The Tell Tale Ticking

The Tell Tale Ticking is a storytelling duet TTRPG about death, grief, paranoia, and being your own Unreliable narrator.

You play as The Guilty and The Perished, using tarot cards to retrace your steps leading up to the sudden, tragic death of The Perished.

Can The Guilty trust their own Memories? They cannot be certain, especially with the incessant ticking that haunts their every waking moment. The Perished follows, communicating through a metronome as they get closer to the Truth.

The Tell Tale Ticking can be played in any setting or genre, without a GM, and solo. No physical metronome or knowledge of tarot required!

Safety

{This game deals with themes of death, murder, paranoia, grief, delusion, and memory loss. It is not recommended for players who have misophonia or cannot tolerate constant, repetitive sounds. More tools for safe gameplay are provided.}

Notes

Each of the 36 pages is formatted to half-letter size (5.5x8.5 in).

The most recent version of this game was updated on June 18, 2025.

Potential future updates include: genre-specific supplements, alternate rules, remote play/VTT support

Credits

Written & Designed by Louis McCorgi Lee

For Possum Creek Games' Jam in Silence

Inspired by Death of the Author by Blinking Birch Games and The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe