# InSpectres tags: #game/rpg/inspectres ![[InSpectres (cover).jpg]] Ah, another soul seeking to monetize the great beyond. How quaint. **InSpectres** is a role-playing game where you and your unfortunate colleagues operate a franchised paranormal investigation and elimination startup, very much in the vein of a certain cinematic quartet from the '80s. It masterfully blends the spectral shenanigans of ghost hunting with the bureaucratic drudgery and financial desperation of late-90s dot-com culture. The game's primary conceit is that the players—not the long-suffering Game Master—are the ones who drive the story, determine the nature of the threat, and invent the ridiculous solutions needed to survive until the next paycheck. ## Core Mechanics The game's engine is deceptively simple, designed to place narrative authority squarely in the players' hands. When your agent attempts a meaningful action, you perform a **Skill Roll**. You roll a number of six-sided dice equal to your rating in one of the four broadly defined skills: **Academics**, **Athletics**, **Technology**, or **Contact**. After rolling, you find the single highest number on any of the dice and consult the **Skill Roll Chart**. The result determines who gets to narrate the outcome: - A roll of **6 (Amazing!)** or **5 (Good)** means you, the player, get to describe your resounding success. You seize narrative control and explain _exactly_ how your agent brilliantly solves the problem, looks cool doing it, and earns the franchise one or two **Franchise Dice** in the process. These dice are the objective of any given job; collecting enough of them means you get paid. - A roll of **4 (Fair)** is a partial success. You still describe the outcome, but you must also include a negative consequence or a humorous complication. - A roll of **3 (Not Great)**, **2 (Bad)**, or **1 (Terrible!)** means you've fumbled. Control shifts to the Game Master, who describes the unfortunate, often calamitous, results of your action. This system ensures the game is always moving forward. Failure doesn't stop the story; it just introduces new, interesting disasters for you to deal with. Another key mechanic is the **Confessional**, a direct lift from reality TV. At any point, a player can call for a Confessional, "breaking the fourth wall" to speak directly to the other players as if to a camera. In this space, you can foreshadow future events, introduce plot twists out of thin air, or assign personality traits to other characters, further cementing the game's collaborative and improvisational nature. ## Editions **InSpectres v2.0**, published in 2002 appears to be the definitive base version of the game. Later, creator Jared A. Sorensen released **InSpectres: Unfinished Business**. This isn't a new edition (like a 3.0), but rather a "director's cut" that collects the original game rules and bundles them with previously released mini-supplements, such as **In-Speckers** and **Unspeakable**. It revises, reorganizes, and expands upon the original text, making it the most complete version available for purchase today. ## References - [Purchase Link - InSpectres on DriveThruRPG](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17891/InSpectres "null") - [Review - RPG.net (Style 5, Substance 5)](https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10735.phtml) - [Reference - Wikipedia Entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InSpectres "null") - [Reference - BoardGameGeek Entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/rpgitem/43830/inspectres/ratings?comment=1)