Unknown Armies

Unknown Armies (abbreviated UA), subtitled "A roleplaying game of power and consequences", is an occult-themed roleplaying game by John Tynes and Greg Stolze and published by Atlas Games. The first edition was paperbound and published in 1998 (with the original subtitle of "A roleplaying game of transcendental horror and furious action"); the revised and expanded 2nd edition was published in a hardbound format in 2002 (with a second printing in 2004 and a third printing in 2007).

The game is set in a modern-day "occult underground," populated by loose networks of shadowy cabals and practitioners of magic. The style and setting of the game draw on a number of influences, including the fantasy novels of Tim Powers, the crime novels of James Ellroy, the films of David Lynch, the Illuminatus! Trilogy, and comic books such as Grant Morrison's The Invisibles. The game creates an extensive postmodern mythology of everyday weirdness and magic that lurks in the shadows of the mind.

Several supplements and adventure collections for Unknown Armies have been produced but further books are not currently planned. They are:

• One Shots: Five Stand-Alone Scenarios
• Lawyers, Guns, and Money: The New Inquisition Sourcebook
• Postmodern Magick: The Unnatural Sourcebook (usually abbreviated PoMoMa)
• Statosphere: The Invisible Clergy Sourcebook
• Hush, Hush: The Sleepers Sourcebook
• Weep: Six Scenarios of Woe and Ruin
• To Go: The Occult Roadtrip Campaign
• Break Today: The Mak Attax Sourcebook
• The Ascension of the Magdalene

A licensed edition of Unknown Armies in German has been released in September, 2005, by Vortex Verlag under the SighPress Label. The German edition is hardbound, 440 pages, complete as the original, and also includes some additional information about weapon laws in German – to make it easier to use Germany as an alternative setting – as well as new artwork and layout from European artists and designers.