Core Setting

"Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to truly... live?"

Welcome to the Overseer's Spacethe Overseer's Space主神空间Where Reincarnators rest between Films: a white platform in endless darkness, ringed by 20 doors to personal rooms. Called 'the Space' for short.. Welcome to the world of Infinite Horror.

As a TRPG, Infinite Horror has a setting very different from other games of its kind. The people who come here have learned the truth of the world, and they fight hard in order to "truly live".

Everyone who comes to the Overseer's Space is called a "ReincarnatorReincarnator轮回者Someone summoned by the Overseer who survived their first Film; the player characters.". A Reincarnator might be a hot-blooded young man, a fiery bombshell, a disabled person with an unbroken will, or even someone in their sixties. Their ages and places in society are all different, but they always share one thing: deep confusion about their future, even despair.

Here, you can throw off rotten social norms and a dull past, and become the person you most want to be. Whether you choose to be a dragon-slaying hero or a demon from purgatory, an enlightened master riding a flying sword or a wild brawler who can strike an ox through a mountain, it all comes down to a single thought.

STStoryteller主持人The person who runs the game and speaks for the world; ST for short. (the Storyteller, who runs the game): When you wake from sleep, or perhaps from unconsciousness, you find yourselves sprawled every which way across a huge fighting stage. The stage is paved with solid gray bricks. You don't know how long you've been lying here (a while, probably, since the bricks under you have already been warmed by your bodies). Behind the stage, a number of banners lean at crooked angles. Most of them are in tatters, and the few still legible read "Martial Contest for a Bride", "Life and Death Are Not Our Concern", "World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament", "Sister-in-Law, I Love You!", "Master, Save Me!"... and other such jumbled nonsense.
In front of the stage lies what looks like a fairly prosperous little town. Directly facing you is a three-story inn with vermilion doors. A waiter with a white towel over his arm is eagerly ushering in two figures with pointed ears and longbows on their backs. "One gentleman hero, one lady hero, please come in!"
The inn (or the building that looks like an inn) also has a signboard:
"Jianghu".
And underneath it, you notice, a line of small print:
"Thornbird Dynasty, Dragon Gate Town, Jianghu Inn, Buick County Branch".
After looking around, you start sizing each other up...
The most striking of you has fine features, a broad back and a bear-like waist, and wears close-fitting black martial clothes. Although none of you are ordinary people, you still feel small next to him. He seems to give off an aura that makes others want to bow.
The rest of you are much alike: a fine-featured young man who, besides the Captain America shield in his hand, has a pair of flirtatious eyes; a man in black-framed glasses, with a wide forehead and a big nose, dressed casually; another man in black-framed glasses who, apart from two thick eyebrows, has nothing distinctive about him at all; and finally a man in a loosely open white shirt and black cropped trousers.
"Eleven o'clock. Arrivals: from... the Long Aotian world, Long Aotian. From the Main World, Liu Haoran. From The Legend of the Emperor*, Song Yingxing. From the Main World, Ye Tao. From the Main World, Lu Ren... Yaaawn..."*
While you are sizing each other up, unsure how to start talking, a voice breaks in mid-yawn. Following the sound, you see a short, middle-aged man with a small desk in front of him, complete with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. He is writing something with a brush.

Lingze (player, playing Song Yingxing): "Oh? I don't know what world comes after death, but this inn has a certain ancient charm. Who knows how many heroes have been buried here." He studies the banners in wonder and rubs his chin. Still fleshy, still there.
"Thornbird Dynasty, Dragon Gate Town, Jianghu Inn, Buick County Branch, is it? Could you give me a proper address to write down?" Quite at home with all this, he memorizes the faces around him, hops down from the stage, and heads for the small desk.
"And you are...? The innkeeper, perhaps?"
He asks offhandedly. After the reform and opening-up, nobody bothers much with etiquette.

Longjuan (player, playing Long Aotian): "Hm? Have I crossed over to another world?" Long Aotian thinks to himself. In the Aotian world, crossing over isn't anything unusual. Not quite everyone does it, but it is common enough. Long Aotian looks over the underlings beside him and thinks, "So these are the underlings I get for crossing over. They'll be the core of my future rule over this place."
Then his attention settles on the yawn. Aotian's thoughts: "We have only just arrived, and this yawn came neither too fast nor too slow, neither too early nor too late, but at precisely the right moment. This is no ordinary man. To question him rashly would be rude. Better to see what he is writing, and decide after that."
His mind made up, Long Aotian takes a look at what the man is writing.

Hui (player, playing Liu Haoran): Liu Haoran panics a little! Where is this place?! But then he thinks it over! Martial-arts fantasy... did I cross over to another world?! Fantastic! From now on, a life of thrilling adventure! All those years of Iron Shirt training weren't wasted! Sigh! I wonder what my wife is doing now! And Xiao Hong from the office said we'd meet tomorrow! Sigh!

Two worlds apart from now on! Better to look forward to the ups and downs of the life ahead! Speaking of which, who's that guy next to me radiating a conqueror's aura?!

Hm? There's even a martial contest for a bride! Let's see if the bride is pretty!

