What's New in Pinebox Middle School?

Back in the 1980s (yes I’m that old), one of my favorite tabletop roleplaying games was Chill. Originally published by Pacesetter Ltd. out of Delavan, Wisconsin, Chill was a horror game predominantly set in the current era. As it was the 80s, we had no internet, no laptops, and no cell phones at our disposal. This made isolating player characters easy because they couldn’t just whip out their iPhone 15 Pro or Samsung S24 and call for backup or scroll through their search engine of choice for clues on how to defeat that slavering hell beast they’d just trapped in the basement!

Since the premiere of Netflix’s Stranger Things, we’ve seen a rash of tabletop RPGs and supplements set in the 80s for both nostalgic reasons and reasons of baked-in isolation due to the aforementioned tech issues.

When we first set out to create the new Pinebox Middle School Roleplaying Game, it was decided that it would be a contemporary horror game set parallel to the modern era presented in the already established and very popular East Texas University setting (from Pinnacle Entertainment Group). While this certainly made for some challenging design decisions, it also presented us with some genuinely fun opportunities to craft a few new rules beyond just saying that close proximity to supernatural stuff messes with your phones.
In Pinebox Middle School, we focus on these two problems, but more from a “real world” perspective where simply being in the wrong environment can cause connectivity issues.

It all began with a look at cell phone reliability in general. How often have you wanted to look something up or watch a few TikToks but you’ve found yourself in an area where the signal is low or even non-existent? Additionally, how often have you been away from home, reached for your phone to check your messages, and found that your battery is almost dead? And you don’t have a power bank or even a charger cable to remedy it!

There are three Battery Levels that are tracked in the game: good, low, and dead. Raising a “dead” battery to “low” (enough to at least make a quick call or look something up in Wikipedia) requires 10 minutes of charging, while raising a “low” battery to “good” requires a minimum of three hours.

In addition, we present rules for Signal Penalties:

“Signal penalties are imposed on ANY roll associated with using an electronic device for communication or internet access when the signal level is three bars or lower. This is in addition to any other situational penalties the Principal may impose.”

Additionally, if your device isn’t plugged into a power source, and you fail a roll with a signal penalty in place, it reduces the battery level of your device by one step!

As stated above, signal penalties only apply if your phone is at three bars or lower. The initial levels are established at the top of each adventure (and potentially modified accordingly in later encounters) and we offer a set of Cell Signal reference cards that can be presented to the players to clarify the current signal level:

In the core book, the effects of each level and examples of where that level might come into play are explained in detail. Here are two examples:

“Four Bars (No Penalty): There are no issues at all accessing the internet, streaming video, or making calls. This is the signal level in most of Pinebox’s downtown and residential areas. Rolls to access the internet are made with no signal penalties, and failure does not cause a loss in battery level.”

“One Bar (-3 Signal Penalty): This signal level is common in the rural areas between Golan County population centers and in some of the more accessible parts of the Big Thicket. Maintaining any communication at this level usually requires a special Electronics roll.”

With these simple rules (everything here is summarized on a single page in the core book), we add a level of unpredictability to your modern day game sessions.

Next time, we’ll take a look at the rules for creating “Clubhouses” (safe spaces for your heroes) in Pinebox Middle School.

Class dismissed! 🔔