# Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game A licensed urban-fantasy mystery TTRPG about new recruits in London's special magic branch solving crimes, learning Newtonian magic, and navigating the demi-monde through Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying lineage. ## At a Glance Licensed urban-fantasy mystery - Chaosium BRP lineage - 2-5 players + Game Moderator - Folly case files, magic, and London police procedure - Best for approachable short arcs or campaigns ## Why It Fits Rivers of London fits tables that want mystery, modern magic, and a strong sense of place without the harshness of many adjacent horror-investigation games. It is especially useful for groups choosing between Call of Cthulhu-style skill play, urban fantasy, and lighter case-file campaigns. ## Fit Facts - Players: 2-5 players + Game Moderator - Session length: 120-240 minutes - Prep: Medium - Price: Paid ## Facets - Genres: Modern, Mystery, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy - Mechanics: Campaign, Investigation, Narrative-Driven, Skill-based, Streamlined, Team-Based - Themes: Cinematic, Social Intrigue - Decision tags: Award Winning, Beginner-Friendly, Licensed, One-Shot Friendly, Rules Medium ## Scores - Complexity: 3/5 - New GM Fit: 3/5 - Roleplay Focus: 4/5 - Combat Focus: 2/5 - Tactical Depth: 1/5 - Campaign Depth: 4/5 ## Best For - Groups that want magical police-procedural mysteries in a detailed modern London setting - Fans of Ben Aaronovitch's novels who want an official table adaptation with approachable rules - Players new to mystery TTRPGs who benefit from a forgiving BRP-derived system and solo intro ## Avoid If - You want lethal investigative horror, harsh sanity pressure, or bleak institutional collapse - Your table wants tactical combat, deep build optimization, or high-consequence magic - You do not want police-procedural play or setting homework tied to a licensed fiction series ## Explorer Notes [Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game](https://www.chaosium.com/rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-hardcover/) is best for groups that want urban fantasy investigation to feel approachable, setting-rich, and tied to a specific modern city. It gives the table newly recruited members of the Metropolitan Police Service's special magic branch, the Folly, and asks them to solve crimes where ghosts, river spirits, practitioners, and the demi-monde sit just behind ordinary London. It is not the sharpest pick if your table wants lethal horror, forensic clue pressure, or faction politics that constantly threaten the characters' lives and loyalties. The game is deliberately friendlier than [Call of Cthulhu](/item/callofcthulhu) or [Delta Green](/item/deltagreen). That makes it a good gateway into mystery TTRPGs, but it also means groups looking for danger and failure to bite hard may find the system too forgiving. ## What the game is Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game is Chaosium's licensed adaptation of Ben Aaronovitch's urban fantasy novel series. The player characters are freshly recruited officers, consultants, or other connected investigators working with the Folly, the London police unit that handles magic and supernatural crime. Cases can involve mundane procedure, witnesses, suspects, magical traces, river powers, and odd breaches between everyday London and the hidden world. The game uses Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying heritage, but it is tuned toward accessibility rather than horror lethality. It wants players to understand the setting, make capable investigators, learn the basics of magic, and run cases that feel like the novels' mix of police work, humor, London geography, and uncanny discovery. ## Publication history and editions Chaosium lists the core book as a 2022 release, with the hardcover following in April 2023. The official product page identifies it as a 400-page full-color hardcover by Ben Aaronovitch, Graeme Barber, Paul Fricker, Adam Gauntlett, Lloyd Gyan, Lynne Hardy, Gavin Inglis, Mike Mason, Keris McDonald, and Lucya Szachnowski. The game has meaningful award recognition. Chaosium's product page and ENNIE coverage list Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game as the 2023 ENNIE Silver winner for Best Rules and a nominee for Product of the Year. That is especially relevant because the rules are one of the adaptation's key questions: can a novel series about magical police cases become a playable table engine rather than only a lore book? ## Product line and what you need to play The core book is a complete starting point. Chaosium says it contains player rules, Game Moderator advice, character creation and advancement, extensive setting material, a solo introductory adventure based on The Domestic, and a group case file called The Bookshop. The hardcover includes PDF access through Chaosium's store path, and the [PDF edition](https://www.chaosium.com/rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-pdf/) is also sold separately. There is useful free support. Chaosium released a [free 78-page handouts pack](https://www.chaosium.com/blog78-pages-of-rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-resources-download-our-free-handouts-pack/) with maps, handouts, pregenerated characters, character sheets, and plain-text resources. Chaosium also released [The Domestic as a free introductory solo adventure](https://www.chaosium.com/blogdownload-our-free-rivers-of-london-rpg-introductory-solo-adventure/), which