Double Cross (role-playing game)

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Double Cross
Double Cross The 2nd Edition cover
Designer	Shunsaku Yano, F.E.A.R.
Publisher	Fujimi Shobo, Game Field
Publication date	2001 (1st Ed.) 2003 (2nd Ed.)
Genre(s)	Superhero
System	Custom

Double Cross is a Japanese superhero role-playing game released in 2001. The game was the second winner of the 1st Game Field Award behind Inou Tsukai.

Player characters are called Overed and possess superhuman powers brought from a virus called Renegade. Overed's supreme powers are classified under 12 syndromes which correspond to character classes of other role-playing games. PCs select one or two syndromes. Characters with one syndrome are called Purebreed, and characters with two are called Crossbreed. Many Overed are changed by the Germ, which results in the loss of sanity. PCs stand against Germ's violence or crimes.

The game uses only 10-sided dice. Two peculiar connection rules named Lois and Titus represent PC's human relationships. Lois is named after Superman's love interest Lois Lane and represents important people whom the heroes protect. Titus is named after William Shakespeare's tragedy Titus Andronicus and represents defunct people or Lex Luthor. Lois maintains PCs' sanity and prevent PCs' lost. Titus can be used as hero point. Always Lois can be transferred into Titus.

The theme of Double Cross is solitude and distress of superhuman that try to defend his small happiness in daily life.

Double Cross's default setting is contemporary Japan, but other various settings are available for play.

[edit] Extra setting stages

Demon's city - This setting is a blockaded city whose residents are mostly Overed like as s-CRY-ed.
Heiankyo mononokeroku - This setting is ancient Kyoto called Heiankyo in the Heian Period. Onmyoujis (their magic powers are brought from Renegade virus in this setting) are opposed by mononoke monsters.
Lost Eden - The game players of fictitious MMORPG confined in the virtual world try to escape to the real world like as .hack.
Akihabara - It is Akihabara city setting, including maid cafe has become popular recently.
Rakuin yo, Double Cross ni Asobe (lit. Scar, play in Double Cross) - This setting is based upon Makoto Sanda's light novel SCAR/EDGE series and written by Sanda himself.
Weird Age - This setting is pre-WWII Europe in 1938. Player characters stand against Nazi Germany that seek occult power for world conquest.
Kagerou no Senjou (lit. The Battlefield of Shimmer) - In fictitious small nation of Eastern Europe, mercenary soldiers using superhuman powers fight in civil war.
The Two Faces of Tomorrow - This setting is named after James P. Hogan's same title science fiction. Player characters fight against aliens in space colony.
Masked Heroes - Player characters can become superheroes like as American comic books or Tokusatsu.
End Line - It is parallel universe setting. The world excluding Overed had conquered by Germ's evil organization.
Chaos Garden - It is animal fantasy setting. All player characters are intelligent animals infected with the Renegade virus in an isolated island.