New TTRPG Publication: The Bureau of Irregularities

Man Met Game Centre co-director Chloé Germaine has recently published an original TTRPG, The Bureau of Irregularities, via the indie community publisher, The Gauntlet.

The Bureau of Irregularities is inspired by and emulates the sorts of stories told in the British science fiction television show Sapphire and Steel (Peter J. Hammond, 1979 - 1982). The programme follows a pair of inter-dimensional operatives, ‘Sapphire’ and ‘Steel’ (played by Joanna Lumley and David McCallum). The audience is told very little about the purpose of these agents, but they appear to be engaged in guarding the continuing flow of time. In The Bureau of Irregularities, players take on the role of similarly mysterious agents. In this setting they usually look and act like humans, but they are not humans. They are extra-dimensional beings that are sent on assignments by the Bureau to preserve the flow of space and time throughout the Chaosmos. One player takes the role of a Director, managing the players’ progression through their assignments.

Promotional image of Sapphire and Steel for the original television series (1979 - 1982)

Chloé’s creative work is informed by, and feeds into, her academic research. In this case, this TTRPG has developed from work she has been doing on literature, quantum physics, and temporality, which will be discussed at length in a forthcoming academic monograph, The Dark Matter of Children’s Fantastika: Speculative Entanglements (with Bloomsbury). Chloé finds game-making and storytelling via games a productive way of exploring the concepts that emerge through research.

The Bureau of Irregularities is an original game-world and ruleset built on the Trophy system developed by Jesse Ross, itself based on Cthulhu Dark by Graham Walmsley. All three use simple dice mechanics and light rules to enable collaborative storytelling and world-building. Chloé’s work continues to be inspired by the innovative modes of storytelling being developed by the indie TTRPG community.

Codex: Time is published by Jason Cordova and David LaFreniere for The Gauntlet. The cover illustrator is Marcus Jimenez, who also produced original art work for The Bureau of Irregularities. The Gauntlet is a community that celebrates tabletop roleplaying games. As a publishing group, it has released the popular games Trophy, Brindlewood Bay, and Hearts of Wulin. Each issue of The Codex features original games, supplements for existing games, and hacks—all organised around a theme. Codex: Time is currently available for patrons of the Gauntlet, but will be released for purchase through Drive Thru RPG in the coming months.