Core Book (Root: the RPG)

Most of our games are Powered By The Apocalypse (PbtA). This is the same system used in Apocalypse World, Monsterhearts, Dungeon World, and more.

Many of these games share a simple core; when a character takes an action that fits one of the system’s moves, the player will roll two six-sided dice, add in a stat, and look back to the move for a result. On a 10+, the character will find success. On a 7-9, the character will have success, but with some kind of cost or complication. On a 6 or less, the Master of Ceremonies (MC) or Gamemaster (GM) will say what happens next… and it probably won’t be so good for the character.

There are other commonalities—specific character types called playbooks, a focus on playing to find out what happens, similar tools for the Gamemaster—but they all vary widely in their particulars. Any of our PbtA games may break with the others on some of these elements, but remain the same on others.

The intended audience for our games varies widely. A game like Bluebeard’s Bride contains mature content and is best suited for a group in the mood for horror, while Epyllion is for all ages, and creates fun, interesting fiction. You can play Masks: A New Generation with an eye to hopeful stories of young people standing up to the world around them, while Urban Shadows exposes the depths of corruption some souls can sink to in dark, mature stories of violence and crime.

To make it easier to tell the right audience for any particular game, we’ve given each game a rating, along with a note on how long a session runs, whether the game works best in a one shot or campaign format, and how many players we recommend. Our rating system is only a suggestion – many of our games can have the content dialed back or intensified depending on your group’s comfort level. We recommend using the X-card or other safety measures to help modulate content, particularly in a horror game.


Adults Only: Content such as explicit violence and sexual violence. Suggested for 21+

Mature: May contain graphic violence and sexual content. Suggested for 18+

Teen: May contain violence and some sexual content. Suggested for 13+

Everyone: Content is suitable for all ages

The Magpie Games Reddit is a space where our fans can gather in one place to chat and connect.

The Official Magpie Games Discord! We’ve got channels for everything from individual games, to convention talk, to GM advice, and more.

For more engagement, check out our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

First, please review our Shipping, Refunds, and Replacements Policies to see if your issue is eligible for a replacement or refund.

If you are eligible for a claim please file a claim here.

As per our policies, orders cannot be cancelled or edited after they have been placed.

If you submitted an order with an incorrect address, you may file an address change request and we will do our best to make the change. However, we cannot guarantee that the change will be made in time.

Domestic/ US

Domestic orders can be expected to ship within 5- 7 business days. 

International

International orders can be expected to ship in around 7- 10 business days, depending on the region. 

**All shipping times are based on best estimates. We do our best to adhere to these timelines whenever possible. If you have not received your shipping confirmation after 10 business days, please contact us at info@magpiegames.com for assistance.**

Due to logistical reasons, we are currently not shipping to the following regions:

• Africa
• South America
• Central America
• Middle East
• Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan)
• Eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus)

This list is subject to change at any time.

If your order is subject to international customs fees:

All additional taxes, customs fees, and other expenses incurred in transporting products to the customer will be the sole responsibility of the customer.

If you are ordering from our online store, tax and shipping will be calculated at checkout. Additional customs fees may be charged depending on your region.

If you are backing a Kickstarter project, your tax and shipping will be calculated once you have filled out your backer survey for shipping. 

European pricing is inclusive of VAT, Tax, and Shipping. 

We do our best to mitigate high fees on behalf of our customers but customs fees are determined by individual shipping regions and the countries they serve. We have no control over how those are decided, nor can we dispute them on your behalf. 

If you require extra documentation:

If you need extra information from us regarding your order in order for it to be shipped safely to you,  please email us at info@magpiegames.com with an explanation of what is needed for your case. We will always do our best to help you.

This error is likely because an item in your cart is out of stock or not available in your region. Please review the items in your cart for any Out of Stock or Limited Availability notices.

1. Add the products to your cart. You must have the promotional item(s) in your cart in order for the coupon code to work.

2. Once you have finished adding all the products to your cart, click Check Out.

3. On the Check Out screen, enter the coupon code into the discount code field. If you are paying with an Express Checkout option (e.g. Paypal, Venmo, etc), you must enter the discount code before confirming the order.

On desktop, the discount code field can be found underneath the cart items on the righthand side of the page. Example here.

On mobile, the discount code field will be at the very bottom of the page in the Order Summary box. Example here.

4. Once the discount code is entered, click Apply. You should then see the discount applied to your order.

If there are no Economy shipping options available, it is because a product you are trying to order is out of stock or unavailable in your region and must be shipped from our warehouse in the US.

Please try adjusting the items in your cart or contact us for assistance.

We wanted to make our games more accessible to people around the world: those who don’t have access to a regular play group, or those who do but still want to play more anyway. We’ve handpicked some of the most experienced and qualified GMs in the industry to run our games for you online! You can sign up by yourself, or with friends and play through sessions of your favorite game!

Not at all! We welcome people who have been playing our games for years, as well as people who have never picked up a tabletop rpg in their life. Just let the GM know your level of experience, and they’ll make sure to tailor their instructions to what you need. 

We release new schedules twice a month. So that people can prepare, we generally announce several days ahead of time when the new events are going live. To keep up with the schedule, follow Magpie Games on Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page! 

We determine our schedules based on demand. Enough people have to want to play a game for us to have it available in our Curated Play Program. If you think there’s a game that should be up there, email us at curatedplay@magpiegames.com and let us know. We can’t promise that we can fulfill every request, but telling us  what you want us to offer is extremely helpful in designing our Curated Play Program. 

We make each of our players and GMs agree to a Code of Conduct when they play in our Curated Play Program. All of our GMs have been trained to deal with issues of harassment and disruption. That being said, if you encounter any issues, our Customer Service Agreement clearly delineates the protocol we follow. Please read it thoroughly and contact our Director of Community, Kate Bullock, to report any unacceptable behavior that takes place during the game. 

We’re always excited to talk to people interested in running our games. Our roster is currently full but we are always interested in talking to qualified GMs with plenty of experience. If you feel that might be you, please fill out this form.