Double Cross (role-playing game)

Double Cross is a Japanese superhero 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.

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 syndromes. Characters with one syndrome are called Purebreed, and characters with two are called Crossbreed. 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. 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.

Game Supplements

• Scenario Book: A book of short adventures for Double Cross.
• Advanced Rulebook: A book of additional rules, including character hooks, unique items, and additional rules for Loises and Tituses.
• Public Enemy: A supplement detailing the False Hearts enemy organization.
• Infinity Code: A book showcasing a new thirteenth syndrome, Oroboros.
• Deep Front: Three long campaign scenarios including new NPCs and adventure ideas.
• Universal Guardian: A supplement detailing the inner workings of the Universal Guardian Network, a heroic faction.

Alternative Setting Supplements

• Demon's city - This setting is a blockaded city whose residents are mostly Overed as in s-CRY-ed.
• Heiankyo mononokeroku - This setting is ancient Kyoto, called Heiankyo during the Heian Period. Onmyoujis (their magic powers are brought by the Renegade virus in this setting) are opposed by mononoke monsters.
• Lost Eden - The game players of a MMORPG confined in the virtual world try to escape to the real world, as in .hack.
• Akihabara - Akihabara as the city setting, including maid cafes.
• Rakuin yo, Double Cross ni Asobe (lit. Scar, play in Double Cross) - This setting is based upon Makoto Sanda's light novel ;;SCAR/EDGE series and written by Sanda himself.
• Weird Age - This setting is pre-World War II Europe in 1938. Player characters oppose Nazi Germany as it seeks occult power for world conquest.
• Kagerou no Senjou (literally. "The Battlefield of Shimmer") - In a fictitious small nation in Eastern Europe, mercenary soldiers using superhuman powers fight in a civil war.
• The Two Faces of Tomorrow - This setting is named after James P. Hogan's novel of the same name. Player characters fight against aliens in a space habitat.
• Masked Heroes - Player characters become superheroes as in an American comic books or Tokusatsu.
• End Line - A parallel universe setting. The world, excluding a few Overed, has been conquered by Germs.
• Chaos Garden - An animal fantasy setting. All player characters are intelligent animals infected with the Renegade virus on an isolated island.
• Omokage Jima (literally "Omokage Island") - A suspenseful variant set in an isolated island dominated by old convention and an enigmatic religion, such as in Higurashi When They Cry.

External links

• Double Cross English translation site (3rd edition)
• Double Cross Official site (3rd edition) (Japanese)
• Double Cross 2nd edition site (Japanese)
• Products list (2nd edition) (Japanese)
• Official site (Fujimi Shobo) (Japanese)