S.

MURPHY

a game by S.Murphy
edited by (insert name)
INDEX.
4 What is Strange Squad? This is an alpha release of the Strange
Squad core rulebook. The game is fully
6 What do you do? playable (and fun!), but some sections
7 Inspirations are missing that will be present in the
final release. Also, parts of this alpha
release reference the forthcoming
8 Character Creation.
Strange Squad setting guide, THE
9 Biography. AGENCY. This setting guide will not be
10 Stats. available until the game’s final release.
11 Derived Attributes.
Strange Squad has no license. You are
12 Skills. free to do whatever you like with the
13 Powers. text in this book (outside of reselling it).
You may use parts of it to create your
14 Finishing touches.
own adventures, content, or games.
15 Advancement.
If you do use the material in this book to
16 Playing the game. create something yourself, I’d love to
hear about it!
17 The second most
important rule. - S. Murphy
18 Keeping your cool.
19 Picking fights.
20 Time.
22 Standard Gear. Credits:
Writing, Layout, Design: S. Murphy
Additional Writing: G. Russell
24 Running the game. Additional Writing: L. Strachan
Concepting: MissMelloHello
28 Powers. Illustration: B. Everett Dutton
Editing: Meatcastle Gameware
://WHATI
SSTRAN The world we live in is much stranger than we think.

GESQUA
Since the beginning of recorded time, there have
always been creatures, objects, and phenomena that
behave and act in ways that contradict the laws that
we believe govern our reality. Things that flicker and
dance just outside the edges of our vision. Things that
exist in the twilight between what is real and what is
imaginary. Things that go bump in the night.

D? A brief introduction.
There is an organisation that has taken it upon itself to
make sure these things stay hidden, for their sake and
for ours. Its headquarters is buried deep underground,
30 kilometres northeast of a small Irish town named
Doolin. This organisation does not officially exist, and
it does not want to be found. It calls itself the Agency
of Aberrant Phenomena.

WHAT IS STRANGE SQUAD?:// 5.

6. //:CLASSIFIED: NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING

What this game is about. Inspirations.

In Strange Squad, we play as field operatives for the Agency. Strange Squad steals much of its DNA from other
These operatives are known as Agents, and their job is to paranormal investigative media. If you’re clever, you’ll steal
investigate and deal with Abberrants or, as they are often from them for your own games too.
colloquially known, “Abes”. An Aberrant is an entity,
object, or phenomenon that is supernatural, paranormal, or Below is list of media that has inspired Strange Squad (and
otherwise strange in nature, existing outside of accepted that I think it’d be would be a good fit for running a game in
human understanding. the style of, if you wanted to do so):

Agents deal with Aberrant situations by attempting to up- • Hellboy/B.P.R.D | Comic Series, 1993, Mike Mignola
hold “The Veil”, a layer of obscurity that keeps Aberrants out
of the general public’s view. This can involve bargaining with • The X-Files | Television Show, 1993, Chris Carter
the Aberrant, solving the problem causing the Aberrant to
break The Veil, or, in especially drastic situations, taking • The SCP Foundation | Internet Wiki, 2008, Various
hostile action against the Aberrant themselves. Agents are
not cops, feds, suits or any other kind of state dog. They aim • Delta Green | Tabletop Roleplaying Game, 1992,
to serve the paranormal and mundane alike. Adam Scott Glancy, D. Detwiller, John Scott Tynes

Strange Squad is played with a traditional TTRPG setup: • The Cthulu Mythos | Novel Series, 1904, H. Miku
several “players” play as individual characters and describe
the actions they take, while a “Gamemaster” or “GM”
(known as The Handler) presents situations to the players
and adjudicates the results of their actions. There’s no limit
on the number of players, but 2-4 often creates the best
experience. To play, you’ll need a single set of polyhedral
dice (or a digital dice roller), some pens and paper, and a cou-
ple of people that you enjoy spending time with (these can
often be difficult to source, but they’re the most important
thing you’ll need).

