A Cold Wind and a Dark Sky
A downloadable game anthology
A mashup of TTRPG #Promptober and the Minimalist TTRPG Jam. I'll be adding all the games I make this month to this anthology just so they're in one place.
Prompt 1, Mystery: Who Killed Septimus Cain?
A science fantasy murder mystery inspired by Sevens, Shichinarabe, and Randy Lubin's Working the Case.
Prompt 2, Parallel Worlds: Something Isn't Right
A world that is not your own invades your everyday life.
Prompt 3, Hide n' Seek: I Can Still Hear Your Echo
A dive between worlds to recover the remains of your dead friends. Inspired by Solar Ash by Heart Machine and Eris Morn from Destiny 2.
Prompt 4, Magic Spells: How to Weave a Spell
On the fundamentals of magic: Words, Body, and Voice. Inspired by The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin and i'm sorry did you say street magic by Caro Asercion.
Prompt 5, Alchemy: A Vampire and an Alchemist Walk into a Kitchen
A two-player LARP about an alchemist who wants to help their vampire friend eat garlic again. Inspired by research on allicin that suggests it has anti-cancer properties.
Prompt 6, Light: blinded by light
A Cynic sees only the worst in people, and refuses to make a connection. They wish to find people who will never hurt them. They seek the help of a Siren. Inspired by the album Siren of the Formless by City Girl, Shelter by Sara Williamson, and Let the Fire Soothe by Quinn Vega.
Prompt 7, Darkness: drowning in darkness
A Pureheart has been hurt by those around them over and over again. They wish to harden their heart. They seek the help of a Goddess. Inspired by the album Goddess of the Hollow by City Girl, Shelter by Sara Williamson, and Let the Fire Soothe by Quinn Vega.
Prompt 8, Deep Forest: As the days get longer, something wakes
You are a forager that has wandered deep into an unfamiliar part of the forest. As you try to find your way, you’ll come across unusual objects and strange happenings.
Prompt 9, Found Footage: With our own eyes
You are a group of misfits, thrill seekers, and magical enthusiasts chasing down mysteries that wander the streets of your city.
Prompt 10, Ghost: Harmless Hauntings
A presence appears to be bound to you. It’s shaped like a person, or maybe even is one. It’s small, about the size of a child. It seems curious, but not malevolent. Inspired by manga like There's a Ghost Behind that Gyaru by Hashimoto Kurara.
Prompt 11, Skeletons: Blades of Bone
These are the bones of S, the Saint of Blades. Their final wish was to be buried deep in a remote forest. Certain fanatics had other plans. Each of the Saint’s bones has been forged into a relic weapon.
Prompt 12, Haunted: Ghosts, Ghouls, and Goblins
You and your goblin friends have been designing a giant combining mech, but as you finalize the schematics you realize you need money. As you’re pooling your funds and racking your brains, you realize what time of year it is. You all agree: it’s time to put on a haunted house and make a killing (monetarily). Inspired by Viditya Voleti's Space Goblins.
Prompt 13, Masks/Masked: the shape of your gaze
Witches-in-training make masks for their friends. Making masks for the fall dances is a ritual that allows the rest of the world to see the mask wearer through the eyes of someone close to them. Inspired by Aria the Animation by Kozue Amano and HAL Film Maker.
Prompt 14, Potions: How to Brew a Potion
While most spellcasting is rooted in the present, potion brewing relies heavily on the past. There’s a reason the oldest potions were passed down through song. Inspired by the manga Bartender by Araki Joh and Kenji Nagatomo.
Prompt 15, Spooky: the beach
You’re walking along the beach at night when you find a friend’s severed hand washed up by the tide. Why is it here?
Prompt 16, Dark Clouds: When it rains
You knew you made a mistake. You went out too far on a gray morning. You don’t have the right spells to keep you safe. Make it home before the rain reaches you, or die trying. Inspired by Bubble by Wit Studio, FAR: Lone Sails by Okomotive, and Solar Ash by Heart Machine.
CW: body horror, death
Prompt 17, Candlelight: flickering
The light of the candle burns away what clouds your vision. What is in the darkness beyond?
Prompt 18, Mysterious Messages: The Fog Bank
You are a group of misfits, thrill seekers, and magical enthusiasts chasing down the mysteries that wander the streets of your magical city. You all frequent an anonymous local forum, The Fog Bank. Inspired by Mafia/Werewolf, Spyfall, and this discord has ghosts in it by Adam Vass and Will Jobst.
