[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome back to another episode of New Game Showcase.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host Kenzie Tartag Leone.
[SPEAKER_00]: This time around, we will not actually be running or playing a game, but chatting about one going over the mechanics, talking about the structure, that sort of thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: The TTRPG breathless is getting a bit of a remaster over on Kickstarter this month with breathless Freightmare Edition.
[SPEAKER_00]: First off, what is breathless?
[SPEAKER_00]: Breathless, originally published in 2022, is a minimalist two-page survival horror role-playing game that inspired hundreds of original hacks.
[SPEAKER_00]: The new edition that launch on Kickstarter on April 7th has revised rules in New R, as well as a campaign mode with scenarios that will last 8-12 sessions of play.
[SPEAKER_00]: everyone got infected.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not one soul escaped that fate, the first sign of infection was memory loss.
[SPEAKER_00]: One moment you knew your name, the next you were staring at strangers with no idea who they were, what year it was, or who you had ever been.
[SPEAKER_00]: That was the best outcome.
[SPEAKER_00]: For the unlucky ones it went a step further.
[SPEAKER_00]: Their skin drained pale, their eyes glazed, and every breath came in ragged, furious gasps.
[SPEAKER_00]: they became the breathless.
[SPEAKER_00]: Living dead creatures which tour cities apart and left the world in ruins in mere weeks.
[SPEAKER_00]: Today, they roam the streets and wilds, hunting the living to feed on their flesh and suck in their last breath.
[SPEAKER_00]: A single bite from a breathless wakes the sickness sleeping inside you and soon you are one of them, swept into their endless swans.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now all that remains is to loot, shoot, and survive.
[SPEAKER_00]: OK, so we aren't going to fully create a character, but we're going to talk through the process of character creation and the stats and the mechanics that kind of build these characters in this game.
[SPEAKER_00]: To create a character in this game, you choose your occupation, which defines your skills, your starting items, and your memory track.
[SPEAKER_00]: The memory track is a series of prompts that help
[SPEAKER_00]: At the beginning of each session, players unlock the next memory on their track, so you would make a think check on a one to two of the memories fragmented, blurred faces, muffled voices, nothing more.
[SPEAKER_00]: On a three to four of the memory services, but it is blurred, they are anchored but uncertain.
[SPEAKER_00]: On a five plus the memory returns in full specific and vivid detail crystal clear.
[SPEAKER_00]: So for instance, one of the occupations listed here is a park ranger.
[SPEAKER_00]: who disappeared on your watch?
[SPEAKER_00]: The next session, rescue, who did you carry out of the backcountry?
[SPEAKER_00]: Next session, poachers, what did you find that was never meant to be found?
[SPEAKER_00]: And then radio, whose voice kept you company from the other tower?
[SPEAKER_00]: And finally, last breath, what made you realize even the forests were not safe?
[SPEAKER_00]: The new addition here gives you a bunch of pre-made occupations, police officer, nurse, influencer, mechanic, priest, farmer, scientist, park ranger, veteran, convict, teacher.
[SPEAKER_00]: As I mentioned before, this game has a history of hack and home brew, and so I'm sure if none of these really speak to you, you can easily create your own.
[SPEAKER_00]: The occupations do provide you with your skill dice, and in this game you have a seven-core skills.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's bash, which is all about strength and force.
[SPEAKER_00]: You have dash, whenever speed and agility are needed.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sneak is about staying unseen and unheard, shoot represents accuracy and aim.
[SPEAKER_00]: Think is used when problem solving is required, also mentioned in the memory track an example which I just gave, sway is for influencing others and loot cover scavenging and searching.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are initial skill dice in this game, which are given to you through your occupation.
[SPEAKER_00]: So for example,
[SPEAKER_00]: Continue with the park ranger.
[SPEAKER_00]: Dash is a D10, shoot is a D8, think is a D6, loot is a D12 and the rest would be D4s.
[SPEAKER_00]: When you attempt something challenging or try to avoid a consequence, you make a check to see how that situation unfolds.
[SPEAKER_00]: The GM defines the risk and dangers are obstacles and then you choose a relevant skill to your approach and roll the die that matches that rating.
