Wednesday, April 1, 2015

PITCH: "FULL OF SECRETS" - Roleplaying in the Mysterious World of TWIN PEAKS

Not Final Cover

Through the darkness of futures past,
The magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds...
"Fire... Walk with me"

In the quiet town of Twin Peaks, everyone has a secret. Under the surface lies a world of murder, betrayal, exploitation and obsession. Yet something even more sinister is breaking through, something evil.

In Full of Secrets, players take on the roles of inhabitants in Twin Peaks. From nosey highschool students with secrets of their own, to investigating FBI agents and local law enforcement, everyone has a story to tell, and a story they'd rather remained undiscovered.

Within the pages of the core rulebook you'll find:

* A fast and intuitive game system, allowing characters to uncover the secrets of the town, and face the forces of darkness.

* Details of the town and major locations, and important characters. Set after the final episode of the original series, but before the 2016 revival, players can create their own characters and become involved in the events.

* Advice for the Gamemaster for creating their own setting, whole new towns of strangeness and secrets.

344 Pages, full colour, hardcover
Written and Designed by David F. Chapman
Based upon the series Twin Peaks, created by Mark Frost and David Lynch

Future supplements include:

* A Guide to Twin Peaks - details of every location in the town, filled with new and interesting NPCs to populate your adventures.

* Bookhouse Boys and One Eyed Jacks Girls - a look at the criminal activity in Twin Peaks, from drug smuggling to prostitution, and those who have made it their work to put a stop to it.

* The Blue Rose - paranormal activity in Twin Peaks, from alien abductions, lost time, and possession through to the Black and White Lodges.




Like my pitches for  The Beatles RPG, and The Stephen King's Dark Tower RPG, this isn't a real game... I seriously think this is a great idea and I'd love to have a go at writing it.

I was a massive Twin Peaks fan when it first aired. I have a distinct memory of recording every episode on VHS on Tuesday nights when it was shown on BBC2 in the UK. I remember hating Alan Bennett, and his pesky "Talking Heads" programme that used to screen before it - those last ten minutes of his programme while waiting for Twin Peaks to start seemed to drag on forever.

Twin Peaks was one of my great TV obsessions (before that, I have to say it was Moonlighting... and after Peaks there would be the genius of The X-Files). I watched avidly, wanting to be Agent Dale Cooper - possibly the coolest FBI agent on TV, even getting a trenchcoat like his (yes, me wearing something that wasn't black! Such was my dedication).

When I went to college, part of my graphic design course was to produce a graphic instruction for someone so that they could learn something. I saw this brief as an excuse to create the most complicated flowchart in existence, mapping every character from Twin Peaks and their relationship to each other. (I may still have it somewhere in the loft, along with the rest of the coursework).

I watched the TV series, bought the books, saw the movie (though my favourite Lynch movies have to be Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive). I loved every moment of it.

When they announced a new series (hopefully airing next year) I couldn't have been more overwhelmed. I could only have been happier if they'd announced the return of The X-Files... oh, they did!

Twin Peaks would make an awesome RPG setting. But then, a great investigative RPG in a small town is a great way to run a campaign. Think "Under the Dome" or "The Killing", or "Fortitude" (if you want to add an environmental factor into it as well)... Hmmmm...

I even started working out a game system for Twin Peaks, using the same "engine" as WILD, but with its own set of Tarot cards - so instead of "The Dreamer" or "The Architect" you'd have "The Agent", "The Giant", "The Owls" (they're not what they seem)...

Roughs of the Twin Peaks Tarot cards for the game
(yes, I know I missed the Giant's tie...)
The Tarot cards seem like an ideal system for the game, especially using them for character creation (like WILD) which produces an interesting and detailed background story for the characters, as well as establishing some relationships before the game starts. Perfect for that surreal soap-opera feel...

At the moment, the Twin Peaks RPG - Full of Secrets - is just a dream. Who knows, maybe one day...



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