any games about psionics or polycules I’m working on my game which combines the two so I just wanted to see other games on the topics
THEME: Psionics and/or Polycules.
Hello there! I've got a quick rundown of the top games that came to mind when thinking of both of these things. Psionics seem to collide with cyberpunk a lot, so I hope you're ready for a bunch of cyberpunk recommendations!
the girlfriend of my girlfriend is my friend, by stargazersasha.
THE GIRLFRIEND OF MY GIRLFRIEND IS MY FRIEND is a simple, heartfelt roleplaying game for 2 to 6-ish players (and no GM), created by stargazersasha for the MS Paint Jam. it's a game about art, magic, and identity; it's about being trans and growing through young adulthood together.
Buckle up for a wonderful example of how you really can make a ttrpg with little to no software. Made entirely in MS Paint, the girlfriend of my girlfriend comes from a designer who has inspired many others - one might even call stargazersasha the Chappell Roan of ttrpgs. You don't all have to be in a polycule but at least one of the characters is in one, and I don't see much stopping all of your characters dating if you want
the girlfriend of my girlfriend is my friend is a great option for players who want to explore a story of slow changes in relationships, as characters learn about who they are and who they want to be. I think if would also be a great game for folks who want to navigate stories about everyday, relatable struggles - these games may seem cozy and simple at first glance, but when so much of a setting feels close to everyday life, I think it can also hit a deep emotional place.
Bell Bottoms and Brainwaves, by Mekkakat.
The United States military has been conducting secret experiments on “willing” subjects in a program called PSY-CLOPS (Psychic Covert Learning Operatives). The program has successfully created a 6th sense in a REDACTED number of subjects. This 6th sense can manifest within a subject in several ways, but all of these abilities are simply referred to as ‘powers’. The project has been funded for the past REDACTED years, but in last month, there was a problem. The Pentagon wants answers. REDACTED subjects have managed to escape.
You are one of those subjects.
The game takes place in the ‘normal’ world of ‘62. Big cars, color TV, drive-ins, malted milk shakes, and beehive hairdos. You and your fellow escapees need to blend into society and avoid the feds, police and sending society into a panic. Your other senses are more sensitive from unlocking a 6th sense—you’re more irritable, and when your senses are overloaded, your powers can become erratic.
You start with nothing except a shaved head, white top, white bottoms and white slip-on shoes. You’ve been barely getting by since you’ve escaped. Thank goodness you have powers. You need to stick together with your fellow escapees if you have any.
Bell Bottoms and Brainwaves is a one-page game that packs a lot of horror underneath its psychedelic aesthetic. You're all escaped experiments in the 60's, trying to find a safe place, while trying to manage their psychic powers. Being on the run is stressful, which is not great, because stress triggers freakouts. Freakouts are rolled randomly, and can trigger some pretty grotesque effects, like turning animals inside out, uncontrollable screaming, or lighting your hands on fire. If you want unreliable, unexpected side-effects and you're not too squeamish, you might want to check out Bell Bottoms and Brainwaves.
Headspace, by Green Hat Designs.
Corporations control everything, and it’s your fault.
You want to stop them; you’re not alone, but you need an edge. The edge is Headspace technology: your brain networked to the brains of the others in your cell, sharing your skills and hyper-competency… but that also includes your pain and trauma.
Headspace is a game about corporate espionage and dealing with shared emotional trauma in a dystopian, cyberpunk world. Alone, you don’t stand a chance. Together, you can overcome your demons.
Headspace is inspired by the Netflix tv show Sense8, which I feel is maybe the closest piece of media to provide you with both psychic-style powers and polycule relationship dynamics. Headspace heightens this by making your setting a cyberpunk dystopia. You're a group of criminals with technological implants that allow you to share skills and thoughts with each-other, including members of your crew who recently passed away. You'll have to wrestle with each-other, and your grief, while also going on jobs against the very people responsible for your loved one's death.
The polyamory is optional with this one, but I can see some juicy opportunities for a game where you're aware of your crew's thoughts at all times.
Syndrome, by Ill Advised Gaming.
"They talked empathy and walked apathy."
Syndrome is a cyberpunk setting with strong elements of body horror in the vein of Scanners or Akira. High tech, low lifes dealing with illness in a society that fears them. Powerful and vulnerable in equal measure with only their fellow Nockers for support.
Syndrome takes place in a setting where psychic powers are real and medicalized, providing everyday folks with interesting powers that simultaneous make them impossible to be surveilled. This is, of course, a great advantage in a system built on surveillance, but it also puts a target on your backs. Syndrome uses the Caltrop Core system with bits of Powered by the Apocalypse to focus on the disabled experience while simultaneously empowering your characters. If you want all the gritty goodness of a cyberpunk world, I definitely recommend Syndrome.
Psychopunk, by Gormengeist.
PSYCHOPUNK is a TTRPG about being poor, being psychic, and murdering law enforcement. In order to play, you need a deck of cards, a d12, paper and pencils, and a can-do attitude. It's best with one game master [A.K.A the Scripter], and 2 to 5 players.
In 1999, a corporation won the presidency. It’s called corporate personhood. Look it up in your almanac. Anyways, things went downhill from there as the line between corporation and state was scrubbed clean off.
The year is 2022. Being poor is punishable by death- or perhaps worse- Time Prison. CRT monitors are all we fuckin’ got. Synthesizers are still half the size of cars. You’ve got a patch cable in your spinal cord. Life is bad.
You are poor. But you’re also psychic, which very few lowly peasants such as yourself are. This means that where most people in your situation are rat meat, you are (probably) alive. For now.
If you want to keep it that way, you’ll need to evade the law, keep up on your Double Dollars ($$), and scuz some fucking corpos before they scuz you.
I don't know much about Psychopunk, but the creator, Gormengeist, has made some really visually resonant and thematically interesting games that deal a lot with magic, otherness, and marginalization. This game feels like it resonates with a lot of these touchstones, placing your characters as disadvantaged and powerful. I'd say this game is much more focused on cool psychic powers and high-action sequences, and much less focused on the relational aspects of your crew.
Lesbians Built This Farm, by che.
LESBIANS BUILT THIS FARM is a gmless table top role-playing game about queer joy and resistance for 2-4 players, written by che for the TRANS JOY JAM.
this is a game about the places we build and the things we need to build them. it uses a simple two-part system which ties a joyful "no dice no masters"-style home life to the grueling game of odds and effort that is ""being queer in the work place.""
This is a game that focuses on building community, especially when it is hard. It's another game where polyamory isn't necessary, but feels exceptionally at home within the confines of the rules. It feels very closely tied to the girlfriend of my girlfriend is my friend, but it's distinct in that your character pieces are combined from two different places: a playbook and a day job. The playbook tells us something about your relationships, personality, and interests. The day job tells us what you do to keep the farm alive.
When you go to work, you draw cards to represent how much work is on your plate for your specific shift. You build up stress and try to avoid getting strikes: too many strikes, and you're fired. Getting fired is a completely demoralizing event; it's a hint towards how the system is designed to punish those who try to build something outside of it. I think it's also a great argument for having a connected web of people to rely on.
Gay Crime: Sapphics Against Capital, by Evey Lockhart.
I also talked about a bunch of these games in my Psychic Vigilantes Recommendation post.
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