2023 ENNIE Awards
WINNER – BEST RULES (Silver)
NOMINEE – PRODUCT OF THE YEAR
Magic has returned to our world
“I think becoming a wizard is about discovering what's real and what isn't.”
—Ben Aaronovitch, Rivers of London
In Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game, players take on the roles of newly recruited members of the London Metropolitan Police Service’s special magic branch, aka “the Folly.” You will solve mysteries, catch criminals, and come to grips with the “demi-monde”—those who have been irreversibly changed by magic.
What's Inside
The Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game core book contains everything you need to start exploring Ben Aaronovitch's magical version of London.
The World at your Fingertips
This single, epic volume is for both players and Game Moderators alike! The tome comprises all the rules you need for fully-fledged Rivers of London campaigns.
Build your group of freshly-recruited officers of the Folly with character creation, expand and grow those characters with the complete rules for character advancement, and enjoy extensive advice for running tabletop RPGs—and Rivers of London specifically—provided for the Game Moderator.
Learn to Play by Playing
Explore a magical mystery in London, and learn the rules of the game as you play! The solo adventure, based on the short story “The Domestic,” is designed to introduce a player to the world of Rivers of London and the mechanics of the game.
Also included is “The Bookshop”—a standalone adventure designed for a first-time group of players.
Explore Magical London & Beyond
Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game includes setting information and history, and the wondrous details of how the “Newtonian” magic system works. The book also contains a full list of spells derived from those found in the novels of Ben Aaronovitch.
To give both players and Game Moderators the best sense of the setting and role of their characters, special attention is paid to detailing how police work in London, and how criminal investigations are carried out.
This book also includes exclusive Rivers of London short fiction by Ben Aaronovitch.
Do you play Call of Cthulhu?
Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game is based off the award-winning Basic Roleplaying System used in Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest and many other games.
If you are familiar with the core mechanics from Call of Cthulhu like rolling D100s, using Luck, and getting Hard Successes, then you’ll pick up Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game in no time!.
What is Rivers of London?
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch is the first novel in the long-running series of urban fantasy novels, that focuses on the Officers of the Folly as they explore the magic-tainted city of London, and solve intricate, arcing mysteries.
You can buy Rivers of London and other novels from Ben Aaronovitch’s webstore, on Kindle and Kobo eReaders, and from all good bookshops.
Downloads for this Product
Rivers of London Auto-Calc Character Sheets
What The Critics Say
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"A superb realization of a much-loved series, dripping with character while offering fast and streamlined mechanics. Another classic in the making, and deservedly so... Chaosium have been pushing out great game after great game for years now, and this is no exception. A delight."
— Paul Mackintosh, RPGNet Review.
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"Rivers of London is in good hands... Gamers new to the system or new to RPGs will find a surprisingly clear and concise presentation of the rules in a step-by-step procedural format, complete with meaningful and relevant examples that are both easy to understand and easy to find."
— Runeslinger, Youtube Review.
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"A fantastic gateway into tabletop role-playing games… All in all, if this was your first ever role-playing game, you’re in good hands... If you’re a fan of the series of novels, this game is probably a must-have. Alternatively, if you’re looking for something that isn’t loaded with well-worn fantasy tropes, then this might be worth considering, especially for novice gamers."
— British Fantasy Society, Rivers of London Review.
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“A superb adaptation"
— Rolling Boxcars, Rivers of London; Giving it a London Once-Over.
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“9/10: You don’t have to be well-versed in Rivers of London to want to pick up this roleplaying game… a ‘must own’.
— The Gaming Gang, Review and Page-Through Video.
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“I genuinely think we’re in the middle of a Chaosium golden age right now, and Rivers of London is one of the fruits of it… As for the game itself, it’s got a lovely presentation – with nice full-colour art, a crisp, clear, readable front, no distracting background patterns to impact readability, and two ribbon bookmarks. The actual execution is an interesting mix of classic Chaosium design and organisation principles with modern attitudes, which is exactly what you’d want to do when introducing a new game line which feels fresh and distinct enough to appeal to a new audience whilst still being part of a longer-standing family of games.”
— Refereeing & Reflection, Rivers of London: Classic Chaosium Project, Modern Chaosium Attitude.
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"The whimsical and at times humorous Urban Fantasy setting of Rivers of London makes it ideal as either a first TTRPG or a transition game for players looking to expand beyond Dungeons & Dragons. There’s just enough familiar fantasy stuff to be engaging, but not so much that it feels tired or cliched... It goes without saying that if you’re a fan of the novels, Rivers Of London: The Roleplaying Game is a must-have addition to the bookshelf, and stands alone in its own right as an excellent and accessible TTRPG with something to offer everyone."
