Arcane Crimes Division

Arcane Crimes Division brings light-hearted buddy-cop style action to a fantasy city bursting with magic and thick with scheming villains and ruthless scoundrels. The focus of the game is the relationship between detectives, as they crack cases, engage in thrilling chases, and confront criminal masterminds.

Gameplay

The players take the role of detectives in the Arcane Crimes Division. They work together in pairs to investigate magic and supernatural cases and bring criminals to justice. Each character has a background which allows them special abilities to boost their successes in different phases of the game. These abilities are powered by Verve points, which are generated through the interaction between partners, local knowledge, or by rolling well during the game.

During each shift (or game session), teams of detectives battle the clock, pursuing leads across the city to unravel crimes, and bring the guilty to justice, before it’s too late. While the detectives always crack the case eventually, should time run out, the villains receive an advantage in the final confrontation. At every juncture, detectives must decide whether to trigger their special abilities to boost their success, potentially risk causing collateral damage, that could see them both consigned to paperwork hell. 

Each case is intended to be resolved within a single session of play.  However, rules are included for experience and promotion, allowing the same characters to gain new special abilities as they solve multiple Cases, allowing the game to be run as a series of linked scenarios.

Contents

Arcane Crimes Division is a complete tabletop roleplaying game. Within you will find:

• Sixteen-character backgrounds that each offer a unique high-fantasy concept and special abilities, allowing for a very light-touch character creation process so you can get to the action right away.
• A streamlined rules system for Cases, Chases and Conflicts that allows action resolution with a single dice roll, but which also allows players to boost their outcomes in unique and interesting ways
• A detailed setting, including detailed district maps of Polarity, so you can track chases across the city, and Polarity's Most Wanted, profiling the most infamous of criminals.
• Advice on how to facilitate the game including suggestions to help ensure that everyone has a great time.
• Six detailed scenarios, each presenting a case that can be resolved in a single session and suitable for up to three different partner-pairings to work simultaneously.
• Tabletop materials to help make the game easy to run, including one-page summaries of the key rules
• Beautiful, evocative, full colour art from Thomas Boatwright and Karina Moreno.

Reviewers say:

"An easy recommend, featuring well thought out mechanics, a great setting, and gorgeous art work." - Martin B.

"The game mechanics are as smooth as a fresh jar of peanut butter, and not the crunchy kind... you won't regret adding this to your RPG collection" - CritStarter

"It almost feels like taking on roles of Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon, or playing a game of good cop / bad cop , having great potential for a night of humor and laughs" - Everything Boardgames.

Awards:

• Winner: NZ Game Awards 2024 - Excellence in Representation
• Finalist: NZ Game Awards 2024 - The ‘Slice of Heaven’ Grand Prize
• Finalist: NZ Game Awards 2024 - Excellence in Physical Games
• Finalist: NZ Game Awards 2024 - Excellence in Visual Art
• Finalist: Freeplay Awards 2024 - Across the Ditch