Bug Busters is a rules light TTRPG where you play working class exterminators protecting the planet
When Doug started Bug Busters he had no idea that he would be on the front lines of a secret alien invasion. Now in the 90’s, his misfit team of exterminators are the only thing stopping Earth from becoming just another bug colony.
Franchise Opportunities
Everybody thinks your franchise is in the sketchy part of town…
Maybe it is… but nobody cares how loud your music is out here!
So, turn it up to 11!
When not on-duty, Bug Busters spend their downtime hanging out in their warehouse, making mixed tapes, playing poker, tuning up their Bugmobile, and ordering new gear from the head office in Eerie, Indiana.
Make Working Class Heroes
Your Bug Buster can be made within minutes using random tables, providing backgrounds such as Radio Shack Salesperson, Parolee, Sensei, Gym Trainer, Video Store Clerk, and Summer Student. Each background provides immediate texture and immersion to throw you into the world of the 90’s!
Each Bug Buster also makes a mixed tape on their character sheet that conveys their personality – A Fight Song and a Chill Song!
They’ll also be armed with special weapons like the Insect-o-Sonic, Zapmaster 3000 and other cool gizmos that will kick bug butt, and send them back to the stars. Just call Susan to place your orders!
A new spin on the West End d6 System
We love the classic Ghostbusters d6 system created by Sandy Petersen for West End Games. We took this easy-to-learn system and put a tiny new spin on it to reduce the amount of math happening at the table. Using just the top 2 dice rolled on a smaller difficulty scale of 12 reduces the need to count pips on all the dice, and speeds up everybody knowing if an action is a success or not.
You gain dice through your four Attributes – Handy, Agile, Tuff, and in classic Ghostbusters fashion, we still have Cool! This also encourages characters working together on actions, As long as you have at least 2 dice, there’s still a chance!
We made this with an OSR playstyle in mind. There are no Attributes for Intelligence or Wisdom… that’s up to the players to bring their cunning to the game!
Beware the DOOM STACK!
When Bug Busters receive trauma such as physical damage, fear, or stress, you track it on your DOOM STACK, which is measured by your real world skills stacking dice on the table. If the stack gets too high and tumbles, then something bad happens to your Bug Buster!
You can also take on Doom to increase the amount of dice you get to roll to complete a task – however, they immediately go on your Doom Stack… so you can go out in a blaze of glory!
You also have a Group Stack where you can offload some individual Doom… although that might not make for happy co-workers if the Group Stack tumbles!
Old School Saving Throws
We love old-school Saving Throws that evoke the mood of the game. Bug Busters sometimes incur ongoing effects from those pesky bugs – Fear, Acid, Sting and Web!
Patches instead of Experience Points
We really don’t like math. And why would you want to be an accountant, if you can instead get a patch to recognize your Bug Buster improving their skill and knowledge!
The World of Bug Busters
We have created a rich world in the 90’s for Bug Busters to inhabit. There are many factions such as Nihilist Skateboard Gangs, Early Internet Space Cults, Secret Government Agencies, Rival Exterminators, and Local Law Authorities!
The world wouldn’t be complete without a BUGstiary of galactic proportions! We also provide random tables to create your own bugs on the fly!
We appreciate the work it can take to run a traditional TTRPG. In Bug Busters all the rolls are player facing, with each bug having its own difficulty and limited stat block to make it easy to track. In Bug Busters the Doomsayer (GM) can just concentrate on making the world respond to the Bug Busters actions in the OSR style of play.
Who is making this?
The project is from the mind of Garry Snow, who is the host of the Dieku Podcast where he has interviewed over 100 Indie TTRPG designers. Garry has taken the many nuggets of wisdom from these interviews and combined it with his own design and layout sensibilities from a career in marketing and communications.
Bringing the world to life, is art by Kyle Burles (illustration), Mac Teg (illustration), and Gareth Lyttle (logos and patches).
Join the playtest through the Dieku Discord Server
