Two Players, One Body: How "Symbiotic Horror" Works in Biophage

Today we’re taking a look at Biophage, a new TTRPG written by and published by Greece-based Studio Hex. It’s a “Rules-lite Symbiotic Horror TTRPG" where two players will ‘technically’ play the same character. One will be the human, the other will be a parasite attached. Together, they’ll have to work in a symbiotic relationship to achieve their various goals. It’s a very unique premise for a TTRPG, to put it mildly, drawing on inspiration from characters like Venom as well as old Playstation video games like Prototype

TTRPG Insider spoke with Studio Hex’s Alkis “Fern” Nteli-Stavrianeas about the game’s design, its origin, and what balancing two players in one body looks like.

What's the story behind this game? Why make this game? 

The origin story for the game is simple and funny, me (Fern), and my best friend went to watch Venom: the Last Dance, where he had the genius idea/proposition of "do you think this would work as an RPG?". A few days later, I had a prototype, which eventually evolved (pun intended) into what Biophage is today. As for a more in depth reason for why to make the game, after making my first game, Hellborn, which by all metrics was a serviceable, but not all to special game, I wanted to experiment with new mechanics, new ideas, etc. And so, Biophage and it's dual character system was born.

What’s the Elevator Pitch?

Biophage is a horror TTRPG where two players share one body, a human Host and a Parasite locked in symbiosis, turning the two into a proverbial Biophage. In a near-future world that fears them, they must fight for survival while fighting control from within, all while trying to hide their true nature from those around them and managing their intense hunger for human flesh.

How do you balance the two-player control system so that it feels unified and interesting for both parties? 

There's a variety of systems that both influence who is in control at any given moment, but also tools that players can use to gain control, even momentarily, while the other side has the reins of the body, such as Influence, which allows the non-controlling player to take control of the body for one single action. Moreover, at the end of each narrative scene, control "resets" back to balance to ensure that no player can hog the spotlight for too long.

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Balancing Two Players, One Identity at the Table

How does DMing for two players, one character (host/parasite) work? Any unique or distinct approaches that players might have to take?

Since you have less characters overall in the story, things get a lot more personal on many levels. I think the biggest difference between GMing for normal groups is that you must find ways to keep both sides engaged in any given scene, either by introducing conflicting needs or a shared goal that both players must work towards.

How does the game explore the themes around identity, symbiosis and body horror?

Your body no longer acts human, it has new weaknesses, new traits, but also brand new tools that are both strange and powerful. Your body also is not fully yours, leading to moments where you are stuck while the passenger becomes the driver, and you go from being on the pedal to sitting in the back seat. Symbiosis also is an  important part of the game, with both sides having to compromise in order to survive and thrive while in the same body. As for the theme of identity, I think that's a theme that becomes more prevalent as a story of Biophage goes on, since a character's initial identity will corrode, their values will change, the people around them will disappear, and they may no longer be the person they started out as.

How would you describe play? Is it more tactical? Crunchy? Fiction-First? Or something else altogether?

Play is definitely more on the fiction-first side of things, relying heavily on improvisation and description, with the resolution system allowing dramatic changes in the story by introducing complications or advantages where none previously existed. I tried to make something that wouldn't be as number-heavy as my previous game, mostly as a test to myself, and got inspiration from various other games, including various solo games, when designing Biophage's main system.

What's something you're most excited about within this property?

There are many things that I am excited about regarding this game. Not only has the community we've built around this game been feral for new content, creating fan art and homebrew while eagerly waiting for the campaign, but we are also working on a bunch of additional content to further expand the game and the world.

The two biggest things are a visual novel we've been making, Biophage Jaeger, which started as a solo project for me to learn how to do video games, but due to it's quality, we decided to make it a much more important "product", and an "expansion" to the game that focuses on the Cleaners, the hunters of Biophages. The latter was already something I was gonna do, but it was a small section of the core rulebook. However, because I just kept writing and adding stuff, we decided to make it its own book!

You can check out Biophage on Kickstarter today.

What are your thoughts? Send any scoops, tips or press releases to [email protected].