WHAT IS STRANGE SQUAD?:// 7.

://CHARA
TERCREA Biography.
Every Agent begins with a concept. While filling out our

TION.
characters’ biographies, we’re going to start imagining what
we want to create during the rest of character creation. The
details should be fuzzy at this stage. You’ll want just a basic
idea of what you’re making to guide you through the rest of
the character creation process. Try to keep it to one
sentence:

• “My character is a gonna be a slick-talking getaway driver.”

• “I’m thinking of playing a no-nonsense muscley fella.” .
• “I think I want to play a kind, old detective-style character
this time around.”
Once you’ve got that, start filling out the background details
at the bottom of your sheet: age, nationality, pronouns, and
so on. If you get to a section and can't think of anything,
leave it blank and come back to it later.

To cap off the biography, write down two “notes” about your
character. Notes are weird little details that might appear
on a file or dossier and should only be a sentence or two.
Here’s some examples:
• “Checks watch exactly every three minutes. On the dot.”
• “Concerningly persuasive. Aberrant Ability or just
charisma?”
• “Always wearing a pair of mirrored sunglasses.”
• “No personal records pre-employment. Attempts to probe
for details unsuccessful.”

CHARACTER CREATION:// 9.
10. //:CLASSIFIED: NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING

Stats. Derived Attributes.

Each Agent has four stats. These stats measure how Each Agent has two Attributes with values derived from
proficient they are at performing certain tasks and actions. their Stats:

SUAVE iscreatures.
used for actions that involve talking to other
Can be used to threaten people, lie to
Health is a measure of how much physical pain an Agent can
take before keeling over. Most Agents are pretty fragile and
them, or schmooze them up.
can only really take a couple of hits before they're in trouble.
An Agent's Health is equal to their Brawn divided by 10,
BRAWN isandused for actions that involve physical exertion
prowess. Can be used to lift heavy objects,
rounded to the nearest whole number.
enact violence, and get the hell out of dodge
quickly. The consequences for losing all of your Health and the ways
that you can regain it are outlined on page 20.
WITS isquick
used for actions that involve mental ability and
thinking. Can be used to recall knowledge
Cool is a measure of an Agent’s ability to keep their shit
on academic subjects, drive dangerously, and
conduct research.
together when things go wrong. An Agent’s Cool is equal to
their Wits divided by 10, rounded to the nearest whole
WEIRD isAberrant
used for actions that involve dealing with
creatures and phenomena. Can be used
number, plus 2.
to enact and survive cursed rituals, resist mind
Details for how Cool works are found on page 18.
control, and read forgotten languages.

You’re going to assign a number between 20 and 80 to each

of these stats. The higher the stat, the better the Agent is
at it. When you add all of your stats together, they need to
total to 200, no more and no less.

CHARACTER CREATION:// 11.

12. //:CLASSIFIED: NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING

Skills. Powers.
Your Agent’s greatest abilities are represented by the Skills Strange Squad’s default setting assumes that every Agent
they have. Skills grant a higher chance of success when an is also an Aberrant themselves (it’s where the “Strange”
Agent attempts to take an action with the potential of comes from in the name). If your table is interested in
failure. Each Agent begins with two skills, gaining more as playing more grounded, mundane characters, you can safely
the game goes on. They are as follows: skip this section of character creation.
Bureaucracy: Figure out who’s really in charge and deal with
institutions. If you’re including powers in your game, it’s likely to be
where a lot of the characterisation of your Agents comes
Step Light: Trail people and get things done quietly. from. While things like Stats and Skills are often cut and dry,
Drive Hard: Perform sick stunts and fix vehicles. powers prompt all sorts of interesting questions. Questions
such as:
Field Medic: Bandage wounds and stop your fellow Agents from
dying. • When did they learn that they were an Aberrant?

Fisticuffs: Enact melee violence with a weapon or your body. • What event caused them to be scouted by The Agency?

