''The Esoterrorists'' is a

Contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

Occult

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...

, written by

Robin D. Laws Robin D. Laws (born October 14, 1964 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian writer and game designer who lives in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of a number of novels and role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled rolepl ...

, and published by

Pelgrane Press Pelgrane Press Ltd is a British role-playing game publishing company based in London and founded in 1999. It is co-owned by Simon J Rogers and Cat Tobin. It currently produces GUMSHOE System RPGs, '' 13th Age'', the Diana Jones award-winning ' ...

in 2006.

Description

''The Esoterrorists'' is one of the games to use the

GUMSHOE System The Gumshoe System (stylised as ''The GUMSHOE System'') is a role-playing game system created in 2007 by Robin Laws, designed for running investigative scenarios. The premise is that investigative games are not about finding clues, they are abo ...

. As elite investigators of the Ordo Veritatis, the characters combat occult terrorists who are intent on tearing the fabric of the world by exposing it to the creatures of the Outer Dark. In ''The Esoterrorists'' setting, two players receive 32 ''investigative'' build points each, while five or more players receive 20 build points each. Any number of investigative build points can be spent on an investigative ability, though more than 3 or 4 points is rarely useful. In ''The Esoterrorists'' setting players receive 60 ''general'' build points each. Any number of general build points can be spent on a general ability, as long as the second highest rated ability is at least half that of the highest rated. After a scenario is completed, player characters receive new build points that can be used as either investigative or general build points. The amount acquired depends on the length of the scenario. There are no levels through which player characters progress.

Publication history

kicked off their '' GUMSHOE'' system line with ''The Esoterrorists'' (2006), which was supported by the sourcebook ''The Esoterror Factbook'' (2006) by

Robin Laws Robin D. Laws (born October 14, 1964 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian writer and game designer who lives in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of a number of novels and role-playing games as well as an anthologist. Career Robin D. Laws ...

. A second edition was released in August 2013.

Reception

''The Esoterrorists'' was nominated for both Best Game and Best Rules in the 2007

Ennie Awards The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World ...

Reviews

*''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esoterrorists, The British role-playing games Campaign settings Contemporary role-playing games Horror role-playing games Pelgrane Press games Robin Laws games Role-playing games introduced in 2006