Public Access
Digital EditionBest For
Groups seeking a finite collaborative analog-horror campaign where player-built theories, personal histories, and found-footage prompts shape the truth behind a small-town conspiracy
Core Mechanic
When a move is triggered, roll 2d6 plus one of five ability modifiers. A 6 or less is a miss, while many moves split hits into 7–9, 10–11, and 12+ tiers. After a result is narrated, a player can turn a Key to raise it one tier and replace that outcome with a different timeline.
Character creation uses short guided choices, and the core resolution is a 2d6 move loop. Players then coordinate Keys, Conditions, Clues, and a four-phase session cycle. The Keeper carries additional load through layered mysteries and a campaign finale assembled from prior play.
- Free to tryFull core rulesLegally free as an SRD, PDF, or official web rules
- Get it nowAvailable nowFree to download or read online
- –IndexNo back-of-book index or page-keyed reference tables
- ✓GM guidanceA chapter on how to run the game
- ✓Examples of playRules shown in action at the table
- ✓Quick referenceCheat sheet or summary tables
- –Cross-referencesRules rarely point to each other by page
3 of 5 book tools found in the core book
Highlights
Clues have no fixed locations or canonical answers, so players assemble them into a theory and roll to establish whether it is true. Turning a Key raises a resolved roll by one tier and replaces the narrated failure with an alternate timeline. Odyssey tape prompts let players author uncanny broadcasts that become a campaign timer and feed connections back into Deep Lake.
Considerations
Dawn, Day, Dusk, and Night must occur in order, which constrains free-form scene pacing. The Keeper must synthesize campaign discoveries into a custom final TV Odyssey mystery. The intended campaign engages childhood trauma, body horror, ritual sacrifice, and other dark material.
Rules license Proprietary
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