[■] DIGITAL_DUNGEONS v1.1.4
CORP infrastructure as crawlable space. Rooms are servers, server elements are obstacles, and CORP agents are monsters.
YOU HAVE ONE OBJECTIVE:
EXPOSE CORP
OR DIE TRYING.
INSIDIUM is an analog horror dungeon-crawling challenge RPG about a small hacking crew breaching a megacorporation that runs the world. The good news? CORP has terrible security hygiene. The bad news? They will hunt you down.
ACCESS GRANTED // PUBLIC SIGNAL UNSTABLE
=== BRIEFING: WHAT IS INSIDIUM? ===
Insidium is a compact OSR dungeon crawler with boardgame-like structure. You and your crew breach CORP subsidiaries, crawl their infrastructure, extract evidence, and leak it to a brainwashed public that may not even still be listening.
Each player runs one OPERATOR and selects one PATRON. Operators don't suffer hit points of damage. They escape, die, or CORP kidnaps them.
Format: tabletop RPG. Crew: small hacking team. Best for oneshots and six to eight session challenge campaigns. Structure: procedural, item-forward, escalating. Win: CORP exposed with public signal still intact. Lose: anything else.
=== RUN LOOP.SIM ===
One core loop with multiple phases where CORP can track everything you do.
PREP — Buy gear, work the marketplace, scope the target. The marketplace rerolls so whatever you skip today could be gone tomorrow.
CORP ALERTNESS +0
=== INSTALLED MODULES ===
$ list --installed
[■] PHYSICAL_RISK v2.0
Half the game happens in the physical world involving safehouses, raids, and evasion of physical traces.
[■] ITEM_DESIGN v1.0
Your gear is a major component of your character sheet, marking the difference betwene success and failure.
[■] MARKETPLACE v1.2
The marketplace rerolls periodically. Things for sale today might be gone tomorrow, so plan accordingly.
[■] PRESSURE_SYSTEM v1.9
PUBLIC SIGNAL is the win condition and CORP ALERTNESS is how much CORP wants your crew to disappear.
[■] PROCGEN_CORE v3.4
Procedural targets, servers, loot, and counterattacks. No two campaigns ever crawl the exact same CORP infrastructure.
=== GLOBAL STATUS — LIVE ===
PUBLIC SIGNAL
CORP ALERTNESS
REMINDER: Exposing CORP means nothing if no one is listening. Protect your public signal.
CORP Alertness is global. Every bit of noise is your crew's problem. As alertness rises, CORP starts playing offence.
simulated values — yours may be worse
Safehouse warning
/!\ WARNING: SAFEHOUSE HEAT EXCEEDS RECOMMENDED THRESHOLD
Location: Rental Unit L932. Heat: high. Compromised by traced movement and poor luck. Raid forecast: probable.
- > RELOCATE CREW (lose time, money, and momentum)
- > FORTIFY POSITION (risk it all)
- > IGNORE WARNING (CORP commends this behavior)
In INSIDIUM, maintaining the condition of your safehouse is crucial. CORP can find it, monitor it, and raid it. Rent directly from CORP or browse the marketplace for cold safehouses. Just remember that CORP rentals are cheap for a reason.
=== CREW MANIFEST ===
OPERATOR: “bee$knee$”ALIVE
- Patron
- The Wraith
- Specialty
- mainframe intrusion
- Last seen
- Safehouse 2
CORP might have a trace running.
OPERATOR: “987vt”TAKEN
- Patron
- The Specter
- Specialty
- signal & leaks
- Last seen
- Rental Unit D234
Do not attempt rescue. CORP retains all seized personnel under the Mindfullness Program™.
OPERATOR: “C@nn1bal”COMPROMISED
- Patron
- The Eidolon
- Specialty
- physical intrusion
- Last seen
- CORP Civic Wellness HQ
Painfully optimistic. Statistically this will not last.
Each player runs one operator and chooses one patron. Operators escape, die, or get kidnapped depending on how you play. Replacement operators are available on lower difficulties. Grief is optional, but your failure is not.
Lineage
DO NOT CIRCULATE
INTERNAL MEMO — RE: ORIGIN
INSIDIUM is a Patronage Realm: a compact, highly customized gameplay setting built on the Patronage RPG system. It is a flagship example of how far a Realm can be designed, showcasing unique structure, procedural generation, and adversarial escalation.
CORP ALREADY KNOWS YOU READ THIS FAR.
YOU MIGHT AS WELL PLAY.
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