A Study in Quaint Horror: A Review of Casting the Runes

…It began, like all these stories do, with a brief message from a friend. This note was simple enough, and at the time one could little expect it to have as much an impact on my life and future as it would. So it was with little concern or trepidation that I clicked on the link provided in the aforementioned communique, expecting to find within it nothing more than a spark of light entertainment or, at worse, a selection of humour that one would find reluctant to share in one’s workplace. Imagine then, dear reader, my despair to discover that this link did not only lead me deep within the internet but would also reveal a dark and mischievous plot dedicated to parting your humble author from his hard-earned coin… yet another RPG Kickstarter!

Casting the Runes is a roleplaying game of Edwardian¹ ghost stories and mysteries, written by Paul StJohn Macintosh, and published by The Design Mechanism. Based on the works of M R James, an English scholar and weird tale author of that period (whose style I have so ham-fistedly attempted to replicate above), it uses the GUMSHOE mechanics to reproduce investigative mysteries steepled in British graveyards, sprawling mansions, and occult practices.

For anyone who knows me, it will come as no surprise that this sort of setting and system are right in my wheelhouse, so much so that I’ve even attempted to do my own version of a gaslit GUMSHOE game once or twice in the past. The core book was funded via Kickstarter in early 2020, and I received my copy of the deluxe edition hardback a few weeks ago ². Given the myriad of other Kickstarter games and items I’ve backed in the past, you have to be impressed by both the speed and quality of this crowdfunding campaign (although I believe at the time of this writing, the last of the North American backers are yet to get their copies – not long now, Covid impacts I believe!). I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised at such a professional approach to the crowdfunding campaign, as the talent behind The Design Mechanism, Lawrence Whitaker, and Pete Nash, are top blokes, but in this day and age, even the most successful of publishers seem to be beset with delays and issues (only some of which, I reluctantly mention seem to be outside their influence).

The Physical Book

As mentioned, I purchased the deluxe edition, which is a ‘leather’-bound hardcover (nicely saddle-stitched with three ribbon bookmarks), although I believe the actual content (coming in at 200 pages) is no different to that of either the regular edition or the PDF (a copy of which I also received as part of the campaign). What immediately struck me, however, is that while the cover is embossed with the game’s title and author, this text doesn’t use any highlighting (such as the gold leaf you normally see in such hardcovers). As a result, the words on the cover are kind of difficult to make out, especially in poor light, and without contrast, the spine looks very bland when compared to the other leatherette books on my shelf.

That anomaly aside, the internal layout of the book is nice and simple, with bright white leaves of good stock and weight, and the previously mentioned ribbons coming in handy when flipping around the pages. The book isn’t packed with art, but there are a few stand-out pieces and the interesting use of period photos throughout. I suppose my comments here would be that too many of these illustrations are too small to have an impact (forced to match the constraints of the page column structure) and some that aren’t are often too dark to really ‘pop’ like they should.

However, my biggest ‘complaint’ with the layout is that the text size just looks too big, which in turn limits the all-important use of white space on each page. On top of this, the header image takes up too much space while the footer is too cramped against the text, giving the book a sort of amateurish feel. I know that all seems a bit trite, but I was recently looking at another publisher’s hardback (set in a similar setting) and its fantastic production quality really does raise my appreciation of top-notch layout and print design.

The Content

I really like the GUMSHOE system and am a big fan of both The Esoterrorists and Ashen Stars games. Here, the author has used Pelgrane’s System Reference Document and Creative Commons to overcome the need to design yet another new game system, an approach I happily applaud (I’m getting old okay I don’t need to learn yet another set of mechanics to do the same thing!).

Structurally, the first 50-odd pages of the book cover the character creation process (the characters known as Investigators), with the next 45 detailing the games’ mechanics. What you’ll find in this initial section of the book is pretty much a stock standard implementation of the original GUMSHOE system, with really only the skill lists and Investigator abilities tweaked to better reflect the Edwardian setting. The author does need to be credited, however, in detailing why these skills, abilities and GUMSHOE in general mechanics are appropriate to the game. This is appreciated, and I think it’s a shame that creators often forget to explain why such decisions were made in their games and how such things influence play.

After the core mechanics, the book pivots to focus on the elements that make this game unique. First up, we have a selection of supernatural creatures the Investigators will discover and combat in their adventures. This is a good lineup of ghosts, goblins and other not-so-typical entities, providing plenty of examples of ‘Jamesian’ horrors to play around with. We then get a look at magic and ‘extraordinary items’. Most of the rules and descriptions aren’t anything too out of the ordinary, but they do succeed in reflecting the variety of threats, mysterious tomes, and ancient artifacts that you find littered throughout James’ stories.

The first really stand-out section of the book is the chapter detailing the Edwardian period. While this sort of material is obviously quite vital in introducing unfamiliar readers to this era of history, the author’s skill at describing the pre-Great War years in England, along with what is happening across the rest of the Empire and world, is just about as perfect as one can get. Here we get enough detail to fully explain the spirit of the age while avoiding the need to present a massive historical essay. This wonderful information then segues nicely into the section on running campaigns in the setting. This includes a discussion that focuses on the ‘ideal’ narrative of Casting the Runes scenarios, and how GUMSHOE’s explicit ‘clue and lead’ structure is best used to create the style of story we’d expect from M R James story.

The book wraps up with two sample scenarios³ and both look as if they’d be good introductions for players new to the game, era and the GUMSHOE mechanics.

We also get a few really robust appendices, covering not only James’ own stories, and the works of other contemporary authors of the period, but also providing plenty of references to other novels, movies and even RPGs that are bound to take the reader’s interest.

Thoughts and Comments

I really like Casting the Runes although it is for reasons I can’t easily put my finger on. Sure, I have an affinity for the GUMSHOE system and gaslight setting in general, but there’s something else that really attracts me to this game in particular. It could be my personal connection to James’ stories and that time in my youth when I first read them, but I actually think it comes down to the author’s ability to bring the whole setting and system to life. You can tell that Paul StJohn Macintosh really knows his source material, and more importantly, has the skill to readily translate this knowledge into the key qualities needed to make a great roleplaying game.

On reflection, as I write this now, it’s also the little things. I might have earlier complained about the layout, but it is obvious that this whole undertaking was a project of passion and dedication. I mean, not only do we get a Foreword by the legend who is Ramsey Campbell (one of the last great mid-20th Century horror writers) but the author provides us with an intro that maturely discusses how not to get too caught up with the unsightly aspects of history (something that I know has been at the forefront of RPG conversation recently). Here he highlights not only the positive reasons to game in the setting but also describes how to overcome the challenges of gender, race and sexual preference in this period.

What more could you ask for?