A Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity inspired found footage RPG is coming
Cue shaky cam.
Hunt for your missing friends with nothing but a camera in the found footage film inspired tabletop roleplaying game The Devil in New Jersey.
Inspired by classic found footage horror films – which are filmed primarily using handheld cameras – such as The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and REC, The Devil in New Jersey is an upcoming TRPG that dares players to investigate terrors in the backwoods of the US.
As members of a garage punk band called The Berbalangs, the players will be venturing into the dark forests of the Pine Barrens in a place called Helridge on the hunt for their missing friend, Leigh Anne. Having gotten lost in the woods a week ago, Leigh Anne’s close friend – and the keyboard player for The Berbalangs – Riley believed that she was gone for good until he received a mysterious VHS tape. The footage on the tape convinced Riley that Leigh Anne was still out there, but in grave danger.
The horror tabletop RPG has players making their way through the Pine Barrens, looking for clues to Leigh Anne’s whereabouts, armed with only a video camera. Set during the pre-internet era that many of the classic found footage films were released in, The Devil in New Jersey looks to challenge players’ notions of what is real and what is fake.
The Devil in New Jersey uses the 3,2,1...Action! tabletop roleplaying game system, a TRPG that’s designed to enable the game masters – called game runners in 3,2,1...Action! - and players to roleplay a storyline in a similar manner to a film.
The 3,2,1...Action! system uses a d10, with the GM setting each scene and describing the consequences of players’ actions, whilst the players are controlling the characters featured within the scene. Whenever players encounter a situation wherein their character may face resistance to their actions, they will need to roll a d10 to decide whether they are successful in their attempts.
The Devil in New Jersey was co-designed by John Hambone McGuire and is set to be published by 3,2,1...Action!, the company responsible for releasing the 3,2,1...Action! game and adventures such as the 1980s action film inspired Escape From Point Nemo.
The Kickstarter campaign for The Devil in New Jersey is live from today, with pledge amounts and delivery dates yet to be confirmed.