The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl
New, 4x6" 82 page color softcover book and zip file with color PDF (fulfilled via Bits and Mortar), B&W PDF, reference sheets
In 1986, a meltdown in reactor 4 at the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Nuclear Power Plant in Soviet Ukraine occurred, punching a hole in reality that allowed creatures of darkness and madness to escape into our world.
The tragedy that befell Pripyat, the town built to house the families of the workers at the power plant, is well known. Forced to flee, to abandon their lives, their homes, and even their loyal family dogs. Only those pets that fled to the woods survived the purge of the army, and the flames of the reclamators.
You will play as these very good dogs.
Time has passed. Humans call the area around the power plant “The Exclusion Zone” - a forbidden area that only scientists and madmen enter. But to you, and your pack, this place is your whole world. A world populated with wild animals and beings of dark power. A world that it is your duty to protect. Some dogs remember people, and others have been born into this wild place. That rare breed that was born during the year of the Great Fall have witchy vision and can see things that no one else sees, and smell things that no one else can smell.
Wyse, Wyrd, Wyld
When you create your dog, you'll choose a breed, which will give you edges — advantages — on certain types of actions. Meanwhile, you and the other players will define your pack, and select a Pack Die to roll when taking group action. Your generation (wyse, wyrd, wyld) will influence your relationship with humans, and how much strange and telepathic magic you bring to the story.
Easy to Learn
The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl runs on the Polymorph system. Each player only ever uses ONE polyhedral die: a d4, a d6, a d8, or a d10. Each die represents a different character “role” in the group. Whenever a player asks “can I do something?” they roll their die and with a quick glance at a resolution matrix, know if they succeed. It's easy for both newbies and old hats to use and learn.
Can you and your pack survive the winter to keep the world safe?
The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl is a complete game, perfect for either a moody, horror one-shot or for a campaign of melancholy survival in a dark and twisted world. But with dogs. The PDF include everything that you need to create your dogs and pack, rules to run games, ideas for MCs on games to run, and a complete adventure ready to play.