The Story

In 2010, I visited the Chernobyl Zone of Alienation with my wife and a couple of friends. I found the experience deeply affecting, and was surprised at how beautiful it was, in its own sad way. Our guide kept using the word paradise to describe the Zone, and despite the death and ruin, the expression is justified from many perspectives.

For the animals native to the Ukraine and Belarus, the Zone is one of the few last places where they can live without having to fear poachers or just the disruptive presence of humanity. The ruins of Pripyat and other towns abandoned after the Chernobyl disaster have their own beauty, as the concrete hulks of apartment buildings are slowly reclaimed by the forest.

Walking down a street in Pripyat in the early days of summer, I could see rays of lights shimmering through the foliage, illuminating a lone park bench, perfect for two people to sit, lost in each other amidst the ruins.

That experience was the seed for designing Chernobyl, Mon Amour. Death and love, radioactivity and something private and tender.

- Juhana Pettersson, designer: Chernobyl, Mon Amour

(A photo of the Chernobyl nuclear plant taken from a Pripyat rooftop, by Maria & Juhana Pettersson)

Your Experience

In Chernobyl, Mon Amour you play a Ukrainian criminal who flees the long arm of the law to the Chernobyl Zone of Alienation. The concept is based on a Ukrainian folk story about a criminal who fled to the Zone and became so radioactive that the authorities had to leave him there.

You know that there is no return from the Zone. Your crimes are such that society will no longer accept you, and the only thing you have left is the possibility of a new life in the radioactive forest. As you settle into the Zone and meet its inhabitants, you start to yearn for something more. You want love.

Playing out these love stories amidst a radioactive society of criminals is the core experience of Chernobyl, Mon Amour.

The Game

Chernobyl, Mon Amour is a Finnish tabletop roleplaying game built with a strong focus on character immersion and experiencing the game world through the character's subjective viewpoint.

The mechanics of Chernobyl, Mon Amour are minimal to the point of non-existent, at least if seen through the lens of traditional roleplaying game design. Instead of stats and dice, the functioning of the game is coded into the setting, Game Master and player advice, as well as the design of preparatory workshop exercises.

The game is not easy for the Game Master, as it requires the GM to handle running everything to allow the players to focus on their character-based experience.

As a point of comparison, Chernobyl, Mon Amour has a similar relationship to mechanics-based roleplaying games as Nordic Larp has to larp utilizing complex rules systems. In both cases, complexity of mechanical simulation and game design is sacrificed for a more nuanced, personal feel to the game.

(An interior illustration by Joel Sammallahti.)

The Book

The book is softcover, approximately 100 pages illustrated in full color by artwork from Joel Sammallahti and Tia Ihalainen, as well as photography by Juhana Pettersson and Maria Pettersson.

Timetable

The translation of the game already exists, so only the physical production remains. The goal is to have it delivered during early summer 2018.

The game will be delivered using DriveThruRPG, both for physical copies and PDFs.

Team

(The designer Juhana Pettersson proudly posing with the Finnish edition of the game in his mother's kitchen.)

Juhana Pettersson - Designer and writer. Juhana is a Finnish novelist, larp and tabletop roleplaying game designer. His first tabletop game Valley of Eternity (2007) has been published in Finnish, Danish and English. His larp End of the Line was nominated for the Diana Jones Award in 2017. Right now, he's working as one of the writers on Vampire: the Masquerade 5th Edition.

Jukka Särkijärvi - The most accomplished modern roleplaying game translator in Finland. Prior to translating Chernobyl, Mon Amour Jukka has worked on Astraterra and Stalker.

Tommi Kovala - A prolific and accomplished graphic designer, Tommi has left a distinct mark on the visual style of Finnish roleplaying game books through his work on the Roolipelaaja magazine, as well as games such as Tähti, Myrskyn sankarit and Valley of Eternity.

Joel Sammallahti - The cover artist for Chernobyl, Mon Amour, Joel also did a few of the interior pieces. He's an accomplished illustrator who has worked with roleplaying games and larp projects before, and also drew a regular comic for Roolipelaaja magazine.

Maria Pettersson - A journalist and larp organizer, Maria contributed a lot of the photographs that appear in the game.

Tia Ihalainen - An accomplished illustrator, the best-known international platform for Tia's work has been with the College of Wizardry larps organized by Dziobak. She contributed interior illustrations for this game.

Miska Fredman - One of the best roleplaying game designers in Finland, Miska's games include Heimot, Sotakarjut and Astraterra. He's also a prolific roleplaying game mapmaker, and contributed the maps of the Zone to this book.

Pohjoismaisen roolipelaamisen seura - A Finnish roleplaying game and larp non-profit organization serving as the publisher of the game. PRS is dedicated to developing larp and roleplaying game culture in Finland and the Nordics.

(A map of Pripyat from the Finnish edition, by Miska Fredman.)

What Do We Do With the Money?

A large portion of the funds generated by this campaign will go directly to fulfilling the pledges to you. This means the cost of producing physical books at DriveThruRPG. We'll also use funds to cover costs related to getting the book ready for publishing, including expenses like graphic design. As the campaign gets more pledges, we'll move to compensating the people who originally contributed their work on a pro bono basis.

Challenges

The roleplaying game has already been published as a Finnish edition, in 2016. The translation is ready, all visual materials are ready, and the chief remaining task is layouts and production. As such, risk is pretty low. Our team has a lot of experience publishing books, and we're all professionals working in the field.

That said, this is our first crowdfunding campaign, so while unlikely, it's possible unforeseen complications arise.

Indiegogo

Why is this campaign on Indiegogo and not Kickstarter? We're operating from Finland, and Kickstarter is not an option here for legal reasons. Because of this, we had to opt for Indiegogo.