TEXT: RULES
  READ THIS FIRST
  
  CREATOR OF THE LOOP UNIVERSE
  Simon Stålenhag
  LEAD GAME DESIGNER
  Nils Hintze
  EDITOR & PROJECT MANAGER
  Tomas Härenstam
  THE YEAR ZERO GAME ENGINE
  Tomas Härenstam
  ADDITIONAL WRITING
  Matt Forbeck, Nils Karlén
  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 © 2020 SIMON STÅLENHAG AND FRIA LIGAN AB
  ISBN: 978-91-88805-95-9
  ILLUSTRATIONS
  Simon Stålenhag
  GRAPHIC DESIGN & MAPS
  Christian Granath
  
  O1
  CHAPTER
  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 obstruc-
  tion 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.
  WELCOME 
  TO THE LOOP 
  THE TALES FROM THE LOOP  
  4
  ROLEPLAYING - HOW DOES IT WORK? 5
  ROLLING DICE  
  6
  PRINCIPLES OF THE LOOP  
  6
  
  3
  We were on our way home from school when all the 
  lights in town went out, one by one. As we biked in si-
  lence through dark neighborhoods, we hardly saw any 
  people. My best friend Erin didn’t want to go home 
  alone. Instead, she came along to the house where I and 
  my little sister live.
  When we got there, I felt something was wrong. 
  We stopped outside the gate. It was fall, but the leaves 
  had not yet fallen from the trees. Wind was blowing 
  through the crown of the huge apple tree in the front 
  garden. That’s where we had our hideout: a treehouse 
  with a rope ladder that can be pulled up to prevent 
  unwanted intruders, like our parents.
  Just as I was about to open the gate and lead my 
  bicycle up to the house, my best friend Erin stopped 
  me. “Look,” she said and pointed at a large shadow 
  next to the apple tree. “It’s watching the street.” As I 
  kept staring at it, I realized that it was a robot – one of 
  the waste disposal models from the construction site 
  across town. It had made a big hole in the hedge and 
  now its head was moving from side to side, watching 
  and waiting. I was about to turn and sneak away when 
  I heard someone screaming from inside the house. It 
  was my mother.
  EXAMPLE
  The Gamemaster: Through the kitchen 
  window you can see the shape of someone, 
  
  maybe your mother, moving around as if 
  struggling with something.
  Player 1 (Kelly): I slowly put the bike on the 
  ground, careful not to make any noise. Then 
  I sneak past the robot, to the house.
  Player 2 (Erin): Oh, no, don’t do it.
  The Gamemaster: Does Erin do anything to 
  stop her, or do you help her?
  Player 2: Can I try to distract the robot by 
  throwing something out in the street?
  The Gamemaster: Sure! Ok, Kelly, you roll 
  Sneak. Erin, give her an extra die as help.
  Player 1: I got three dice from the body 
  attribute, and then the extra die from Erin. 
  So, four dice in total. And I got one 6, which 
  means that I succeed!
  The Gamemaster: Ok, so what happens?
  Player 2: As Kelly is about to open the gate 
  to the garden, I take one of the strange 
  painted metal decorations that Kelly’s moth-
  er has placed by the gate. Then I throw it on 
  a lamppost across the street.
  Player 1: At the same moment, I sneak slow-
  ly past the robot.
  The Gamemaster: The robot stops looking 
  around when it hears the sound. It stands 
  completely still for a few seconds – enough 
  time for you, Kelly, to get inside the house. 
  But then the robot moves, and it is a lot fast-
  er than you would expect. In just a couple 
  of seconds, it trashes through the hedge, just 
  right by where you are standing Erin, and 
  marches out in the street. It is a matter of 
  time before it sees you. What do you do?
   
  This story is an example of what can happen when 
  you play the Tales from the Loop roleplaying game, 
  which takes place in the fantastic universe created by 
  Simon Stålenhag. 
  A roleplaying game is a conversation where you 
  and your friends build a story with a beginning, a 
  middle, and an end. A typical story takes between 
  three to six hours of play. Most often you sit at 
  a table and you need paper, pens, and at least ten 
  six-sided dice.
  THE TALES FROM THE LOOP 
  In this game, a story is called a Mystery. It deals with 
  a group of friends who try to solve Mysteries together. 
  The friends are Kids, aged 10–15 years old, living in 
  an alternate 1980s. Everyday life is full of nagging par-
  ents, never-ending homework, and classmates bullying 
  and being bullied. 
  The Mysteries allow the Kids to encounter 
  strange machines and creatures that exist as a result 
  of the nearby Loop – a huge underground particle 
  accelerator built in the late 1960s. The Kids get to 
  escape their everyday lives and problems and be part 
  of something meaningful and magical, yet also dan-
  gerous. They risk getting injured and also changed 
  by the Troubles they have to overcome to solve the 
  Mysteries.
  A complete Mystery is included in this starter set, 
  called The Recycled Boy. Several more Mysteries can 
  be found in the full Tales from the Loop core book, 
  in which you can also learn how to create your own 
  mysteries.
  4
  CHAPTER O1
  DICE
  A set of custom dice for Tales from 
  the Loop is included in this boxed 
  set. You can play the game with 
  normal six-sided dice as well, but 
  the custom dice support the game 
  mechanics and are a nice visual prop.
  
  ROLEPLAYING - HOW 
  DOES IT WORK?
  All players, except one, take the role of a fictional 
  character – a Kid whom they will play in the story. 
  In-game, you choose what your Kid does and says, 
  and you tell the others what she looks like and what 
  she thinks and feels. You should pretend to be the 
  Kid, like an actor in a movie or a play. It is usually 
  easier to play the Kid if you refer to the character as 
  “me” or “I,” instead of “she” or “her.” 
  This boxed starter set includes five sheets with 
  pre-generated Kids for you to play. If you can’t agree 
  who will play which Kid, roll a die to settle it. The ideal 
  number of Kids to play in a Mystery is three or four, 
  but anything from one to five is possible. 
  The one player who doesn’t control a Kid is the 
  Gamemaster. She plays all people except the Kids, and 
  controls all creatures and machines. These are called 
  Non-Player Characters, or NPCs. The Gamemaster 
  also describes what everything looks like in the game, 
  how things smell and how they sound. She is responsi-
  ble for making the story move forward and cuts from 
  scene to scene, like a director in a movie.
  The Gamemaster shouldn’t decide what will hap-
  pen in the story. She presents situations and puts the 
  Kids in Trouble. The players decide how the Kids try 
  to overcome that Trouble, and that creates the story.
  To support the story, the Gamemaster has a Mys-
  tery, a script that describes locations and NPCs that the 
  Kids can encounter, and what Trouble they may need 
  to overcome. The Mystery is only a guide, as the Gam-
  emaster can choose to improvise and make up her own 
  events, but she can always fall back on the Mystery 
  when she is unsure of what to say or do.
  The Gamemaster’s task is a bit more difficult than 
  that of the others, but can also be even more reward-
  ing. The Gamemaster can invent intriguing mysteries, 
  play robots and mad scientists, and she may, with the 
  help of the players, describe the fantastical world of the 
  Loop. The Gamemaster should cheer on the Kids just 
  like you do with the heroes of a movie, but at the same 
  time put them in Trouble so that she can enjoy how 
  they overcome it and solve the Mystery.
  The players and the Gamemaster take turns telling 
  what the characters do, what the scenery looks like, 
  and what happens. It is important that everyone gets 
  space and time to participate. The group should listen 
  to, and take in, each other’s ideas. The story should be 
  created together, and it’s important to help one anoth-
  er, not compete for attention.
  Sometimes situations arise where the Kids try to do 
  something difficult. In those situations, you roll dice 
  and let chance determine if you succeed or fail.
  5
  WELCOME
  TO THE LOOP
  TWO LOOPS, SWEDISH AND US
  There are two settings in this 
  game. The primary setting is an 
  alternate version of the Swedish 
  Mälaren Islands, west of the capital 
  Stockholm. The second, alternative 
  setting is based on the US town of 
  Boulder City, Nevada, which has a 
  Loop of its own and is a sister 
  facility to the Swedish Loop. The 
  Mysteries written for the game are 
  primarily based on the Swedish 
  setting, but they provide alternate 
  names of characters and locations 
  for the US setting. All comments 
  in orange brackets [like this] in 
  the scenario texts refer to the US 
  setting. You can decide together in 
  the group which setting you prefer 
  to play in.
  PLAY IN YOUR HOME TOWN?
  It’s entirely possible to set your 
  game in your own home town, where 
  you live or where you grew up. In 
  your game universe, maybe that’s 
  where the Loop was built? Creating 
  your own game setting requires some 
  more work, but can be a lot of fun!
  
