Chromatic Shadows Update and a Random Table

 

The Next Big Thing: Chromatic Shadows Core

It’s been several months since I last updated this blog. Although my infrequent postings might suggest otherwise, the development of Chromatic Shadows is in full swing. In other words, my posts have been light because I've been busy working on really cool stuff to blog about. 

So, what IS going on with Chromatic Shadows exactly?

For most of 2025 I’ve been quietly pouring all of my energy and free time into writing, editing, designing, and art directing the next big thing: CHROMATIC SHADOWS CORE. This volume is a fully revised, compiled, and ambitiously expanded version of the occult cyberpunk game you know and love. CS CORE collects and re-balances all previous rules from CS Basic and CS Companion, adding 100+ more pages of additional systems, tables, and procedures. This is the game I always imagined Chromatic Shadows to be, and I’ve been working my ass off to turn this dream into a reality.

 

Where We Are in the Pipeline

This is where we are at in the production pipeline: the first full “design pass” is nearly complete, with less than a dozen pages remaining. This means Chromatic Shadows Core “Beta 01” is pretty close. Once that document is complete I will be pivoting to a cycle of shameless self promotion, with the goal of building hype and funding a Kickstarter campaign to cover development costs. This Kickstarter is on schedule for Spring 2026 if all goes as planned.  Beta updates will be released to backers right away, so finishing the first draft is critical. I’m also keen on having the smallest window of time possible between the Kickstarter campaign itself and delivery of the final PDF. Once the campaign closes, we’re locking in all the way to the finish line. 

Chromatic Shadows is a love letter to the games I've obsessed over and the books I've read over and over. It's that cyberpunk game I was always looking for, but couldn't find anywhere, so I went and made it. I made it for myself, but I also made it for everyone else who was looking for "that game" too. And I couldn't have done it alone. I'm truly grateful to the many people along the way have lent their support, their opinions, feedback, their creativity and valuable time to help this project get as far as it has. It's been a journey, a success, and CS Core is going to kick your chrome plated pants into 2099! Shove a monoblade into the demon heart of the future! Deploy operator!

 

Random Tables 

Here's a teaser from the Chromatic Shadows Core Appendix, plucked from one of several dozen world-building random tables spread across the Sprawl City Kit. This is from the "Nightlife" section, and provides 20 delectable story morsels to help you to cook up a random encounter or sizzle up a structured scene. Enjoy!

20 Weird Things You Might Find in a Dark Alley

1. Crate of discarded electronics with something blinking and whirring at the bottom.
2. Wild looking street person dissecting the entrails of a pigeon upon a cardboard sheet. A businessman is seated nearby, anxiously waiting for his fortune to be read.
3. Dumpster secured with multiple heavy chains and padlocks bucking wildly.
4. Slightly open manhole cover with trail of slime leading toward it.
5. A crowd, a huge commotion, and the sound of rending metal. A group of men betting on a dog-drone fight.
6. Group of street people staring transfixed at a burning barrel, the flame is green.
7. Man in business suit screaming “It’s not me!!”. His cyberhand is choking out a similarly dressed woman.
8. Old woman living in a tent, cardboard boxes filled with dead eyed dolls are stacked up everywhere. They turn to look at you.
9. Group of cats eating the remains of a dead street person. Upon closer inspection the person is still alive and smiling.
10. Cardboard and plywood shelter lit with dangling LED strands, makes a tiny noodle shop. The chef serves the best ramen in the city, hands down.
11. Cages stacked on one another contain various animals: dogs, cats, rats, birds -- and some strange hybrid animals too.
12. The alley is converted into a lush garden. Ivy crawls up the walls and flowers and vegetables grow up from rows of tires filled with soil. A group of Feral gardeners are tending this space.
13. A man disappears into a small door set into a concealed wall behind a stack of crates. It leads down into a secret SimStim club. 
14. A flock of warbling white pigeons are roosting on nearby eaves and fire escapes. A single white lily grows up from the center of a pile of garbage.
15. Several naked dead bodies covered with ritual slash wounds are shoved into a dumpster. Their eyes are removed. There is a strong feeling of being watched. 
16. Series of small shrines made from junk. Old broken statues of saints and talismans made from bones and wood and scraps of things.
17. Large mural on a brick wall of a blue skinned Hindu god. Fresh fruit is laid out on the ground before it.
18. Giant gaping sinkhole in the ground. Fog billows out. Looks down into a deep drop beneath the city.
19. A state of the art black sports car is backed into the alley, its engine is running. Armed men in ballistic weave tailored suits step out.
20. Pop up rave! Music is pulsing, lights are strobing, there’s a keg of beer, people are vaping drugs. Everyone is dancing.