Retrograde Player's Manual

Retrograde is a retrofuturist TTRPG of blood, ink, and occult printmaking, created with and inspired by the craft of letterpress printing.

Envisioning a future where faster-than-light travel is made possible by an occult ritual employing mystical Blood Ink, the world of Retrograde is full of technological wonders and esoteric secrets. Explore the ramifications of a human society radically altered by spreading itself thin across the stars and coming across eldritch secrets we were never meant to know...

Mechanically, Retrograde is built around the Retrograde System, a ruleset centered around dynamic Skill Checks. A character's Skills are both the Success Threshold for succeeding Skill Checks and a Resource Pool that can be spent to turn failed checks into successes – the more you fail, the more difficult success becomes. With a design philosophy inspired by OSR and emphasizing creative problem-solving, Retrograde is ideal for high-stakes adventures of investigation, exploration, and survival. 

This zine includes everything you need to start playing Retrograde: roll up a character in less than 10 minutes and start exploring the dark secrets of the cosmos!