is useful for learning the setting and basic procedures before asking a full group to commit. ## Major adventures and supplements The current line has moved beyond the core book. [Going Underground](https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-now-going-underground-a-new-case-file-for-the-rivers-of-london-roleplaying-game/) is an introductory case file that can follow the core-book adventure The Bookshop. [The Font of All Evil](https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-now-the-font-of-all-evil-a-new-case-file-for-rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game/) is another stand-alone case file. [Jimmy's Last Dance](https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-now-jimmys-last-dance-a-new-case-file-for-the-folly-rivers-of-london/) can serve as a one-shot, side case, or starting point for a new campaign. The largest line expansion so far is In Liberty's Shadow, a U.S.-focused supplement for case files outside London. Chaosium's 2025 release roundup describes it as a guide to American magic, factions, player options, creatures, and two case files. That matters because it shows the line is not only a one-book adaptation; Chaosium is still supporting the game with case material and broader setting tools. ## Core rules and play structure Rivers of London uses a skill-driven Basic Roleplaying frame. Characters test percentile-style skills, use Luck, learn magic, and resolve danger through a lighter, more forgiving take on Chaosium's familiar rules family. If your group already understands Call of Cthulhu's basic skill logic, Rivers of London will feel close enough to orient quickly, but the tone and consequence model are very different. A typical session works like a police-procedural urban fantasy case. The group receives or discovers an incident, interviews people, inspects locations, follows mundane and magical evidence, identifies the supernatural wrinkle, and decides how the Folly can solve the immediate problem without making the hidden world explode into public view. ## Characters, roles, and advancement Player characters are usually new Folly recruits or people drawn into that orbit. The game supports police-facing investigators, magical practitioners, and other capable characters who can plausibly work a case. The core promise is not combat specialization or class identity. It is competent investigation plus the slow accumulation of magical and institutional knowledge. Advancement supports growing capability, but the game is not built around heroic power escalation. It is more interested in whether characters learn how magic really works, understand the social and historical weirdness of the demi-monde, and become reliable enough to handle stranger cases without making a procedural mess. ## Signature mechanics and adaptation choices The signature adaptation choice is the game's treatment of magic as something learnable, technical, and embedded in the setting. It reflects the novels' Newtonian flavor: magic is strange, but it is not pure whimsy. There are practices, risks, institutions, and a body of accumulated knowledge around it. The second signature choice is approachability. The book includes a solo learn-to-play adventure, GM guidance, introductory group play, and extensive London and police-work context. Wargamer's review calls out that it works hard to onboard both readers who do not know the novels and players new to roleplaying, while also noting that all that setting context can feel like homework if the table is not already invested. ## What play feels like At the table, Rivers of London should feel like a magical case file with a specific address. A good session has witness statements, transport routes, rivers, borough texture, institutional constraints, strange magical residues, and people trying to keep normal life moving while the impossible leaks through. The tone is lighter and more humane than many investigative horror games. Characters are meant to solve mysteries, catch criminals, and learn the world, not spiral immediately into helpless doom. That makes it useful for groups that want mystery, magic, and modern institutions without committing to grim cosmic horror. ## Running the game The Game Moderator load is medium. The rules are approachable, but the setting asks for confidence with London, police procedure, magical lore, and case construction. Groups familiar with the novels will bring some of that context with them. Groups coming in cold should use the introductory adventures and handouts rather than trying to build a sprawling original Folly campaign from scratch. The main GM pitfall is making the mystery too soft. Because the system is forgiving, the case still needs strong suspects, motives, deadlines, and consequences. Otherwise the game can become a pleasant tour of magical London without enough pressure to make decisions matter. ## Campaign fit Rivers of London can run one-shots, especially with the core-book adventure or the later case files, but it is strongest as a short-to-medium campaign of recurring Folly assignments. The setting benefits from return visits to familiar places, recurring supernatural contacts, and characters who gradually become more competent with both police work and magic. Long campaigns are viable if the GM varies the cases. Mix procedural mysteries, social demi-monde complications, dangerous magic, ordinary police constraints, and occasional larger threats. If every case is only a weird crime