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The Between



The Between is a tabletop roleplaying game about a group of mysterious monster hunters in Victorian-era London. They are residents of a place called Hargrave House, and their job is to investigate and neutralize monstrous threats terrorizing the city—threats that Scotland Yard won’t or can’t handle themselves. As the story progresses, they become aware of the plans of a Moriarty-style criminal mastermind they will eventually have to face in order to save Queen and country.

The Between is directly inspired by the gothic horror TV show Penny Dreadful, but also takes a lot of inspiration from British horror classics, graphic novels like From Hell and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and pulp-era stories. Mechanically, it’s Powered by the Apocalypse but also uses the mystery system from Brindlewood Bay.

Your PDF download includes:

  • Rulebook (Singles)
  • Rulebook (Spreads)
  • Reference Sheet
  • Mastermind Sheet
  • London at Night: The Unscene
  • 7 Playbooks (more info below)
  • 10 Threats (more info below)


The Vessel is a magic user; they allow dark, supernatural entities to enter their body in order to fuel powerful rituals. Throughout the game, you learn about their history with these dark entities as well as their time with a coven of witches that tried to use their talents for evil ends. The Vessel can perform dark rites, use divination tools, conduct investigations by drawing supernatural entities to them, and more. Play the Vessel if you want to explore dark rituals and what it feels like to be in control of dangerous things.

The Explorer is a member of the upper class. They made their name and fortune mapping the unexplored parts of the world for the Crown. They are also the rival of the criminal mastermind Hargrave House will eventually have to face. Throughout the game, you’ll be exploring the story of a young man whose village was terrorized by the Explorer when the Explorer was camped there during an expedition. Play the Explorer if you want to move in elite social circles, use money and other resources to solve problems, and be a rival to the game’s main antagonist.

The American is a gun-slinger from America’s Wild West. They grew up with great privilege but abandoned it for frontier life. Along the way, they picked up a curse that sometimes changes them into a feral beast. Throughout the game you’ll be exploring how they came to leave their privileged life and why they eventually fled to London. The American is an excellent shot, a terrific storyteller, a master of disguise, and more. Play the American if you want to solve problems with violence or if you’re interested in being an outsider. 

The Mother is a highly-talented doctor and scientist. They lost someone they love and are using that heartbreak to fuel their creation: a person crafted from the body parts of other people, given life by experimental, alchemical processes. Throughout the game, you will be exploring their past with the person they lost, and why they were driven to create a new form of life. Play the Mother if you want to use science and medicine to solve problems, or if you want to delight in blood and guts. 

The Undeniable is an immortal being of incomparable physical beauty. They have been worshipped as a god for much of their lives and a cult dedicated to them is active in London. Throughout the game, you’ll be learning about the artistic masterwork that bears the scars of the Undeniable’s wickedness, as well as their history with the artist who created it.  Play the Undeniable if you want to be extremely powerful, occasionally villainous, and focused on sensory experiences. 

The Factotum is a servant of one of the other hunters. They are a highly skilled operator—resourceful and practical. When the other hunters are mired in darkness, the Factotum is busy getting the job done. Throughout the game, you’ll explore their professional past and how they came to be a servant. Play the Factotum if you want to be highly effective or if you want to explore what it’s like to have your personal goals and dignity subsumed by another’s. 

The Orphan (Playbook) is a special playbook that isn’t immediately available to us; it is unlocked after certain conditions on The Mother playbook are met.

Threats (Scenarios)

The St. James's Street Ghost: The Beales of 18 St. James’s Street are in a terrible predicament: their townhouse is being terrorized by a malignant spirit. The ghost has already taken the life of their maid, and it seems no one in the house is safe so long as the haunting continues. Hargrave House investigates in order to learn how to quiet the ghost so it can pass into the next world. They may also learn how to make contact with ghosts, a feat that may prove helpful in future investigations.

The Limehouse Lurker: Bodies are turning up in Limehouse, completely drained of blood. Hargrave House knows it’s a vampire, but something about the initial report indicates the undead monster has the physical body of a child. An old vampire must be dealt with in a very different way from a young vampire, and so Hargrave House must initially determine if the vampire is truly adolescent or if it’s actually an ancient being in a small body.

Sally No-Face: A killer is stalking the streets of London. Their calling card? The victim’s faces have been removed with surgical precision. Panic sets in across the city, with some believing the killer is Sally No-Face, an urban legend reborn. Scotland Yard has had no luck capturing the perpetrator, and so Hargrave House steps in. But which approach to take? Finding the killer’s lair? Drawing the killer to them? Learning what makes the killer tick in order to bring them in peacefully?

