Be birds and do crimes in bizarre heist RPG Pigeon’s Eleven
Birds of a feather, steal together.
Become a squad of criminal birds attempting to pull-off a grand heist in a new tabletop roleplaying game.
Pigeon’s Eleven sees players taking the roles of avian masterminds whose single goal is to successfully plan and complete an impressive theft. The upcoming roleplaying game situates players as either con-artists or thieves who also happen to be birds.
Unlike many other heist narratives – such as Ocean’s Eleven, the 2001 film that’s a direct inspiration on the game – Pigeon's Eleven is about stealing tasty food rather than any money or jewelry: which are of no use to a bird. Despite their nonplused appearance, the birds in Pigeon’s Eleven are crafty criminals capable of picking locks, acquiring counterfeit credentials and carrying out jobs.
When starting the tabletop roleplaying game, players must create their bird characters. Players can choose any kind of bird – they're not just restricted to pigeons – and are free to decide how that might factor into their ability to do their job. Other than that, players will need to decide on a background, or the deep backstory behind their criminal bird, as well as what their criminal specialty is: what do they bring to the table that makes them valuable to the crew?
Players can choose from four different types of criminal, with each one having its own unique approach to the heist reflected in the die they use. Pigeon’s Eleven is built on the Polymorph system – created by 9th Level Games, which has also powered the Return to Dark Tower roleplaying game – and sees each role type using a die that gives them an advantage in performing certain types of actions.
For example, in Pigeon’s Eleven, The Pro uses a d4 that will give them access to tasks associated with brains, gadgets, wings and talons – but not feathers. Whereas The High-Roller, who uses a d10, is an all-rounder that doesn’t specialise in anything in particular: meaning that they’re less likely to roll the right result for certain actions.
Pigeon’s Eleven was created by Arbitrio Games, a studio that has designed other TRPG such as the horror roleplaying game Bad Decisions and its supplement, Volatile Valentines. The aforementioned 9th Level Games is the publisher responsible for releasing Pigeon’s Eleven.
The Kickstarter campaign for Pigeon’s Eleven is live until March 1st, with a pledge of $15 (£13) getting backers a physical copy of the book in September. Alternatively, a digital copy of the RPG is available for a pledge of $10 (£9).