Mostly Void, Partially Stars

In a small desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while everyone pretends to sleep; people will soon be playing games where they pretend to be someone they are not, in a world that isn’t. Welcome To Night Vale—a genre-defining podcast by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor about a surreal, paranormal town in the American Southwest and its local radio show host Cecil Palmer—is currently crowdfunding an official roleplaying game, which as of this writing has made over $363,000.

Made in partnership with Renegade Game Studios, the campaign setting uses the Essence20 system. “I like to call it sort of the perfect blend of classic d20 games and more storytelling [focused] systems like World of Darkness,” said Night Vale RPG lead developer Carlos Cabrera in an interview with Rascal. Originally commissioned by Hasbro for Renegade’s other IP-based TTRPGs such as Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, and Transformers; The Essence20 system has players create a pool of Skill dice based on three aspects—Origins, Role, and Influence. Night Vale adds a new fourth aspect: Weird. “That's something that you can use to specifically interact with all of the strange things that's happening in various ways,” Cabrera said. “You could use a Weird skill test to notice when there's a magical portal nearby [or] sense a presence, scopaesthesia. It's that feeling you get when you think something's watching you, but you don't know where it is.” 

As a fan of Night Vale, I wish I had more to say about the game itself or the Visitor’s Guide, Citizen’s Guide, Host Guide, or Skeleton Gorge Incident adventure module included in the Backerkit campaign. However, I was unable to access a quickstart or similar preview text, so much of my impression of the game is second hand. Glass Cannon Network performed in a promotional actual play for the system at Gen Con this year, and Becca Scott hosted Good Time Society’s recent Night Vale RPG tutorial. I always have doubts about IP-based TTRPGs, especially those which match a beloved universe to a pre-existing system. There’s a pragmatism for artists who are explicitly not game designers to work with more established RPG design companies, but given Night Vale’s unique combination of leftist cultural satire, paranormal adventure, and poignant emotional reflection, there’s a risk that anything but a bespoke system heralded by superfans or the creators themselves won’t be able to translate the experience and ethos of the source material.