''The Esoterrorists'' is a

Contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

Occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...

, written by Robin D. Laws, and published by

Pelgrane Press Pelgrane Press Ltd is a British role-playing game (pen and paper), role-playing game publishing company based in London and founded in 1999. It is co-owned by Simon J Rogers and Cat Tobin. It currently produces GUMSHOE System RPGs, ''13th Age'', ...

in 2006.

Description

''The Esoterrorists'' is one of the games to use the GUMSHOE System. As elite investigators of the Ordo Veritatis, the characters combat occult terrorists who are intent on tearing the fabric of the world by exposing it to the creatures of the Outer Dark. In ''The Esoterrorists'' setting, two players receive 32 ''investigative'' build points each, while five or more players receive 20 build points each. Any number of investigative build points can be spent on an investigative ability, though more than 3 or 4 points is rarely useful. In ''The Esoterrorists'' setting players receive 60 ''general'' build points each. Any number of general build points can be spent on a general ability, as long as the second highest rated ability is at least half that of the highest rated. After a scenario is completed, player characters receive new build points that can be used as either investigative or general build points. The amount acquired depends on the length of the scenario. There are no levels through which player characters progress.

Publication history

kicked off their ''

GUMSHOE Gumshoe is a term for a rubber-soled shoe, one form of which is the galosh Gumshoe may also refer to: * Gumshoe, a slang term for a detective, from wearing soft, quiet rubber-soled shoes * ''Gumshoe'' (album), 2025 album by Samantha Crain * ''G ...

'' system line with ''The Esoterrorists'' (2006), which was supported by the sourcebook ''The Esoterror Factbook'' (2006) by

Robin Laws Robin D. Laws (born October 14, 1964 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian writer and game designer who lives in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of a number of novels and role-playing games as well as an anthologist. Career Robin D. Laws ...

. A second edition was released in August 2013.

Reception

''The Esoterrorists'' was nominated for both Best Game and Best Rules in the 2007

Ennie Awards The ENNIE Awards (previously stylized as ENnie Awards) are awards for role-playing game (RPG) products (including game-related accessories, publications, and art) and their creators. The awards were created in 2001 by Russ Morrissey of EN World ...

Reviews

*''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esoterrorists, The British role-playing games Campaign settings Contemporary role-playing games Horror role-playing games Pelgrane Press games Robin Laws games Role-playing games introduced in 2006