Prompt 19, Monsters: Monstress: True Form
The changes started slowly. Everyone said you would be fine. You wanted to believe them. You wanted so badly to believe them.
The pain is unbearable. You wish you could rip your heart out, separate the only true part of yourself from the rest of this hideous body.
CWs: dysphoria, body horror, implied self-harm
Prompt 20, Myths: The First Witch
There are many conflicting stories about the origins of magic. Some say that there are as many stories about it as there are witches living today. There is a common thread among them though. First, there was a witch, and they loved fiercely.
Prompt 21, Folklore: Shapes in the Fog
Members of The Fog Bank forum post in the Unsolved Mysteries thread. Inspired by Death Rolls at Midnight by Carter Richmond.
Prompt 22, Giant/Colossus: Giant in the Lighthouse
Candy is a giant who lives in the ancient lighthouse at the edge of the city, tending to its massive beacon. The lighthouse has been renovated and remodeled over and over since it was first lit 2000 years ago. You’re here today today to work on it again. Inspired by the EP All Winter by Giant in the Lighthouse and the lighthouse section of I Am Dead by Hollow Ponds.
Prompt 23, Stars: Ever Forward
An immortal watches a constellation disappear. Inspired by Beauty and the Beast Girl by Neji and The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott.
Prompt 24, Moon: FULL MOON: Destroy // Embrace
The moon is alive, and she has chosen you. Is she playing a cruel trick, or is this something more? Use the powers she gave you to destroy or embrace her.
Prompt 25, Deep Ocean: The Traveler's Cloak
You’re not alone. You thought it would be silent here, but it’s so loud you can barely think. Creatures laughing, eating, dying. Some of them gather around you. They want to know who you are. They want to… be a part? of you?
Prompt 26, Lost: A Worried Guest
Witches of the Sunset Society Lounge help a Guest find a lost object. Inspired by Aria by Kozue Amano, Shimanami Tasogare by Yuhki Kamatani, and ECH0 by Role Over Play Dead. Location generation mechanic by Lyra Vega.
Prompt 27, Dark Castle: Brave Little Witch
When the streets of the city are flooded with fog, a castle appears on an island in the middle of the lake. Braving the castle has become something of a tradition for witches-in-training. The castle appears unique to every group that enters it. It loves to play all sorts of tricks on visitors.
Prompt 28, Swamp: A Wild Flame
Spirit lights, little balls of flame that hover over the water, were once considered an old wives’ tale. But not long after the wetlands were restored, the spirit lights returned.
Prompt 29, Abandoned Locations: A Place to Belong
Everything is covered in a thick layer of dust. There’s a few pieces of furniture left. All of it is busted up in some way or another. There’s stuff growing in some of the corners. The painting and writing on the walls is scratched and faded.
It’s the perfect place for your secret hideout.
Prompt 30, Undead: Time and Time Again
You are a vampire and an immortal, about to go on a first date. Over the course of history, your paths crossed many times. On your date, you’ll run into five things that remind you of times you met in the past.
Prompt 31, Forbidden Books: Guts and Goblins
Content warning: Murder and gore as actions you perform in the game rules
A forbidden rulebook for a fantasy adventure tabletop role-playing game.
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I played two games of this anthology with a friend, 15-30 minutes each, and really enjoyed them!
In FULL MOON: Destroy // Embrace, we took the game in an anime body horror kind of direction, which was a lot of fun. The moon called to us like a howling, like a distant song, but when we looked at her we knew it was a call to us. Our powers mostly revolved around gravity. She entered our eye from long looking, so everything we saw we saw through her. We tried to shrink her to our size, but lost heart, and died when the gravity debt we owed came due and we plummeted down to her rapidly growing surface. It rocked.
The Traveler's Cloak is just a great concept. I love the stuff it makes you think about. Early on, my friend made one of the high-value Curious creatures a piece of old technology lost down here on the sea floor, that has just enough consciousness to want up and to whisper questions of the surface from its seat at the top of the traveller's spine. It makes me want to play a version of this where you start with stuff defined about you before the fall and blot, replace, eat, decay it over time. Got me to imagine things I love imagining :)
Thank you for sharing! We will probably play more of these conveniently brief & randomisable & interesting games when we next have too little time for a longer one.
aaa this is so sweet thank you so much!
Already looking forward to the full complement of these, they're an absolute delight.
aaaaaaaaAAAAAA i am so hype for this
hehehe it's spooky season!!!!