[SPEAKER_00]: If another character learns a hand, they also make a check but share the same risks and then you would take the highest result in interpret that on a one to two the action fails on the three to four the action succeeds on a five plus the action greatly succeeds.
[SPEAKER_00]: So there is a range of success and failures within this game, you'll face consequences, some will have reduced effects, some will be full consequences, some will.
[SPEAKER_00]: be full successes in no consequences at all.
[SPEAKER_00]: After you make these checks, every participant in that check reduces the current rating of the skill.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Park Ranger has Dash, which is a D10.
[SPEAKER_00]: If they do a check that requires them to roll for Dash, their Dash then becomes a D8.
[SPEAKER_00]: These skills cannot drop down below a D4, though.
[SPEAKER_00]: The GM may also test how lucky you are by having you make a luck roll.
[SPEAKER_00]: They will assign a die based on how favorable the odds are, you'll roll it, and interpret the results.
[SPEAKER_00]: They also may use one of the character skills as a basis for the roll, but in this sort of check, you will not step down that die afterwards.
[SPEAKER_00]: Only one or two things go wrong for you on a three to four things work out, but not as well as you'd hope, and on a five plus things work out very well for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Along with the die you have for the 7 core skills, you also have a grit die, which is a D12.
[SPEAKER_00]: When you want to give your everything an attempt to feed of pure determination, you can use your grit.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a single used D12 that can be used in place of any skill die during a check.
[SPEAKER_00]: Consequences that the GM gives you may not only result in a check, but in harm.
[SPEAKER_00]: The GM will assign one to three harm based on the severity.
[SPEAKER_00]: When you mark 5 harm, you become vulnerable.
[SPEAKER_00]: That means if you fail to check to avoid a consequence, it could mean being taken out or sudden death.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are also advantages or disadvantages positions that the narrative can put you in and the GM will establish that when you make the role and it will adjust the role.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, for a check, you could be in a good position, which would give you advantage, which means you make the check with a skill-dye one step up.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, for instance, the park ranger, if they were making a dash check with advantage, they would have their D10 becoming D12.
[SPEAKER_00]: You could be in a bad position, which would go the opposite way, would give you disadvantage, which means instead of a D10, the park ranger would be at a D8.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes a check may be unnecessary, which would be a controlled position, meaning you have complete control and the action succeeds outright.
[SPEAKER_00]: Or a check could be impossible, which would be a dire position and you face an overwhelming or impossible challenge, you can't succeed on this role so you're forced to change how you approach the situation.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, there are ways that if you've stepped your skill die down to get it back up.
[SPEAKER_00]: The first is catching your breath.
[SPEAKER_00]: When you catch your breath, you reset your skill die to their original ratings and you get your grit restored.
[SPEAKER_00]: This can happen at any time during play, even during moments of high tension, such as combat.
[SPEAKER_00]: If multiple characters catch their breath at the same time, you'll resolve it in a single group event, but afterward, the GM will introduce one consequence for the group.
[SPEAKER_00]: The second way is through a safe rest.
[SPEAKER_00]: When you locate a secure shelter and can rest for at least a day, you gain the same benefits as catching your breath, but without any of the consequences.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can also clear an amount of harm determined by the GM.
[SPEAKER_00]: For example, if you have a bandage, you may be able to clear one harm, if you have a med kit, two, if you have extended rest in a safe location with medical supplies, maybe three or more.
[SPEAKER_00]: When you choose your occupation, you also get starting items.
[SPEAKER_00]: Items represent the weapons, gear, and other equipment that a character carries and is assigned a die rating, which represents the durability or quantity.
[SPEAKER_00]: With each use of an item, you would roll its die rating on a one to two.
[SPEAKER_00]: The item's rating takes a step down.
[SPEAKER_00]: If reduced below a D4, or it's stressed, you destroy it.
[SPEAKER_00]: On a three to four, the item becomes stressed, but the die rating stays unchanged.
[SPEAKER_00]: And on a five plus, the die rating stays unchanged.
[SPEAKER_00]: You may attempt to repair a depleted item and restore a steps down item with a check given that you have the tools or the skills to do so.