Friendly Face: Get people to like and trust you. • How have their powers influenced who they are as a
person?
Gun Nut: Operate and maintain firearms.
• Have their powers ever caused them to do something
Jury Rigging: Cobble together equipment and traps out of everyday they regret?
materials.
There are three ways to choose an Aberrant power for your
Netfiend: Hack into computers and phones, be the kind of person Agent: you can roll a d100 to gain one randomly from the table
online your parents warned you about. on pg. 28, you can simply pick one from the table, or, if you’re
feeling especially clever, you can chat with your Handler and
Nimble: Perform acts of acrobatic prowess and dodge out of the
create one yourself using the guidance on pg. 31.
way of danger.

Oil-Finger: Understand, fix, and operate complex machinery.

Each Skill starts with a base value of 10, and only one Skill
can be used at a time.

CHARACTER CREATION:// 13.

14. //:CLASSIFIED: NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING

Finishing touches. Advancement.

Once you’re done making your character, take a moment to Agent’s improve their abilities as time goes on and they gain
“review” the other Agents by passing your character sheets more experience.
around the table (or, if you’re playing online, by posting them
in a shared message chat). It’s fun to imagine this as your Whenever an Assignment is completed, all Agents gain:
characters pulling up their files or running a background
1) +5 to any two Stats (up to a maximum of 80 points).
check on each other before your first assignment together.
This is a good time to share any ideas you have about who
2) A new Skill OR +5 to a Skill they already have (up to a
your character might be (outside of what’s written on the
maximum of 20 points).
character sheet). Things like what they look like, how they
speak, and what they believe in.

When you’re done chatting about your Agents, go over the

pre-game questions on pg. 23. Once you’ve done that, you’ll
be ready to hop into your first session!

CHARACTER CREATION:// 15.

://PLAYIN
GTHEGA The Second Most
Important Rule.
While working through an Assignment, your Agents are
likely to find themselves in situations where they are forced

ME.
to take risky actions. This is when the Second Most
Important Rule comes into play: When the outcome of an
action is uncertain and there are consequences for
failure, make a Challenge Roll.

Making a challenge roll involves three steps:

1) The Handler states the relevant Stat for the roll (Suave,
Brawn, Wits, or Weird) and establishes the
consequences for success or failiure.

2) The player rolls a d100 and attempts to roll equal to or

under the total of the relevant Stat + a relevant Skill (if
they have one).

3) The Handler describes the consequences of the roll. If

the player has rolled under, they succeed at the task. If
they roll over, they fail, lose 1 point of Cool, and the
situation gets more difficult.

(The Most Important Rule is to Have Fun, just in case you

were wondering)

PLAYING THE GAME://

17.
18. //:CLASSIFIED: NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING

Keeping your cool. Picking fights.

Every time your Agent fails a Challenge Roll, they lose a Agents are encouraged to avoid firefights at all costs. Both
point of Cool. Cool represents how well you’re keeping your because it goes against the Agency’s values of discretion
shit together, and running out of it is similar to having a and protection and because, despite their Aberrancies,
stress breakdown. Agents are still fragile bags of meat that can go down
quickly in a bad situation.
Agents may regain an amount of Cool equal to half their
maximum by spending a Half-Tick at a calm place. This In the event that an Agent needs to fight for their life, they
usually involves taking a breather, discussing the case for can make a firearm attack by making a Wits|Gun-Nut
an hour or two, and reflecting on how the assignment has Challenge Roll or they can make a melee attack by making a
been going so far. Agents also regain all of their Cool when Brawn|Fisticuffs Challenge Roll. On a success, they hit their
they get a decent night’s rest. target and roll damage (decided by their weapon). On a
failure, a foe attacks them instead, and they take damage
When your Cool drops to 0, your Agent does something (rolled by the Handler).
stupid. They might break an object, say something they
don’t really mean, or storm out of the scene in anger. Any of When an Agent’s Health drops to 0, they are downed. When
the things people tend to do in stressful situations. This is downed, they lose all of their Cool and will bleed to death if
an opportunity to inject some fun drama into a session, not promptly revived with a successful Wits|Field-Medic
especially between Agents, so have fun with it (the player Challenge Roll (which pulls them back to 1 Health).
always decides what losing their Cool looks like).
For the most part, combat follows the same flow as
When an Agent loses their Cool, they suffer -20 to all everything else in Strange Squad: Agents take actions
Challenge Rolls until they find somewhere to go calm down freely in whichever order they want. If you really must, you
for one Tick Getting knocked down instantly sets an Agent's can determine a turn order by having everyone roll a d10 and
Cool to 0. acting from highest to lowest.

