The creator of Vampire: The Masquerade and World of Darkness is working on a cosmic horror RPG inspired by H.P. Lovecraft

Mark Rein-Hagen, the creative force behind blood-sucking RPG Vampire: The Masquerade and the World of Darkness games, is turning his talents to the twisted genre of cosmic horror.

Rein-Hagen’s studio Make Believe Games has announced that it will team up with Cubicle 7, the British RPG firm behind the Doctor Who RPG, Lord of the Rings-inspired offerings The One Ring RPG and Adventures in Middle-earth, and World War Cthulhu, to create Unspeakable: Sigil & Sign.

Unspeakable is described as being inspired by horror writers such as H.P. Lovecraft and August Derleth – but before you roll your eyes at the mere mention of Lovecraft’s name, it’s probably worth noting that the suggestion is that it is only inspired by, rather directly based on, Lovecraft’s stories.

That said, the premise is a familiar one, with cultists aiming to destroy the world. What’s a bit different is that players will take on the roles of the cultists – rather than the investigators trying to stop them. It’s

According to the announcement of Unspeakable: “The game explores the multifaceted themes of what it means to be monsters, looking out on a world that is as disturbing and maddening to them as they are to it.”

A Kickstarter campaign will go live for the RPG in April, aiming to fund a core set that will introduce the characters and setting of the world.

Gameplay will be powered by Make Believe’s card-driven Axiom system, which was first used in its 2015 horror RPG I Am Zombie – which similarly put players in the role of the ‘evil’ characters.

Helping with design will be fellow White Wolf Publishing and World of Darkness alumnus C.A Suleiman, who will serve as creator-developer for the project.

“For me, the entire concept of the Unspeakable setting is like a final exam of game design,” Suleiman explained.

“Without abandoning what’s central to it, nor even leaving its classic pulp era, we get to pull back the veil on some of the deeper mysteries of the Cthulhu Mythos, in the process rendering a game environment as rich and compelling as that of any tabletop game setting.”