of Mist continues to draw me back. There is something about the whole concept that calls to me and excites me. I think it's the combination of noir, myth and the City. The setting has Netflix Marvel type heroes whose powers come through the (sometimes unconscious) embodiment of a mythic or even fictional creature set across the backdrop of a large metropolis simply known as 'The City'. The powered characters are 'Rifts' and can see the reality of the City. Normal people are the 'Sleepers', and they will tend to rationalise powered events that they see as best they can due to the effect of the Mist.

The game takes the PbtA style playbook and twists it around a set of themes; each player character has four themes; they are either 'mythos' (powered) or 'logos' (normal). The number of each theme type affects the character - if you have four logos themes then you become normal and the Mist can affect you. Four mythos themes are you become a true embodiment of your myth, leaving your normal life behind. Each theme has a 'mystery' that you are seeking to explore (mythos) and an 'identity' that defines you (logos). If you act against these, then you mark crack or fade; do that three times and you lose the theme and get one of the opposite nature. Themes also have a weakness; if this is invoked then you get a chance to improve the theme by marking attention (experience).

The core rules start on page 246 after all the material on themes! It's partly as the game uses lots of white space and art to illustrate the book. The system uses a selection of standard moves to work from which will be recognisable to those who are familiar with similarly engined games. Rolls are made on 2D6, 6- gives narrative control to the MC (Master of Ceremonies aka GM) to make a move to drive the plot, 7-9 gives success with complications, and 10+ gives a complete success. Certain moves with certain themes become 'dynamite' if you roll 12+, which means more cool things happen.

Unlike other PbtA games, this one feels like the love-child of Apocalypse World and FATE. Each theme has power tags. If you can narratively invoke the tag, then it gives you a +1. Of course, there's the usual power gaming risk but the MC just needs to squash that. You can also draw upon Story Tags; these are tags related to a specific theme (e.g. On fire, Dark) which can also be invoked both for or against. Finally, you add or subtract statuses. These are tags that usually denote damage, countdowns or other scaling effects. Wounds are a prime example of this. It's very effective and free-flowing.

There are two moves that stand out to me as a little different. The first is 'investigate'. When you roll this, each tag gives you a clue; an open question that you can ask the GM. If you get 10+ it unlocks additional questions you can draw on. You can save Clues (as a status, for example 'Interview with Syrus the Bouncer-2') and bring them into play later as a flashback to that scene if another question springs to mind. The other one is 'change-the-game'. If you succeed at this, you can create a story or equipment tag, or create/alter a status. You narrate what you do (for example to help) and then if you are successful you have a tag that can help or hinder to draw on. This is how you help other characters.

There's also an interesting option called 'Stop.Holding.Back.' which is an invocation of your mythos powers. Characters with more logos (normal) themes find this easier, and it is the move you make if you want to take your powers to another level. It's the classic hero scene where they overstrain and do something fantastic but it significantly impacts their powers (for example they can't draw on them or lose them or change them). Power comes at a cost.

A subset of moves, the Cinematic Moves, invoke the neon-noir feel. These range from a voice-over monologue to start the game, to downtime montages, flashbacks and then an end-credits scene. These would be particularly effective in campaigns.

The book delves into the City, describing districts in generic terms. It's surprisingly effective. Calling something 'Downtown', or 'The Industrial District' actually works well to get that dark, rainy, grimy neon-noir feel. There are plenty of non-player characters and mythoi described. Some of the underlying nature of the City is also outlines.

Guidance is given on creating plots and story arcs and leans heavily and an iceberg layout to structure cases by location and actions. Generally, it's a good framework, but the players will break it. There is no introductory scenario, although there are several available (including for free) on DriveThruRPG and the website.

The text can be a bit flowery; it does tend to be very descriptive. Overblown maybe, but the rules sections are better. It could just do with something to pull it together.

So, in conclusion; this first printing is a gorgeously illustrated book, with somewhat overblown writing, a game system that's the bastard love-child of FATE and PbtA and just screams mystery and neon-noir. It lacks easy to reference rules summaries, an introductory scenario and an index. And it's too big and heavy.

However.

I loved what I read enough that having skimmed the free PDFs of the second printing that the publisher sent all the original backers, I decided to upgrade when I saw a copy of the deluxe set reduced at Gameslore in the damaged stock. It had a minor dent to the slipcase[1] but was reduced 30% or so. I sold my original.

The Deluxe Slipcase Second Printing.

The second printing splits the books into two smaller hardbacks. The Player's Guide has the themes, character generation and core rules. The MC Toolkit contains the setting, scenario building and campaign materials. They're still full size, but much more handleable. Summaries of the rules have been added and a decent introductory scenario (which links to the one in the new 2019 Starter Set). The contents pages are more usable. They're altogether better books. The writing still has the same weaknesses with a tendency to be overly descriptive but I'm really pleased with these.

The elephant in the room?

The 2019 Starter Kit is great. It contains everything you need to get into the game and nice materials like the status cards you can use with dry wipes. You can even do limited character development. Rather than spend £70 on the core books, spend £8 on the PDF. Print it if you want a hard copy. It's a perfect taster for the game. Or get the free 2016 Starter Set; the rules are essentially the same (although they evolved before the game was properly published). But be warned; if you like noir and narrative games, this could be a slippery slope.

My 2nd City of Mist game at Revelation 2020.

I committed to run City of Mist at Revelation 2020 (see my post here), and ended up running two different scenarios for two different crews. I used the 2019 Starter Set Characters, laminated at A3, with drywipes. One scenario came from the Starter Set and felt very classic noir investigation. The second drew more on the supernatural and came from the forthcoming campaign book 'Nights of Payne Town'. I've come away from the convention inspired by the game and I really want to run the campaign. I will definitely play this again.

Summary: Two gorgeously illustrated core books, with somewhat overblown writing and a game system that's the bastard love-child of FATE and PbtA. They just scream mystery and neon-noir. Clear references, a decent introductory scenario, only lacking a decent index. You can dip your toe into the water with the Starter Sets from 2019 (or 2016) if you're unsure of spending £70 on core rules. This is the best neon-noir game I've seen and it channels Marvel Netflix. Recommended.


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29 February 2020

[1] If you are interested in damaged stock from Gameslore, they'll send you pictures of the issue if you email them.

Update Oct 2021: I have also reviewed the City of Mist campaign book, Shadows & Showdowns, on this blog.