Tales From The Loop English Edition .pdf

Scifi artist Simon Stålenhag’s paintings of Swedish 1980s
suburbia, populated by fantastic machines and strange
beasts, have won global acclaim. Now, you can step into
the amazing world of the Loop.

“RPG Tales from the Loop lets you channel Stranger Things and ET.”
THE VERGE

“Tales from the Loop could very well be the RPG phenomenon of 2017.”
&

SUNDRY

ISBN 978-1-910132-75-3

COPYRIGHT © 2017
SIMON STÅLENHAG AND FRIA LIGAN AB

9 781910 132753

MUH050645

GEEK

THE ROLEPLAYING GAME

Key features:
■ Create your unique player character – including skills, items, prides,
problems, and relationships – in mere minutes.
■ Explore the secrets of the Loop in two main game settings – one
based on the Swedish Mälaren Islands, the other on Boulder City,
Nevada.
■ Investigate mysteries and overcome trouble using fast and effective
rules, based on the Mutant: Year Zero game engine.
■ Play the four complete scenarios included, tied together in the
campaign named Four Seasons of Mad Science.

–

In this roleplaying game you’ll play teenagers solving mysteries
connected to the Loop. The game rules are based on Mutant:
Year Zero, which was awarded with a Silver ENnie for Best Rules
at Gen Con 2015.

TALES FROM THE LOOP

The landscape was full of machines and scrap metal
connected to the facility in one way or another. Always
present on the horizon were the colossal cooling towers,
with their green obstruction lights. If you put your ear to the
ground, you could hear the heartbeat of the Loop – the
purring of the Gravitron, the central piece of engineering
magic that was the focus of the Loop’s experiments.

ROLEPLAYING IN THE ’80S THAT NEVER WAS

T 23 26

Print 101 no. 403 THE MÄLAREN ISLANDS

PRI

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T H EAREALMAP
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4

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Cooling Towers

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Populated Area

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Compass Error 1981
Appr. 1 Gradian East
Local irregularities may occur.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

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Transport Tunnel

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Ferry Route

ELDGARNSÖ

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Björkfjärden

Service Tunnel

Svartsjöanstalten

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Hovgårdsfjärden

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Präsfjärden

Edeby

D

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SOUTH GATE
5D

STENHAMRA

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Mörby

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Troxhammar

OUTFLUX BOTKYRKA

Skytteholm

Eneby

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Adjustments of map by
Rikskartor, Stockholm 1981

E

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Rikskartor Stockholm 1981

Not approved for general distribution,
Statens lantmäteriverk April 27, 1981

130930

CREATOR OF THE LOOP UNIVERSE

Simon Stålenhag
LEAD GAME DESIGNER

Nils Hintze
EDITOR & PROJECT MANAGER

Tomas Härenstam

THE YEAR ZERO GAME ENGINE

ILLUSTRATIONS

Tomas Härenstam

Simon Stålenhag

ADDITIONAL WRITING

GRAPHIC DESIGN & MAPS

Matt Forbeck, Nils Karlén,
Björn Hellqvist

Christian Granath

PROOFREADING

John M. Kahane, Rickard Antroia, Kosta Kostulas, T.R. Knight
PLAYTESTERS

Vincent Chang, Geoffrey Norman, Jessica Chang, Kimsan Kim, David Sack,
Rickard Antroia, Tove Lindholm, Staffan Fladvad, Sandra Abi-Khalil, Leif Westerholm,
Artur Foxander, Fia Tjernberg, Anton Albiin, Leili Mander, Kosta Kostulas, Marco Behrmann
SPECIAL THANKS TO

Rickard Antroia, Björn Hellqvist, Therese Clarhed and Simon J Berger

COPYRIGHT © 2017 SIMON STÅLENHAG AND FRIA LIGAN AB
ISBN: 978-1-910132-75-3

CONTENTS

O1.

O2.

O3.

