Picaroons Playkit and Supplements

A Narrative Game of Adventure for Scoundrels

Picaroons is an adventuring tabletop roleplaying game for picaresque adventures; take on the role of a picaroon, a rogue who must rely on their wits to make their way in an uncaring world.

Use this game text however you please, so long as you’re not a bigot, fascist, or other piece of dogshit.

This project is under development!

It currently includes lightweight rules for adjudication, character creation/advancement, combat, companions, hirelings, and resting. It also includes 6 picaresques, adventure kickstarts to drop you in media res and get to playing!

Itchfunding #

You can also buy Picaroons on itch, where it is itchfunding! Buying a copy gets you a print-at-home PDF as well as as the EPUB release.

✔ $200 USD #

I’ll be able to afford proper editing of the core book. Minimum price will rise $2USD!

✔ $500 USD #

I’ll be able to afford layout of the core book. Minimum price will rise $1USD!

❓ $750 USD #

I’ll be able to afford custom character sheets. Minimum price will rise $1USD!

❓ $1000 USD #

I’ll be able to afford an initial print run of the core book, details to follow as we close in on this goal.

❓ $1250 USD #

I’ll have actually been remunerated for some of the writing! As the remaining zines are completed, I’ll add itchfunding projectsfor them as well. In the meantime, you can pre-buy them as add-ons! Note that their minimum price will go up as they get completed, so buying early is also buying at a discount!

Upcoming Projects #

Scrivener’s Kit #

Mockup of the Scrivener's Kit zine, featuring a man staring in thought at a paper he is writing on, surrounded by stacks of books
A mockup of the Scrivener’s Kit supplementary zine, courtesy of Chris Bissette

In this zine, guidance for the player(s) running Picaroons through adventures, featuring:

  • Adjudication Flow: when to call for tests and advice for interpreting them
  • Conversions: help for pulling content from anywhere else into Picaroons
  • Addenda: optional systems for reputations, relationships, factions, downtime, etc.

Tricks of the Trade #

Mockup of the Tricks of the Trade zine, featuring a man in a green hat and rusty brown jacket carrying a walking stick and a bundle of carpets, smoking a pipe
Mockup of the Tricks of the Trade supplementary zine, courtesy of Chris Bissette

In this zine, examples of tricks and subsystems to expand on them, featuring:

  • The Supernatural: tricks for pacts with magical entities, spell scholarship, rituals, bindings, and unlocking the magic within
  • The Merely Mundane: tricks for feats of arm, deep skill, and knowledge as power
  • Training, Study & Quests: how to acquire tricks without spending marks

Questing Curios #

Mockup of the Questing Curios zine, featuring a man in black pants, white shirt, red vest, turban, and yellow slippers sharpening a blade on a foot-powered grindstone
Mockup of the Questing Curios supplementary zine, courtesy of Chris Bissette

In this zine, examples of domains-as-items, featuring:

  • Relics: powerful items with conditions and unlocks, made by powerful entitites
  • Soulslivers: items which grow as they are used
  • Banal Magic: disposable items whose power wanes with use
  • Alchemy: a subsystem for creating and using consumable magic

Palatial Shadows #

Mockup of the Palatial Shadows zine, featuring an illustration of an opulent Palace set upon a hill overlooking a town
Mockup of the Palatial Shadows adventure zine, courtesy of Chris Bissette

In this zine, an urban hexflower featuring:

  • The Palace: 7 hexes of palatial grounds
  • The City: featuring numerous neighborhoods, including The Docks, The Old City, Riverside, The Steel Quarter, Ashtown, Gilded Grove, and more
  • Factions: The Regent, The Raptors, Alchemist’s Guild, The Silent Librarians, The Students' Union, Drake’s Kin, and more
  • Characters: Numerous folk of note, including hirelings, potential companions, patrons, and people with problems.
  • Lifepath: An alternate character creation flow to raise Picaroons beneath the shadow of the great palace
  • Hearsay: timelines of events happening in the city and advice on bringing them into play
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