Grimdark Owes a Debt of Gratitude to the Following

grimDARK owes a debt of gratitude to the following tabletop roleplaying games: ● Band of Blades by Stras Acimovic and John LeBeouf- Little ● Barbarians of Lemuria by Simon Wasbourne ● Cthulhu Dark 2nd Edition by Graham Walmsley ● Cthulhu Deep Green by Justin Ford ● Grim World by Trenton Kennedy Greyoak and Deanna Nygren Greyoak ● Shadow of the Demon Lord by Robert Schwalb ● Vagabonds of Dyfed by Ben Dutter ● Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying (all editions) by Misc. (copyright Games Workshop all rights reserved etc.) ● ZWEIHANDER Grim and Perilous Roleplaying Game by Daniel Fox, Adam Rose, et al.

Sample file

2 the following films: ● The 13th Warrior (1999, dir. John McTiernan) ● A Field In England (2013, dir. Ben Wheatley) ● Black Death (2010, dir. Christopher Smith) ● Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013, dir. Tommy Wirkola) ● Jabberwocky (1977, dir. Terry Gilliam) ● The Masque of the Red Death (1964, dir. Roger Corman) ● Perfume (2006, dir. Tom Tykwer) ● Van Helsing (2004, dir. Stephen Sommers) the following books: ● A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin ● The Elric Saga series by Michael Moorcock ● The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie ● Gotrek and Felix series by William King ● The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein (they’re dark fantasy, honest!) ● Various fantasy and psuedo-fantasy works by Stephen King And a myriad of other sources one could easily convince the author to expound upon. Sample file

3 RULES OF GRIMDARKENMENT: THE PLAYER'S SECTION This is a game forthe dark fantasy genre, with low power levels, dangerous lifestyles, and a high turnover rate. It is heavily modeled after Cthulhu Dark by Graham Walmsley. It is modified in various ways for a slightly crunchier, more fantasy-oriented thing. It is designed for 1 to A Lot Of players and 1 game moderator, or GM. 1 to A Lot Of players take on the roles of Protagonists, while just one player (the GM) facilitates the world and plays all non-Protagonist roles. There are two sections, the Player’s Section and the GM’s Section. Players are encouraged to read the first section, GMs are encouraged to read both. However, reading the GM’s Section is not strictly necessary to GM a good game, nor will reading it necessarily reveal any shocking secrets or ruin any great surprises for players. It is there as a resource, not as a bludgeon. You can possibly use this game to crawl dungeons and murder dragons. Expect to lose many lives and limbs. Do not expect much treasure in exchange. On with the show.

Sample file

4 your protagonist Choose a name and a Nobody Profession. Your name must be relevant to your People (your homeland, culture, species, etc., see below). Your Nobody Profession is not impressive — heroes never come from the upper class. Be a humble parishioner, a hardy rat-catcher, a grizzled mercenary, or a stoic prostitute. Your Nobody Profession is only limited by its lack of social influence and control over the lives of others. Write down your character’s pronouns. Choose the People your Protagonist belongs to. Your People determines if something is physically possible for you to do. Possible People include Norseman, Imperial, Dwarf, Elf, and so on. You may even narrow further down, and be a Desert Elf, a Bear-Wolf Norseman, or an Eastland Imperial. Your GM may let you get weird with it. If so, be a Demonblood, Half- Dragon, Ork, or Verminkin. Keep getting specific from there, if you like. Weird People like Elves and Dwarves can probably see in the dark or eat rocks or whatever. Even Weirder People like Orks and Half-Dragons can do stuff like breed asexually or breathe fire. Normal People like Norsemen and Imperials can actually have a conversation with other People and not get yelled at, spat on, or set ablaze. Your GM may get normal with it and not allow non-human People at all. That is entirely their call to make. Describe your Protagonist. Be as general or specific as you want, and include as much or as little background as you want. Take a black Corruption Die and a red Flesh Die. All dice, includingSample your Corruption and Flesh Die, are d6. file

5 WHAT’S A PROTAGONIST? “Protagonist” is a sarcastic title normal people give to adventurers and people with interesting lives, especially those whose lives are likely to end badly. Every great hero was once a Protagonist. Every dead soldier, bandit, adventurer, and other person of action was once a Protagonist too. One category has more members than the other. Amuse yourself and others by pondering which it could be. “NOBODY” PROFESSION? You will advance through three Professions in your life — Nobody, Somebody, and Big Cheese. As a Nobody, you just got roped into this crazy thing. You’re a stew cook or a pamphleteer or a rabble-rouser. Your wits and luck are the best (or only) assets you have at this stage. When you become Somebody, you’re someone important — an assassin or a ship’s captain or a commander. Someone important, but only to normal people. Actually important people may have an issue with you. As a Somebody, you can really start pushing your weight around. When you become the Big Cheese, you’re someone with command over others. A nobleman or an archwizard or a military general. That kind of thing. You’ve finally made it — meaning you’ve got very little time before you retire safely or die ignominiously. OPTION: STARTING AS SOMEBODY, OR AS BIG CHEESES If you wanna start as Somebody or as a Big Cheese, we suggest making a small stable of characters (This is also known as troupe play). Telling stories purely of movers and shakers is a quick route to monotony and frustration, so beSample like your favorite fantasy series and create onefile Nobody, Somebody, and Big Cheese each. Cycle through them as is appropriate scene by scene, per your GM’s approval.

6 OPTION: TALENTS To distinguish professions your GM may allow Protagonists to have Talents associated with their character and/or profession. Talents typically allow the Protagonist to adjust a die roll, reroll dice without spending Hand of God Points, or generally break the rules in ways approved by the GM. Examples of TALENTS will be listed in the GM Section’s on page XX. Non-magickal Protagonists get 2 Talents per Profession (2 for Nobody, 2 for Somebody, and 2 for Big Cheese). Magickal Protagonists instead get Spells (see MAGIC: YUP, WE’VE GOT IT!).

Sample file

7