Approximate length: The CAIN core rulebook is 153 pages long, although not very dense due to including lots of art and graphics. Same goes for the Games For Freaks stuff, which is only 7 pages.
Where is it found?:CAIN on itch with a lore expansion of somewhat import in Games For Freaks. Total cost is about 14 bucks so please buy them if possible but you can also find just the CAIN core book here if you can't afford that.
Elevator pitch of what it's about: I'll let Tom Bloom himself give the pitch: "You are a tool, a weapon of the the highly secretive and supra-governmental organization CAIN in an official capacity of an exorcist. You have grace, the ability to perceive sins and manifest powerful and highly honed psychic techniques called blasphemies. You have a single purpose in this world: to hunt down all sins and execute them with extreme prejudice."
It's an episodic, investigative TTRPG that focuses on unraveling the mystery behind tragedies that create Sins, psychic manifestations of human trauma, and then using what you learn to strike the Sin down before it rips reality apart.
Content warnings: Abuse, self-harm, trauma, mental health crises, gore, body horror, inhumane treatment of workers, dehumanization, and more, on the regular. Also bright colors for the books themselves.
In Tom's words: "By default the game is about untangling the traumatic events that have led to a Sin’s birth, which requires engagement with that history."
What do you love about it?: It's played like if Persona and Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man had a TTRPG baby and it's fucking awesome. It's super fun to play, and I love its episodic nature and the ease with which you can create a character just by picking a blasphemy and an agenda and throwing some stats together. The vibes are delicious.
Untangling the ways people can be hurt and the traumas that grow from that brings a certain deeper connection when you play it with other people, an acknowledgement that we can all be hurt and yet we are working through that. We acknowledge the tragedies of the world so that we can use this awareness to do good in our world. Additionally, the idea of showing compassion to those who manifest the Sin rings deeply with me. The idea that maybe CAIN as an organization has the wrong idea. Maybe it is compassion that weakens the Sin, when someone understands the trauma you've been through, and maybe it can lead to healing.
What kind of themes would you request for it?: I love the deep, emotional themes combined with the need to keep the supernatural a secret while fulfilling a mission. With no resources, no money, no ID, just three Trauma questions and the ill-fitting clothes on your backs, how does a squad of exorcists unravel the tragedy behind the Sin before it goes nuclear? What does that final confrontation look like outside of an actual-play? How do the exorcists interact with one another? What is the experience of an exorcist like? How do they feel the impact of their powers on themselves and in the world? Additionally, how does the compassionate nature of the Trauma questions interact with the violent action of killing a Sin?
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CAIN - Tom Bloom (Tabletop Roleplaying Game)
Date: 2025-04-14 06:44 am (UTC)Media: Tabletop Roleplaying Game
Approximate length: The CAIN core rulebook is 153 pages long, although not very dense due to including lots of art and graphics. Same goes for the Games For Freaks stuff, which is only 7 pages.
Where is it found?: CAIN on itch with a lore expansion of somewhat import in Games For Freaks. Total cost is about 14 bucks so please buy them if possible but you can also find just the CAIN core book here if you can't afford that.
Elevator pitch of what it's about: I'll let Tom Bloom himself give the pitch: "You are a tool, a weapon of the the highly secretive and supra-governmental organization CAIN in an official capacity of an exorcist. You have grace, the ability to perceive sins and manifest powerful and highly honed psychic techniques called blasphemies. You have a single purpose in this world: to hunt down all sins and execute them with extreme prejudice."
It's an episodic, investigative TTRPG that focuses on unraveling the mystery behind tragedies that create Sins, psychic manifestations of human trauma, and then using what you learn to strike the Sin down before it rips reality apart.
Content warnings: Abuse, self-harm, trauma, mental health crises, gore, body horror, inhumane treatment of workers, dehumanization, and more, on the regular. Also bright colors for the books themselves.
In Tom's words: "By default the game is about untangling the traumatic events that have led to a Sin’s birth, which requires engagement with that history."
What do you love about it?: It's played like if Persona and Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man had a TTRPG baby and it's fucking awesome. It's super fun to play, and I love its episodic nature and the ease with which you can create a character just by picking a blasphemy and an agenda and throwing some stats together. The vibes are delicious.
Untangling the ways people can be hurt and the traumas that grow from that brings a certain deeper connection when you play it with other people, an acknowledgement that we can all be hurt and yet we are working through that. We acknowledge the tragedies of the world so that we can use this awareness to do good in our world. Additionally, the idea of showing compassion to those who manifest the Sin rings deeply with me. The idea that maybe CAIN as an organization has the wrong idea. Maybe it is compassion that weakens the Sin, when someone understands the trauma you've been through, and maybe it can lead to healing.
What kind of themes would you request for it?: I love the deep, emotional themes combined with the need to keep the supernatural a secret while fulfilling a mission. With no resources, no money, no ID, just three Trauma questions and the ill-fitting clothes on your backs, how does a squad of exorcists unravel the tragedy behind the Sin before it goes nuclear? What does that final confrontation look like outside of an actual-play? How do the exorcists interact with one another? What is the experience of an exorcist like? How do they feel the impact of their powers on themselves and in the world? Additionally, how does the compassionate nature of the Trauma questions interact with the violent action of killing a Sin?