thanks for your support and thanks for playing! We’ve been in the lab on a company reprint for a bit now just trying to get it right as it will be a full version update as well. Psykers prints were an experiment in this direction. Hopefully soon!
I am having trouble printing out the zine pdfs and actually putting together the booklets! I cant seem to get the pages in the right order. Is there a specific way to have it done?
The zine spread pdfs are laid out to double side print the 12 page spreads for each book. You should be able to open them, shrink to fit and double side print them. Since the layout of the pages is static im not sure why they would be out of order. Happy to troubleshoot some more if needed.
Wonderful job you did here! This system is amazing! Simple, but very solid and atmospherically creative.
I just have one question: on the items description, as well as in the optional rules gazette, it's implied that ranged weapons need to reload. But there is no description for ammunition rules, or a correspondent item. Is ammo an item? Does reloading requires an action? Does the assault rifle need to reload twice?
Ammo and reloading come up a lot (as well as item weight) when discussing the rules and i have left it up to the gm in the past since usually if you’re in a situation where you need to reload you’re probably doing it under duress. As a quick call I’d say ammo doesn’t count as an item and reloading takes a single action (regardless of weapon) sure.
It's very possible I can't read, but I had a couple questions.
1. Do players gain stress even if they succeed on their roll? E.g. if they rolled 4 dice, got 2 Successes and 2 Failures, but only needed 1 Success, do they accomplish their goal *and* take 2 stress? One of my players built up ~8 stress in the first two sectors in the Eurydice mission and that seemed like a lot??
2. Do items/perks/etc add dice to the pool or do they increase the rolls of the dice already in the pool? E.g. does the handgun add 2d10 to an attack or does it turn the 6 you rolled into an 8?
Sorry if these are answered in plain english in the book :)
I just discovered that my files were out of date so I downloaded the latest versions, and noticed some typos (at least some of which were brought up previously and corrected as the Rule fix development log but it looks like there was an accidental reversion).
The Singles and Spreads version of the Employee Handbook (but not the Zine Spreads) have contradictory tables. The Overview and Introduction pages have different numbers for how many successes you get with a critical success (the zine spread has both tables showing +1 success so I'm assuming that is the correct number).
Less importantly, the zine spreads overview page shows +1 success but both the singles and the spread layouts have the overview page missing that + (it just says 1 success). The management manual version of the overview page is missing the + in all layouts.
Also, the equipment section has weight for different pieces of equipment and also range categories for different weapons but I'm not seeing rules on either of those so I'm not sure if I'm missing something or if the rules just aren't there.
Hey thanks for this! Looks like when I updated the files for the CRG release I accidentally uploaded an older file. I've gone ahead and uploaded new versions (v1.6) of all the core game files that should be all fixed up. To clarify, Critical Successes award +1 Success and -1 Stress (+2 Successes in combat).
There's a small blurb about item weights in the Items section of the Employee Handbook (pg 04) but item weights and ranges aren't tied to any mechanics or hard rules. sort of loosy goosy I know but it keeps it light and doesn't bog down play. Feel free to add anything you'd like and please let me know if you do. Always love when people tinker around in there.
Everything looks good, now I just have to decide if I'm willing to mark up the paper copies (I don't like writing in books but I got physical copies from the kickstarter). I was going through the core books to make a write-up of the game for some people that I know which is how I noticed the typos and came up with the questions.
I haven't gotten to play or run The Company unfortunately but it's on my list of games I'd run if given the chance. Not having hard rules for item weight and ranges makes sense given the nature of the system (and I don't see it as an issue), I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing anything.
I appreciate the quick turnaround on this, it was definitely unexpected!
Loved the game so far! Got a couple of questions if that's OK?
1. What do Digital Schematics do? The Engineer has them, but they are not a listed item. Unsure if they confer a bonus.
2. The Technician's job is 'Protect and/or repair Company assets' but this is different on the sample character sheet which says it is to 'Bypass security protocols'.
3. Do characters start with any additional gear, is there an easy way to decide what is balanced? We weren't sure whether only one person having a gun would be an issue for Eurydice.
