Surrender to the whims of suspense - Il Fantasma del Giallo Prelaunches on Kickstarter

This is Il Fantasma del Giallo, the debut work of Hardy Roach Games and writer/designer/artist Laurence Phillips, who has previously worked on such tabletop and video games as Spire, Vampire Survivors, Legacy, Hard Wired Island, and Warhammer: The Old World RPG.

Il Fantasma is a magical realist tabletop RPG concerning the thrills and horrors of collapsing identity, uncertain reality, and frantic violence.

This is a game about cinema and performance, trauma and guilt; about the ways you can be hurt and the ways you hurt others. It's a game about mysteries without explanations, and acceptance without forgiveness.

You and your compatriots are a cast of down-on-their-luck and disgraced Actors who — due to circumstances none of you can recall — have committed to starring in a seemingly endless sequence of violent European murder mysteries for a mysterious new film studio. 

But you’re not here to merely live out your final, regrettable little career cul-de-sac. That would be more than you deserve, after all. You’re here for something else. What exactly is uncertain, but you may remember something important along the way. 

You may remember why you will never be forgiven.

Cinéma Vérité

The man yelled “action” and we’re entering the Yellow. The studio is gone. The cameras are gone. The crew, the lighting rigs, the loitering stagehands, the director, the actors waiting for their shot, all gone. The set lingers, but what was once a facade is now just a place. 

You vaguely remember who you were — as well as you could before, anyway — but you're almost overwhelmed by who you are now. You are your Role. You’ve somehow become so ‘method’ that you’re not just yourself anymore, you’re also…them. The two personalities sit side by side in your head, bleeding together at the edges. 

And it all feels very familiar somehow, doesn’t it? But don't worry. Your Role may die, but your Actor will live on. Whether they want to or not.

Welcome to Giallo. Welcome to the Yellow. 

Drama Comes First

Il Fantasma is a narrative and character driven game with a focus on collaboration, creative freedom, and spontaneity. Your GM, or "Director”, will act not as the hand of god, but the head of creative. The stories, characters, and even the material truth of reality itself is built collectively. The Director's job is to keep the pace and have the final word. 

The Mechanics of Mortality

Conflicts are resolved using playing cards and a set of intuitive, free-flowing mechanics inspired by trick-taking games like Whist and Hearts. The mechanics are designed with narrative in mind, rewarding gruesome deaths as much as triumphant survival. 

Choose from 9 Actor Archetypes - typecastings that were frustrating during your career, but grant strange powers within the Yellow. Through the power of Tropes, your Actor can influence the narrative, and thus truth itself. Each Archetype takes on a different type of Role within the Yellow, temporary characters that exists only until the credits roll.

Layers of Obfuscation 

Establish, twist, and reclaim truth. Use events and experiences drawn from the Yellow to remember your shady past, form new character bonds, and unlock new Archetype abilities.

You may even discover why you’re trapped here. You might wish you hadn't.

Space is Warped, Time is Bendable

In the Yellow, the cinematic dimension in which your Actors will be drawn, reality itself bows to the whims of suspense and drama, and no fact can be established that can't later be recontextualised. 

Truths become lies. Confessions become delusions. Allies become enemies. 

Victims become killers.

Dripping With Genre

Il Fantasma del Giallo draws from mid-century magical realist media, like The Twilight Zone, as well as the settings and themes of '60s and '70s Italian thriller and horror cinema from directors like Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, and Umberto Lenzi. Amongst others, these directors form a genre known outside Italy as Giallo. 

Gialli do not depict the monsters and magic of Gothic cinema, but rather more relatable horrors – the stranger at the door, the enigmatic grin of a jackbooted official, or an empty urban street in the dead of night. 

It might be that you've never seen such films. Thankfully, there's no such requirement. This RPG has been designed to create narratives that drip with the enduring themes and fears of Gialli, regardless of whether anyone at the table has even seen one. 

The book will be your guide to the Yellow. It contains:

• 224~ pages, containing all the rules and guidance you’ll need to run short or long campaigns as well as one shots. 
• 9 Actor Archetypes, and a full campaign system for plumbing the depths of their sins. 
• A breakdown of the settings, themes, and character types of the Giallo oeuvre, including a potted history of Italian cinema. 
• Extensive information for Directors, including fleshed-out suggestions and prompts for the mysteries behind the studio and the films within the Yellow.
• Discussions of the themes within the Giallo genre and how to tackle them — both those that have aged well and those that haven’t. 
• Unique, evocative artwork inspired by the posters of 60s/70s European cinema. 

If you want to go beyond the book, add-ons will include:

• A downloadable original synth soundtrack, featuring tracks inspired by Giallo composers. 
• 10+ character bust STL files to print, paint, and display. Scaled for use in both FDM and SLA printers.
• 10+ 28mm character miniature STL files for use as markers, props, and for any given pulp wargame. 

Click the link below to join our mailing list, follow the prelaunch page, join our discord, and get first access to the Il Fantasma del Giallo Quickstart rules when they drop. Scheduled for release in February, the Quickstart will contain 6 premade Archetypes, core mechanics, and a narrative framework that’ll get your sordid little career in the movies started. 

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