  ROLLING DICE 
  The Kids have numeric ratings for what they are good 
  at: understanding machines, fast talking, climbing 
  trees, and running fast. The rating indicates how many 
  six-sided dice you get to roll when trying to overcome 
  Trouble. A six means a success. You rarely need more 
  than one success. If you fail, you may try again, but 
  then you risk getting hurt, upset or scared. This is ex-
  plained further in Chapter 4.
  PRINCIPLES OF THE LOOP 
  The Tales from the Loop roleplaying game has six 
  core principles that the players and the Gamemas-
  ter will use to create stories with the right kind of 
  feeling and plot. They are also tools for finding a 
  way to get along, if players have different opinions 
  about what should happen in the story and how 
  it should be described. The principles are first pre-
  sented as a numbered list, and then explained in 
  more detail. 
  1. Your home town is full of fantastic things.
  2. Everyday life is dull and unforgiving.
  3. Adults are out of reach and out of touch.
  4. Mysteries are dangerous but Kids will not die.
  5. The game is played scene by scene.
  6. The world is described collaboratively.
  1. YOUR HOME TOWN IS FULL OF STRANGE 
  AND FANTASTIC THINGS
  When fusion, particle accelerators and the magne-
  trine effect were discovered in the 1950s, it broke 
  the boundaries between the possible and the impos-
  sible. Huge transport vessels fly, cyborgs and robots 
  can think, scientists create time portals and objects 
  that replace people’s identities. Strange beasts roam 
  the landscape, and humanity can contact people and 
  creatures from other times and places. 
  Not infrequently, things are created because of 
  experiments that go wrong or random events that 
  spawn something new and unexpected. Only the 
  imagination limits what can happen in the land of 
  the Loop in the 1980s. The Kids should discover all 
  these strange things. See the world through the eyes 
  of Kids. 
  Use your own experiences from being a kid – 
  whether you are one now or it was many years ago 
  – to create magic and wonder. Think of how it feels 
  to sneak out in the middle of the night to secretly 
  meet your friends, to dive deep under water to gath-
  er stones or ride your bike as fast as you can on hilly 
  trails through the woods. Think of how it feels to sit 
  sweating in a secret tree hut with friends and how 
  those first days of summer break feel. Think of what 
  it is like to spy on the creepy guy with the dogs, or 
  listen to the older kids’ stories about burglars or the 
  strange old lady. Let yourself be swept away.
  6
  CHAPTER O1
  THE CORE RULEBOOK
  This boxed set is designed as an 
  introduction to Tales from the 
  Loop. After having played The 
  Recycled Boy, we recommend you to 
  check out the full rulebook. The 
  core book contains comprehensive 
  rules for creating your own Kids to 
  play, guidelines for creating new 
  Mysteries, and no less than four 
  complete Mysteries to play. Beyond 
  the core rulebook, there are several 
  modules for this game with even more 
  Mysteries and other tools.
  
  2. EVERYDAY LIFE IS DULL AND UNFORGIVING 
  The alarm clock rings every morning, and homework 
  must be done every night. It does not matter that the 
  magnetrine ships sail by outside the window, that mom 
  and dad still quarrel, and your brother seems to hate 
  you. Your house smells fishy and you don’t get enough 
  pocket money to buy that tape you want. The garbage 
  has to be thrown out every day, bullies give you nick-
  names, and your bike is broken. It’s raining, and you 
  have no raincoat.
  Life is full of setbacks and obstacles. The adults de-
  cide and do as they please, and Kids are forced to do as 
  they say. Sure, sometimes a problem is solved and you 
  enjoy a nice moment, but it only lasts a short while, 
  then it’s the same as before. Everyday life.
  3. ADULTS ARE OUT OF REACH 
  AND OUT OF TOUCH
  It doesn’t matter what you say – the adults neither listen 
  nor understand. They live in their own world. There’s no 
  point in asking them for help with problems, Mysteries 
  to be solved or Troubles that must be overcome. The 
  Kids are on their own. The adults won’t even believe in 
  all the strange things that the Kids encounter.
  7
  WELCOME
  TO THE LOOP
  
  The adults nag and whine and argue with each 
  other. They are busy with themselves and their work. 
  Moreover, they are ignorant. It is usually their mis-
  takes that the Kids need to fix – machines that run 
  amok, experiments gone bad, aircraft that crash or 
  explode.  The worst are the adults who actually see the 
  Kids and want to exploit or harm them.
  Sometimes adults help, like when your dad com-
  forts you, or you call the police and they catch the bur-
  glars, but it never lasts and it often comes with a price. 
  The police take all the glory, your stepmom wants you 
  to mow the lawn all summer as payment for her help, 
  or your teacher sees you as an ally and expects you to 
  help her keep an eye on the bad guys in class. 
  4. THE LAND OF THE LOOP IS DANGEROUS 
  BUT KIDS WILL NOT DIE
  The Kids can be hurt, locked up, mocked, displaced, robbed, 
  or broken-hearted, but they cannot die in this game.
  5. THE GAME IS PLAYED SCENE BY SCENE
  Just like in the movies, the Mystery is played in scenes. 
  First, the characters talk to each other in the house, 
  then we skip to when they meet their teacher at school. 
  Don’t play out every little step they take on the way 
  between home and school. Skip the boring or less im-
  portant parts.
  In Tales from the Loop, the Gamemaster is the one 
  who “sets” the scenes, often with the help of the play-
  ers. Setting a scene means to initiate the scene and end 
  it when it seems done. The Gamemaster should consult 
  the players when unsure.
  The Gamemaster can set scenes on her own initia-
  tive, like this:
  “When you come home at night, you hear 
  someone crying in the kitchen. Your father is 
  sitting at the table. When he sees you, he puts 
  on a fake smile. What do you do?”
  8
  CHAPTER O1
  
  The Gamemaster should also ask the players to suggest 
  which scene should be set. A good rule of thumb is to 
  allow players to set at least every other scene. 
  EXAMPLE
  The Gamemaster: Does anyone have a scene?
  Player 1 (Olle): I would like to try to break 
  into the school to see what they are hiding 
  there.
  The Gamemaster: Do you go there alone?
  Player 1: Yes.
  The Gamemaster: The sun is going down 
  above the oaks when you lean your bike 
  against the fence behind the gymnasium. It is 
  quiet and empty, and all the windows are dark.
  6. THE WORLD IS DESCRIBED 
  COLLABORATIVELY
  The Gamemaster is responsible for setting scenes and 
  describing things in the story, but that doesn’t mean 
  she should do all the work herself. The Gamemaster 
  should ask the players for help all the time. Ask them 
  what the school looks like, what the weather is like, 
  why the neighbors are arguing, and so on.
  The Gamemaster should ask the Kids questions: 
  What does your mother look like? What’s fishy about 
  the lady of the house next door? What is the mood 
  like in the house when you get home? How do you 
  feel? What are you thinking? What have you done 
  that makes her hate you? What are you wearing? How 
  come you love her? The Gamemaster should use the 
  players’ imaginations by asking questions all the time, 
  and making sure the group creates the world together.
  If the players make up flying schools and parents 
  who work as Alien Hunters, the Gamemaster should 
  remind them of the principle “Everyday life is dull and 
  unforgiving.” The strange and the mysterious should 
  be in the Mysteries. The Gamemaster has the final say.
  9
  WELCOME
  TO THE LOOP
  
  O2
  CHAPTER
  The Loop’s presence was felt everywhere on the Mälaren Islands. 
  Our parents worked there. Riksenergi’s service vehicles patrolled the 
  roads and the skies. Strange machines roamed the woods, the glades, 
  and the meadows. Whatever forces reigned deep below sent vibra-
  tions up through the bedrock, the flint lime bricks, and the Eternit 
  facades – and into our living rooms.
  THE AGE OF 
  THE LOOP
  THE ’80S THAT NEVER WAS 
  11
  THE SWEDISH LOOP 
  13
  THE US LOOP 
  15
  
  11
  One of the core elements of the game setting is that 
  the Tales from the Loop RPG takes place in a distinct 
  and iconic period of time: the 1980s. It’s a time you 
  probably know well – you might even have grown up 
  during this era, and if not, you have probably experi-
  enced it through a score of iconic movies like E.T., The 
  Goonies, and Wargames.
  It is the decade that gave us global pop stars like Mi-
  chael Jackson and Madonna, when hard rock and synth 
  pop dominated the radio, and the Commodore 64 was 
  the world's best-selling computer. In a way, it was the 
  first really modern decade. The VCR made its way into 
  homes, and a generation of kids watched movies that 
  previously were out of sight and reach for them.
  After the pessimistic ’70s, the ’80s looked ahead 
  and upwards. Everything seemed possible. Yet it was 
  also a decade of fear and conflict. Looming over every-
  thing was the spectre of the Cold War, and the global 
  threat of nuclear war. To be scared of The Bomb was as 
  natural as being afraid of climate change today. This, 
  and everything else that happened during this era, is 
  part of this game. But there is more to it as well – this 
  game is about an ’80s that never was.
  THE ’80S THAT NEVER WAS
  Things are not quite as you remember them. The ’80s 
  of this game are filled with strange technology and top 
  secret, government-run projects. The twin large parti-
  cle accelerators in Sweden and the US are still active. 
  “Balanced autonomous systems” (commonly known 
  as robots) are commonplace and 10,000 ton gauss 
  freighters traffic the Tundra route to Siberia. This is the 
  era of Tales from the Loop.
  