Ended up playing part-way through the Eurydice campaign, which is a really nice put together campaign. Unfortunately had to cut short due to Discord issues, but retrying again. The game has been great so far and everyone found the system intuitive and creepy.
Hey! Glad you and your players are enjoying the game! Happy to clear these up:
1.) Digital Schematics were envisioned as detailed maps of Company facilities that the engineer would have access to. They could also be for proprietary devices. They don't inherently convey a bonus but its up to you if you wanted to let a player add knowledge gleaned from them to any rolls.
2.) This is a straight up typo. The job description on the sheet is correct whereas the one in the employee breakdown is a copy of the engineer's. I'll update that in the digital files soon and get it straight for the next printing. Thanks for the catch!
3.) Gear and item loadouts are up to the Game Manager but usually the initial loadout is sufficient, especially for Eurydice (the players don't go down knowing there is violent danger). That said, if a team was being deployed to a mission with a high likelihood of combat, they may take weapons or other non-standard gear. I've have yet to find a gear loadout that unbalances the game since gear usually just adds dice to rolls and they can still fail. After the first session, I usually let players decide what to bring based on the briefing and item weight (You can only have 1 heavy item, a couple of mediums and a few lights). This question has come up a few times and I'm working it into the follow-up book but the main game files will have that info added as well (There is a bit of this in the Mission Parameters Memo included with the digital files).
Thanks again for playing and the stellar feedback. I hope your group enjoys the rest of Eurydice!
Thanks for getting back to me so quick. Honestly I love the theme of it, and always wanted to play a game like it. Ah I think my confusion was that when I google 'Digital Schematics' I get results for electronic schematics for circuit boards etc. So I thought it was meant to be some Hack/Repair item!
I'm reading through this and can't wait to run it! This looks fantastic! One quick question: when reading the Employee Handbook, the Overview page list a critical success as +1 Success, -1 Stress, but the Introduction page lists it as +2 Success, -1 Stress. Could you clarify which it should be? Thanks so much!
Great, thanks for the clarification! I have the zip folder of V1.31. The EH singles file and spreads file have the =+2 Success, -1 Stress on the Introduction page. The Zine Spread file lists it correctly.
The Company is a corporate dystopian survival horror RPG in the broad style of SCP, Resident Evil, or The Belko Experiment.
It's 48 pages, split across a player-facing Employee's Handbook and a GM-facing Management Manual. It's also got solid, evocative art, and a pretty clean, readable layout---although some pages can be a little densely packed sometimes.
Mechanically, The Company is pretty compact, but it packs a decent crunch. You roll small d10 pools with the individual dice tipped towards failure, but tools or help swing the odds way back towards success, and there's a distinct feeling of being less vulnerable when you're in a group.
There's a sanity/attrition system called Burnout, where you accumulate Stress, and your Stress determines the odds of you suffering penalties or loss of control at certain junctures.
There's also mechanics for pushing your luck, rerolling failed dice, and rolling over successes into new rolls, giving you ways to grit your teeth and try to fight your way out of a bad situation---or make it worse.
Characters are supposed to be pretty disposable in this system, and your +Dice currency (Drive) is also your exp, so it's on you to balance buying character advances against banking Drive to avoid getting torpedoed by a low dice pool in a bad situation. That said, Drive doesn't add a lot of dice per point spent, so it feels more like a last line of defense than something you have to consider using on the regular.
There's quite a good range of perks and items to dress up and customize your character, and the books do a good job of building and maintaining a tense but engaging atmosphere. It's pretty easy to see The Company being run as a one-shot or mini-campaign, but I think it can hold its own in regular play too. A lot of how it runs is going to depend on the GM's scenario-writing, but the game's basic premise makes it easy to write for.
Which brings us to the Management Manual.
The MM pulls back the curtain on what the setting looks and feels like, it gives some great GMing advice, and it contains a ready-made scenario to intro teams to the game.
