The Roleplaying Game of the Mind

In short: This is the full book of Cognitus, a cerebral TTRPG written in a minimalist graphic design. This may change in the future.

“The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was any ego-consciousness, and which will remain psyche no matter how far ego-consciousness extends.” - C. G. Jung

What is Cognitus?

"Cognitus: The Roleplaying Game of the Mind", or just "Cognitus", is a cerebral, oneiric, epic-styled tabletop RPG which focuses on the concept of Jungian psychology, while exploring the world myth concepts of Joseph Campbell. The game aims to embrace the weird, the strange, and the arcane of a real world alternate setting where the subconscious minds of all people are able to be accessed. The players are a select group of gifted individuals that are able to draw forth from their own souls to bring forth an otherworldly entity – the persona – to help fight and defend against the bizarre horrors that dwell within.

Engage in a dichotomic world of an alternate real world with the fears and vices of mankind creeping into the darkest corners to invite you into the dreamlands, where the only limits are that of the imagination. Delve into the minds of your characters, or of others and find what makes them tick – or wander the sea of the soul that is the collective unconscious and brave what horrors the psyche bears.

Cognitus is a complete, free game that can be played as is, altered or rewritten for use in homebrew. Within the download you will find:

• A highly customizable character creation system, foregoing a traditional “class” system to instead allow players and game masters the freedom of their imagination.
• 20 progression tracks for characters to follow based on the Tarot deck, with options for “good” and “bad” outcomes.
• 20 sample creatures (shadows) to fight against, with means of altering and improving for higher level challenges.
• A simplified dueling dice system based on the d10, where rewards and damage are the differences in rolls.
• A brief explanation of how the other world came into being, using real world inspirations with some fictional lore.
  
• A printable thematic character sheet with all the relevant information easily accessible for your players.

Author's Note: This is the first time I've made anything like this, and while I realize it is rough around the edges I welcome any constructive criticism.