Epistolary
A downloadable game
Dearest reader,
...I beg of you, if he attempts to contact you, you must not reply, under any circumstances. Please...
...They say that the mountain is magical, spiritual. Standing there, I couldn’t help but feel it too...
...A thick fog creeps over the Yorkshire coast, smothering whole towns. It claimed another only yesterday, yet already I struggle to remember its name…
There is nothing quite like getting a letter through your door full of exciting tales of adventure and intrigue.
Epistolary is a “play-by-post” role-playing game in a very traditional sense. Players write letters, in character, and send them to each other through the post. A game of Epistolary takes place over several weeks – or even months – of real time, corresponding to the same amount of time within the game world.
In Epistolary, the player characters work together to solve a mystery and prevent something terrible from happening. There is no game master or lead player: the details of the threat, and of the characters’ plans to overcome it, are created collaboratively through the exchange of letters as the game is played.
A Bulleted List:
- GM-less role-playing game for two or more players
- Asynchronous play: no need to organise sessions
- Truly collaborative: no player has complete information or control
- Beautiful artwork by Kira Smith and William Kerr
- Letter-writing guide and sample letters
- 37 pages
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $5 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Selectable text versionOct 28, 2023
- A minor update, and a physical versionJun 12, 2022
Comments
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Not sure if this problem is only on my end, but it seems in none of the versions I am able to search for certain words. Using Acrobat reader I sometime use the search function in case I have trouble understanding certain aspects, to check for other pages where the word is as well. English is my second language and this helps me quite a lot.
In addition it seems I am unable to copy words from the pdf, is this intended? I did not have these issues with other pdf's on itch, that is why I am asking.
Hello! Sorry I missed your comment. I've been without access to the Internet for a while.
It definitely isn't intended that you can't search or copy from the PDF; however, it seems to be a limitation of the software I use to create them.
If it would help, I could try and create a HTML version for you. It might not look as attractive as the PDF, but you'd be able to search it and use the copy function as normal. Would that be useful for you?
Sounds wonderful to me, thanks for making it possible.
Hi Kuchenklau, I'm sorry this took so long. I have some good news, though: I found a solution to the issue.
You should be able to see a new version of the file named "Epistolary (Screen) (selectable text)" in the game's downloads section. With this version, you can search and select text as usual. I hope this helps, and good luck with your investigation!
Hello! I recently purchased your game and my friends and I are eager to get started, were just having a little trouble understanding it. The concern is that without some kind of concrete facts about the mystery we are going to have trouble forming a cohesive narrative. Do you have any suggestions? I'm willing to trust that it will all work out if we just jump in but my players aren't as ready to jump in.
Hello, and thank you for your interest!
Writing initial letters is undoubtedly the most difficult part of the game, and I can understand your friends' concern. However, human minds are usually incredibly good – perhaps too good – at drawing connections between apparently unrelated events. For a fun game that illustrates this, try performing an image search for "stock photo" and choose any two adjacent images. Your mind will immediately try to fill in the blanks and tell you a funny story about why the two are related.
I'm confident that when you receive your first letter, the same thing will happen: you will immediately try to connect it to the letter that you just sent. And once you receive your first reply, you will then have information about three of the initial Intrigues that were presented (yours, plus your two contacts'), and you can start thinking about how they might be related.
You don't need to connect everything immediately, of course (and you shouldn't!) but your mind will naturally try to tie everything together. The investigation mechanic works to shake things up a little, to force you to reconsider ideas or begin new avenues of thought.
Here's some advice, though: I do think that it's important to establish the setting and tone of your game before you begin. Make sure that everyone wants to tell the same kind of story, and rule out anything that doesn't fit. There might be specific things that you can think of (aliens? time travel? ghosts?) that you want to rule out before you start.
And as always, set your boundaries and rule out anything that would be upsetting for any of your players.
I hope this helps. Have fun, and good luck!
Quick question about Evidence that I might be missing. Say your game consists of exactly 4 players, each with a unique specialism.
If a player were to Gain Evidence in their own specialty, how could it be interpreted to be made a Clue? I assume you're not able to interpret it yourself, even though it's your specialism.
Could you get a "second opinion" on it from a "non-specialist" contact to interpret it or is it simply evidence that can't become a clue?
Really intriguing game; hoping to try it soon.
Investigators are able to interpret any Evidence that matches their specialism, even Evidence they find themselves. So if you investigate and turn up evidence that matches your own specialism, that's a lucky result: you get a free Clue!
Many thanks for your question; I will make sure to state this rule explicitly if I publish an update.
I hope you have fun with the game, and good luck!
Can you play this with more than 4 people? How would the specialism roles be assigned?
Yes, different Investigators can have the same specialism. For example, with five players, two Investigators would have the same specialism.
I recommend that if two Investigators share a specialism, they should not be in contact with each other at the start of the game.
This a beautiful game that really works in the format it is played within. It is specific enough that it is very easy to understand, but allows for so much adaption that new games can feel complete unrelated to any past games.
The examples of possible settings, evidences, and intrigues are very hopeful in imagining your own possibilities.
The inclusion of the Final Letter mechanic is truly lovely, as it allows for both closure and drama for the exiting character.
Truly an amazing game!
Thank you for your lovely comment, I wish you well on your adventures!
There are too few mail-order role-playing games, and even fewer that are really effective or bring something to the table; Epistolary is one of them! First because it is played by more than two people, then because it is an investigation game, and finally because it talks about the coming apocalypse and this one is emulated by the dwindling stamps : when nobody has any more, the game is over. There are other little pieces that don't work as well (especially those with a resolution table), but overall it's a pretty good little game!
Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you like it!
I just bought this and I am very intrigued (no pun intended, I swear!). Question about Intrigues: the examples given both include a "hook" in the form of concrete information - a copy of the report; a description of strange symbols - that sort of look like evidence in story terms. Am I right in thinking that Intrigue hooks aren't treated like Evidence in game terms - i.e., information in Intrigues can't be converted into Clues?
Also, when you present an Intrigue, are you meant to tailor the Intrigue to the specialization of the character you present it to (so, for example, you wouldn't send a weird fossil to a linguist) for the sake of the fiction?
This is such an elegant little engine! Can't wait to try it out :D
Thank you very much!
Yes, you are entirely correct. Initial letters can't contain Evidence, which means that you can include Evidence-like elements in them without them being mistaken as such.
And yes, the reason for character reputations is so that you can tailor your initial letter to its recipient.