The scenario starts pretty abruptly on page 6, but it's a very nice high stakes creature feature with a slow burn at the beginning and a lot of gunfire at the end. If you're a GM who likes to build tension, there's *lots* of opportunities for that, and if you're a group that likes tactics and combat, there's plenty of that in the scenario as well.
Overall, if you like pulpy action survival horror, you should add this to your library. It's easy to learn. It's got its own distinct flavor. It does a very good job of balancing player agency with growing danger and risk. And it lets you shift back and forth between being heroic and being scared as your resources wax and wane. This game page feels very blank, but the books are absolutely the opposite, rich with cool art and content. This is a sleeper hit. Don't sleep on it.
Minor Issues:
-EH, page 5, Resting, the text here says "spend loyalty" but the text for Drive suggests that you should be spending Drive instead. I also couldn't find any text that indicated what loyalty points were or how you accumulated them.
-EH, page 6, the formatting of the right sidebar makes it hard to read.
Yes! I am going to be making more books soon. I took a little break after finishing all the kickstarter books but I anticipate I'll have more soon. I'll update this thread when they are available.
it is designed for 2-5 players and a GM although I have run as a one-on-one with just a GM and one player which was an enjoyable experience. The rules are meant to be easy to pick up fast for both players and GMs.
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Hi! I recently discovered and purchased The Company and Psykers and they are fantastic! Any chance of an additional printing of The Company?
thanks for your support and thanks for playing! We’ve been in the lab on a company reprint for a bit now just trying to get it right as it will be a full version update as well. Psykers prints were an experiment in this direction. Hopefully soon!
Thanks for the quick response :
Hello!
I am having trouble printing out the zine pdfs and actually putting together the booklets! I cant seem to get the pages in the right order. Is there a specific way to have it done?
Hey!
The zine spread pdfs are laid out to double side print the 12 page spreads for each book. You should be able to open them, shrink to fit and double side print them. Since the layout of the pages is static im not sure why they would be out of order. Happy to troubleshoot some more if needed.
Hello!
I gmed this game as a oneshot with my players last night, and it was really nice! We used the story provided.
We loved the map, the backstory, and the premade characters! Made everything run smoothly.
It was lots of fun!! The system is easy to understand and the story is really fun.
Thanks for creating this!!
Thanks glad you enjoyed it!
Hi,
Wonderful job you did here! This system is amazing! Simple, but very solid and atmospherically creative.
I just have one question: on the items description, as well as in the optional rules gazette, it's implied that ranged weapons need to reload. But there is no description for ammunition rules, or a correspondent item. Is ammo an item? Does reloading requires an action? Does the assault rifle need to reload twice?
hey thanks!
Ammo and reloading come up a lot (as well as item weight) when discussing the rules and i have left it up to the gm in the past since usually if you’re in a situation where you need to reload you’re probably doing it under duress. As a quick call I’d say ammo doesn’t count as an item and reloading takes a single action (regardless of weapon) sure.
It's very possible I can't read, but I had a couple questions.
1. Do players gain stress even if they succeed on their roll? E.g. if they rolled 4 dice, got 2 Successes and 2 Failures, but only needed 1 Success, do they accomplish their goal *and* take 2 stress? One of my players built up ~8 stress in the first two sectors in the Eurydice mission and that seemed like a lot??
2. Do items/perks/etc add dice to the pool or do they increase the rolls of the dice already in the pool? E.g. does the handgun add 2d10 to an attack or does it turn the 6 you rolled into an 8?
Sorry if these are answered in plain english in the book :)
No worries
1.) you’re only counting the highest rolls so if it’s a 1 difficulty and they rolled at least 1 success in the pool, the other dice wash out
2.) items and abilities with + add dice to the pool
Thanks for playing
Thanks a bunch!
Yes, we’ve made preparations for a limited reprint in the very near future.
I just discovered that my files were out of date so I downloaded the latest versions, and noticed some typos (at least some of which were brought up previously and corrected as the Rule fix development log but it looks like there was an accidental reversion).
