Genre(s) Superhero | System(s) Custom | |
Designer(s) Shunsaku Yano, F.E.A.R. Publisher(s) Fujimi Shobo, Game Field Publication date 2001 (1st Ed.)
2003 (2nd Ed.)
2009 (3rd Ed.)
2013 (English Ver.) | ||
Double Cross is a Japanese superhero tabletop role-playing game released in 2001. The game was the second winner of the 1st Game Field Award behind Inou Tsukai. The theme of Double Cross is the solitude and distress of superhumans trying to maintain their own happiness. In 2013, an English translated version based on the Japanese third edition was published by Ver. Blue Amusement. The Advanced Rulebook is also available in English, as of November 22, 2013.
Contents
Premise
The default setting is contemporary Japan, but other various settings are available for play. Player characters are called Overed and possess superhuman powers brought from a virus called Renegade. Overed's supreme powers are classified under 12 syndromes which correspond to character classes of other role-playing games. PCs select one or two or three syndromes. Characters with one syndrome are called Purebreed, and characters with two are called Crossbreed and characters with three are called Tribreed. Many Overed are changed into Germs (Gjaum in the English translation) through overreaching with their powers, which results in the loss of sanity. PCs stand against the violence and crimes of Germs and rogue Overeds.
Mechanics
The game uses only 10-sided dice. When a player character attempt to perform a certain action, a player roll dice which designated number in this character's Attribute and game master, and a biggest numerical value is chosen from it, and add the Correction to this nunber is Achievement number of this character. If critical number (usually 10) is included in the outcome those dice, this die regard as 10 and this player can cast dice only the number of the dice to which its critical number to add to Achievement number. Fumble is all dice number are 1.
The game session is proceeded under the "Scene system"(cf. Standard RPG System#Scene system). The game contains a relationship mechanic in which PCs have special individuals called Lois and Titus, which represent their human relationships. Loises (named after Superman's love interest Lois Lane) represent important people whom the heroes protect. Tituses are named after William Shakespeare's tragedy Titus Andronicus and represent defunct relationships, or Lex Luthor style antagonistic relationships. Loises maintain the characters' sanity and prevents them from falling to madness, while Tituses can be used as temporary bonuses at the cost of losing the relationship entirely. A Lois can become a Titus in play through roleplaying or character decision. If a player character use effect and do Scene in (1D10), character get Encroachment Rate. Encroachment Rate can reduced total number of dice which designated number in this character's Lois aftor the Climax Phase (This call is Backtrack). When result of Backtrack is over 100% Encroachment Rate, this character is be Germs and character lost.