WELCOME TO
THE LOOP

THE AGE OF THE LOOP

THE US LOOP

THE ’80S THAT NEVER WAS

15

LIVING IN AMERICA

35

8

THE SWEDISH LOOP

17

37

9

THE MÄLAREN ISLANDS:
A SLICE OF SUBURBIA

BOULDER CITY: ”BEST
CITY BY A DAM SITE”

19

THINGS TO DO IN THE ’80S

38

INSIDE BOULDER CITY

40

LAKE MEAD

42

LAS VEGAS AND BEYOND

45

THE DART

45

THE US LOOP

46

THE TALES FROM THE LOOP
ROLEPLAYING,
HOW DOES IT WORK?

2

ROLLING DICE

10

THINGS TO DO IN THE ’80S

20

PRINCIPLES OF THE LOOP

10

SVARTSJÖLANDET: BLACK
WATERS AND DEEP FORESTS

21

MUNSÖ: HOME OF THE
LOOP

24

ADELSÖ: REMNANTS OF
THE PAST

26

RIKSENERGI

27

THE LOOP

27

CIVILIAN TECHNOLOGY

29

MILITARY TECHNOLOGY

30

MAGNETRINE FLIGHT –
HOW DOES IT WORK?

32

CONTENTS

O4.

O5.

O6.

THE KIDS

TROUBLE

THE MYSTERY

TYPES

49

SUFFERING CONDITIONS

66

THE TRUTH OF THE MYSTERY

78

BOOKWORM

50

THE DICE ROLL

66

COMPUTER GEEK

51

ITEMS AND PRIDE

67

THE MYSTERY AND
EVERYDAY LIFE

79

HICK

52

LUCK

67

JOCK

53

80

POPULAR KID

54

DOING THE ALMOST
IMPOSSIBLE

INDIVIDUAL VERSUS
GROUP SCENES

67

ANSWERING QUESTIONS

68

AN OVERVIEW OF
THE MYSTERY

80

BUYING EFFECTS

68

PHASE 1 – INTRODUCING
THE KIDS

81

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS

68

PHASE 2 – INTRODUCING

FAILED ROLLS

69

THE MYSTERY

81

PUSHING THE ROLL

69

HELPING EACH OTHER

70

PHASE 3 – SOLVING
THE MYSTERY

81

KID VERSUS KID

70

PHASE 4 – SHOWDOWN

87

EXTENDED TROUBLE

70

PHASE 5 – AFTERMATH

87

PHASE 6 – CHANGE

88
88

ROCKER

55

TROUBLEMAKER

56

WEIRDO

57

AGE

58

ATTRIBUTES

58

LUCK POINTS

58

SKILLS

58

ITEMS

59

PROBLEM

59

DRIVE

60

PRIDE

60

RELATIONSHIPS

60

ANCHOR

61

CONDITIONS

62

EXPERIENCE

62

NAME

62

DESCRIPTION

62

FAVORITE SONG

62

HIDEOUT

63

QUESTIONS

63

SKILLS

72

SETTING THE MOOD

SNEAK

72

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS

91

FORCE

72

ITEMS

91

MOVE

72

TINKER

72

BIGGER MYSTERIES AND
CAMPAIGNS

93

PROGRAM

73

CALCULATE

73

CONTACT

73

CHARM

74

LEAD

74

INVESTIGATE

75

COMPREHEND

75

EMPATHIZE

75

3

CONTENTS

O7.

O8.

O9.

THE MYSTERY
LANDSCAPE

THE FOUR SEASONS OF
MAD SCIENCE

SUMMER BREAK AND
KILLER BIRDS

THE SCHOOL LIBRARY

101

BACKGROUND

113

THE TRUTH OF THE MYSTERY

117

THE DREAM SHOP

103

THE KIDS AND THE
CAMPAIGN

115

SUMMER ON THE
MÄLAREN ISLANDS

118

SUMMER IN BOULDER CITY

118

INTRODUCING THE KIDS

119

INTRODUCING THE
MYSTERY

119

SOLVING THE MYSTERY

120

THE WILDLIFE CLUB
THE COOLING TOWERS
THE POLICE STATION AT
STENHAMRA
NEURO ASCENSION
FACILITY

105
106
108
109

LOCATION 1: THE

4

ORNITHOLOGIST’S HOUSE

122

LOCATION 2:
THE PIGEONS’ NEST

124

LOCATION 3: GUNNAR’S
ABANDONED HOUSE

124

THE SHOWDOWN

127

AFTER THE SHOWDOWN

130

AFTERMATH

130

CHANGE

130

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS

130

CONTENTS

1O.