scene followed by one magical explanation, the line's specificity will start to feel thinner than it should. ## Reception and awards The reception pattern is clear. Chaosium's own product page and news posts foreground the 2023 ENNIE Silver for Best Rules and Product of the Year nomination. Wargamer's review rated the game 7/10, praising it as engaging and beginner-friendly while criticizing the forgiving system for reducing stakes. RPGnet's review was warmer, emphasizing the care of the adaptation and the strength of Chaosium's design team. Chaosium's launch coverage also quotes British Fantasy Society and RPGnet praise around gateway value, streamlined mechanics, and faithful series realization. The useful synthesis is this: Rivers of London is well regarded when judged as an accessible licensed urban-fantasy mystery game. It is more divisive if judged against the sharpest mystery or horror systems, because it does not push failure, danger, or investigative procedure as hard as some nearby games. ## Where it is strongest - Groups that want a modern urban-fantasy mystery TTRPG with a strong official setting. - Fans of Ben Aaronovitch's novels who want a complete, official table adaptation rather than a generic magic-police hack. - Players new to mystery TTRPGs who benefit from a solo intro, clear guidance, and a forgiving rules frame. - Campaigns where London detail, police constraints, magic, and recurring supernatural contacts matter more than tactical combat. ## Where it can frustrate groups - It is not the best pick for lethal investigative horror or high-pressure psychological collapse. - Groups unfamiliar with the novels may need more setting onboarding than expected. - Police-procedural play needs careful table alignment, especially around how the group wants to handle institutional authority. - The system may feel too gentle if the table wants failed investigation, combat, or magic to create harsher consequences. ## Content and safety notes Expect crime scenes, violence, magical coercion, supernatural danger, institutional pressure, policing, surveillance, and cases where ordinary people are harmed by forces they do not understand. Because the premise centers on police work, session zero should address how the table wants to handle law enforcement, racism, corruption, authority, accountability, and real-world policing concerns rather than assuming the licensed setting solves those questions automatically. ## Best starting path Start with the [PDF](https://www.chaosium.com/rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-pdf/) or [hardcover](https://www.chaosium.com/rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-hardcover/) core book and download the free handouts pack. Have one player try [The Domestic](https://www.chaosium.com/blogdownload-our-free-rivers-of-london-rpg-introductory-solo-adventure/) if the group wants a gentle rules tutorial before session zero. For a first group session, use The Bookshop from the core book, then move into Going Underground, The Font of All Evil, or Jimmy's Last Dance if the table wants more case-file support. ## Research notes Last checked: August 6, 2026. - [Chaosium: Rivers of London hardcover product page](https://www.chaosium.com/rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-hardcover/) - [Chaosium: Rivers of London PDF product page](https://www.chaosium.com/rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-pdf/) - [Chaosium: hardcover launch announcement](https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-now-in-hardback-rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game/) - [Chaosium: 2023 ENNIE winners announcement](https://www.chaosium.com/blogcongratulations-to-our-2023-ennies-winners/) - [2023 ENNIE nominees and winners](https://ennie-awards.com/portfolio-item/2023-nominees-and-winners/) - [Chaosium: free handouts pack](https://www.chaosium.com/blog78-pages-of-rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-resources-download-our-free-handouts-pack/) - [Chaosium: The Domestic solo adventure](https://www.chaosium.com/blogdownload-our-free-rivers-of-london-rpg-introductory-solo-adventure/) - [Chaosium: Going Underground announcement](https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-now-going-underground-a-new-case-file-for-the-rivers-of-london-roleplaying-game/) - [Chaosium: The Font of All Evil announcement](https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-now-the-font-of-all-evil-a-new-case-file-for-rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game/) - [Chaosium: Jimmy's Last Dance announcement](https://www.chaosium.com/blogout-now-jimmys-last-dance-a-new-case-file-for-the-folly-rivers-of-london/) - [Chaosium: 2025 release roundup including In Liberty's Shadow](https://www.chaosium.com/blogin-case-you-missed-something-heres-everything-we-released-in-2025/) - [Wargamer review](https://www.wargamer.com/rivers-of-london-rpg/review) - [RPGnet review](https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/19/19107.phtml) - [The Gaming Gang review/page-through](https://thegaminggang.com/our_reviews/rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-review-and-page-through/) ## Links - Explorer page: https://www.ttrpg-games.com/item/rivers-of-london - Agent JSON: https://www.ttrpg-games.com/api/games/rivers-of-london.json - Publisher or official site: https://www.chaosium.com/rivers-of-london-the-roleplaying-game-hardcover/ - Reviews or retailer page: https://www.wargamer.com/rivers-of-london-rpg/review