  In the years after the second World War, the major 
  powers invested huge amounts of time and money in 
  experimental research programs. Most of these yield-
  ed almost no results, but a few of them paid off hand-
  somely. The so-called magnetrine effect was discov-
  ered by scientists in the Soviet Union, and gave birth 
  to the majestic gauss freighters that, in the decades 
  that followed, became a common sight, especially in 
  the northern hemisphere. The magnetrine effect is dis-
  tinctly weaker in the southern hemisphere, limiting its 
  use to smaller gauss ships.
  In the US, the world’s first particle accelerator was 
  constructed in Boulder City, Nevada, in the 1950s. Part 
  of a military program, its scientific findings were unclear, 
  and rumors calling it a failure spread. That did not stop 
  scientists in Sweden from following suit. In the 1960s, 
  the Swedish government formed Riksenergi, an agency 
  tasked with building the world’s largest particle acceler-
  ator on the Mälaren Islands outside of Stockholm. The 
  Facility for Research in High Energy Physics was inau-
  gurated in 1969, and top scientists from all over Sweden 
  relocated to the area so as to partake in one of the most 
  ambitious scientific endeavors of its time. It did not take 
  long for the inhabitants of the islands to come up with a 
  new name for the facility: The Loop.
  Meanwhile, the Japanese company Iwasaka per-
  fected the self-balancing machine in laboratories in 
  Osaka. In the ’70s and ’80s, these machines, most often 
  simply called robots, became a more common sight in 
  industries and defense forces.
  MAKING THE FANTASTIC MUNDANE
  The world of the Tales from the Loop is our world, but 
  it’s also quite different. The discovery of the magnetrine 
  effect and the perfecting of robot technology in the late 
  ’60s have made things we consider fantastic common-
  place. Keep in mind that while seeing a huge gauss ship 
  cruise above the ground is an awe-inspiring sight for the 
  Kids in this game, it is not something magical or fantasti-
  cal. They grew up in this reality; for them, hovering mag-
  netrine ships and robots are as normal as jets or comput-
  ers are to us. Tales from the Loop is science fiction, but 
  it is not about technology. At its heart, this game is about 
  growing up in the shadows of strange things and solving 
  mysteries. It is about the Kids.
  TEN MOVIES
   
  ■
  Ghostbusters (’84)
   
  ■
  Top Gun (’86)
   
  ■
  Return of the Jedi (’83)
   
  ■
  The Goonies (’85)
   
  ■
  E.T. (’82)
   
  ■
  The Breakfast Club (’85)
   
  ■
  Back to the Future (’85)
   
  ■
  Stand By Me (’86)
   
  ■
  Gremlins (’84)
   
  ■
  Karate Kid (’84)
   1950-59 
   
  ■
  Scientists in the Soviet Union discover the Magne-
  trine Effect.
   
  ■
  The world’s first particle accelerator is built in 
  Boulder City, Nevada. 
  SCIENCE – A TIMELINE
  1960-69 
   
  ■
  Iwasaka, a Japanese company, develops the self-bal-
  ancing machine, laying the foundation for the de-
  velopment of what are today known as robots.
   
  ■
  Riksenergi, the government agency tasked with op-
  erating the Swedish accelerator, is founded.
   
  ■
  Department of Advanced Research into Teleportation 
  is started by the US government agency ARPA.
   
  ■
  The construction of the Swedish accelerator. The 
  Facility for Research in High Energy Physics, more 
  commonly called the Loop, is completed. 
  12
  CHAPTER O2
  
  THE SWEDISH LOOP
  From its inception in 1969, the Facility for Research 
  in High Energy Physics, or simply “The Loop,” is the 
  largest particle accelerator of its kind in the world. 
  SWEDEN IN THE ’80S
  Sweden in the 1980s is a very different country from 
  what it is today. Some call it a socialist utopia, others 
  a failed experiment of finding a middle way between 
  capitalism and communism. It is a country governed 
  by the monolithic Social Democratic party, who have 
  ruled more or less single-handedly since World War 
  II. It’s a far cry from the communist countries of East-
  ern Europe, but the belief that the government should 
  care for its citizens from cradle to grave is still strong. 
  Education is free for everyone, as is health care. Alco-
  hol is only sold in state owned Systembolaget stores, 
  there are only two TV channels - both state owned 
  and showing a mix of American soap operas, Swedish 
  social realist dramas, and cartoons from behind the 
  Iron Curtain.
  Sweden is officially neutral, and is not aligned with 
  NATO or the Warsaw Pact. Indeed, it was one of the 
  few countries in Europe that was not occupied and did 
  not fight in World War II, a subject that has been much 
  debated among its less lucky neighbors. But regardless 
  of what Finns or Norwegians think about Sweden’s 
  way of not taking sides, it is firmly entrenched in the 
  Swedish psyche. The Social Democratic government 
  has good diplomatic relations with both the Soviet 
  Union and the US. But even if the official stance al-
  ways is to never pick a side, it is an open secret that the 
  1970-79
   
  ■
  Scientific work commences at the Loop. Scientists 
  from all over Sweden, and indeed Europe, are re-
  cruited to the project.
   
  ■
  The first civilian autonomous robots enter service.
   
  ■
  Robot-wave tactics used by Chinese in the Baikal 
  Wars fail, bringing military use of robots to an end.
  1980-89
   
  ■
  Hans Albrechtsson takes over as Director of the 
  Loop.
   
  ■
  The Swedish Armed Forces introduces the AMAT-
  1, crewed self-balancing machines. 
   
  ■
  Strange sightings are reported around the Loop. 
  Wildlife patrols are increased.
  Swedish military, many politicians, and a large part of 
  the population only really see one obvious enemy: the 
  Soviet Union.
  There are rumors that cooperation with NATO 
  countries is more widespread than commonly believed, 
  and some talk about secret research and intelligence 
  projects in cooperation with US representatives. When 
  the Soviet submarine U-137 runs aground outside Ble-
  kinge in southern Sweden in 1981, the threat suddenly 
  becomes very real. 
  13
  THE AGE OF
  THE LOOP
  EIGHT TECH COMPANIES
   
  ■
  Vectra – Vehicles
   
  ■
  Rogosin Locke Industries – Service 
  machinery
   
  ■
  Lieber-Alta – Makers of ABM100 and 
  AMAT 2
   
  ■
  Paarhufer – Service machines and 
  robots
   
  ■
  Maltemann – Utility machines and 
  robots
   
  ■
  Wiman Shipyards – Small gauss 
  freighters
   
  ■
  Bendlin-Akulov – Large gauss 
  freighters
   
  ■
  Iwasaka – Creators of the self-
  balancing machine
  
  After the incident, the Swedish navy steps up its ef-
  forts, and submarine hunting becomes a regular thing 
  throughout the rest of the decade, although with no 
  tangible results.
  Sweden is also a changing society. Influence from 
  the West, and especially the US and the UK, is growing 
  stronger both in popular culture and in economic pol-
  icies. So-called “yuppies” are celebrating the capitalist 
  way in Stockholm, with one hand on an absurdly large 
  mobile phone and the other on the steering wheel of a 
  Porsche. Kids are playing with Garbage Pail Kids, He-
  Man and Transformers. The personal computer can be 
  found in many homes, most often in the form of the 
  Commodore 64.
  Pen and paper roleplaying games, like Drakar och 
  Demoner and Mutant, sell 100,000 copies. Going on 
  charter vacations becomes a national pastime. The shift 
  from the idealistic and political ’70s to a more individual 
  and pleasure-seeking way of life in the ’80s is gradual, 
  but clear. In February 1986, Swedes awake to momen-
  tous news: the iconic Prime Minister Olof Palme has been 
  murdered in cold blood in downtown Stockholm. The 
  murder will never be solved, and some claim that this 
  marks the end of the age of innocence in Sweden.
  Throughout the decade, the Swedes carry on with 
  their lives the way they have always done. Enduring 
  the long cold winters, spending the short but beautiful 
  summers in country houses, and the rest of the year 
  longing for next summer.
  GROWING UP IN SWEDEN
  Being a kid in 1980s Sweden feels like being stuck between 
  the past and a bright, shining future. There are still only 
  two channels on the TV, the computers in school are hope-
  lessly outdated ABC 80s, and a vocal minority of the adult 
  world sees parts of popular culture, such as horror films, 
  computer games, and heavy metal, as soul-corrupting gar-
  bage.
  Still, things are exponentially better than the drab, 
  grey ’70s when your older siblings grew up. VHS 
  tapes of American movies are copied and distributed 
  among friends, pirated cassettes full of Commodore 
  64 games are tiny slices of heaven for enthusiasts, and 
  the music scene is alight with decadent and delicious-
  ly dangerous metal groups as well as stylish and glitzy 
  synth pop duos.
  Teen magazines such as Okej (glam rockers), Dator-
  magazinet (computer games), and Frida (love and 
  heartache) are required reading for the young, as well 
  as comics such as the popular Fantomen (The Phan-
  tom), Spindelmannen (Spider-Man), and Min Häst (for 
  horseriding youth). 
  Parents have a less controlling parenting style in 
  the ’80s, and often let Kids keep to themselves with-
  out any major interference. Kids are allowed to roam 
  the countryside as they please, as long as they return 
  before dark. It is also a decade where divorce becomes 
  commonplace, and many kids grow up in separate 
  homes. Turbulence at home and the existential uncer-
  tainty that comes with this casts a shadow over many 
  kids who seek to understand what is happening to their 
  once so-called safe families. 
  School is mandatory and free. All kids go to the gr-
  undskola (basic school) at the age of seven, and contin-
  ue for nine years before they go on to two to four years 
  in gymnasiet (college). English is taught from an early 
  age, and because all television shows and movies only 
  have subtitles in Swedish, kids learn to speak English 
  very well, although often with Hollywood-like accents 
  rather than the British English that is most often taught 
  in school.
  The school system is relatively fair and progressive, 
  but echoes of archaic methods from the ’60s still re-
  main. Teachers are often kind and well-meaning, but 
  hopelessly out of touch with the realities of the kids. 
  Bullying is a real and commonplace problem, and 
  teachers and parents alike struggle to handle it proper-
  ly. For some, the school years are torture at the hands 
  of their so-called comrades, and the only respite they 
  find is in like-minded friends or an escape into dreams 
  of something else.
  14
  CHAPTER O2
  