PLAYING THE GAME:// 19.

20. //:CLASSIFIED: NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING

Time.
Time in Strange Squad is tracked on an eight-segmented One Half-Tick
clock, as shown across. It’s a precious resource as each
Beginning
major investigative scene takes up an amount of time. As of the day.
time passes, the assignment develops in the background,
getting more complicated as important figures progress
One Tick
their own agendas and tension builds.

A major investigative scene, such as breaking into an

abandoned mine, exploring a haunted house, or confronting
an Aberrant is equivalent to one “Tick”: two segments on
the clock. Minor investigative scenes, such as an interview,
retrieving some supplies from a local store, or doing some
research on the internet is equivalent to a “Half-Tick”: a
single segment on the clock.

Agents may reset the clock by resting for the night, fully
regaining their Cool and half of their Health in the process.
When the clock is filled completely, all Agents who are not
currently resting must head straight to a place of rest at the
end of the scene.

For discussion on the importance of tracking time in

Strange Squad, see pg. 27.

PLAYING THE GAME:// 21.

22. //:CLASSIFIED: NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING

Alternative
Standard Gear. Equipment Rules.
When they deploy into an assignment, each Agent is given a If you’re interested in playing in a different setting (where
Standard Operations Bag (known as a SOB). The contents of violent conflict is more common), each Agent can take one
each SOB are as follows: weapon and one type of Armour from the tables below
before their Assignment begins:
• Flashlight (with toggleable blacklight)
Weapons:
• Ritual Chalk
Type: Includes: Tags: Damage:
• Disguise Makeup
Punches, Kicks, Nonlethal, Always-
• 9mm Handgun (see across for stats) Unarmed. D2.
Body slams. present.

• Binoculars
Truncheons and Nonlethal,
Blunt Melee Weapon. D4.
• Handheld Radio Batons. Concealable.

• Civilian Clothes Small, Sharp Melee Knives, Shanks,

Lethal, Concealable. D6.
Weapon. Switchblades.
• Religious symbol of the Agents choosing Large, Sharp Melee Swords, Axes, Lethal, Illegal,
D8.
Weapon. Spears. Unconcealable.
In special circumstances, the squad Handler may choose to
add additional, situation-specific items to the bag. Pistols and Lethal, Concealable,
Light Firearm. D8.
Handguns. Loud Illegal.

Lethal, Non-
Rifles and
Heavy Firearm. concealable, Highly D10.
Shotguns.
Illegal, Very Loud.

Armour: (Defence reduces incoming damage by it’s value)

Type: Tags: Defence:

Protective Vest Concealable, Illegal. 1

Non-concealable, Highly
Full-body Protective Gear. 2
Illegal.

PLAYING THE GAME:// 23.

://RUNNIN
GTHEGA Pregame questions.
There’s nothing worse than getting several sessions into a
campaign and then realising it’s not what some of you

ME.
expected or wanted it to be. Here are some questions to
answer collectively to make ensure that everyone is on the
same page about the game you’re going to play together:

1) What’s the tone and vibe of the game? Are there any
specific media inspirations we want to draw on? Where
are we on the Columbo to X-Files spectrum of
investigative media?

2) If our game was a TV show what would its content

rating be? PG, M, or R? If it’s on the mature side, do
we want to use any safety tools to make sure
everyone is having a good time? (See: TTRPG Safety
Toolkit - Kienna Shaw)

3) Are there any topics or themes we’d be interested in

covering? Are there any topics and themes we
definitely don’t want to see?

