SPIRALIS - A Roleplaying Game of Cosmic Horror and Eldritch Mystery

Oct 6, 2026

Upload by Elsa

Spiralis is a supernatural roleplaying game centered on cosmic dread and investigative mystery. One to five players portray Investigators who push into the secrets of the cosmos while a single Keeper prepares and presents scenario conflicts, clues, and consequences. The rules support quick character creation, clear action resolution through dice-based stat checks, and escalating themes such as insanity, magick, horror, and combat, including guidance for scenario design and managing player activities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages42

Reading Time1 h 5 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction & Overview

Player Activities

Scenarios, Etc.

Terms

Your Investigator

Player Agenda

First Steps

Stats

The Game

Stat Checks

Actions

Failure

Aid or Interfere

Magick

Leaving the Game

Insanity

To the Keeper

Purpose

Keeper’s Agenda

Questionable Content

Stats

Actions & Failure

Magick

Combat

Horror

Scenario Design

Other Resources & Afterword

SPIRALIS A Roleplaying Game of Cosmic Horror and Eldritch Mystery By Aaron M. Sturgill Ashcan Edition © May 2018 Suggested donation: $3 for PDF, $5 for print. All illustrations are public domain. Please distribute this ashcan freely with attribution to the author. Visit [trailofdice.weebly.com/spiralis](trailofdice.weebly.com/spiralis) for character sheet, updates, and more roleplaying game resources. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW 03 Player Activities 03 Scenarios, Etc. 04 Terms 04 YOUR INVESTIGATOR 06 Player Agenda 06 First Steps 08 Stats 10 THE GAME 12 Stat Checks 12 | Actions | 14 | | --- | --- | | Failure | 17 | | Aid or Interfere | 18 | | Magick | 19 | | Leaving the Game | 21 | | Insanity | 22 | TO THE KEEPER 23 Purpose 23 | Keeper’s Agenda | 23 | | --- | --- | | Questionable Content | 26 | | Stats | 28 | | Actions & Failure | 29 | | Magick | 31 | | Combat | 32 | | Horror | 33 | | Scenario Design | 34 | | Other Resources & Afterword | 40 | INTRODUCTION Welcome to Spiralis, a roleplaying game of supernatural mystery and dread inspired by Cthulhu Dark and the Powered By the Apocalypse family of games. In this game, one to five players will portray Investigators, peering into the secrets of the cosmos, which will probably shatter their lives in various ways. Additionally, one person will be the Keeper, who will prepare and present an investigative scenario: conflicts to be resolved, clues to be uncovered, and consequences for the Investigators’ actions. Although some familiarity with other roleplaying games is expected, first-time roleplayers should be able to follow these rules. PLAYER ACTIVITIES Players will determine their Investigators’ basic information, as well as three core Stats that will fluctuate (mostly downward) in play. This is a game of spiraling terror, and more than one Investigator is very likely to meet a grotesque fate. Creating your Investigator should take 5 to 15 minutes at most, with substantial input from the Keeper and other players at the table. Each player should have a handful of dice: three six-sided, one eight-sided, and one ten-sided. These are represented by symbols throughout the main text:􀀁 , 􀀂 , 􀀃 , etc. It helps if two 􀀁 are a simple and identical (small or black), while the other three dice are completely different (large or colored), but this isn’t strictly necessary. SCENARIOS, ETC. Spiralis is intended to take a group of players through a short campaign-length story arc (two to six sessions of play) . If the Keeper is not designing her own mysteries, she will most often utilize published scenarios from games such as Call of Cthulhu, Trail of Cthulhu, Cthulhu Dark, The Cthulhu Hack, or elsewhere. These adventures will often require minor or no tweaking whatsoever; you can just ignore the stat blocks for those systems, and have the players roll for the clues as they come up in each scene.(More tips for scenario design on p. 34.) TERMS For clarity, I will refer to individuals playing the game (the Keeper and the players) as she/her. Their fictional counterparts, the Investigators, are referred to as he/him. Below are some unique terms used in this game that you will find throughout the book. Action (or Action Roll): A dice roll (always one to three dice) used to resolve something an Investigator is attempting to accomplish or discover. Agenda: A guiding principle for the players and the Keeper which will drive the fiction in a specific way. Critical Insight: The best possible outcome from an Action roll, defined as complete success plus a glimpse of cosmic insight or other fictional bonus. Current Level (or Level): The fluid rating of a Stat, as opposed to the die attached to it (which is static) . Fiction, The: The narrative created at the table during sessions of play. Interchangeable with ‘story’. Investigation: A defined narrative arc, or story. Consists of a beginning, middle, and end; may comprise one or

FAQs

How many players can play Spiralis and what roles do they have?

Spiralis supports one to five players as Investigators, plus one Keeper who prepares and presents the investigative scenario. The Keeper resolves world portrayal and scenario delivery while players focus on clues and conflicts.

What are the main player activities in the game?

Players create Investigators, track three core Stats that fluctuate during play, and use dice rolls to resolve actions and determine outcomes. The gameplay emphasizes spiraling terror and advancing an investigation through scenes.

What is the Keeper responsible for in Spiralis?

The Keeper prepares and presents an investigative scenario with conflicts to resolve, clues to uncover, and consequences for Investigators’ actions. The Keeper may run published scenarios or design her own mysteries, and follows agendas and procedures for play.

Oct 6, 2026

Upload by Elsa