  THE US LOOP
  The Loop might have reached its highest level of notori-
  ety in Sweden, but it got its start as a top-secret military 
  project in the USA. Specifically, it began in Boulder City, 
  Nevada, a sleepy little town just a half-hour’s drive south-
  east of Las Vegas, overlooking Lake Mead. While it start-
  ed out in the early days of the Cold War in the 1950s, the 
  US Loop peaked in the heady years of the 1980s. 
  The Loop was originally meant to investigate the 
  possibility of instantaneous teleportation between two 
  points on the planet. It was formed under the auspices of 
  the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DAR-
  PA), which was known simply as ARPA at the time. 
  President Dwight D. Eisenhower himself ordered the 
  creation of the Department of Advanced Research into 
  Teleportation (DART), hoping to employ the fruits of its 
  labors as a means of moving troops around the globe at 
  a moment’s notice. 
  But that initial promise – secret as it might have 
  been – was never fulfilled, and the city seems to have 
  suffered for it. 
  AMERICA IN THE ’80S
  Although Boulder City can sometimes seem like a de-
  serted island in the middle of an endless sea of sand, it’s 
  actually not a terrible place to grow up.
  America in the age of the Loop isn’t quite the same 
  as the one you might remember. Strange airships scud 
  across the sky, floating atop gigantic magnetrine discs. 
  Robots perform a lot of the heavy labor, often guided by 
  human operators – but sometimes not.  This all seems 
  perfectly normal to the Kids born into this world, of 
  course, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty there 
  that can still mystify and shock them. 
  The ‘80s is the era of Ronald Reagan, the former actor 
  who becomes the nation’s oldest-ever President by prom-
  ising a “morning in America.” It’s a time when Ameri-
  cans want to have faith in their government restored to 
  them after it’s been shattered by Watergate and President 
  Nixon’s resignation. The threat of an imminent nuclear 
  holocaust may cast a shadow over everything, but by the 
  end of the decade, the Soviet Union is knocked onto the 
  ropes, and it seems there’s nothing America can’t do. 
  15
  THE AGE OF
  THE LOOP
  
  At the same time, that faith turns out to be founded 
  on a pack of lies. Reagan doesn’t just free the hostages 
  from Iran in 1981. Instead, in 1980, he negotiates for 
  them to be held until his inauguration, to help him win 
  the election. 
  Not too much later, the CIA refuses to obey Congress’ 
  ban on helping prop up the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. 
  Congress also cuts off funding to CIA efforts to over-
  throw the Sandinistas in that war-torn nation, but CIA 
  agents illegally procure their own funds for the cause by 
  selling weapons to America’s enemies in Iran instead. 
  For the most part, though, no one knows this until 
  later in the decade. And to Kids in America, little of this 
  matters directly to them anyway. 
  At the start of the decade, underage drinking 
  reaches deep into high schools, because the drinking 
  age in much of the country is 18 – although it had 
  been 21 in Nevada since the end of Prohibition. That 
  starts to change in 1984, when Congress forces the 
  states to raise the national drinking age to 21.  At the 
  same time, the Reagan administration heats up the 
  War on Drugs, sending First Lady Nancy Reagan out 
  with the slogan, “Just Say No.” While widely mocked, 
  teen use of drugs drops during the decade from its 
  highs in the ‘70s. 
  Meanwhile, the era of Free Love comes to an end 
  with the rise of HIV and AIDS. This world-wide epi-
  demic infects millions of people who share dirty nee-
  dles or have unprotected sex. Now, sexually transmit-
  ted diseases (STDs) don’t just make you sick: they can 
  literally kill you. 
  Military service is entirely voluntary. While men 
  have to register for the draft at age 18, no one’s been 
  conscripted into the US military since the early ’70s. 
  Perhaps because of this, the ’80s are comparatively 
  peaceful. The US invades the Caribbean island of Gre-
  nada in 1983 and Panama in December of 1989, but 
  both operations are swift, limited, and conclusive. 
  There are only four major TV stations in most of 
  the country: ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS (Public Televi-
  sion). In 1986, Fox joins the fray. Cable TV is still roll-
  ing out over much of the nation, bringing new channels 
  like HBO, MTV, and ESPN to American households. 
  Cartoons start being broadcast in the afternoons, after 
  school, rather than just on Saturday mornings. 
  During the decade, the Federal Communication 
  Commission ends the prohibition of toy companies 
  making cartoons based on their products. They flood 
  the airwaves with toy-based shows, including Trans-
  formers, My Little Pony, He-Man and the Masters of 
  the Universe, G.I. Joe, and Thundercats. 
  GROWING UP IN AMERICA
  Being a kid in 1980s America feels like being stuck be-
  tween a wild, dangerous past and an even stranger and 
  more complicated future. Your grandparents fought in 
  World War II. Your parents either fought in or protest-
  ed the Vietnam War. The Cold War seems to be heating 
  up to the ignition point, and if you manage to survive 
  that, you can see a corporate-owned, cyberpunk future 
  heaving toward the digital horizon. You ride the wave 
  of nostalgia that seems like it’s sure to crash on the 
  TEN SONGS
   
  ■
  Take On Me - A-ha (’85)
   
  ■
  Billie Jean - Michael Jackson 
  (’82)
   
  ■
  Karma Chameleon - Culture Club 
  (’83)
   
  ■
  The Final Countdown - Europe (’86)
   
  ■
  Jump - Van Halen (’84)
   
  ■
  Girls Just Want To Have Fun -  
  Cyndi Lauper (’83)
   
  ■
  We Built This City – Jefferson 
  Starship (’85)
   
  ■
  Take My Breath Away - Berlin (’86)
   
  ■
  Rock You Like A Hurricane -  
  Scorpions (’84)
   
  ■
  We’re Not Gonna Take It - Twisted 
  Sister (’84)
  16
  CHAPTER O2
  
  shoals of nuclear armageddon, and the only thing you 
  can hope for is that you can keep surfing long enough 
  to grab a fresh wave laced with future shock. 
  The only cell phones anyone has at this point are 
  the size and weight of a brick, and they usually come 
  attached to a car. If you want to get a hold of someone 
  when you’re out of the house, you have to hunt for a 
  pay phone and hope you have a quarter to plug into it. 
  You don’t have GPS. You have paper maps that no 
  one can seem to fold back together, and you have your 
  memories. The upside is that no one can reach you un-
  less you want to be found, and the idea of someone 
  tracking you using an array of satellites ringing the 
  planet seems like something out of Star Trek.
  The only apps anyone has come before dinner at 
  your favorite restaurant. 
  In America, you start school with kindergarten at 
  the age of five. Grade school ranges from 1st through 
  5th or 6th grade, after which you go to middle school 
  or junior high. High school usually starts with 9th 
  grade and ends at 12th. Most kids go to public schools, 
  which are free, although some parents pay tuition to 
  send their kids to private schools instead. After high 
  school, you head off to college or technical school – 
  both of which you must pay for – or enter the job mar-
  ket straight away. 
  Divorce rates reached a peak in the 1980s, leaving 
  lots of kids living in single-parent homes. Most kids 
  in such situations wind up living with their mothers. 
  Sometimes they spend every other weekend with their 
  fathers, who end up playing a smaller part in their 
  lives. Almost all kids spend a good chunk of their wak-
  ing hours in school. In homes where the parents both 
  work – or there’s only one parent around – the kids 
  often come home to an empty house, giving rise to a 
  generation of latchkey kids. They tend to themselves, 
  and sometimes younger siblings, until their parents get 
  home from their jobs. If they don’t come straight home 
  from school, there’s no one around to notice. 
  In their spare time, many kids listen to tunes – in-
  cluding this new thing called rap music – on the radio 
  or on cassettes. Some play their cassettes on portable 
  players like the Sony Walkman or tote them around on 
  their shoulders inside massive boom boxes that use six 
  to eight D-cell batteries. They also watch movies and 
  TV shows on VCRs – both in VHS and Betamax for-
  mats – and swap copies of tapes recorded off broadcast 
  TV with each other. 
  Some kids play a lot of tabletop games, including 
  Dungeons & Dragons, Traveller, and Middle-Earth 
  Roleplaying (MERP). In certain areas, these games are 
  banned – along with heavy metal music recordings – 
  for fear that they might have a demonic influence on 
  the kids who play them. The Satanic Panic causes a lot 
  of hand-wringing, but the added notoriety seems to sell 
  even more games and records than before. 
  Most homes don’t have a computer in them, but in 
  those that do, the Apple II and the Commodore 64 top the 
  list, mostly because they offer video games more intricate 
  than the ones you can find on the Atari, Colecovision, or 
  Intellivision systems of the day, things like Zork and Castle 
  Wolfenstein. This changes in 1985 when the relatively in-
  expensive Nintendo Entertainment System reaches Ameri-
  ca, and Super Mario Bros. storms the nation. 
  17
  THE AGE OF
  THE LOOP
  
