SHIVER RPG Core Rulebook

Product Information

The opening article in Shiver states that we go to horror movies because it’s fun to be scared. Maybe that’s right. SHIVER is perfect for creating your one shots or short stories between main campaigns. You can also create epic long stories by tying your one-shot stories together using rules for sequels.

The city of Spireholm is different of late. Strange folk are abroad, disappearances go unexplained, and a sombre mood descends upon the populous. A high profile murder brings an unlikely group of individuals together to investigate. What they uncover, will change them all forever. We created the gigantic gothic city of Spireholm for players to explore along with a huge interweaving narrative and mystery to be uncovered within it. Giant spire covered cathedrals, moonlit cobbled streets, and the monsters of classic novels and movies populate the city along with many other gothic inspired terrors. Each roll of the dice in Shiver is significant because there are consequences for failure. Each dice is supposed to be decorated with symbols from the game, and while there is a look-up table to translate gamer dice into Shiver dice, it’s not the same. The online dice roller is a better experience.

Designer

As we have already seen in this review, Shiver offers the opportunity to play in any setting or historical period, without limitations of any kind. With this nearly limitless number of possible game worlds, the Director has an unlimited arsenal of possible equipment to assign to characters.

Of course, half the fun of such adventures is making almost exactly the same decisions as those on screen –yes, I will go alone, no, there’s plenty of battery left in my torch, that noise absolutely was nothing – a good chunk of giddy excitement comes from knowingly making horror film decisions, as opposed to a viewer hidden behind the sofa. Oh, look, Geek Native is quoted in the pitch when I said, “Worthy of your vile consideration”. So, let’s see what Shiver Gothic offers for your new consideration.When the good people at Parable Games sent me the SHIVER Core Rule Book& set of Shiver Dice (yes, thats a thing) I wasn’t prepared for what joy was in store for this here TTRPG obsessive. Oh boy, let me tell you about SHIVER TTRPG, the game that’s guaranteed to give you chills and thrills, and not just because bloody weather here in Scotland is still freezing!

Although the themes proposed by the game are evident from the title, Shiver could have had a paragraph dedicated to explaining how to manage it at the game table. In my opinion, this is an important detail, especially for less experienced masters and it is a real pity that there is not even a reference in this regard. You can get Enter the Survival Horror from itch.io. Things start very badly for players in End of the Line. 10. End of the Line: Slasher Edition SHIVER is setting neutral so you can play any story, anytime, and as anyone. Want to play a game of teens in survival mode against a zombie horde? Kids on Bikes who dread exploring a haunted house on Halloween night? Or perhaps a medieval monster hunter looking for a werewolf, vampire or mage? SHIVER can help you deliver stories and characters for anything from cult pulp classics to Cthulhu fuelled eldritch mysteries. Fight your way through ghoul infested abandoned buildings, sleuth out a murder mystery, pull off a grand heist and fight werewolves, vampires, and monsters galore in this most Gothic of setting and story. However, two observations. That shiver-down-your-spine atmosphere is more like the moments of dread in Alien. Doom feels inevitable in the game. I’d use Shiver for one-shots. Secondly, my instinct is that the game will be twice as good in real life, in the shadows, with whispers, a stiff drink and friends around a table. Doom and Shiver

Puzzle Pieces

SHIVER is perfect for a one shot or short story between main campaigns. It can also be used to form longer narratives tying one-shot stories together using rules for sequels. Indeed, instead of following the typical victim based format, you could always add in the amusing option Menzies himself took in one of his favourite moments during a playtest session. A swathe of Items, Weapons, Armour and Monster profiles for you to use in your SHIVER stories as you see fit. Though not strictly a game in its own right, the Slasher sourcebook goes hand in hand with Hunter: The Vigil to add some murderous mayhem to the World of Darkness. It introduces Slashers as manifestations of the supernatural, or hunters who have taken their oaths a step too far, inviting the creation of characters who go beyond the norm into the realm of violent and bloody obsession. The characters created here, when married to the systems of the new World of Darkness, also better serve players who want a long-term campaign where the tables can be turned on the slashers themselves.

Secrets of Spireholm is a huge Gothic campaign that can be played over a large number of sessions taking characters right from their early levels as nighttime novices all the way to hardened veterans of horror.One thing that I learnt through this project is that the definition of Horror is extremely broad. Jaws, Jurassic Park, Scooby Doo, all these titles fit within the Horror genre just not in the gorey axe wielding murderer way that maybe you see picturing a ‘traditional’ horror film or tv show in your head. all new monstrous archetypes to the SHIVER RPG for players to create their characters with. Everything from Vampires to Frankenstein’s Monster are covered with a huge variety of gothic favourites. If monsters aren’t for you then you can break out the stakes and play as the Slayer Archetype to hunt down monsters as well! Ever wondered how it is to be in a horror movie where you are forced to work with complete strangers trying to escape from the clutches of a creepy antagonist with a chainsaw? Shiver RPG offers that exact experience of suspense, fear, and panic.