Tabletop RPGs tend to reflect the culture they were created in. Cyberpunk rose to fame in the 80s as technology transformed modern life. World of Darkness debuted in the era of growing resentment towards the mainstream, and outcasts raging against the machine. You know what else reflects the era they were in? Horror movies, and Shiver TTRPG is the ultimate system for fright film fans.
And they’re about to get a brand new expansion.
SHIVER Cryptids: A Mystery Monster Hunter’s TTRPG is an upcoming expansion for the horror TTRPG centered around cryptids. Much like DnD races, cryptids are a diverse batch of beasties, ranging from furry bipeds to fiendish flyers. With over 196 pages of illustrations and lore for the iconic monsters, SHIVER Cryptids adds a mystery-solving edge to the horror TTRPG.
For the unfamiliar, Shiver is narrative-led TTRPG, quick to learn and totally free of the complex maths so common in TTRPGs. If your players can understand what DnD classes can do, then Shiver will be an absolute breeze. Character creation takes ten minutes, built via archetypes which can be dropped into an endless expanse of horror settings.
The Cryptids expansion focuses on the phenomena of the mystery monster. I’m sure many of you have lost a few hours of their day crawling through blurry videos of goat-men and tentacles slithering underwater. As part of the unfortunately-named CREEPS (Cryptid Research and Esoteric Experiments in the Paranormal Society), you must record every cryptid you can. Those photos might cost you a few limbs here and there, but this is all for the sake of indie journalism.
When it comes to horror, narrative TTRPGs should absolutely rule the night. While mechanics can and do play a role in the best horror tabletop RPGs, I am most spooked by the atmosphere of a campfire horror story. The oral tradition of freaking out your circle of friends is, and always will be the fun part. Shiver is perfect for that, and cryptids just makes it even more cozy despite the scares.
You can follow SHIVER Cryptids on Backerkit.
Speaking of cozy, the Wargamer Discord is a wonderful community of tabletop fans just like you, so why not check it out?
Source: Wargamer