  O3
  CHAPTER
  The echo sphere lay there in the gravel pit. A faint tune hummed 
  from within the sphere when the wind resonated between the steel 
  walls. Kalle and Olof immediately ran inside and started shouting to 
  test the echo. A pair of nervous ospreys wheeled above the sphere. I 
  remained outside, reminded of that first day there with my grandfa-
  ther. Thinking back on it now I realize that this is probably my first 
  memory of experiencing nostalgia. Odd; a summer’s day and three 
  nine-year-olds, one of whom was stopped in the middle of playing 
  by a childhood memory.
  THE KIDS
  AGE 
  19
  ATTRIBUTES 
  19
  LUCK POINTS 
  20
  SKILLS 
  20
  ITEMS 
  20
  DRIVE 
  21
  PROBLEM 
  21
  PRIDE 
  21
  RELATIONSHIPS 
  21
  CONDITIONS 
  21
  
  19
  Each player in this game except the Gamemaster con-
  trols a Kid whom they will play in the story. This start-
  er set includes five sheets with pre-generated Kids for 
  you to play. If you can’t agree who will play which Kid, 
  roll a die to settle it.
  This chapter explains how Kids function in game 
  terms, and introduces a number of important rules and 
  concepts. The full Tales from the Loop core rulebook 
  includes full rules for creating your own Kids to play 
  in the game.
  AGE
  In this game, your character is between 10 and 15 
  years old. Your age affects your attribute scores and 
  the amount of Luck Points you have, but also how you 
  picture the Kid in your mind and how you play the 
  character.
  ATTRIBUTES
  Your Kid is defined by four attributes that tell you 
  what you are good at and how you can cope with 
  Trouble. The attributes are: body, tech, heart and mind. 
  The attribute scores range from 1 to 5, and determine 
  the number of dice you roll when you try to overcome 
  Trouble.
   
  ■
  BODY is the ability to jump high, run fast, fight, 
  sneak, and climb.
   
  ■
  TECH is the ability to understand machines and ro-
  bots, program technological things, open locked 
  doors, and build things.
   
  ■
  HEART is the ability to make friends, lie, know the 
  right people, create a good atmosphere, and per-
  suade others.
   
  ■
  MIND is the ability to find weak points, understand 
  people, situations and creatures, solve riddles,  and 
  understand clues.
  
  LUCK POINTS
  The Luck Points are something you can use to over-
  come Trouble more easily – they give you the chance 
  to re-roll dice. This is explained further in Chapter 
  4. In this game, younger Kids are luckier than older 
  ones. You start the game with a number of Luck Points 
  equal to 15 minus your age. Your Luck Points are re-
  plenished at the beginning of every session. You cannot 
  save Luck Points from one session to another and you 
  can never go above your starting number.
  When you turn a year older, your maximum num-
  ber of Luck Points is permanently reduced by one.
  SKILLS
  Each attribute has three connected skills. These are ar-
  eas where the Kid can be well trained. The level of a 
  skill varies between 0 and 5, and corresponds to how 
  many dice you can add to the dice roll when you try 
  to overcome Trouble, in addition to the dice from your 
  attribute.
  BODY
   
  ■
  SNEAK is the ability to hide and sneak.
   
  ■
  FORCE is the ability to lift heavy things, fight, and 
  endure physically stressful situations.
   
  ■
  MOVE is used to climb high, balance, and run fast.
  TECH
   
  ■
  TINKER is the ability to build and manipulate machines 
  and other mechanical items.
   
  ■
  PROGRAM is the ability to create and manipulate 
  computer programs and electronic devices.
   
  ■
  CALCULATE is the ability to understand machines 
  and other technical systems.
  HEART
   
  ■
  CONTACT is the ability to know the right person.
   
  ■
  CHARM is used to charm, befriend, and manipulate.
   
  ■
  LEAD is the ability to make others work well  
  together, and to help them when they are scared, 
  sad or confused.
  MIND
   
  ■
  INVESTIGATE is the ability to find hidden objects and 
  understand clues.
   
  ■
  COMPREHEND is the ability to have the right piece 
  of information or to be able to find it at the library.
   
  ■
  EMPATHIZE is the ability to understand what makes 
  a person, an animal or any kind of conscious thing 
  tick, and how to find its weak spot.
  ITEMS
  Some Items can be useful to overcome Trouble. Items can 
  give a bonus to the dice roll, from 1–3 extra dice to roll.
  To get a bonus from an Item, it must be obvious 
  how it is of use to you. A skateboard gives a bonus 
  to move when you’re fleeing from a bully in the street, 
  but not when climbing a tree. The Gamemaster should 
  disallow unreasonable attempts to use Items.
  Most objects that you encounter during the Mys-
  teries are props – everyday things that are described to 
  give atmosphere but that don’t affect dice rolls. This 
  can be a stick in the woods, a Coke bottle or a notepad. 
  The Gamemaster decides which objects are Items that 
  give a bonus and which are just props.
  ICONIC ITEM
  You start the game with one Iconic Item; it works just like 
  other Items, but it also says something about who you are. 
  This Item gives two bonus dice in a situation where 
  it can be used to help you overcome Trouble. The Icon-
  ic Item will not disappear or break whatever happens, 
  unless you want it to. If it gets stolen or lost, you’ll 
  find it before the end of the Mystery. The Iconic Item 
  cannot be used by other Kids.
  GAINING NEW ITEMS
  You may find or build things, or train Creatures, to get 
  new Items during a Mystery. The Gamemaster gives the 
  Item a bonus of +1 to +3, depending on how powerful 
  it is deemed to be. Often, Items that can be encoun-
  tered are described in the Mystery.
  20
  CHAPTER O3
  
  DRIVE
  Your Drive is the reason why you expose yourself to 
  dangerous and difficult situations to solve Mysteries 
  with your friends. It helps you to understand your Kid, 
  and makes it easy to get involved in a Mystery – what-
  ever is going on, the Kids will want to figure it out.
  PROBLEM
  All Kids have a Problem. You may have kept yours to your-
  self or told the other Kids. The Problem is a part of Every-
  day Life, something that worries you. During the game, the 
  Gamemaster will use the Problem to put you in Trouble.
  PRIDE
  Every Kid has a Pride, something that makes you feel 
  strong, important, and valuable. The Gamemaster should 
  use the Pride to put you in Trouble by setting up scenes 
  that highlight or threaten the Pride. A classmate turns out 
  to be as good or better than you at school. Dad is losing 
  his job at the fire station. An animal is tormented.
  Pride is also a tool for you to understand and play 
  your Kid. Problem and Pride may interact, and Pride 
  can even become a Problem, but it may also be two 
  separate things. Once per Mystery, you may check your 
  Pride to get one automatic success in a dice roll. You 
  can check your Pride after a failed roll, or even after 
  a successful roll in order to get an extra success (page 
  26). You must explain how your Pride helps you.
  EXAMPLE
  The Gamemaster: The hole in the ground is 
  dark and damp, and you hear something echo-
  ing down there. When you lean in over the 
  hole, it sounds like laughter. Mad mechanical 
  laughter. What do you do?
  Player 1 (Olle): I back away from the hole. “I 
  think we should find another way in.” 
  Player 2 (Anita): “No way.” I stare at you 
  with firm eyes, but I’m really scared. “We are 
  going down there, and we are going to stop 
  that thing.” I slowly sneak down into the hole 
  trying to move as quietly as possible. 
  The Gamemaster: Roll sneak. 
  Player 2: I failed, but I check my Pride, “Nothing 
  scares me,” so I make it anyway!
  RELATIONSHIPS
  Each pre-generated Kid has their Relationships to 
  the other Kids in the group, and to an NPC, listed 
  on the character sheet. The NPC Relationships are 
  meant to be a connection between the Kids and the 
  strange things that will start happening as the game 
  is played.
  CONDITIONS
  The Kids cannot die, but they can suffer from Con-
  ditions. When you try to overcome Trouble but fail, 
  or if you push a dice roll (Chapter 4), you may be 
  forced to take a Condition. There are five Condi-
  tions, and the first four are mild: Upset, Scared, Ex-
  hausted and Injured. The exact interpretation of a 
  Condition can vary, and may need to be adapted to 
  the situation at hand.
  You decide what Condition to take in a given sit-
  uation, and you get a –1 on all dice rolls until it is 
  healed. Additional Conditions are cumulative; two 
  Conditions give –2 on all dice rolls. If all four mild 
  Conditions are marked and you take another Condi-
  tion, you are Broken.
  If you get Broken, something really bad has hap-
  pened. You are mentally or physically hurt, and you 
  will automatically fail all dice rolls until healed. 
  CONDITIONS
  Condition
  Modifier
  Upset
  –1
  Scared
  –1
  Exhausted
  –1
  Injured
  –1
  Broken
  Automatic Failure 
  The Conditions are also an indicator for how to 
  play the Kid. You decide how much you want to 
  play out your Conditions in the scenes. The Game-
  master can help you by asking questions: How do 
  you feel? In what way are you Upset? You should 
  never be forced to play your Condition if you don’t 
  want to do so.
  21
  THE KIDS
  
