Nothing To See Here is a mini RPG about trying to cover up after a disastrous government operation.

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The Town is still on fire. The crater is still smoking. Goo is still bubbling out of the sewers. The Department has really done a number on this place, but the mission is Top Secret.

It’s your job to keep it all under wraps.

A satellite style device — The Mouchot Apparatus from Babylon Electrified. The History of an Expedition Undertaken to Restore Ancient Babylon by the Power of Electricity, and How it Resulted published by Chapman & Hall (1890). Original from the British Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

How To Play

You’re Agents working for The Department. When you interview WITNESSES, the GM will tell you their INVOLVEMENT and give you a statement.

Take it in turns to give them a convincing explanation. Your explanation can be as wild as possible, but it must draw attention away from THE EVENT. When you’re done explaining, roll 2d6 and try to beat the WITNESS’ INVOLVEMENT. You gain a +1 bonus to your roll for including each of the following:

Your AREA OF EXPERTISE

Local knowledge

Established FACTS

If you roll higher than their INVOLVEMENT, they’re CONVINCED – they believe your explanation and everything you said becomes a FACT.

If you roll equal or below, they DOUBT – their INVOLVEMENT increases by 1 and another Agent will have to try their luck. The next Agent can’t rely on anything the previous Agent said. If no Agents can convince a WITNESS, they become a CONSPIRACY THEORIST.

When all the WITNESSES have been interviewed, the mission is over. If there are more WITNESSES than CONSPIRACY THEORISTS, it was a success – have a scene where you get commendations. Otherwise, have a scene where you get chewed out by your boss and given a filing job in the basement.

Disembodied arm wearing suit in Etching style with finger pushing button — Hand pointing from Illustrated Penny Tales. From The Strand Library. No. 1-10 published by Tid-Bits Office (1894). Original from the British Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

Agents

Choose a suitably bland name for your Agent, then choose an AREA OF EXPERTISE – special knowledge, which can be used to make explanations more convincing.

Choose one from the list below. You don’t have to know anything about it yourself, you just have to sound convincing when you say it.

o ASTRONOMY o BIOLOGY o CHEMISTRY o ECOLOGY o ENGINEERING o GEOLOGY o PSYCHOLOGY o PHYSICS

The Event

THE EVENT is what you’re here to cover up. Whatever happened, it caused a big mess and explaining it away won’t be easy. Roll d66 to generate the nature of THE EVENT.

Etching style flying bat — Flying bat from Woodland Romances; Or, Fables And Fancies by Clara L. Mateaux (1877). Original from the British Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

d66	EVENT	d66	EVENT	d66	EVENT	d66	EVENT	d66	EVENT	d66	EVENT
11-12	FISH PEOPLE	21-22	ALIENS	31-32	SASQUATCH	41-42	WEREWOLVES	51-52	WORMHOLES	61-62	NUCLEAR ZOMBIES
13-14	MOLE PEOPLE	23-24	MUTANTS	33-34	MOTHMAN	43-44	VAMPIRES	53-54	TIME TRAVELLERS	63-64	KILLER ROBOTS
15-16	GIANT RATS	25-26	SENTIENT GOO	35-36	LIZARD MAN	45-46	GHOSTS	55-56	TELEPORTATION	65-66	ANGELS & DEMONS

Black and white devil silhouette — Demon silhouette from Mr.Grant Allen’s New Story Michael’s Crag With Marginal Illustrations in Silhouette, etc published by Leadenhall Press (1893). Original from the British Library. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.

The Town

The Town is where THE EVENT happened. You can reference knowledge about the area to make your explanations more convincing.

Create a map by dividing a piece of paper into quarters and marking them SPADES, CLUBS, DIAMONDS, HEARTS. Roll d66 to generate a Landmark, then draw a card to place it in a quarter. Repeat this until everyone has placed 2 Landmarks. If you roll one that’s already been rolled, decide if you keep it or roll again.

d66	LANDMARK	d66	LANDMARK	d66	LANDMARK	d66	LANDMARK	d66	LANDMARK	d66	LANDMARK
11-12	HIGH SCHOOL	21-22	HOSPITAL	31-32	POOL	41-42	SWAMP	51-52	SAWMILL	61-62	CONSTRUCTION SITE
13-14	LIBRARY	23-24	HOTEL	33-34	MALL	43-44	FOREST	53-54	CEMETERY	63-64	AMUSEMENT PARK
15-16	TOWN HALL	25-26	POLICE STATION	35-36	STADIUM	45-46	MARSHLAND	55-56	POWER PLANT	65-66	ABANDONED MINE

Next, come up a with a name for The Town and ask each player for 2 of the following:

o A Business o A Character o A Rumour o A Scandal

Witnesses – For GMs

You’ll play the WITNESSES, giving statements to the Agents.

When you’ve made The Town, shuffle the deck and lay twice as many cards as Agents face down in front of you. These are your WITNESSES.

When the Agents interview a WITNESS, flip over a card and let them know the WITNESS’ INVOLVEMENT. Decide a name and occupation for the WITNESS, then give their statement. Their INVOLVEMENT is the value of their card – the higher their card, the more of THE EVENT they saw. A, J, Q, K are all worth 10.

If an Agent can CONVINCE the WITNESS, give them the card. If the WITNESS has any DOUBT, then poke holes in their story and move to the next Agent.

CONSPIRACY THEORISTS

If a WITNESS can’t be CONVINCED, they become a CONSPIRACY THEORIST. Keep their card face up on the table.

If a WITNESS’ card is the same suit as a CONSPIRACY THEORIST, then they’ve got some ideas of their own. Mid way through an explanation, they can expand on their statement or ask a tough question. The Agent must incorporate this new information into their explanation.