Its Cultist Simulators anniversary weekend, so we have some big things to announce! Were running a mega Daily Deal on Steam, with the honey-voiced Systemchalk broadcasting the game for the uninitiated. Go watch him try not to die! Were also running a half-price sale on the Nintendo Switch port, and have a new game, a new book and updates on our stained-glass tarot deck to share. Read on...

The Lady Afterwards: a Cultist Simulator TRPG

You've been summoned to Alexandria, a city of coloured lights and curious histories. An old friend needs you to track down a woman. She's probably in trouble. Probably trouble herself. Plus a change. Mirrors glitter at the Cecil, Berbers whisper in the El Bab Cafe, and statues keep their secrets in the cold depths of the bay. Something's in motion, from the Arab Quarter to the Rue des Soeurs. Somewhere, the Serapeum stirs. The Hours have taken an interest. Cherchez la femme, the saying goes. But what does the lady look for?
The Lady Afterwards is a limited edition Cultist Simulator TRPG, based on Chaosiums Basic Role-Playing system - think Call of Cthulhu or story-driven DnD, without us getting sued. Weve streamlined the experience so you dont have to be a TRPG aficionado to play, and weve filled it with Dread, Fascination and the invisible arts. Track down Audrey Leigh Howard, a woman of high standing and dubious morals. Seek the Serapeum. Investigate the Society of the Noble Endeavour. Abort a plan. Avert a crisis. Protect the heart of the House Without Walls - or let the blow fall.
The Lady Afterwards is a boxed physical edition, containing everything you need for several evenings occult entertainment with friends (and/or cultists). Each edition includes:

• The Lady Afterwards, a Cultist Simulator TRPG scenario set in 1920s Alexandria
• A game-runners handbook, incorporating all story, locations, lore and mechanics
• An exultation* of clues, curiosities, clippings and collectibles
• "The Essential Hours", 23-card pocket tarot
• Eight customisable character sheets, complete with secret agendas
• Eight art deco character pins in silver, brass, copper and gold
• A scented Serapeum candle, to evoke that which cannot be seen
• Three Mansus candles, for important plot points
• A full-colour map of contemporary Alexandria
• A set of seven antique TRPG dice in a velvet dice bag
• A Steam key for Cultist Simulator, in the unspeakable instance where someone hasnt played it yet
• A 50% discount token for the Church o Merch
• Access to a custom-built mood-music playlist, to further SET THE TONE

All together, itll look *something* like the image at the top of this section! Though please note that this is all mocked-up right now - as you can, er, probably tell. Itll likely look a smidge different in the flesh. The Lady Afterwards comes in a custom-built 1920s-styled recyclable box mailed directly to your door. Were making just a hundred copies to start with, though well expand the limited run if we see enough interest. We expect to release the game in October, in time for Halloween - but well confirm a release date later down the line. Sign up to the mailing list to keep up to date. Now we can talk about this, well have a lot more to share in future updates. :) *Yes, this does mean I havent finalised the actual final number of findables in-game. BUT IT WILL BE A NICE SATISFYING NUMBER OKAY.

Against Worldbuilding, and Other Provocations

Alexis has spent over a decade making games, from Fallen London to Sunless Sea to Cultist Simulator, with a lot of other work in between. Hes finally releasing a book on it all, compiling 200+ pages of the best of his pieces on narrative, design, development and why worldbuilding busts his nut. [quote]"There are sentences in Fallen London and Cultist Simulator that make me freeze in my seat. This collection of essays is generally not Alexis in freeze mode... It's Alexis being funny, pragmatic, charitable and humane. It's like getting to sit down over a plate of enigmatically-sourced goat goujons and a cup of Thracian wine, and be told a bunch of good stories." - Introduction, Matt Hosty[/quote] Against Worldbuilding is available now in Kindle and paperback format, costing 5.65 and 7.77 respectively. Enjoy!

The Lucid Tarot

We announced were making a second tarot deck, after The Tarot of the Hours proved so popular. This time its a world-first: were making a stained-glass-window-inspired deck, opaquely printed on transparent PVC. This means light (candlelight; moonlight; King Crucible) shines through some parts of each card, but they have an opaque back so you cant see the image on the other side. The deck features new, custom-made art of the Hours and Cultist Simulator cards that draws on existing lore but follows traditional systems like the Rider-Waite much more closely than the Hours deck did. Were calling it The Lucid Tarot. People seemed to get excited about it when we teased it last time, so the cards above are all never-before-seen, to whet your appetite! The Hours have been around for centuries in every History. Theyre a syncretic pantheon, like the loa of Haitian Vodou or the weirder Greco-Roman deities, and they change over time to reflect the current world. Youll notice that the art style as well as the depiction of the Hours in The Lucid Tarot is sometimes quite different from their original depictions. For example, heres Justice / The Meniscate from both decks:
These differences are deliberate, and we hope itll shed some more lore-y light on things. The new images also suit the abbey-like stained-glass aesthetic, which youll see more of in BOOK OF HOURS... We cant specify a release date yet, because it turns out making a tarot deck from scratch is a lot of work. But itll be sometime this year! Sign up to the mailing list for news, and/or keep your culty eyes peeled here for news. Happy birthday to Cultist Sim, and have a lovely weekend, everyone! Stay culty, stay classy, stay cool. <3