  O4
  CHAPTER
  “Foxhound requesting permission to return to ba…” I was  
  interrupted by a sudden snap among the twigs on the slope behind 
  the robot. In terror, we watched as the robot twirled around with 
  shocking speed, and we saw how it moved across the entire glade 
  in a second, like a lightning-fast spider. A frightened pheasant flew 
  out of the shrubbery, cackling in terror, and narrowly avoided the 
  robot’s pincer, which snapped through the air behind the bird’s tail.
  Lo stared at me, terrified, and hissed: “Request granted, return to 
  base, over and out.” Then we ran.       
  TROUBLE
  SUFFERING CONDITIONS 
  24
  THE DICE ROLL 
  24
  ITEMS AND PRIDE 
  25
  LUCK 
  25
  DOING THE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE  
  25
  ANSWERING QUESTIONS 
  26
  BUYING EFFECTS 
  26
  NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS  
  26
  FAILED ROLLS 
  27
  PUSHING THE ROLL 
  27
  HELPING EACH OTHER 
  28
  EXTENDED TROUBLE 
  28
  SNEAK (BODY)  
  29
  FORCE (BODY) 
  29
  MOVE (BODY) 
  29
  TINKER (TECH) 
  29
  PROGRAM (TECH) 
  30
  CALCULATE (TECH) 
  30
  CONTACT (HEART) 
  31
  CHARM (HEART) 
  31
  LEAD (HEART) 
  31
  INVESTIGATE (MIND)  
  31
  COMPREHEND (MIND) 
  32
  EMPATHIZE (MIND) 
  32
  
  23
  Trouble is something that prevents Kids from doing 
  something; it can be a bad thing about to happen or 
  a possibility fraught with danger. It is the Gamemas-
  ter’s job to create Trouble, but the Kids can also get 
  themselves into Trouble. Trouble is woven into the 
  conversation and described by the Gamemaster as 
  people and creatures doing things, or as something 
  happening. The Gamemaster asks you how you react, 
  and you may try to overcome it somehow, or ignore it 
  and let it happen.
  EXAMPLE
  The Gamemaster: You sneak into the school 
  through the open door. It is quiet, and the 
  moon that shines through the windows is the 
  only light.
  Player 1 (Olle): I move slowly through the 
  corridors toward the headmaster’s room.
  The Gamemaster: Just as you pass the chem-
  istry class, you hear footsteps in the corridor 
  from around the corner. Someone is coming, 
  and will see you in a few seconds. What do 
  you do?
  Player 1: Oh crap!
  
  SUFFERING CONDITIONS
  Sometimes the Gamemaster will tell you that you will 
  suffer a Condition (see Chapter 3), if you don’t over-
  come the Trouble. This should happen only when it’s 
  obvious that you will take a beating. If you get a Con-
  dition that is already checked, you must choose anoth-
  er one to check. 
  THE DICE ROLL
  You describe how you try to overcome the Trouble, 
  and what you’re trying to accomplish. The Gamemas-
  ter may ask for more details if she thinks the situation 
  is unclear, or may ask you to change your mind if you 
  are trying to do something that is impossible.
  Grab a number of dice equal to your score in the 
  attribute you use. Then add more dice equal to your 
  level in the corresponding skill. If there isn’t any suit-
  able skill, only roll for the attribute. Every six rolled is 
  a success. In most cases, only one success is needed to 
  overcome Trouble.
  24
  CHAPTER O4
  TYPICAL TROUBLE
   
  ■
  Someone is standing outside the 
  entrance and will see you if you 
  try to enter.
   
  ■
  One of the bullies throws a bottle 
  at you.
   
  ■
  The old man’s dog is chained to a 
  tree in the garden; it seems to be 
  sick and is frothing at the mouth. 
   
  ■
  Mom refuses to let you go out  
  tonight.
   
  ■
  Your parents start arguing again.
   
  ■
  The car drops you off at the 
  southern part of the island; it’s 
  a long way to walk home in the 
  middle of the night.
   
  ■
  Your classmates don’t believe you.
   
  ■
  He looks at you as if he sees you 
  for the first time. Now you have 
  the chance to tell him how you  
  really feel about him. 
   
  ■
  The robot attacks you with its 
  claw.
   
  ■
  The portal opens with a deafening 
  roar, and everything in the room is 
  sucked towards it, including you.
  
  ITEMS AND PRIDE
  You may use your Iconic Item for a dice roll, when ap-
  propriate (the Gamemaster has final say). It gives you 
  two extra dice to roll.
  You can also use your Pride, once per Mystery. It 
  gives you an automatic success. You can activate the 
  Pride after a failed roll, or even after a successful roll 
  to add a success.
  EXAMPLE
  The Gamemaster: At the bottom of the hole 
  lies a stone tablet with strange figures and 
  characters on it.
  Player 3 (Dennis): I pick it up. Do I under-
  stand what it says?
  The Gamemaster: Not without studying it at 
  the library.
  Player 3: Okay, I place it in my backpack and 
  bicycle over to the school library. A while later, 
  I sit at a table covered in books.
  The Gamemaster: Roll comprehend.
  Player 3: I have mind 4 and comprehend 3, for 
  a total of seven dice. (Rolls the dice.) I get a 6, 
  which means success!
  The Gamemaster: When you open a book 
  about Pharaohs, you realize that these are 
  Egyptian hieroglyphics. The tablet must have 
  traveled through some kind of portal from an-
  other time. It tells about a monster with shiny, 
  hard skin and long, two-fingered hands that 
  can easily lift a grown man.
  Player 3: Do I get what that means?
  The Gamemaster: No more than you’ve al-
  ready figured out.
  LUCK
  You can spend a Luck Point after a failed dice roll. A 
  Luck Point lets you reroll failed dice, without needing 
  to push (see page 27). You cannot go back to the earlier 
  result. You cannot spend more than one Luck Point 
  on a single dice roll. Your maximum number of Luck 
  Points is equal to 15 minus your age. Your Luck Points 
  are replenished after each play session. You cannot 
  save them between sessions.
  DOING THE ALMOST  
  IMPOSSIBLE 
  In rare cases, more than one success is needed to over-
  come Trouble. You might be trying to do something 
  almost impossible, such as persuading your mother to 
  let you go outside even though the garden is full of 
  crazy robots, or jumping from a bridge down onto a 
  car passing at full speed. This may require two or even 
  three successes. The Gamemaster should only demand 
  more than one success in the most extreme cases. 
  25
  TROUBLE
  TYPICAL TROUBLE WITH  
  THREAT OF A CONDITION
   
  ■
  Your big brother tries to wrestle 
  you down in front of your 
  classmates. You risk being Upset.
   
  ■
  The car starts to weave back and 
  forth across the road. If it 
  crashes, you are all Injured.
   
  ■
  The two military robots start 
  looking for you with their 
  headlights. If they find you, they 
  will Scare you. 
   
  ■
  You are trapped on the island. If 
  you don’t find a way to escape, 
  you will be Exhausted.
   
  ■
  The noise from the strange portal 
  sounds like nothing ever heard on 
  Earth before. If you keep  
  listening, you will be Scared. 
  
  Trouble
  Successes Required 
  Difficult (Normal)
  1
  Extremely Difficult 
  2
  Almost Impossible 
  3
  ANSWERING QUESTIONS
  Some skills let you ask questions of the Gamemaster. 
  The Gamemaster must answer them truthfully, and 
  with as much detail as seems possible in the situation. 
  You have overcome Trouble, and should not be given 
  vague or half-truth answers. 
  EXAMPLE
  Player 1 (Olle): Dad, have you been cheating 
  on mom? 
  The Gamemaster: “How can you even ask that 
  question, of course not! Go to your room! Not 
  one more word of this nonsense.” He looks 
  really mad. 
  Player 1: I try to see if he´s lying. 
  The Gamemaster: Roll empathize.
  Player 1: Success. Let´s see… I want to know if 
  he´s lying, and I want to know what he feels. 
  The Gamemaster: Oh, he is absolutely lying. 
  He´s mad, but also ashamed and, you suddenly 
  realize he’s very, very scared.  
  BUYING EFFECTS
  If you roll more successes than you need, leftover suc-
  cess can sometimes be used to “buy” beneficial bonus 
  effects. Such effects are described for each skill. The 
  same effect can be bought several times. The Gam-
  emaster decides which effects, if any, are suitable in 
  any given situation. 
  EXAMPLE
  Player 2 (Anita): I roll force to wrestle my 
  brother to the ground. Three sixes! Can I buy 
  effects?
  The Gamemaster: Of course. 
  Player 2: I can buy two effects, let´s see… He 
  is humiliated, and I don´t have to roll again for 
  the exact same Trouble. 
  Gamemaster: Okay, remember it´s the exact 
  same Trouble; if he attacks you in front of oth-
  ers you will beat him without rolling the dice. 
  Now, tell me how you wrestle and humiliate 
  your brother!
  NON-PLAYER  
  CHARACTERS 
  The Gamemaster never rolls dice for the NPCs. When 
  they try to overcome Trouble, the Gamemaster decides 
  if they succeed or fail. If their actions cause Trouble, 
  the Kids may try to prevent or overcome them. When 
  an NPC helps you, the Gamemaster may decide to give 
  you 1, 2 or 3 bonus dice. This only happens in rare 
  cases. The Kids need to rely on each other.
  SPECIAL NPCS
  Some NPCs are significantly harder to beat. They 
  will have one or more special attributes, with a score 
  of 2 or 3. Trouble that is directly tied to a special 
  attribute is particularly hard to cope with – to over-
  26
  CHAPTER O4
  NO TURNS OR INITIATIVE
  In many roleplaying games, conflicts 
  and combat are divided into segments 
  of actions that are resolved one 
  at a time. This is not the case in 
  Tales From the Loop. Instead, each 
  action or intention is resolved with 
  one single dice roll. This doesn’t 
  mean there can’t be more than one 
  roll in a conflict. Let the dialogue 
  decide what happens and what seems 
  reasonable. Don’t forget to describe 
  actions before rolling dice. In the 
  end, the Gamemaster has the final 
  say about what seems plausible. 
  
