Liminal Horror Deluxe Edition: The Bureau and its influence
Using the prominent faction of The Bureau to look at how things weave throughout the text.
We’re so excited by how well the Deluxe Edition backerkit is doing! It is going on until May 15th and you won’t want to miss it.
We have some killer stretch goals coming up (we’re about to hit physical copies of Case Files 01, and then its on to pdfs of the modules, the a new starter adventure and the big one of The Bureau Remastered)!
One of the things I’ve been trying to do is feature different bits on different platforms. We have some upcoming updates on the backerkit that go into the Catalog of the Strange and the Generic Locations. For the substack I wanted to use a different lens and look at how we’ve been weaving some of the lore throughout the text (and really entangling it with the modules).
Buckle up as we take a look at how The Bureau shows up throughout the text.
The Bureau
Originally introduced in the module of the same name, The Bureau is a government organization dedicated to the weird, strange, occult, and extradimensional anomolies.
The original module (which we will be releasing a remaster of hopefully soon, and if we hit the stretch goal very soon) focused on The Bureau’s headquarters undergoing an interdimensional crisis of destabilizing corruption. The fallout from that module echo through later works we’ve published.
It only made sense to have it be a prominent part of the later portions of the Deluxe Edition. The Catalog of the Strange and the Haunted Pacific NW focus primarily on gameable text that weaves modular lore that you can use, adapt, and change for your games.
The Catalog of the Strange starts with a portion on Using the Factions. It provides a paragraph introducing each of the featured organizations that are potential anxilary antagonists for the Investigators.
THE BUREAU
The Bureau is designed as a somewhat generic stand-in for the paranormal government investigative division. In many scenarios, standard law enforcement are going to be ill prepared to manage the horrors, but not the Bureau. They’re best used when you’d like to add additional pressures or complications, or even an antagonist. The Bureau’s goals will often broadly align with the Investigators, but not their motivations or intentions, and the Investigators themselves may very quickly become a target.
Each faction included highlights different bits of usable information and includes stat blocks to expand their use at the table. Here are the two spreads for The Bureau. Anyone who has read the original module will recognize bits and pieces, and our goal was to bring it all together.
These double spreads lay the foundation for the Bureau throughout the rest of the text. Readers will continually see reference to them as they are prominently entangled with other groups, monsters, and NPCs.
It is worth noting that The Bureau classifies many factions as adversarial, or are held up as problems by other groups. They are listed adversaries of The Church of Celestial Science, Panopticon, Bloodstone (but they sometimes fulfill contracts for the Bureau as well), and The Archivist. This entanglement makes them a perfect group to throw as a counterpoint during play.
You wil also notice the Bureau mentioned in the entries of multiple named NPCs throughout the text, from members of multiple factions, to Allies & Adversaries, to many key NPCs throughout the Haunted Pacific NW.
HORRORS
We wanted to honor and grow some of the information presented in the official modules, expanding and rooting it in relation to other entries. This meant taking the corrupting influence that is steeped throughout the original module and giving it a home with the pages of the Deluxe Edition. This includes the corrupting influence of The Shadow, and it’s progenitor, the Dead God Vermis.
This is just one example of a through-line that we’ve tried to create, presenting different ways the Factions, Horrors, NPCs, and other items can relate to one another. This tangled web will provide countless hours of things for the Investigators to grapple with.
Don’t forget to back or follow the campaign. That way you won’t miss some of the other updates that give you a look at different aspects within the book. I could post something every day and still not cover everything (it is a 350+ page book) but I never tire of sharing bits.
If there are specific features or things you are wanting to know more about, write in the comments (either here or on backerkit)
STRETCH GOALS
Goals left to unlock:
90k every physical backer gets a printed copy of Case Files 01 zine.
100k all backers get pdfs of every official module.
120k all backers get a pdf of the Liminal Horror Haunted House Starter Adventure (a new zine by Goblin Archives and Josh Domanski)
150k all physical backers get a printed copy of the Haunted House Starter Adventure zine.
180k all backers get a pdf of The Bureau Remastered
210k all physical backers get a printed copy of The Bureau Remastered.
OTHER BACKERKITS FOR LIMINAL HORROR
The other two backerkits that launched Liminal Horror Month have been a resounding success and you’ll definitely want to back alongside the Deluxe Edition
LIMINAL GRIMOIRE
Liminal Grimoire is a collection of pamphlet supplements by M. Allen Hall for the modern horror role-playing game Liminal Horror.
Get lost in the backrooms in The Hunger of Hours.
Find your way out of the Harvest Fest corn maze while being hunted by The Reaper.
Escape Moe's House of Meat, or end up on the menu.
Try to stop the Pelagic Priory from summoning the Vast Beneath in Brine.
Get out of the basement of One Hour Photo before the Attendant finds you.
Start your solo game of Liminal Horror with the tools to play Alone in the Dark.
I DON'T BELONG HERE
I Don’t Belong Here by Adam Stations: This horror spark book draws inspiration from Radiohead to create a dynamic supplement for your Liminal Horror games that includes
A massive amount of spark spreads for creating unique terrors
A bestiary of modern terrors
100 spells created by mashing up Radiohead lyrics
100 traits and quirks for your characters or NPCs
100 environmental happenings and effects
100 strange actions an NPC might be doing
Resonant Artifacts
Strange Fallouts that might affect your characters
A solo adventure by Allen Hall
Bonus Tarot Encounter Cards created by an amazing lineup of guest artist.