Capers is the second RPG from Craig Campbell’s NerdBurger Games and it looks like it’ll be a whole lot of fun. Now admittedly I fall, very much, into their target audience for this one as I’m a big fan of super powered RPGs and also have a love of the 1920’s/30’s and gangsters. So the game is ticking all the right boxes for me. It’s the Jazz Age with Tommy guns and eye beams!
Capers is an action/adventure RPG set in the 1920’s Prohibition era in the United States. Players portray powerful people – called Capers by the general populace – who have been gifted with superhuman powers that defy the laws of science. Alternatively, players can portray expceptional people without access to special powers.
In the game, you play a gangster working to make their fortune in the vice-riddled 1920’s. Alternatively you can portray a member of law enforcement working to bring criminals to justice.
The game uses playing cards, rather than dice, as the randomizing element. Each player, and the GM, has their own deck (52 suit cards plus 2 jokers). Your character has six Traits – Charisma, Agility, Perception, Expertise, Resilience, and Strength. Each Traits is ranked from 1 to 3 (higher if you have the right powers). Your character also has a few skills, things they’re particularly specialized in, like Deception, Guns, or Sciences.
When you make a Trait Check, you look at the Trait’s Rank and that is your Card Couny. If you have a skill appropriate to the Trait Check, your Card Count is increased by 1. The situation your character is in can also increase, or decrease, your Card Count by 1.
To make your Trait Check you flip cards. You can flip as many cards as your Card Count but can stop at any time and take the most recent card flipped as your check. The pip count of the cards flipped (2, 3, 4, etc, on up to ace) determine success or failure, whilst the suit of the card determines the degree of success or failure, starting with Clubs (lowest) and proceeding alphabetically to Spades (highest). So, you might succeed, but barely, and choose to gamble for a better success by flipping another card… but risking failure.
Whilst Capers is primarily an action and adventure game, it’s certainly possible to inject deeper themes into the story, should the players want to.
Characters have virtues and vices that can put them at odds with each other and even create internal conflict. You can inject love interests, rivalries, families, betrayals, and all manner of other subplots outside of the main arc.
Many gangsters in the 1920s were well-known for doing good work in their communities. They had their own codes of honor and breaking these codes often had dire consequences.
Law enforcement officers of the era are fighting a losing battle. Crime and corruption is so rampant that little can really be done to stem the tide of alcohol. But it’s not about winning the war. For these folks, it’s about fighting the battles.
Nerdburger have a 44-page preview currently available on DriveThruRPG ($4 PDF; $10 softcover) that gives you everything you need to give the game a go. Some setting information, basic rules, and an adventure with some pre-generated characters. Whilst the preview is in black & white the final game will be full color and run to around 150-160 pages.
The full edition of Capers will eventually be funded on Kickstarter, with Nerdburger due to launch their campaign pm Tuesday 6th March 2018. The campaign will aim to fund the final artwork, layout, and a few other things.
Capers is an action/adventure RPG set in the 1920’s Prohibition era in the United States. Players portray powerful people – called Capers by the general populace – who have been gifted with superhuman powers that defy the laws of science. Alternatively, players can portray expceptional people without access to special powers.
In the game, you play a gangster working to make their fortune in the vice-riddled 1920’s. Alternatively you can portray a member of law enforcement working to bring criminals to justice.
The game uses playing cards, rather than dice, as the randomizing element. Each player, and the GM, has their own deck (52 suit cards plus 2 jokers). Your character has six Traits – Charisma, Agility, Perception, Expertise, Resilience, and Strength. Each Traits is ranked from 1 to 3 (higher if you have the right powers). Your character also has a few skills, things they’re particularly specialized in, like Deception, Guns, or Sciences.
When you make a Trait Check, you look at the Trait’s Rank and that is your Card Couny. If you have a skill appropriate to the Trait Check, your Card Count is increased by 1. The situation your character is in can also increase, or decrease, your Card Count by 1.
To make your Trait Check you flip cards. You can flip as many cards as your Card Count but can stop at any time and take the most recent card flipped as your check. The pip count of the cards flipped (2, 3, 4, etc, on up to ace) determine success or failure, whilst the suit of the card determines the degree of success or failure, starting with Clubs (lowest) and proceeding alphabetically to Spades (highest). So, you might succeed, but barely, and choose to gamble for a better success by flipping another card… but risking failure.
Whilst Capers is primarily an action and adventure game, it’s certainly possible to inject deeper themes into the story, should the players want to.
Characters have virtues and vices that can put them at odds with each other and even create internal conflict. You can inject love interests, rivalries, families, betrayals, and all manner of other subplots outside of the main arc.
Many gangsters in the 1920s were well-known for doing good work in their communities. They had their own codes of honor and breaking these codes often had dire consequences.
Law enforcement officers of the era are fighting a losing battle. Crime and corruption is so rampant that little can really be done to stem the tide of alcohol. But it’s not about winning the war. For these folks, it’s about fighting the battles.
Nerdburger have a 44-page preview currently available on DriveThruRPG ($4 PDF; $10 softcover) that gives you everything you need to give the game a go. Some setting information, basic rules, and an adventure with some pre-generated characters. Whilst the preview is in black & white the final game will be full color and run to around 150-160 pages.
The full edition of Capers will eventually be funded on Kickstarter, with Nerdburger due to launch their campaign pm Tuesday 6th March 2018. The campaign will aim to fund the final artwork, layout, and a few other things.