— GameOnAUS, Rivers Of London: The Roleplaying Game.
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”(The) close relationship with Aaronovitch and the team’s passion for the project has paid off with a game that faithfully captures both the tone and feel of the books.”
— 'Scry me a River’ - Wyrd Science #4, Wyrd Science #4.
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“Ben Aaronovitch has achieved one of his life’s ambitions and has an RPG of his work created. This thing of beauty exists!”
— Files and Records blog, Looking beyond the Rivers….
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“Based on the wildly successful novels of the same name, the Rivers of London RPG blends fantastical adventures with good old police procedural action to create a wonderfully unique experience at the tabletop.”
— Tabletop Gaming Magazine #77, Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game Review.
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"Rivers of London: the Roleplaying Game is absolutely the roleplaying adaptation that Ben Aaronovitch dreamed of for his novels."
— Reviews from R'lyeh, Fantasy of the Folly.
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"An outstanding 9/10 — the Rivers of London TTRPG manages to walk the fine line between welcoming newcomers to TTRPGs and delivering for franchise fans... Guidance from game creators and Ben Aaronovitch himself should ensure that everybody can start the game confidently, and grow from there."
— Pixel Bandits, Pixel Bandits reviews the Rivers of London Roleplaying Game.
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"An outstanding 9/10 — the Rivers of London TTRPG manages to walk the fine line between welcoming newcomers to TTRPGs and delivering for franchise fans... Guidance from game creators and Ben Aaronovitch himself should ensure that everybody can start the game confidently, and grow from there."
— Pixel Bandits, Pixel Bandits reviews the Rivers of London Roleplaying Game.
See the Call of Cthulhu Characters from the Rivers of London Cast
See Call of Cthulhu investigators based on the ones created by Molly, Nightingale, Abigail, and Indigo during the short story “An Introduction to Collaborative Storytelling,” by Ben Aaronovitch, found in the book.
Download the ZIP file here.
Rivers of London, including all distinctive characters and locations © 2011–2022 Ben Aaronovitch. Used with permission.
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PDF Product Name: [Rivers of London - The Roleplaying Game - PDF]
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Product Footer
Footer Name:
- Publisher:
- Chaosium
- Ruleset:
- Rivers of London
- Year Released:
- 2022
- Page Count:
- 400
- Format:
- Full Color Hardcover
- ISBN:
- 978-1-56882-459-8
- Author(s):
- Ben Aaronovitch, Graeme Barber, Paul Fricker, Adam Gauntlett, Lloyd Gyan, Lynne Hardy, Gavin Inglis, Mike Mason, Keris McDonald, Lucya Szachnowski
- Cover Artist:
- Lin Hsiang
- Interior Artist:
- Gary Bedell, Irene Cano, JB Casacop, Caleb Cleveland, Doruk Golcu, Richard Hardy, Kurt Komoda, Anh Le, Lucas Marques, Ernest Mason, Maurice Mosqua, Nicholas Nacario, Matt Ryan, Brooklyn Smith, Anastasia Magloire Williams
- Cartography:
- Alyssa Faden, Matt Ryan, Anna Urbanek
- Layout:
- Nicholas Nacario, Simeon Cogswell
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Fantastic port of the book stories
The team did a great job transposing Ben Aaronovitch's urban fantasy world into a fun and immediately playable setting and system. While lighter in tone than Call of Cthulhu often is, your investigators still have many secrets and surprises to uncover in this fantastic city, some of which are quite dangerous. (Of course, we run straight toward the danger! No cowards, we.) The system will be quite familiar to CoC players, and for my group that made for such an easy transition. While no familiarity with the books is required, the game will make you want to go read them all. And if you're crafting your own scenarios, they'll give you plenty of ideas! It's just great fun.
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Upbeat fun RPG
I’m enjoying Rivers of London RPG. It's so refreshing to have characters discover the secrets, bring peace, and live happily ever after (as opposed to be lost down a deep crypt, through a portal and going insane). This game lends itself to running a long-term campaign with my home group, and still works great as a one shot at a convention. While there is currently (2023) little in terms of pre-published adventures, there is inspiration from the huge range of fiction in the genre of urban fantasy and investigation of the supernatural in London.
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Wow!
An extraordinarily well-designed game for newer players. It can be played on its own, or as an introduction to Basic Role-Playing and Call of Cthulhu. Well designed, well illustrated, another triumph in Chaosium’s licensing. Highly recommended!
