I’m excited to share the early development progress on the Freaks Campaign Manager, a specialized web application being developed alongside the Freaks RPG – a tabletop game about teenagers with supernatural abilities navigating the secret world of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Current Development State
The foundation is already taking shape with core functionality in place. Players can create accounts, log in securely, and begin building their parahuman characters. The character creation system allows players to define their teenage protagonists with period-appropriate archetypes (Agile, Brawny, or Crafty), concepts ranging from honor students to punk rockers, and supernatural abilities like telepathy, super strength, and energy manipulation.
The character sheets capture the unique flavor of Freaks, displaying not just powers (called “perks”) but also the complications that make these characters compelling – quirks like “Secret Identity Stress,” “Tech Phobic,” or “Cold War Paranoia” that reflect both the supernatural elements and the specific anxieties of growing up in the Reagan era.
The Complete Vision
When fully realized, the Freaks Campaign Manager will serve as a comprehensive digital toolkit featuring campaign management, enhanced character tools, collaborative dice rolling, shared campaign notes, and timeline tracking of historical events. The goal is creating a seamless bridge between tabletop play and digital convenience.
Maybe Putting the Cart Before the Horse?
I’ll be honest – building a web application while the TTRPG itself is still in development might be a bit backwards. 🤷♂️ But there’s something exciting about developing both simultaneously. As game mechanics evolve, they can be immediately tested in digital form. When new character options emerge, they get added to the app. It’s creating a feedback loop between analog and digital design that feels… well, very much in the spirit of the late 80s, when technology was rapidly changing how people connected and shared stories.
Technology & Approach
The app uses Node.js, MySQL, and straightforward web technologies chosen for reliability over flashiness – much like the Freaks RPG itself, which uses streamlined mechanics to focus on compelling storytelling about young people discovering extraordinary abilities during one of history’s most turbulent periods.
Both projects are being developed with the goal of launching together as a complete gaming experience. Whether this parallel approach proves brilliant or chaotic remains to be seen, but it’s certainly keeping things interesting.
Looking Ahead
For Game Masters preparing to run campaigns about government conspiracies and parahuman teenagers, and players eager to explore what it means to have incredible power when you’re still figuring out who you are, the Freaks Campaign Manager aims to enhance the storytelling experience from day one – assuming we can get both the cart and the horse moving in the right direction.
Both the Freaks RPG and the Freaks Campaign Manager are currently in active development, with plans to launch together. Whether this simultaneous approach is genius or madness will be determined by future historians.
Leave a Reply