11.

12.

GROWN-UP
ATTRACTION

CREATURES FROM THE
CRETACEOUS

I, WAGNER
THE TRUTH OF THE MYSTERY

161

133

THE TRUTH OF THE MYSTERY

145

AUTUMN ON THE MÄLAREN
ISLANDS

163

134

WINTER ON THE MÄLAREN
ISLANDS

SPRING ON THE MÄLAREN
ISLANDS

146

SPRING IN BOULDER CITY

164

AUTUMN IN BOULDER CITY

134

WINTER IN BOULDER CITY

146

INTRODUCING THE KIDS

164

INTRODUCING THE KIDS

134

INTRODUCING THE KIDS

146

INTRODUCING THE MYSTERY

164

INTRODUCING THE MYSTERY

134

INTRODUCING THE MYSTERY

147

THE ODD ONE

166

SOLVING THE MYSTERY

135

THE TEENS

148

LOCATION 1: THE ARAN

136

THE DINOSAURS

149

SOLVING THE MYSTERY –
PART ONE

167

ICY WINDS AND SNOW

149

LOCATION 1: LENA’S FARM

167

SOLVING THE MYSTERY

150

LOCATION 2: THE POLICE
STATION IN STENHAMRA

169

LOCATION 1: THE HUNTING
CABIN

151

LOCATION 3: MICROLEX

170

THE TILT

172

152

SOLVING THE MYSTERY –
PART TWO

172

LOCATION 4: HUSBY
MEADOW

172

THE TRUTH OF THE MYSTERY

LOCATION 2: THE
ECHO SPHERE

138

LOCATION 3: THE SERVICE
ENGINEER’S HOUSE

139

THE SHOWDOWN

141

AFTERMATH

142

LOCATION 2: BIRGITTA
NYLANDER’S FARM

CHANGE

142

LOCATION 3: LENA’S FARM

154

NPCS AND CREATURES

142

SHOWDOWN

156

AFTER THE SHOWDOWN

157

AFTERMATH

157

LOCATION 5: KUNGSBERGA
KONSUM

174

CHANGE

157

SHOWDOWN

175

NPCS AND CREATURES

157

AFTER THE SHOWDOWN

177

AFTERMATH

177

CHANGE

177

NPCS AND CREATURES

177

5

O1
CHAPTER

THE TALES FROM THE LOOP

8

ROLEPLAYING, HOW DOES IT WORK?

9

ROLLING DICE

10

PRINCIPLES OF THE LOOP

10

WELCOME
TO THE LOOP
The landscape was full of machines and scrap metal connected to the
facility in one way or another. Always present on the horizon were
the colossal cooling towers of the Bona Reactor, with their green obstruction lights. If you put your ear to the ground, you could hear the
heartbeat of the Loop – the purring of the Gravitron, the central piece
of engineering magic that was the focus of the Loop’s experiments.

It was the middle of summer, and my little sister, Klara,
had tried to follow me and my friend around for weeks.
Her best friend was out of town and my mother tried,
without much success, to arouse my sympathy. I had
always taken care of Klara, not only because of her
hearing impairment, but because there has always been
something fragile about her, as if she can be easily damaged or broken. However, this summer had awakened
the desire in me to ride as far away as possible on my
bike, and to do things on my own. When Klara suddenly disappeared, guilt hit me like a blow to the stomach, and I remembered she had talked about meeting a
new friend called Bettan.

We found them on the other side of the strait; I still
don’t know how they managed to cross. We crept toward them through the tall grass as the wind tore at the
pines. A woodpecker could be heard in the distance.
Klara sat on a stone and leaned forward to place a
daisy chain on the head of a runaway robot, her new
friend “Bettan.” I signaled to my friends to keep quiet
and snuck around to the other side. When I looked
back, Bettan was staring at me, its eyes narrowing to
tiny black dots as it took my sister in its arms.

7