Edgar Allen Poe inspired RPG features the horrors of Sleepy Hollow and beyond
American horror story.
A new tabletop roleplaying game inspired by classic American gothic authors like Edgar Allen Poe is coming to Kickstarter later this year.
Nevermore: A Roleplaying Game of American Gothic Horror is an upcoming tabletop RPG that takes inspiration from various American modernist writers such as the aforementioned Edgar Allen Poe – the poet and author behind gothic literature like The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven – Moby Dick author Herman Melville and several more.
The horror TRPG takes place on the east-coast of North America in the year 1888, during a time in which the country was haunted by the tales of gothic writers. With President Cleveland in office, Telsa unveiling his advances in electricity and Harriet Tubman fighting for the rights of Black Americans, the late 19th Century had plenty of history taking place in it – history that players can directly interact within through Nevermore.
As members of the Esoteric Order of the Illuminous, an organisation that is aware and against supernatural forces that threaten the world, the players will be travelling across the east-coast in search of potential dangers and, possibly, their own redemption. Throughout the tabletop RPG, players will be investigating all sorts of strange occurrences – from missing persons to sightings of terrifying creatures – with the game master collaborating with them to tell stories of the weird and dark.
When creating their characters, players will be able to choose from seven different cabals within the Esoteric Order of the Illuminous, depending on what they want their characters to specialise in. From Aethyric Engineers – who have the knowledge and ability to invent and use mechanical devices to harm spirits – to the Disciples of the Emerald Tablet, who study practices dating back to the Islamic Golden Age of Mesopotamia, player characters will be able to use their chosen cabal in their fight against a myriad of gothic horrors.
Nevermore: A Roleplaying Game of American Gothic Horror was designed by Ian Lemke, a designer and developer behind TRPGs such as Changeling: The Dreaming – one of the World of Darkness titles, the series that features Vampire: The Masquerade – and the Talisman Adventurers Fantasy RPG, alongside contributing to Star Trek Adventures and The Expanse RPG. Nepenthe Games is the publisher responsible for releasing Nevermore.
The Kickstarter campaign for Nevermore is set to launch on October 4th, with pledge amounts and delivery dates yet to be confirmed.