[SPEAKER_00]: Using an item in any situation could improve a checks position, or less in the consequence, or remove the need for a check entirely depending on what you are trying to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: For example, Park Ranger starts out with a hunting rifle at a D10 and a Compass and Maps at a D8.
[SPEAKER_00]: There is also a loot check when you want to scavenge a place for tools weapons or bedkits, though these can only happen in locations where it makes sense or the fictional allows it.
[SPEAKER_00]: On a one to two, you'd find nothing in a consequence occurs.
[SPEAKER_00]: On a three to four, you would find an item of lower quality or quantity, which would mean a lower diverating, or on a five up, you would find an item that higher the result, the higher the diverating.
[SPEAKER_00]: That was a quick but honestly pretty thorough overview of how to play a character in one of these games, so let's move on to kind of how the game is laid out and the structure of a session.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's recommended to start with a journey.
[SPEAKER_00]: Any journey characters are traveling or trekking from one region to another over a long distances.
[SPEAKER_00]: All travels are perilous in this world so there will be dangers and threats along the way.
[SPEAKER_00]: At the start of their journey, the GMS signs a journey die to the group from D4 up to D12, depending on how well equipped the characters are.
[SPEAKER_00]: Each time our characters move from 1.2 another along a path, the GMS rolls a journey die and interprets the results.
[SPEAKER_00]: On a one to two, the path forward is blocked.
[SPEAKER_00]: The rating of the journey die is reduced by one step, and the story zooms in on the problem, or obstacle that the group is being faced with until it is resolved.
[SPEAKER_00]: Usually this means the game enters a survival phase until the path is cleared or a new route is found, we will go for survival phase in a moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: On a three to four, the path is hazardous.
[SPEAKER_00]: The rating of the journey die is reduced by one step, and every player must also reduce the rating of one of their skills by one step.
[SPEAKER_00]: The GM may use this pause to show how the road wears the character's thin, creating space for uneasy rest where exhaustion makes every word heavier.
[SPEAKER_00]: On a 5 and up, the path ahead is clear.
[SPEAKER_00]: The group makes steady progress moving closer to their destination without any major setbacks.
[SPEAKER_00]: Once a journey has begun, characters cannot take a safe rest until they reach their final destination, or by pausing their travels for a full week in a shelter that is safe and secure enough.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, on a journey, the only way that you would be able to bring your skill die back up, or regain grit, would be through catching your breath.
[SPEAKER_00]: The GM may change the journey die rating during the trip as a narrative justifies it, stepping it up for helpful fines, or stepping it down for setbacks.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now they're survival phase.
[SPEAKER_00]: During the survival phase, the story zooms in and the tension rises.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is used when characters enter dangerous locations, scavens for supplies, or come face-to-face with direct threats.
[SPEAKER_00]: The focus here is on moments of moment decisions.
[SPEAKER_00]: The GM frames a scene, describes the dangers closing in, and then asks the players what they do.
[SPEAKER_00]: Choices matter, most actions carry risk, and roles come fast.
[SPEAKER_00]: The third phase,
[SPEAKER_00]: is the haven.
[SPEAKER_00]: In haven, the survivors can finally stop the endless grind of the road and start rebuilding connections with people, politics, even scraps of civilizations.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keeping a haven safe is never easy, though.
[SPEAKER_00]: One spark is enough to see the whole effort collapse.
[SPEAKER_00]: As such, survivors often need to leave the safe walls to hunt for supplies, bargain with nearby factions, and make sure the dead stay far from home.
[SPEAKER_00]: A haven can take many forms in abandoned building, a fortified complex, a cluster of improvised shelters, or even a walled city.
[SPEAKER_00]: They usually offer some kind of advantage, otherwise it wouldn't be worth defending.
[SPEAKER_00]: This could be accessed to clean water, steady supply of food, or natural barriers, would be common reasons to settle.
[SPEAKER_00]: While in a Haven players can roleplay, barter trade, and pursue personal goals, they can question the GM about rumors, investigate leads, and interact with NPCs.
[SPEAKER_00]: If your group chooses not to start the game on a journey, you could also begin in a Haven.
[SPEAKER_00]: The protection of the Haven is tracked with three die.
[SPEAKER_00]: You have the containment die, which measures the state of infection in the surrounding area.
