A role-playing game of space invasion and body horror.
68 pages, core rulebook, written by Laszlo Tamasfi and illustrated by Michael Malatini.
2 players and up (GM + at least one player)
Custom system.
Pod People is a love-letter to the body-snatcher alien invasion movies of the '50s and the '80s - like John Carpenter's The Thing, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Invaders From Mars - and reimagines them from the alien organism's point of view.
There are many role-playing games in which you can play non-human characters, yet even those tend to be rooted in a very familiar sense of identity. When you sit down to play a RPG, you will most likely inhabit a character with abilities and skills and desires. Someone with a history of lived experiences to look back on. In other words, a person. In Pod People, you get to play an alien species that is truly alien. A being that has no sense of self, yet soaks up others' identities like a sponge. A hive mind that controls multiple bodies, pretending to be different people...
This alien organism's nature is to spread by replacing people. This is not an invasion fought with spaceships and ray guns, but one that brews under the surface, unnoticed by the masses. Because of this, Pod People centers social interactions and avoids focusing on combat. While it delivers on the promise of space invasion and body horror, it's a game of espionage.
MECHANICS
There are two main mechanics that are unique to Pod People: Deviation and Disquiet.
Deviation measures the disconnect between the organism's intention and how it is being perceived. It's a way to measure how well it understands life on Earth and, more specifically, human behavior. If it steers too far from the norm, it will enter the UNCANNY VALLEY, and people will know, on a primal level, that something is not as it seems.
Disquiet measures the unease amongst the remaining human population. This is one of the great evolutionary advantages of having a hive mind: the organism can recognize patterns that emerge within the community it infiltrates. It can sense the tension building under the surface in a very tangible way.
6.625x10.25" 68 page color softcover book
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