The Real Thing is a TTRPG system by Accidental Cyclops, drawing inspiration from the rock band Faith No More and the 1990s in general.

Disclaimer: We were provided with a free digital copy of this product.

The TTRPG comes in 3 books – named after Faith No More albums – with the first one, The Real Thing, having the main story and mechanics, and the other two adding extra rules and information.

Mechanics

The Real Thing is based on the Powered by the Apocalypse system. As such, you have a list of “Moves” that use 2d6 and add the relevant statistic; a 10 is a success, a 7-9 is a partial success, and a 6 and under is a failure. Your basic statistics are Awareness, Intellect, Might, Rapport, Reflexes, and Subtlety, and you start with a standard array of points to put in each of them – 2/1/0/0/0/-1 – with the maximum each stat can reach being 3. You can also get temporary bonuses to your rolls, either flat or rerolls. However, character advancement doesn’t occur through XP or fighting; every time you fail a Move, you make a Discovery: a story, memory, insight, or epiphany that your character recollects or comes to, building up facts for your character or the world. When you make 5 Discoveries, you unlock an Advanced Move from your class.

For the classes, there’s 12 of them – ones like Criminal, Hedonist, Lover, Artist, et cetera – each having unique Moves. Some specialise more in physical combat, some in social aspects, and some in more intellectual pursuits; they each have a starting Move, and 5 more you unlock through your Discoveries.

As you can probably guess, this is a story-driven RPG; mostly light on mechanics and numbers, and relying on the players collaboratively building a world and story. And speaking of:

Story

Of course, you can build your own stories and “campaigns”, but The Real Thing comes with its own story that highlights the themes the authors were going for. I’m not going to spoil much, because it relies a lot on mystery and discovery; however, it feels a lot like a psychological thriller. Amnesia, hallucinations, drugs, loss (and reclamation) of identity – the players start at their lowest point, and have to rediscover or rebuild themselves as they get tangled into the criminal underworld (and overworld, too; it’s not only dirty alleys and bars where crime happens).

As you can guess, it’s certainly not for everyone. It’s a pretty dark story – drugs and addiction are a major part of it, along with violence, mental illness, and self-destruction, but it’s also a story about broken people finding hope and trying to pull themselves back together.

As for the other 2 books, the second one, Angel Dust, includes additional rules with more classes and an expanded story, while the third book, King for a Day, gives you options for supernatural characters and even more story to play through.

Final Thoughts

The truth is, The Real Thing tries to capture a specific time and place – 1990s America – and while its themes of self and society are by no means unique to that zeitgeist, it’s also not something that everyone will be able to relate to. It’s certainly not something I can relate to, growing up in late 90s/early 2000s Greece, which was a very different place, and while everyone can play a character, it feels as if it’s a work of a very personal connection to that era; this is why I’m writing this sort of disclaimer, when I normally wouldn’t. I can talk about the system – I like it, it’s lightweight and has great potential for storytelling – but ultimately, the heart of it depends on your personal connection to its themes.