[SPEAKER_00]: It tells the GM how many major threats tied to the breathless they can use during missions.
[SPEAKER_00]: You have the supplies die,
[SPEAKER_00]: It tells the group how many times they can declare they came prepared, which means pulling a hidden stash tool or improvised gear into play, and the morale die, which measures the will to endure of the group and their community.
[SPEAKER_00]: It sets the number of times the group can catch the breath risk free during a run.
[SPEAKER_00]: Each of these die ranges from a d4 to a d12, set by the GM depending on the haven state.
[SPEAKER_00]: When the survivors leave on a run or a scouting mission, you roll all three.
[SPEAKER_00]: A couple of things that I'm finding that I'm really enjoying about this.
[SPEAKER_00]: Number one, I love a D12.
[SPEAKER_00]: My favorite die is probably a D12 and not many games I've played used a D12 a lot.
[SPEAKER_00]: In this game, D12, D12, baby.
[SPEAKER_00]: Also the layout of phases is really interesting to me because it allows for change in tone and scope that I don't feel like a lot of TTRPGs have built into the role system.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can obviously do these things, but it's really cool to see mechanically
[SPEAKER_00]: how this game sets it out to pursue an narrative.
[SPEAKER_00]: After a run or a mission, once the characters make it back to their haven, there is an evaluation period where the table works together to answer some questions.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are three classifications this evaluation can result in.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can have a hall, which means that the survivors pulled through the run mostly intact, the GM increases the rating of one survival die,
[SPEAKER_00]: usually tied to the runs goal by one or more steps.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can, the result can be a cost, which means that the survivors got what they went for, but something had to break along the way.
[SPEAKER_00]: The GM will increase the rating of one survival die usually tied to the runs goal by one step.
[SPEAKER_00]: At the same time, they must decrease another survival die by one step, usually tied to the price that was paid.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the final result can be a loss, which means that the survivors came back empty-handed or worse.
[SPEAKER_00]: The GM decreases the rating of one survival die.
[SPEAKER_00]: This can lead you into a phase of fallout.
[SPEAKER_00]: If two or more survival die are reduced to a defore through that evaluation period, the haven has fallen.
[SPEAKER_00]: Moral collapses, supplies run dry in the contagion, surges.
[SPEAKER_00]: The situation escalates to new extremes leaving the survivors with no choice but to flee their homes.
[SPEAKER_00]: When Fallout begins, the GM declares a new reality for the characters in the game shifts into a survival phase.
[SPEAKER_00]: If the survivors can escape alive, they must begin a new journey, taking it one day at a time, or seeking a new haven.
[SPEAKER_00]: A Fallout phase could also end the game, it could mark the ending of your campaign, or it could simply serve as a turning point where time jumps forward, and the players either continue with the same characters, or create new ones to carry on with the story.
[SPEAKER_00]: This game is set up in a way that really allows you to decide how long you want to play.
[SPEAKER_00]: Perfect for a one shot.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can play through a journey, a survival phase and a haven phase, and that could be just the one go over, you know, maybe a couple hours of time, or you can really stretch this out into a longer campaign.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can create a whole world.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can have these long journeys that maybe last for multiple sessions.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can
[SPEAKER_00]: have, you know, your haven fall as we talked about in the fall-out phase, and then have these characters have to rebuild from the ground up.
[SPEAKER_00]: Or you could even stay in the same world and create new characters, which kind of like one of my favorite things to do is tell different stories within the same setting.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the new edition of this game really brings out the best of that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Speaking of, the new edition, which again is called Breathless Frightmare Edition, is being published by MythWorks and their story pack format.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can check out the Kickstarter link in the description box to get more information about how to back the game and what is on offer, but you can also get the core rules for free on itch.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you want to check it out before you go over there and support them.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you're a fan of 28 days later, or left for dead, or the walking dead, or even the last time on Earth by Thomas Mullin, this game might be right up your alley.
[SPEAKER_00]: My zombie favorite is the last of us, and this game feels like it could offer me that sort of narrative focus storytelling as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, if you were intrigued at all by my run-through of the mechanics here, make sure to go give them some support.
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's all for this new game showcase.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for listening and we'll see you all back here for the next new game.