Shadow Scar TTRPG Core Rulebook

by R.Talsorian Games Inc

Experience the art of stealth in a roleplaying game of yokai slaying and ninja intrigue across a multiverse of worlds.

Sinister monsters lurk in the shadows, manipulating the many worlds of the multiverse we know as the Mosaic. Their goal is simple: to resurrect the fallen Goddess of Death, Izanami, and tear down the fabric of reality itself.

But luckily, there’s one group of people standing in their way. The Shadow Scar Agency is a group of secret agents trained in ninjutsu by ancient clans of shinobi and sent out into the Mosaic to foil the yokai’s plans. You are one of these agents!

Welcome to the many worlds of Shadow Scar!

From the makers of Cyberpunk RED and the Witcher TTRPG…

 …Comes Shadow Scar! A new TRPG of intrigue and action across a multiverse of worlds!

Delve into the secret world of the Shadow Scar Agency as a ninjutsu agent waging a shadow war against the monstrous Japanese yokai!

With the intuitive and easy to learn Mosaic System new players can jump in and play quickly.

Infiltration and stealth are your greatest weapons! As a Shadow Scar Agent, you’ll need to outmaneuver your enemy’s night vision, keen hearing, and other senses to successfully assassinate your targets.

At the heart of Shadow Scar is the Shadow Scar Core Rulebook, everything you need to start telling your own tales of the Veil War. The Core Rulebook is a 292 page, hardbound, full-color, 8.5″ by 11″ book which is completed and ready to go to the printers. Within its pages you’ll find all sorts of interesting material meant to help tell your stories. 

An Introduction to the Veil War: The first chapter of the Core Rulebook gives you a look into the history of the Veil War, lets you know what to expect from the game, and gets you up to speed on the basics of Shadow Scar.

Character Creation: After the introduction you’ll find the character creation chapter which gives you all the information you need to create your characters, figure out the background of your team, and generate a unique handler to help you in the field. This section comes complete with a variant of our well-known Lifepath system which allows you to make a series of rolls to help you flesh out your character’s background before and since becoming a Shadow Scar Agent.

Advancement: Next, you’ll be guided to a chapter dedicated to advancing your agent. Here we discuss how you level up your agent, what the different ranks of the Agency mean and what types of high level abilities you’ll be able to look forward to as you start your story.

The Armory: The next chapter is one of the most important, the Shadow Scar Armory. Here you’ll find 12 pages of weapons, outfits, drugs, poisons, explosives, disability aids, tools, and magical artifacts that you can requisition from the Agency to use on your missions.

The Rules: After the Armory you’ll find a chapter dedicated to learning the rules of Shadow Scar. This short chapter goes into the details of manipulating people with Social Actions, using special senses to foil infiltration, assassinating your targets, and getting into full on battles. This section also covers things like how to maintain the “Veil” and keep the civilians from finding out about the war, and how to rift dive to leap between dimensions.

The Lore of Shadow Scar: This leads into one of the largest chapters in the book, dedicated to the lore of the setting. Here you’ll find a history of the Agency and the Veil War as well as a series of deep dives into the history and cultures of 4 worlds of the Veil War.

The Storyteller’s Guide: With all the system and lore in hand the next chapter is devoted to giving the Game Master, or the Storyteller, a little guidance on how to run Shadow Scar. This chapter includes tips and tricks from the lead designer, Cody Pondsmith, information on the factions that oppose the Agency, rules for building missions, and for bringing your own favorite worlds into the Veil War.

The Rogues Gallery: The next chapter is the Rogues Gallery, a bestiary of 40 entries detailing human threats as well as devilish yokai drawn directly from Japanese myth and legend. Each entry is presented on a single page with easily referenced statistics and abilities to make running combat encounters and infiltration easy. Among the many entries in the Rogues Gallery you’ll find filth licking akaname, brutish and powerful oni, treacherous kitsune, mind-reading Satori, and even the unassuming karakasa-obake.

21st Century Rock: Finally, the last chapter gives the Storyteller a 10 page example mission to use as an introduction to the Veil War. It’s a tale of revenge where the players will have to chase down a renegade rockstar who went after the yokai that killed his bandmate.

The Mosaic is a vast multiverse with a wide variety of different worlds. Across the Mosaic you can find worlds where sapient plants have consumed the civilizations of mankind, worlds where people use magic to bend the forces of life and death to their will, and dimensions that appear to be 16 bit videogames of high adventure. Among these worlds are the four realms where the Veil War is being fought. These worlds are infected by yokai and the evil forces of Yomi which seek to drag them down into the abyss.

Nakatsukuni is a world of magic and mysticism set in a mirror image of Japan in the 17th Century. It is the world where the war began and the home of the Agency and the yokai. In Nakatsukuni agents will find themselves sneaking into heavily guarded castles to assassinate yokai disguised as samurai warlords, traversing dangerous wilderness full of giant wolves and titanic vipers, and delving into ruins of the war to find ancient secrets to use against the yokai.

Steel Court is a world of steam and steel where the second British Industrial Revolution gave birth to the Stewart Steam Turbine Engine and a whole host of mechanical marvels. In Steel Court agents will be working with underground anarchist groups to counteract yokai in positions of power, fighting airship pirates, and negotiating the courts of the Grand Victorian Empire to find secrets and make alliances.

5th Street is a world ripped straight from a noir film or a pulp comic book. The year is 1929 and The United States of America is recovering from the war to end all wars. In 5th Street agents find themselves working with caped crusaders to bring down disguised yokai, infiltrate clandestine mafia meetings, and finding pieces of weird science to bring back to the Agency.

Refuge is a world ravaged by the forces of Yomi. The last remaining humans in the galaxy are the inhabitants of the Eos Space Station and the Selene Lunar Colony. In Refuge agents will find themselves going on deadly spacewalks to infiltrate space ships, keeping the yokai from getting their hands on the latest advanced technology of the Terminus Institute, and infiltrating the lavish halls of the lunar colony of Selene.

Estimated Shipping date : April 2026

Kickstarter Link : Shadow Scar TTRPG Core Rulebook