  come the NPC, you need to roll a number of success-
  es equal to the attribute score. The Gamemaster has 
  final say as to whether a special attribute is applica-
  ble for a roll.
  EXAMPLE
  A strange underwater storm with the special 
  attribute wild currents 2 means that Kids who 
  try to swim through the water must get two 
  successes when making a move roll. Kids trying 
  to wrestle or outrun a raptor with ferocious 
  beast 3 need three successes. If they try to out-
  smart the raptor or beat it in some other way 
  that isn’t physical, only one success is required. 
  FAILED ROLLS
  If you roll too few successes, your action fails. An 
  unsuccessful attempt to overcome Trouble must nev-
  er mean that nothing happens. Somehow the situ-
  ation changes, probably for the worse. What hap-
  pens is up to the Gamemaster to decide. You might 
  need to check a Condition, you might end up in new 
  Trouble, or you might suffer a Complication (see the 
  boxed text).
  PUSHING THE ROLL
  When you fail a roll, you may choose to immediate-
  ly retry the task, by mentally or physically pushing 
  yourself to the limit of your abilities.  This is called 
  pushing the roll, and can only be done once, imme-
  diately after the failed roll. You must describe what 
  you do to push yourself. You may push a successful 
  roll to be able to buy more Effects.
  When you push a roll, you must first check a 
  Condition. Choose any Condition that you feel fits 
  the story. Then you reroll all the dice except those 
  showing sixes. If the reroll is successful, the Gam-
  emaster describes what happens. If the reroll also 
  fails, you may not push again (but you can use a 
  Luck Point or your Pride).
  If the Trouble came with a threat of a Condition, 
  you may have to check two Conditions if you pushed 
  the roll but still failed after the reroll. You can push a 
  dice roll before or after using a Luck Point.
  EXAMPLE
  Player 2 (Anita): I look her in the eyes and try to 
  look sad. “But please mom, if you don’t drive us 
  we’ll miss the party.”
  The Gamemaster: Roll charm. 
  Player 2: Damn, I miss. 
  The Gamemaster: She looks stern and is about to 
  say something, do you push?
  Player 2: Yes, of course. I look away and say with 
  a cold voice, “If dad was alive he would have 
  done it.”
  The Gamemaster: What Condition do you check?
  Player 2: I’m getting really Upset now.
  The Gamemaster: Ok. Reroll all dice.
  Player 2: No successes this time either.
  The Gamemaster: She doesn’t say anything, just 
  looks at you.
  Player 2: I start crying for real, with shame, and 
  go to my room. I feel horrible.
  27
  TROUBLE
  COMPLICATIONS
  A failed test shouldn’t be a 
  roadblock. To progress the Mystery 
  even if a dice roll fails, the 
  Gamemaster can use Complications. 
  Suffering a Complication after a 
  failed result, you still succeed 
  with the most crucial part, but 
  something goes wrong along the way. 
  The Gamemaster decides what happens. 
  The word “but” is often helpful.
  Complications may lead to new 
  Trouble, present a risk for new 
  Trouble, provide a partial clue 
  (forcing the Kids to investigate 
  further), or force the Kids to 
  change their plans. Examples:
   
  ■
  You climb over the fence and into 
  the scrapyard, but the guard dog 
  heard you.
   
  ■
  As you row out into the lake, the 
  boat’s owner comes running from 
  the parking lot.
   
  ■
  You grab the scientist’s notebook 
  and run, but it gets torn in half.
  
  HELPING EACH OTHER 
  One Kid may help another overcome Trouble if it 
  seems plausible in the situation. To help, you describe 
  what you do, and then your friend gets one extra die 
  to roll. A Kid may never get help from more than one 
  of their friends for a single dice roll. The Gamemaster 
  has final say on when helping is possible. When you 
  help someone, you are bound to the outcome of the 
  roll. If it fails, you suffer the same effects as the Kid 
  who rolled.
  EXTENDED TROUBLE
  Sometimes, at a crucial moment of a Mystery, Trouble 
  can be so climactic that the Kids have to come up with 
  a plan and work together – a single dice roll is not 
  enough to portray the Trouble they are in. Each Kid 
  will have their part to play in the plan’s final success or 
  failure. This is called Extended Trouble.
  1. SET THE STAKES
  The Gamemaster declares what is at stake; what will 
  happen if the Kids fail.
  2. THREAT LEVEL
  The Gamemaster declares the total number of suc-
  cesses that the Kids need to beat the Trouble. A 
  Threat Level of twice the number of Kids is normal, 
  three times the number of Kids is hard, and four 
  times the number of Kids is almost impossible.
  Don’t use NPC special abilities (previous page) in 
  Extended Trouble – it’s included in the Threat Level.
  3. MAKE A PLAN
  The Kids decide what they want to do, agree on which 
  skill each one will use, and in what order they will then 
  act to make their rolls. The Kids get to choose which 
  skills to use, but the Gamemaster can disallow any 
  clearly unreasonable skill uses.
  4. PLAY THE SCENES
  Each Kid gets a scene to act and rolls for their chosen 
  skill. Successes go towards reaching the Threat Level, 
  but can also be used for bonus effects. If there is time, 
  a Kid may roll for lead to create a dice pool (see page 
  31) instead of adding towards the Threat.
  5. OUTCOME
  Each Kid rolls once, pushing rolls if they want to, 
  and when all scenes are over the total number of 
  sixes is compared to the Threat level of the Extended 
  Trouble.
   
  ■
  If the final sum of sixes are less than half of the 
  Threat Level, the Kids have failed completely.
   
  ■
  If the number of successes reaches half or more 
  of the Threat Level, the Kids can check additional 
  Conditions to get more sixes, in order to reach a 
  compromise. Each added Condition counts as an 
  extra success. The Kids can make themselves Bro-
  ken to succeed if they want to. If the Kids reach the 
  Threat Level this way, they will achieve a part of 
  their goal. Details are up to the Gamemaster.
   
  ■
  If the Kids reached the Threat level, without check-
  ing extra Conditions, the Kids achieve their goal, 
  and overcome the Trouble.
  28
  CHAPTER O4
  
  THE SKILLS
  SNEAK (BODY) 
  The ability to hide, sneak or steal. 
  BONUS EFFECTS:
   
  ■
  Give a success to another Kid.
   
  ■
  You find something unexpected, or more of what 
  you were looking for.
  FORCE (BODY)
  The ability to lift heavy things, fight, and endure phys-
  ically stressful situations.
  BONUS EFFECTS:
   
  ■
  Give a success to another Kid.
   
  ■
  Impress, frighten or humiliate.
   
  ■
  Pin your opponent.
   
  ■
  Take something from your opponent.
   
  ■
  Your opponent is knocked unconscious.
   
  ■
  You don’t need to roll to overcome the exact same 
  Trouble in the future.
   
  ■
  You avoid any collateral damage.
  MOVE (BODY)
  The ability to climb high, balance, run fast, and chase 
  someone or get away. 
  BONUS EFFECTS:
   
  ■
  Give a success to another Kid. 
   
  ■
  Impress someone.
   
  ■
  No one notices you. 
  TINKER (TECH)
  The ability to build and manipulate machines and oth-
  er mechanical items.
  BUILD
  The Gamemaster will tell you what it takes to build 
  something. Some examples of what might be needed: 
   
  ■
  You need a certain Item.
   
  ■
  You need to successfully calculate.
   
  ■
  You need to successfully comprehend.
   
  ■
  You need to successfully program something.
   
  ■
  You need a lot of time.
   
  ■
  You need new tools.
  When you have what you need, you roll to overcome 
  the Trouble of actually making the thing. If the roll is 
  successful, you write down the object as an Item with 
  a bonus of +1. 
  BONUS EFFECTS: 
   
  ■
  The thing is more durable than expected. Add +1 to 
  the bonus (up to +3).
   
  ■
  The thing can do more than expected. Add +1 to 
  the bonus (up to +3).
   
  ■
  The thing is more discreet than expected. Add +1 to 
  the bonus (up to +3).
  MANIPULATE
  The tinker skill can also be used to break, use or 
  jury-rig mechanical things, to pick locks, and drive 
  motor vehicles. Sometimes you have to use calculate 
  first to figure out how to do it.
  29
  TROUBLE
  DESCRIBE HOW YOU DO IT
  It isn’t enough for you to say you use 
  a skill. You need to say what you do 
  in order to get to roll. This could be 
  done by having a conversation in-game 
  or by describing your actions; how you 
  study a dinosaur with the binoculars, 
  or how you open the top of a robot 
  with a hammer and a screwdriver and 
  then telling the other players what it 
  looks like inside.   
  