4) How many sessions is this game going to be?

Does everyone need to commit to the whole thing
now, or can they drop in and out as availability comes
and goes? How long will the average session be?

RUNNING THE GAME://

25.
26. //:CLASSIFIED: NOT FOR PUBLIC VIEWING

Creating assignments.
Assignments are missions that the AAP assigns to its The spirit in the abandoned house wants to be left alone, but
Agents. They can involve a variety of objectives, with goals the teenagers who live up the street want to satisfy their
potentially changing as more information on the scenario is curiosity. The faerie wants the forest untouched, but the
revealed. Most often, the task is simply: “Figure out what’s local carpenter must perform his trade to survive. The
going on here, and do whatever you need to protect The demon wants to command a legion of horrors to bring ruin to
Veil.” The goal being this broad means that many scenarios the land, but everyone else, uh, doesn’t want that. Conflicts
written for other investigative games (such as Call of like these drive Strange Squad’s intrigue and keep the game
Cthulhu, Delta Green, or Liminal Horror) can be slotted into interesting.
this world and system without much effort.
Finally, you’ll want to establish a timeline. What happens if
If you’re making your own Assignment, you don’t need to the Agents don’t intervene? How does the situation
have every detail figured out before play begins, but it is escalate? At what point will the Agents fail their mission? If
important to have the broad strokes down. Here’s a general you’re looking to run a short game or one shot, have a
guide for doing so: significant event happen every day, with the point of no
return in less than a week. If you want a longer adventure,
Creating an Assignment usually begins with deciding on the spread these out to every three days or so, with a total time
Aberrant at the heart of the scenario. You can come up with limit of around two weeks.
one wholecloth perhaps with the guidance of the categories
in THE AGENCY (the upcoming Strange Squad sourcebook), Whatever you end up going with, don’t skip this step.
or if you’re stuck for ideas, you can steal one from an X-Files There’s an enduring meme in RPG circles pertaining to an
episode, the SCP wiki, or another source. Change up a few of adage from one of the first DnD editions that states, “YOU
the details, and no one will be able to tell, I promise. CAN NOT HAVE A MEANINGFUL CAMPAIGN IF STRICT TIME
RECORDS ARE NOT KEPT.” This is actually true in this game!
Now, figure out what the Aberrant wants or needs and how A mystery has no stakes if there is no consequence for
they might clash with another key group’s wants or needs. inaction.
Contradicting desires are the heart of most conflicts, and
those in Strange Squad are no different.

RUNNING THE GAME:// 27.

28.
d100 Abe. Name: Abe. Ability:
You’re can view the last 5 Once per scene, you may
Corpse seconds of a deceased spontaneously produce any
1-4 25 - 28 Hand Trick
Tongue person's life through their fist-sized object into the
eyes by licking their corpse. palm of your hand.
OWERS People forget what you look
like the moment you leave 29 - 32 Gills
You can remain underwater
indefinitely and swim at
Unfamiliar
5-8 their vision. You appear as high speeds.
Face
a cloud of static on
digital recordings. At any point, you can sacrifice
You can talk to vermin such as Energy two Health to gain one Cool, or
33-36
rats and pigeons in a limited Redirection sacrifice two Cool to gain one
capacity. Conversation is Health.
9 - 12 Rat King limited by the creature's
intelligence, and they only You can sacrifice 2 Cool to
answer questions with single turn into a specific animal
word responses. (decide which during char.
37 - 40 Animunculus
creation). You gain +10 to
When you lose your Cool relevant checks and can
(pg. 18), you make all Brawn change back at will.
13 - 16 Blind Rage Challenge Rolls at +20
instead of the usual penalty Your teeth are strong and
for the rest of the scene. sharp enough to bite through
41 - 44 Horrid Maw
You shiver violently whenever tensile steel. Your unarmed
an intelligent creature is killed damage is now 1d6.
17 - 20 The Shiver
within a kilometre of your
current location. Upon touching a spider web
The Great you have access to the sight
Whenever someone looks 45 - 48
Web or hearing of any spider within
into your eyes, they are
50 metres.
Lavender overpowered by a specific
21 - 24
Eyes feeling or emotion (dread,
fear, rage etc.). Can be
negated through sunglasses.