Jiang You (player, playing Lu Ren): "The past feels like a dream..."
He frowns and looks around. With injuries like his, even modern medicine probably couldn't have saved him.
Yet here he stands without a scratch. Wounds that should have been fatal have left no trace at all.
The facts are right in front of him, and he can hardly deny them. Even if someone is using him now, he has already walked through death's door once, so there is nothing left to fear.
"I don't believe in ghosts or gods. I always thought talk of an afterlife was empty words. I never expected it to be real."
Reasonably, the man in front of him must be in charge of guiding new arrivals, and a chat with him should reveal a good deal. With that thought, he speaks up at once.
"How may I address you, sir? We have only just arrived and understand little of this place. We would be grateful for an explanation."

ST: You climb down from the stage and walk over to the man. You're not alone: the striking man with fine features and a bear-like build, and the man in the white shirt and black cropped trousers, seem to have the same idea.
"The innkeeper? No, no, no. I just handle registration for newcomersNewcomer新人A summoned person still in their first Film. Survivors become Reincarnators. in this area," he says. "Every so often, a fixed number of people are sent here from other worlds. It's generally believed the space has chosen you, so you're called 'the Chosen', and someone has to register you separately." He doesn't look very happy about it. "I'm the unlucky one. And now it seems I have to explain things to newcomers as well, without earning a single tael of silver for it..."

Golden Conch (player, playing Ye Tao): "What? I'm not dead? I crossed over in my own body?" He looks himself over from head to toe, makes sure everything is original and genuine, and quietly tries circulating his inner force. There seems to be only one conclusion.
As the saying goes, whoever survives a great disaster is bound for good fortune, so Ye Tao doesn't worry much about what comes next. Only the thought that he may never see his parents again makes him a little wistful. But this is no time for sadness. He pulls himself together, steps down from the stage, goes over to the small desk, and asks, "I've only just arrived. Do you have any advice for me, sir?"

Hui: Seeing everyone else heading toward the man with the brush, Liu Haoran immediately goes with the flow and follows the crowd!

(Excerpted, with edits and polishing, from the sessionplaying a session跑团Playing a tabletop RPG session. log Storming the Condor World, Battling the Twin Fiends, Saving the Little Demon, and the One-Armed Oath of Three*.)*

As in every adventure game, combat is always an essential part.

ST: You look up and realize that, without noticing, you've been surrounded by a gang of thuggish soldiers. Eleven of them surround you, and one wears a badge none of the others have. He is clearly the leader.

Silence (player, playing Mo): I raise both hands.

Touzhui (player, playing Touzhui): I want to launch a surprise attack right now.

ST: Then Touzhui enters a surprise round. The soldiers didn't expect you to suddenly strike. Every one of them is flat-footedflat-footed措手不及Caught unready; usually unable to use defense bonuses. to you. You now have a standard/move/swift actionswift action迅捷动作A very quick action, usually once per turn., and your free actionsfree action自由动作An action that takes almost no time, like speaking a few words. are unlimited.

Touzhui: I use a standard actionstandard action标准动作Your main action, such as an attack or using an ability. to activate the weapon SkillSkill技能A learned ability. Attribute + Skill makes most dice pools. "Spirit of the Wolf" of my Twin New-Moon Swords. And with a free action, I order the two summoned wolves to grapplegrapple擒抱Seizing and holding an opponent. the two soldiers closest to me.

ST: Touzhui twirls his swords into a flourish, and two spectral wolves appear in midair, howling as they pounce on the nearest two soldiers.

Touzhui: (rolls) My attack rollsroll检定Rolling your dice pool of d10s; each die showing 8 or higher is a success. Written like 'a Dexterity + Stealth roll'. get 1 and 2 successes, so both hit. Next, the grapple rolls (rolls): 12 and 15.

ST: (rolls) Thug A's grapple resistance is 7. (rolls) Thug B's is 4. Caught by the sudden attack, both soldiers end up wrestling with the dark blue spectral wolves. The surprise round is over. Roll InitiativeInitiative先攻The value that sets turn order in combat. and let's get into the fight.

Touzhui: (rolls) My Initiative is 20.

Silence: (rolls) My Initiative is 24.

ST: (rolls) The ordinary soldiers' Initiative is 12, and the squad leader's is 19. Turn order: Mo, Touzhui, the squad leader, then the soldiers.

Touzhui: With a free action, I order the two wolves to pin down the two soldiers. (rolls) 8 and 6.

ST: (rolls) Both soldiers get 5. Thug A and Thug B are pinned to the ground by the two spectral wolves.

Touzhui: Then I use my standard action to cast the spell "Iron Dragon Shield", and use a move actionmove action移动动作Moving, or anything that takes as long. to parryparry格挡Blocking an attack with a weapon or shield. A weapon tagged [Parry X] adds X shield bonus when parrying. with BladeBlade白刃The Skill for fighting with swords and other melee weapons.. My turn is over.

(Excerpted, with edits and polishing, from the session log Land of Buried Bones and Seals, Part 1*.)*

The world of Infinite Horror revolves around the Overseer's Space. The Overseer's Space is an endlessly wide white platform, lit by a giant sphere of light. Every so often, usually every 10 days, all Reincarnators must set out from the Overseer's Space into worlds built on filmsFilm影片A mission world the Overseer sends Reincarnators into, usually based on a movie, novel, or game., games, and anime, to adventure and to survive. If you live, you grow stronger. If you are unlucky enough to die... nobody will be collecting your body. You might laugh and chat with Captain Jack Sparrow in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean, or get the sudden urge to bathe in Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings. You could even go to the world of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, kill Yin Zhiping before his time, and win Xiaolongnü for yourself. Every move you make could lead to countless different endings.

For details, see the Gameplay chapter.