  BONUS EFFECTS: 
   
  ■
  Give a success to another Kid.
   
  ■
  You don’t need to roll to overcome the exact same 
  Trouble in the future.
   
  ■
  You do it quickly.
   
  ■
  You do it quietly.
   
  ■
  You show off.
  PROGRAM (TECH)
  The ability to create and manipulate computer programs 
  and electronic devices. This is a sister skill to tinker, but 
  used for electronic things rather than mechanical.
  CREATE
  The Gamemaster will tell you what it takes to create 
  something. Some examples of what might be needed: 
   
  ■
  You need a certain Item.
   
  ■
  You need to successfully calculate.
   
  ■
  You need to successfully comprehend.
   
  ■
  You need to successfully tinker first.
   
  ■
  You need a lot of time.
   
  ■
  You need new tools.
  When you have what you need, you roll to overcome 
  the Trouble of actually creating the thing. If the roll is 
  successful, write down the object as an Item with a bo-
  nus of +1. 
  BONUS EFFECTS: 
   
  ■
  The thing is more effective than expected. Add +1 
  to the bonus (up to +3).
   
  ■
  The thing can do more than expected. Add +1 to 
  the bonus (up to +3).
  MANIPULATE
  The program skill can also be used to manipulate 
  electronic items. Examples include infecting a com-
  puter with a virus, disabling an alarm or electronic 
  lock, confusing or controlling robots, and operating 
  strange objects like time machines or transformation 
  globes. Sometimes you have to use calculate first to 
  figure out how to do it.
  BONUS EFFECTS: 
   
  ■
  Give a success to another Kid.
   
  ■
  You don’t need to roll to overcome the exact same 
  Trouble in the future.
   
  ■
  You do it quickly.
   
  ■
  You get new or unexpected information.
   
  ■
  You show off.
  CALCULATE (TECH)
  The ability to know how technical objects work and 
  how to use them. It could be robots, machines, magne-
  trine ships, cyborgs, or an alarm clock. If you succeed, 
  you get to ask two questions:  
   
  ■
  What is its purpose?
   
  ■
  How does it work?
   
  ■
  How can I use it?
   
  ■
  Who built it?
   
  ■
  What problems could it cause?
   
  ■
  Is it illegal? 
  BONUS EFFECT:
   
  ■
  Ask one additional question and take +1 die 
  on one roll when you use the information (up 
  to +3).
  AVOIDING ATTACKS
  Sometimes, an NPC tries to hurt or 
  manipulate you. In such a situation, 
  describe how you try to avoid the 
  Trouble, and roll for the relevant 
  skill. If it’s a physical attack, 
  like a punch to the face, move is 
  most often used. If the NPC is doing 
  something relational like seducing 
  you or telling you lies, use charm. 
  In situations where you need to rely 
  on wits to understand something in 
  time to avoid it, roll comprehend, 
  and in situations where a sharp eye 
  is required, like when you are walking 
  into an ambush, roll investigate.
  30
  CHAPTER O4
  
  CONTACT (HEART)
  The ability to know the right person and get in touch 
  with them. You tell the Gamemaster who the person is, 
  and roll to overcome the Trouble of finding them. If you 
  succeed, you find them, or they find the Kids ready and 
  able to help. If you fail, the person doesn’t want to help 
  you or maybe they even want to hurt, humiliate or make 
  life difficult for you, and will come looking for you.
  BONUS EFFECTS:
   
  ■
  The contact has all the right tools with them.
   
  ■
  The contact may heal one of your Conditions.
   
  ■
  The contact brings more people, also ready to help.
   
  ■
  You don’t have to roll to get a hold of the contact 
  again during this Mystery.
   
  ■
  The contact knows something important.
   
  ■
  You may use the contact once as an Item with bo-
  nus +1 (up to +3).
  EXAMPLE
  Player 1 (Olle): Do I know anybody who 
  could help us get to the body? 
  The Gamemaster: Do you?
  Player 1: Eh… yes, my dad’s friend is a cop. He 
  likes to play with me when he visits. 
  The Gamemaster: What is his name?
  Player 1: He is called Salmon because he loves 
  to fish, but his real name is Oskar. 
  The Gamemaster: Roll contact.
  Player1: Miss!
  The Gamemaster: Suddenly a police car parks 
  outside the school. All the kids go to the 
  windows to look. You can see that it’s Salmon. 
  He walks right towards your classroom and he 
  looks mad. Maybe he heard what you did at 
  the robot factory? 
  CHARM (HEART)
  The ability to charm, lie, befriend, and make people 
  do what you want. As always, the Gamemaster decides 
  what can plausibly be achieved. 
  BONUS EFFECTS:
   
  ■
  They keep believing you.
   
  ■
  You have formed a lasting relationship.
   
  ■
  They will take risks to help you.
   
  ■
  They will try to persuade others to believe you.
   
  ■
  They are frightened, confused or impressed.
   
  ■
  They are infatuated.
  LEAD (HEART)
  The ability to make your friends work together, to help 
  them focus on the task at hand in difficult situations, 
  and to soothe them when they are scared or confused. 
  If you have time with the other Kids, you may in-
  spire and prepare them for a difficult situation. You roll 
  to overcome Trouble, and your successes become a dice 
  pool (see the table below). You may, in the upcoming 
  scenes, distribute bonus dice to the other Kids when they 
  roll to overcome Troubles – but only if they do as you 
  say. You cannot give these dice to yourself. 
  If you fail to lead, you must check a Condition, and 
  ask the other Kids how the relationship has been hurt. 
  There may only be one dice pool active at a time – the 
  group cannot have more than one leader. 
  LEADING OTHER KIDS
  Successes
  Dice Pool
  1 success 
  2 dice
  2 successes
  4 dice
  3 successes
  6 dice
  If you spend time privately with another Kid, giving 
  them advice and comfort, you may heal one of their 
  Conditions. You roll to overcome Trouble, and if you 
  succeed, the Condition is healed. If you fail, you suf-
  fer the same Condition. You cannot heal Broken Kids 
  using this skill.
  BONUS EFFECTS:
   
  ■
  Heal an additional Condition.
   
  ■
  Heal one of your own Conditions.
  INVESTIGATE (MIND) 
  The ability to find hidden objects, understand clues, 
  break puzzles or survey a place or a situation. You get 
  to ask two of these questions:
  31
  TROUBLE
  
   
  ■
  What is hidden here and where is it?
   
  ■
  What does it mean?
   
  ■
  What has happened here?
   
  ■
  How can I get into/out of/past something?
   
  ■
  What threats can I perceive here?
   
  ■
  Where is it?
  If the roll fails, you have misunderstood something, 
  someone has found out something about you, or you 
  suffer a Condition. The Gamemaster decides.
  BONUS EFFECT:
   
  ■
  Ask one additional question and get +1 die on one 
  roll when you use the information (up to +3).
  COMPREHEND (MIND)
  The ability to have the right piece of information or to be 
  able to find it at the school library or a similar location. 
  The Gamemaster will give you the information, or ask 
  you to come up with something on your own. If you fail 
  the roll, the Gamemaster gives you bad news or the wrong 
  information (the Gamemaster doesn’t say which it is). 
  BONUS EFFECT: 
   
  ■
  You get additional information and +1 bonus die to 
  one roll when you use the information (up to +3).
  EMPATHIZE (MIND)
  The ability to study what makes a person, an animal 
  or a conscious robot or cyborg tick, and how to find its 
  weakness. You need time to study or talk to the creature 
  or person to be able to roll for the skill. If you succeed, 
  you get to ask two questions.  
   
  ■
  What is their weak spot?
   
  ■
  How can I make them do something?
   
  ■
  What do they feel?
   
  ■
  What do they want?
   
  ■
  What will they do?
   
  ■
  Are they lying?
  If the roll fails, the Gamemaster either gives you bad 
  news or the wrong information (the Gamemaster 
  doesn’t tell which it is) or makes something bad happen. 
  BONUS EFFECT:
   
  ■
  Ask one additional question and take +1 die on 
  one roll when you use the information (up to +3).
  EXAMPLE
  Player 2 (Anita): I want to know what he is think-
  ing, so I roll empathize, with four dice. 
  The Gamemaster: Wait, wait, wait! You have to 
  study him or talk to him before you can under-
  stand him. 
  Player 2: Okay, I do that. I talk to him.
  The Gamemaster: What do you say?
  Player 2: I walk up to him in the schoolyard, and 
  ask him what he was doing on Adelsö yesterday. 
  The Gamemaster: He looks at you for a long time. 
  “I wasn’t there.”
  Player 2: “Strange, I’m sure I saw you there.”
  The Gamemaster: “You’re mistaken.” He looks 
  confused or scared. Roll the dice.
  WHEN TO KNOW WHAT
  There are four skills to get 
  information: comprehend, investigate, 
  calculate and empathize. In some cases, 
  they will overlap. The Gamemaster and 
  the players should decide together 
  which skill is appropriate in any 
  given situation, and in some cases 
  you may choose the better of two 
  skills. The Gamemaster has final say.
  32
  CHAPTER O4
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Tales from the Loop RPG (Year Zero Engine) [multi]/Starter set/Tales from the Loop - Starter Set - Rules [2020].pdf