An Interview with Alessio Cavatore Co-designer of The Ghost in the Shell TTRPG

Date: 2026 July 05 20:26

Posted by Joe

While we're very excited about the up coming release of the new The Ghost in the Shell Anime by Science SARU (we've seen it you can read our review here). This renewed interest in Shirow's cyberpunk classic has also lead to an interesting adaption - a table top role playing game version! Produced by Manic Games by acclaimed designers Alessio Cavatore and Zak Barouh, it's due to launch on Backerkit at end of July 2026.

We got in touch with one of the games designer's Alessio Cavatore to find out more about the new TTRPG.

Full Story

Can you tell us more about how The Ghost in the Shell: TTRPG came about? Did Mantic approach Kodansha? Did Kodansha approach Mantic? Who started it all?

It started in 2023, when my own company, River Horse, approached Kodansha about the rights for the original manga of The Ghost in the Shell. I think I managed to convince them through sheer love for the subject matter (I showed them a picture of my old bedroom with a TGITS poster on the wall), intimate knowledge of the Japanese culture (my wife is Japanese...), and a demonstrable experience in creating licensed games (being doing that since 1999).

Then the project got through a temporary halt, as Mantic acquired River Horse and the licence was transferred to Mantic, but now it's on Bakerkit, ready to launch!



The rule book includes lots of artwork from the original manga. How were the bits of artwork picked? Did you get a selection of images from Kodansha to use? Or were you able to choose anything from the original manga (and maybe artbooks)?

Anything from the original manga (minus a couple of pages). I really made a point with Glenn More, the graphic designer, to add loads of artwork into the rulebook. I think he did a wonderful job of that, particularly in capturing how the manga has sections in colour alternating with sections in black and white.

Picking the artwork was fun, choosing the illustrations that we thought best illustrated each section of the rules: 'we need an explosion here', 'we need an angry person there', and so on...


What do you like about the original manga?

What don't I like! I absolutely love it. I was lucky enough to read it as it came out, serialised, in a manga magazine in Italy in 1992. It blew my mind with its great artwork, its complex, intriguing story and extremely engaging characters. I remember how I literally could not wait for the next issue of the magazine to arrive at the local newsagent.

It was comics, but definitely not for children. And it really captured the imagination of the young man I was. Its themes seemed quite futuristic at the time, but it is almost scary to now see how prophetic some of the elements, like the advent of AI and the polarisation of society brought about by extreme wealth inequality, seem to be developing in real time these days.



What challenges were there when adapting the manga into a Table Top RPG?

Personally, my main challenge was to resist the temptation to write too much detail into the rules. It's easy to do when dealing with something as sophisticated as cyberpunk, but I much prefer simple rules systems. I prefer when the rules inspire the fun and don't then get in the way by being too long, complex and 'heavy'. And simplicity is difficult. Whenever you try to put information into a small, elegant, clear format, you realise how much easier it is to just waffle on and on, and let the reader do the hard work of working out the meaning!

I always quote Mark Twain (or was it Pascal?) to illustrate this point:
"I didn't have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead."


Ghost in the Shell has many elements to it that would transpose well to a Table Top RPG, from detective work, combat, cybernetics and hacking! Was it tricky getting the balance right when combining all these elements?

I think the classic one that is difficult to get right and not too powerful is definitely the hacking mechanic. From playtesting, we seem to have brought it in the right ballpark, but as usual with every single TTRPG, it's the GM who really is the ultimate arbiter of balance and fun.


One of the little things sometimes overlooked in other adaptations in other formats is the manga's sense of humour. Were you able to keep that in the TTRPG?

Yes! We purposefully used some of the illustrations from the manga that portray the characters in a funny/silly style, like one where Major Kusanagi is quite upset, and so her teeth appear pointed like a demon, and her face is clearly a caricature of rage. I think humour has a big part in setting the tone of Shirow's stories, and I'm very glad to see that it looks like the upcoming new anime is also leaning into that humorous side.


Can you tell us more about the mechanics? Can you explain about Ghost Whispers?

Sure. Ghost Whispers are a version of the plot points mechanic that several other TTRPGs use. Basically, they are awarded by the GM to the players as a reward for performing spectacular feats and great role-playing. The players can then spend them to either modify dice rolls or even slightly modify the plot. For example: 'we forgot to search those people we arrested ten floors below, they had a keycard we need now... let's spend some GW points to retroactively remember to search them!'

The reason I think that fits The Ghost in the Shell so well is that the Major often refers to her intuition as 'her ghost whispering to her', which of course could be a poetic way of referring to her gut instincts, but also more literally about subtle influence from other powers at work, like the Imperial Channeling Agency, for example.


Are the Fuchikomas a mechanic in the game?

They are, but not at the start, at least for rookie trainees such as the main characters. Fuchikomas are reserved for more advanced gameplay, for more experienced agents, who will have to face more dangerous threats as the danger level of the missions they get sent on will increase.


Is there anything in particular you're proud about in this game?

Many, many things... too many to count, really. I suppose I could choose the fact that I managed not to listen to my ego and instead listened to Zak Barouh, the co-author of the game, and let him convince me to keep the Synthesis Conflict mechanic he designed. It is a sophisticated system to deal with the inner strife that is typical of many characters in the manga, and a great role-playing tool for both player and GMs alike - well done, Zak!


With the set you get a rule / guide book. What else will be included?

During the Bakerkit campaign we will see the rulebook, an exclusive dust jacket, an exclusive bookmark, a set of dice, a GM screen, character sheets, but also a box of collectable miniatures representing the main characters and a very very special other thing that I'm not yet allowed to mention at the time of writing this!


What do you think fans of TTRPGs who aren't aware of The Ghost in the Shell will enjoy about this adaptation?

I would hope that they will be lured in by the gorgeous artwork, and hopefully go and read the manga after that. And then I hope that they would try the game and get hooked by the rules, finding them simple and yet very evocative... and finally enjoy the first mission, written by Zak, which perfectly captures the tone of the typical The Ghost in the Shell plotline.


What do you think fans of The Ghost in the Shell will enjoy in particular?

I cannot wait for fans of the manga to read through our rulebook. I really wish they will feel the amount of passion I have for the story and its characters. If we managed to carry that across with the rules, graphics and mission in the book, I am sure that that love will be infectious and that we will share in the excitement I've been feeling while working on this project!


Is there anything else you'd like to talk about around the game?

The only other thing I would mention is that quite a few people have asked why a TTRPG and not a miniatures game. Well, the answer to that question is that the two are not mutually exclusive, and if the launch on Bakerkit goes really well... there is a distinct possibility that more products will be launched in the near future, so please support us on Bakerkit and help us make more of this amazing licence!

---

This interview as conducted over e-mail. Otaku News would like to thank Alessio Cavatore for giving such awesome answers to our questions and mantic games for giving us an opportunity for this interview.

Source: Otaku News