The Real Thing RPG - A Guide for the curious
The Real Thing RPG Kickstarter has destroyed their funding goal. A Powered By The Apocalypse Adventure and officially sponsored by Faith No More, this 90’s inspired scenario launches you into a campaign of discovery and personal horror. Heralded as a self-contained, story-driven, TTRPG, the 110-page campaign draws its inspiration heavily from the 1989 Faith No More Album also named… the Real Thing. To the creators of this project, it remains one of the greatest albums of all time. As a resident fan of metal, I may raise a finger on this last note—but I’ll allow it because the album is in my top ten.
There have been several actual plays, a ton of information, and even samples of the book that are available for preview already available. In the name of our search engine gods and attempting to help out SEO, I’ll just be including links to the Kickstarter page which already has information. Instead, for this article, I want to talk about something a little deeper under the hood: How to run it.
Any RPG Kickstarter we back is hard to engage with if you don’t have a storyteller to run your chronicle. Many players who are used to other game systems like Dungeons and Dragons or Vampire: The Masquerade might not be familiar with Powered By the Apocalypse and thus hesitant to take a leap of faith in a new system. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Here’s what you need to know about this campaign…
Who are you? No. Really.
“You’re perfect, yes, it’s true, but without me you’re only you.”
Before any campaign begins, a storyteller generally (or should) read the entire book. It’s not always the case, but this daunting hurdle can often put some STs off from starting. If the players have already read the campaign book, then an early grave for the campaign is dug because who wants to run something everyone already knows? THEREIN LIES THE BEAUTY OF THE REAL THING. In this campaign, your session zero, character creation, and first game session are rolled up into one neat storyteller-friendly package. Players will not need to field elaborate backstories and have individual sessions, and creating a character takes less than three minutes. Mostly because the entire premise of this story is that you wake up with no memory in a strange place—with a sudden change.
Even the storyteller themselves is left in the dark about how the tale will truly unfold or how the characters are connected. Each player at the start of the game picks an archetype “A Killer, A Lover, An Architect…” for example. Picks their two basic moves off the play-cards already included in the book and a single advanced move. Then on their character sheet, they only record three things: Their name, and two facts about themselves they remember. Something like “I have a duffle bag full of cash,” or “I was on the run from cops in Vegas.” These are the story hooks for the characters and all they know about themselves.
The storytellers’ job in this campaign is to help weave a mutual tale of self-discovery and let the players fill in the blanks of their past using a Discovery mechanic. While there are certainly tent-pole plot points that happen (like finding out very quickly that Sunlight burns you), whenever a player rolls their dice there is a chance for Discovery to happen. At this point, every Storyteller should have that wicked grin and simply ask:
”Tell me a time that you were in trouble, and something went wrong.” Or another loaded question. As the intro stories unfold, your players will continue to hand the storyteller all kinds of increasingly insane details about themselves for later use. They learn and create their characters, and the world around them at the same time by simply exploring their opening environment. This collaborative (and defensive) storytelling style makes for an engaging session zero by letting your players field questions. Each time they explore and push the boundaries of investigation a little further, they reclaim more of their memories. Which has a subtle effect of encouraging the players to take more risks, learn about their environment, and figure out why they don’t cast a reflection anymore—and what that means.
All threats are but on a map…
“Everybody’s staring at me. I’m only bleeding.”
I mentioned that storytelling Powered by the Apocalypse is a defensive style of storytelling. Rather than narrating to your players the actions that unfold and rolling dice to make these events happen—the storyteller rolls no dice. In PbTA (Powered by the Apocalypse) Only the players roll dice. 2d6 to be specific. They add some bonuses they may have from their sheet and starting moves, but every roll and move is done by the players with a gradient outcome. Low rolls tend to have bad things happen, middle rolls have interesting things, and high rolls give more choices. For every challenge, there are a few outcomes. Players will be given a choice like: “You can inflict one harm on this target, but choose one of the following: Do you put yourself in a bad spot? Do you have to make a hard choice? Or do you suffer trauma yourself?” This element of letting the players pick the fates of their characters heightens the tension and gives them agency over how a scene unfolds. Even picking a locked door might lead to a new surprise or self-discovery. Every time the players roll, they tee the storyteller up with a clue over how THEY the players want the story to unfold. Some groups may like more physical action, others want to make hard choices. The beauty of this style of storytelling is that you will always be giving the players the story THEY want to hear.
Trust me. Players will always make things harder for themselves.
But other than fielding questions and mastering improv, what does a storyteller for PbTA do? There are no challenge ratings or encounter builders, or even a requirement for loads of homework. There is one thing however: The Threat Map. In the Real Thing, the players are in a club / safe haven filled with shady individuals, regular people, and the supernatural. The campaign book includes maps, and before running the campaign the storyteller will gauge and litter the map with the various NPC’s and “threats” or “obstacles” the characters will face during their discovery. The further out from the starting room the players get, the more interesting and difficult the threats become. Since the storyteller is at the whim of the players choices and where they choose to go, it’s helpful to know where all the major NPC’s are during any given scene. So, while you may not be rolling dice—you will be updating your threat map during a session as obstacles and NPCs move around themselves based on the actions that unfold.
I only ask but three things.
“It’s not over yet. You don’t remember?”
My personal tip for running The Real Thing is to lean into three rules the players will learn early on in the opening act. Have them repeat these three rules to themselves and lean into them:
Only other vampires can know what they are.
No harm can come to the other guests.
They cannot leave until they have the Master’s permission.
These rules are “In-Universe” rules and are relevant to the story. Operating with these boundaries will set a sandbox around the characters. Artificial walls that might not…be entirely true. Let them explore the club looking out for mirrors so the regular guests don’t notice they have a reflection. Or perhaps they are bold enough to try an escape without the Master’s permission. What happens? Exploring these rules and pushing the boundaries will give something concrete for your players to focus on. It will drive in-character roleplay, and allow you to sit back and observe how they are handling the situation presented to them. The questions they ask in character about these rules or even their reaction to them—will empower you with ideas for their Discoveries. It’s for these reasons that the Real Thing will play out in a unique way every playthrough. Every group will handle these rules differently, and the story has multiple outcomes and twists. So even if one player did sneak a look past the “Narrator Only” section of the book, that doesn’t mean it will unfold the same way.
All said the Real Thing RPG was created by Jason Peercy, Jason Ward, and James Mosingo. All three are experienced artists and together—they’ve created something truly unique and beautiful. If you are looking to support small indie TTRPG’s from industry veterans, please go back their Kickstarter today. Every bit of support helps empower them to create! If you want a deep dive, check out their website filled with actual plays and interviews by clicking HERE!
