Microscope has proven itself over the past decade to be one of the most powerful storytelling engines in tabletop roleplaying—a tool that transcends its life as a game in itself to become a foundation for worldbuilding across other ttrpg systems. Now, the elaboration of Microscope: Chronicle narrows the lens – instead of epoch sprawling empires and timelines, we trace the story of a single thing—an eerie frontier town, a cursed sword, a beloved star freighter—and uncover the stories woven around it.
Chronicle might just be the thing to ground Microscope-style storytelling for new players. It keeps many of the previous features – multiple characters across generations, jumping through time non-linearly, letting players explore the moments that matter most with almost complete player-narrative agency. Originally part of Microscope Explorer, Chronicle has been rebuilt from the ground up: faster, more focused, and easier to teach and play. It also serves as a testbed for new ideas that could reshape Microscope itself.
The playtest is open now, and is public, which means anyone can download it and play.
The House of Nerdery and Curios 