The Singles and Spreads version of the Employee Handbook (but not the Zine Spreads) have contradictory tables. The Overview and Introduction pages have different numbers for how many successes you get with a critical success (the zine spread has both tables showing +1 success so I'm assuming that is the correct number).
Less importantly, the zine spreads overview page shows +1 success but both the singles and the spread layouts have the overview page missing that + (it just says 1 success). The management manual version of the overview page is missing the + in all layouts.
Also, the equipment section has weight for different pieces of equipment and also range categories for different weapons but I'm not seeing rules on either of those so I'm not sure if I'm missing something or if the rules just aren't there.
Hey thanks for this! Looks like when I updated the files for the CRG release I accidentally uploaded an older file. I've gone ahead and uploaded new versions (v1.6) of all the core game files that should be all fixed up. To clarify, Critical Successes award +1 Success and -1 Stress (+2 Successes in combat).
There's a small blurb about item weights in the Items section of the Employee Handbook (pg 04) but item weights and ranges aren't tied to any mechanics or hard rules. sort of loosy goosy I know but it keeps it light and doesn't bog down play. Feel free to add anything you'd like and please let me know if you do. Always love when people tinker around in there.
Thanks again!
Everything looks good, now I just have to decide if I'm willing to mark up the paper copies (I don't like writing in books but I got physical copies from the kickstarter). I was going through the core books to make a write-up of the game for some people that I know which is how I noticed the typos and came up with the questions.
I haven't gotten to play or run The Company unfortunately but it's on my list of games I'd run if given the chance. Not having hard rules for item weight and ranges makes sense given the nature of the system (and I don't see it as an issue), I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing anything.
I appreciate the quick turnaround on this, it was definitely unexpected!
Loved the game so far! Got a couple of questions if that's OK?
1. What do Digital Schematics do? The Engineer has them, but they are not a listed item. Unsure if they confer a bonus.
2. The Technician's job is 'Protect and/or repair Company assets' but this is different on the sample character sheet which says it is to 'Bypass security protocols'.
3. Do characters start with any additional gear, is there an easy way to decide what is balanced? We weren't sure whether only one person having a gun would be an issue for Eurydice.
Ended up playing part-way through the Eurydice campaign, which is a really nice put together campaign. Unfortunately had to cut short due to Discord issues, but retrying again. The game has been great so far and everyone found the system intuitive and creepy.
Hey! Glad you and your players are enjoying the game! Happy to clear these up:
1.) Digital Schematics were envisioned as detailed maps of Company facilities that the engineer would have access to. They could also be for proprietary devices. They don't inherently convey a bonus but its up to you if you wanted to let a player add knowledge gleaned from them to any rolls.
2.) This is a straight up typo. The job description on the sheet is correct whereas the one in the employee breakdown is a copy of the engineer's. I'll update that in the digital files soon and get it straight for the next printing. Thanks for the catch!
3.) Gear and item loadouts are up to the Game Manager but usually the initial loadout is sufficient, especially for Eurydice (the players don't go down knowing there is violent danger). That said, if a team was being deployed to a mission with a high likelihood of combat, they may take weapons or other non-standard gear. I've have yet to find a gear loadout that unbalances the game since gear usually just adds dice to rolls and they can still fail. After the first session, I usually let players decide what to bring based on the briefing and item weight (You can only have 1 heavy item, a couple of mediums and a few lights). This question has come up a few times and I'm working it into the follow-up book but the main game files will have that info added as well (There is a bit of this in the Mission Parameters Memo included with the digital files).
Thanks again for playing and the stellar feedback. I hope your group enjoys the rest of Eurydice!
Thanks for getting back to me so quick. Honestly I love the theme of it, and always wanted to play a game like it. Ah I think my confusion was that when I google 'Digital Schematics' I get results for electronic schematics for circuit boards etc. So I thought it was meant to be some Hack/Repair item!
I'm reading through this and can't wait to run it! This looks fantastic! One quick question: when reading the Employee Handbook, the Overview page list a critical success as +1 Success, -1 Stress, but the Introduction page lists it as +2 Success, -1 Stress. Could you clarify which it should be? Thanks so much!
