Shab-al-Hiri Roach
Encyclopedia
The Shab-al-Hiri Roach is a role-playing game
by Jason Morningstar, independently published
by Bully Pulpit Games
. The game is GM-less and designed for single-session play at the end of which a winner is determined. Its tone is black comedy
, lampooning academia.
The game is about the internal politics of a buttoned-down New England college campus in 1919. The titular roach is a soul-eating telepathic insect bent on destroying human civilization. A major part of play is which characters are under the control of the roach and its offspring.
The goal of the game is to be the player with the most reputation at the end of the game. You cannot be the winner if you are currently under the control of the roach, but being under its control allows you to gain reputation much more easily.
The game was originally released in the 2005 Game Chef competition, where It placed in the "Inner Circle."
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
by Jason Morningstar, independently published
Indie role-playing game
An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published outside of traditional, "mainstream" means. Varying definitions require that commercial, design, or conceptual elements of the game stay under the control of the creator, or that the game should just be produced outside of a corporate...
by Bully Pulpit Games
Bully Pulpit Games
Bully Pulpit Games, based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is a small publisher of indie role-playing games. Their games include The Shab-al-Hiri Roach, Grey Ranks, and Fiasco...
. The game is GM-less and designed for single-session play at the end of which a winner is determined. Its tone is black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
, lampooning academia.
The game is about the internal politics of a buttoned-down New England college campus in 1919. The titular roach is a soul-eating telepathic insect bent on destroying human civilization. A major part of play is which characters are under the control of the roach and its offspring.
The goal of the game is to be the player with the most reputation at the end of the game. You cannot be the winner if you are currently under the control of the roach, but being under its control allows you to gain reputation much more easily.
The game was originally released in the 2005 Game Chef competition, where It placed in the "Inner Circle."
External links
- Official homepage of The Shab-al-Hiri Roach
- Review at rpg.net
- Original version as released in the 2005 Game Chef competition