What is A Particular Group of Corvids?
Step into the rain-slicked streets of Roost in "A Particular Group of Corvids," a mystery and action RPG by Petri Leinonen. The Roost is a commune of free thinkers, artists, and highly individualistic Folk, animals and birds living together in a scoundrel society.
You play as Corvids, the city's trusted watchdogs. In a world increasingly dominated by the authoritarian porcine regime known as The Sus, your job is to keep their influence out. You do this by solving crimes and punching bad guys before The Sus have a "good reason" to intervene with their watery magic and civil masks. The tone is a blend of sharp investigation and bare-knuckle action. Think Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes meets Peaky Blinders, but with birds.
How to Play
The game uses an elegantly simple system built for narrative flexibility. When you attempt something risky or dramatic, you don't just roll a stat; you assemble a dice pool of d20s. You start with one, then add another for each advantage you can leverage: is this something you're skilled at? Does it align with your Bird Type or Element? Is the moment extraordinarily dramatic, or do you have a clear tactical advantage? Conversely, hindrance or disadvantage removes a die.
You roll the entire pool and keep only the single highest result.
- 10 or higher is a success.
| Roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 20 | Critical Success (Great outcome + bonus) |
| 15-19 | Great Success (No complications) |
| 10-14 | Marginal Success (Success with a complication) |
| 5-9 | Marginal Failure (Failure with minor consequences) |
| 2-4 | Failure (Failure with standard consequences) |
| 1 | Spectacular Failure (Failure with major consequences) |
If you roll poorly, you aren't out of luck. You can choose to pay a Cost such as taking a hit or losing gear to bump a failure up to a success. Alternatively, you can spend Conviction, a measure of your willpower, to reroll a die and fight for a better outcome.
Rolling with Zero Dice
If things are truly dire and obstacles leave you with zero dice or fewer, you must roll two d20s and keep the lowest result.
The Cost of Business
Managing your resources is just as important as rolling high. You must balance your drive to do good against your own animal nature and physical limits.
- Conviction represents your willingness to fight. You start with 1 and can hold up to 3. You spend it to reroll dice, and you earn it back by connecting with your community: sharing a drink, or witnessing the hardships of the people you protect.
- Feathers measure the pull of your base instincts. Use your powers or take the easy way out too often, and you accumulate Feathers. To stay in control, you must roll a d20 over your current Feather count. Roll equal or lower, and you succumb to your bird nature (like a Magpie's greed) for the scene, after which your Feathers reset to half.
- Exhaustion is the toll the job takes on your body. You gain it when you witness injustice, take a beating, or push yourself too hard. If you take a hit in a fight, you roll against your current Exhaustion; roll lower than your total, and you're taken out of the scene. You can clear a single point by enjoying hospitality or striking a blow against The Sus, but only solving a mystery clears your Exhaustion completely.
Action and Investigation
Whether you are trading blows or hunting for clues, the game moves forward.
In Combat, enemies have "health clocks" that you tick down with successful attacks. One tick for a marginal success, up to four for a critical. But be careful; every hit you take adds to your Exhaustion, bringing you closer to collapse.
In Investigation, failure doesn't mean you find nothing. It means you find the clue, but it comes with a complication: you trip an alarm, offend a witness, or leave evidence behind. The story always progresses, even when things go wrong.
Creating Your Corvid
To join the flock, follow these steps:
- Choose your Bird Type: This determines your role and your Base Instinct (the urge you fight against).
- Pick an Element: This defines your expertise and sets your starting stats.
- Select Powers: You get all Level 1 powers for your Bird Type, plus one Level 2 power of your choice.
- Finalize: Create a background and discuss with your table how you know each other.
Bird Types
When you answered the calling, you took on the characteristics of one of the five breeds.
| Bird Type | Role | Base Instinct (The Urge) | Key Powers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crow | The Muscle | The Bravo: Be the center of attention. | Might, Endure, Terrorize |
| Jackdaw | The Spy | The Perfectionist: Do it right or not at all. | Dazzle, Transform, Sight |
| Magpie | The Thief | The Selfish: Look out for number one. | Swiftness, Veil, Sight |
| Raven | The Leader | The Tyrant: Make others obey. | Dictate, Terrorize, Dazzle |
| Rook | The Arcanist | The Follower: Please everyone. | Bird Magic, Veil, Endure |
Elements
While every Corvid is a capable investigator, your Element defines your specific expertise and starting stats.
| Element | Role | Area of Expertise | Starting Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood | The Medic | Understanding bodies (alive/dead). | 2 Exh, 2 Conv, 0 Feather |
| Breath | The Voice | Getting answers from people. | 0 Exh, 1 Conv, 1 Feather |
| Flame | The Keen-Eyed | Finding physical clues. | 1 Exh, 2 Conv, 1 Feather |
| Soul | The Empath | Profiling perpetrators. | 0 Exh, 2 Conv, 2 Feather |
| Stone | The Font | Obscure facts and lore. | 1 Exh, 1 Conv, 0 Feather |
Once you have your bird, discuss with your table how you know each other, and prepare to defend the Roost.
Bird Powers Reference
Each power can be used once per scene.
Dazzle Those skilled in performance use Shine (1 Feather) to force all attention onto themselves. Masters can use Glow (2 Feathers) to subtly manipulate a target's opinion into something more favourable.
Dictate Leaders command the room. A sharp Bark (1 Feather) issues a compelling one-word command, while Suggestion (2 Feathers) plants a nuanced and complex order in the target's mind.
Endure True grit allows a bird to be Tough as Nails (1 Feather), rolling to stay standing when they should be knocked out. With Bounce Back (2 Feathers), they can recover from a knockdown instantly. A Critical Success even grants an immediate follow-up action.
Might Raw power allows a Mighty Strike (1 Feather), adding an extra tick to any damage clock. The truly strong possess Superavian Strength (2 Feathers), letting them lift car-sized objects; using such an object as a weapon doubles damage output.
Sight Investigators rely on Superior Senses (1 Feather) to tune a sense to supernatural heights. Glimpse of the Beyond (2 Feathers) allows them to tap into the essence of a person or place for deep insight, costing only 1 Feather if the information is irrelevant, but 2 if it's instantly useful.
Swiftness Speed is life. Flash (1 Feather) lets you move instantly to a nearby spot and act again immediately (though you cannot chain another power). Flurry (2 Feathers) blurs reality, allowing you to perform two full actions in the time it takes to do one.
Terrorize Fear is a weapon. Startle (1 Feather) shocks a target into stopping to reconsider their actions. Terrible Presence (2 Feathers) projects such dread that enemies must roll all actions with disadvantage.
Transform Masters of disguise use New Visage (1 Feather) to assume the appearance of another. For the ultimate escape, Flock (2 Feathers) scatters your form into a literal flock of birds, covering a large area while becoming impossible to pin down.
Veil Subtlety is key. Faceless (1 Feather) makes you unnoticeable (visible, but ignored). Poof (2 Feathers) takes it a step further, allowing you to vanish from plain sight entirely.
Bird Magic Those in tune with the arcane can summon Birdrich Energies (1 Feather) for minor magical effects. Greater power demands risk: Daemonic Servant (2 Feathers) summons an unbound devilish helper, while Overreach (2 Feathers) attempts a major magical effect. However, if you roll equal to or under your Exhaustion or Feathers on a check die afterwards, you lose control of the magic.