The Whateley Camera: A young actress went missing after being photographed by the Society Obscura, a secretive club for photography enthusiasts. Hargrave House cares less about missing actresses than something in the Society’s possession: the Whateley Camera, a known object of power said to contain the consciousness of a powerful extra dimensional being. Recovering the Whateley Camera and discovering how it acts as a portal to another world is a matter of the utmost urgency.

The Creature of Cremorne Gardens: A number of people report being terrorized by a “fish-like man” in and around the Cremorne pleasure gardens. Rumors suggest the creature can even lure people to a watery doom with the use of a hypnotic song. Hargrave House investigates to determine if the fish man is actually real, or simply a hoax perpetrated by someone with a financial incentive to see Cremorne Gardens fail.

Figg's Piggs: Pie maker Titus Figg is arrested after it’s revealed his famous Figg’s Pigg pie contains human meat. Titus’s three family members—wife La Hortencia, eldest son Obert the Blade, and youngest son Patrick—managed to escape capture, and Scotland Yard has asked Hargrave House to help track them down. The loose Figgs are extremely dangerous, and pursuing them will force Hargrave House to face a level of darkness and depravity they have only imagined before, to say nothing of the pagan swine god, Moc’h.

There are also four special Threats associated with particular playbooks: The Coven, The Cursed, The Pinkerton, and The Orphan (Threat).

You can watch the author of the game running The Between on YouTube. 

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Reviews (5)
Discussions (7)
Customer avatar
Skip O July 15, 2021 6:21 am UTC
Question: I love every aspect of this game except the unscene, which I have absolutely no interest in running. Would it unbalance the game (like with XP gain) if I cut that entire section out?
Customer avatar
Jason C July 15, 2021 10:28 am UTC
No, but I recommend giving it a try. It’s a very intentional part of the overall design, and your players will grow to love it. Every play group I have ever run it for says the Unscene is their favorite part.
Customer avatar
Simon P July 10, 2021 3:16 pm UTC
1) What is the recommended and minimum required player count (including Keeper) for The Between?

2) Can you please comment on replayability of the game?

3) Are there any plans for a Print on Demand or other physical edition?

Thank you!
Customer avatar
Jason C July 12, 2021 10:12 am UTC
1) 1 Keeper and 3 players is recommended; 1 Keeper and 2 players is the minimum. You can do 1 Keeper and 1 player with some small adjustments.

2) It's highly replayable. I've run each scenario several times and they always end up completely different from each other. The semi-collaborative nature of the gameplay leads to very different stories among play groups.

3) Not yet.
Customer avatar
Patrick M June 15, 2021 9:30 am UTC
What system is used? PbtA? Forged in the Dark?

This sounds like a very focused game, but should be fun (like Band of Blades, which was also super focused)
Customer avatar
Gabriel M June 15, 2021 12:01 pm UTC
The core is pretty much PbtA with distinct playbooks, moves, and 2d6+stat for resolution. The mystery mechanics and a few other pieces are based on Brindlewood Bay (also by Jason Cordova).

The theme and tone are focused, but there's still a lot of room to pour meaning into things and build story. It's very collaborative.
Customer avatar
Blake R June 15, 2021 4:30 am UTC
Played 2 sessions of this game, was very well crafted. If you like shows like Penny Dreadful or Hemlock Grove you'll enjoy the gameplay that evolves from The Between. Style and tone is baked into every character move.
Customer avatar
Gabriel M June 15, 2021 11:54 am UTC
Played in the same 2-shot and can confirm that every playbook, move, and prompt fill the game with story and atmosphere. The game takes the structure from Brindlewood Bay and really expands the scope and many of the mechanics. The threats (mysteries) are far more complex and even with just a couple sessions we started to get a great feel for characters and setting.
Customer avatar
Stephanie J June 14, 2021 6:44 pm UTC
If you liked Brindlewood Bay, and want something darker. This is for you. I got it early through the Gauntlet
Patreon, and it is glorious. Even if you forget rules, stumble through the Unscene, there's plenty of pickup moments to aid you as a gm that even if your players throw something out there, you will be confident. My players in the week upcoming the first session having debating which playbooks to use, because they are all so very good.
Customer avatar
Charles E June 14, 2021 3:13 pm UTC
I got this from the Gauntlet Patreon and have yet to run it, but this reads as gloriously narrative and mechanically intricate as Brindlewood Bay and Trophy before it. The character playbooks are evocative and the ability to unlock certain mysteries and other playbooks almost feels like a Legacy-style board game. I can't wait to try The Between out with my group, and to see what new material comes out for it.
Customer avatar
peter W June 14, 2021 1:54 pm UTC
reads more like a boardgame - with predefined characters and goals
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 Recent History

Product Information
Silver seller
Rule System(s)
File Size:
115.88 MB
Original electronic
Scanned image


Original electronic format
File Last Updated:
June 13, 2021