29.
30.
d100 Abe. Name: Abe. Ability:
You’re can turn your head 360 You can memorise long
49 - 52 Strigiformes degrees and your eyes glow in sequences of information at a
the dark. glance, and you never forget
Perfect anything. Instantly gain 2
Once per Tick, you can turn 73 - 76
Memory additional Skills.
yourself into a red mess of
OWERS 53 - 56
Primordial
Paste
pulpy goo and slime and fit
Whenever you see something
horrible that you wish you
yourself through any space, could forget, lose 2 Cool.
crack, or opening.
Once per day, you can change
Your hands are gaunt and thin.
the weather. This change
You may insert one of your 77 - 80 Weather Man
Skeletal takes one Tick to come
57 - 60 fingers into a lock and snap it
Fingers into effect.
off to unlock it. These fingers
regrow in two days. You have a small black key.
At any point, you may cause Once per day, you may put
your entire body to burst into this key into the locks of
flames, sacrificing 1 Health two doors. These doors now
Auto for every action you take Quantum connect to each other
61 - 64 81 -84
Combustion while burning. You may end Connection regardless of spatial
this effect at any point. You plausibility. Anyone passing
are otherwise invulnerable through the doors suffers -2
to fire. Cool, The connection closes
the next time the key is used.
At any point, you may
instantly disappear and then Before making a Challenge
reappear at a point you can Roll, you can flip a coin. Call
65 - 68 Relocation see within 20 metres. This 85 - 88 Bone Coin
the result. On a success, gain
Abberrancy cannot pass +20. On a failure, lose -20.
through any space smaller
than the user.

You can manipulate images

and sound emanating from
69 - 72 Analog Horror
radios and televisions within
your presence.

31.
32.
d100 Abe. Name: Abe. Ability:
You have minor control over
time itself. Once per day, you
can ‘wind back’ an action
89 -92 Take Two within 30 seconds of taking it.
Any physical damage taken
OWERS from the initial action
is retained.
Creating your own.
Once per scene, you may
swap bodies with someone The powers listed were designed and written using three
Swap
93 - 96 you visually percieve. simple principles. If you wish to create your own for use
Consciousness
Make sure your table is okay within Strange Squad’s setting, I suggest you follow these
with this before running it. principles as well.

1) Make it Strange.
Once per day for a single
Aberrancies are not superpowers. They are cracks in
scene, you may remove or
mundane reality, things that have escaped the eye of
replace any single word within reason and sense. Because of this, they’re rarely pretty.
97 -
Rend Reality this book. When the scene Think about the aesthetics: what does the Aberrancy
100
ends, you lose all of your Cool physically look like? Does it induce any odd mannerisms
and half of your maximum or habits in its user? How would a regular person react to
Health (rounded up). seeing it?

2) Keep it broad.
A well-designed Aberrancy is not so much a solution to a
Running Powers. single problem as it is a tool within an Agent’s toolbox. If
a power seems like it could break things in an interesting
While I’ve done my best to make each power concise and
way, you’re probably on the right track.
clear, there may be situations where their outcome in a
specific situation is up for debate. To resolve these issues, 3) Good powers create bad situations.
I’d recommend ruling based on the spirit of the power rather If an Aberrant power seems too strong, add interesting
than the specific wording of the text. drawbacks and prerequisites instead of toning it down.
Numerical sacrifices like Health or Cool loss are okay, but
If something is causing the activation of a power to be more
drawbacks and requirements that create new problems
complicated than usual (high stress, restricted movement,
to be solved will make the game more interesting
an adversary Aberrant ability), you may require a Weird
for everyone.
Challenge Roll to see if activation succeeds.

33.