Uncanny Inc: Playbook Demo

A GAME OF ABSURDITY AND RELATIONSHIPS

THE OFFICE  MEETS WELCOME TO NIGHTVALE

Uncanny Inc is a cooperative storytelling game in which you play low level employees of UNCANNY INCORPORATED, the most prestigious, ancient and malevolent corporation in your city. Together players will tell a story about the everyday lives of these office workers working together in a department. Together these characters will search for meaning and connection while trying to navigate an absurd corporate system. And that’s not even including the otherworldly horrors that haunt the office.

The game is an adaptation of Avery Alder's Belonging-Outside-Belonging  system. As such, expect a diceless, gm-less, story telling experience  built for 3-5 players. Like other Belonging-Outside-Belonging games,  players will be using two kinds of playbooks during the game: the Character playbook and the Scenario  (AKA Setting Element) playbook.

THE CHARACTERS

The Middle Manager - An individual who functions as the bridge between Upper Management and the Department. They want the department to function smoothly and get work done.

The Cubicle Mystic - An individual who’s in touch with the supernatural elements of the Labyrinth. They want to emphasize and encourage the weirdness that lurks in the office. 

The Old-Timer - An individual who’s been employed at the company for a long time and has a lot of experience. They want to keep the peace and find a way to pass on their knowledge to the other employees.

The Professional - An individual who is single-mindedly focused on being an efficient worker. They want to get their work done, at the expense of anything else.

The Slacker - An individual who is defined by their unwillingness to tow the company line. Every act of laziness is a small rebellion, and they will do whatever it takes to do as little work as possible.

The Team Parent - An individual who cares deeply about interpersonal relationships around the office. They want to prioritize the human aspects of the department.

THE SCENARIOS

Interpersonal Dynamics - Challenges dealing with coworkers and relationships.

The Higher Ups - The whims of those in a position above you in the company.

The Work- The specific tasks that your characters are expected to complete while on the job.

The Labyrinth - The source of supernatural occurrences within the company.

Irregular Entities - Creatures that come from the Labyrinth to interrupt the office.

Irregular Objects  - Objects from the Labyrinth that exhibit supernatural properties.

PLAYBOOKS FOR AN UNRELEASED GAME

If you're an astute reader you'll notice the words Playbook Demo are scattered about this page;  what does that mean? It means that this is not the final version of Uncanny Inc, instead it is a rough demonstration distributed to gather feedback for the final version.  This document does not contain the rules to the game, instead it only contains the Playbooks that are used during gameplay. 

This sounds like it makes gameplay is impossible in its current state, but I promise it is possible! Because the game is built on the foundation of Belonging-Outside-Belonging, you can take these playbooks and plug them into an existing Belonging-Outside-Belonging rule set. Avery Alder's Dream Askew is a great game to check out, it will tell you everything you need to know about running one of these games. 

Don't worry, a full version of Uncanny Inc will be released in the future, as a full game, with it's own set of rules and everything. Eventually.

These playbooks were made as part of the Loose Playbooks Jam.