It should be +1 Success, -1 Stress. Which version are you reading? If it’s a digital file I can fix it up!
Great, thanks for the clarification! I have the zip folder of V1.31. The EH singles file and spreads file have the =+2 Success, -1 Stress on the Introduction page. The Zine Spread file lists it correctly.
Thanks!
Thanks for the catch. I’ll update those and push a fix.
Just wanted to loop back and let you know I pushed the fix. Thanks again!
The Company is a corporate dystopian survival horror RPG in the broad style of SCP, Resident Evil, or The Belko Experiment.
It's 48 pages, split across a player-facing Employee's Handbook and a GM-facing Management Manual. It's also got solid, evocative art, and a pretty clean, readable layout---although some pages can be a little densely packed sometimes.
Mechanically, The Company is pretty compact, but it packs a decent crunch. You roll small d10 pools with the individual dice tipped towards failure, but tools or help swing the odds way back towards success, and there's a distinct feeling of being less vulnerable when you're in a group.
There's a sanity/attrition system called Burnout, where you accumulate Stress, and your Stress determines the odds of you suffering penalties or loss of control at certain junctures.
There's also mechanics for pushing your luck, rerolling failed dice, and rolling over successes into new rolls, giving you ways to grit your teeth and try to fight your way out of a bad situation---or make it worse.
Characters are supposed to be pretty disposable in this system, and your +Dice currency (Drive) is also your exp, so it's on you to balance buying character advances against banking Drive to avoid getting torpedoed by a low dice pool in a bad situation. That said, Drive doesn't add a lot of dice per point spent, so it feels more like a last line of defense than something you have to consider using on the regular.
There's quite a good range of perks and items to dress up and customize your character, and the books do a good job of building and maintaining a tense but engaging atmosphere. It's pretty easy to see The Company being run as a one-shot or mini-campaign, but I think it can hold its own in regular play too. A lot of how it runs is going to depend on the GM's scenario-writing, but the game's basic premise makes it easy to write for.
Which brings us to the Management Manual.
The MM pulls back the curtain on what the setting looks and feels like, it gives some great GMing advice, and it contains a ready-made scenario to intro teams to the game.
The scenario starts pretty abruptly on page 6, but it's a very nice high stakes creature feature with a slow burn at the beginning and a lot of gunfire at the end. If you're a GM who likes to build tension, there's *lots* of opportunities for that, and if you're a group that likes tactics and combat, there's plenty of that in the scenario as well.
Overall, if you like pulpy action survival horror, you should add this to your library. It's easy to learn. It's got its own distinct flavor. It does a very good job of balancing player agency with growing danger and risk. And it lets you shift back and forth between being heroic and being scared as your resources wax and wane. This game page feels very blank, but the books are absolutely the opposite, rich with cool art and content. This is a sleeper hit. Don't sleep on it.
Minor Issues:
-EH, page 5, Resting, the text here says "spend loyalty" but the text for Drive suggests that you should be spending Drive instead. I also couldn't find any text that indicated what loyalty points were or how you accumulated them.
-EH, page 6, the formatting of the right sidebar makes it hard to read.
Thank you for this! I’m glad you found so much in these little books.
The ‘loyalty’ error was holdover from a previous iteration and has been swapped to ‘Drive’ in the latest update.
I’ll take a look at that formatting you mentioned and post a fix. Thanks for the catch!
Will there be any more print editions for this? I hate to say I found this after the crowd funding had ended.
Yes! I am going to be making more books soon. I took a little break after finishing all the kickstarter books but I anticipate I'll have more soon. I'll update this thread when they are available.
Thanks for the update! Look forward to picking up a physical book!
Checking in to let you know I’ve listed more physical copies for purchase.
How many players do you recommend it for? Does it require a GM?
it is designed for 2-5 players and a GM although I have run as a one-on-one with just a GM and one player which was an enjoyable experience. The rules are meant to be easy to pick up fast for both players and GMs.
Thanks :)