Bleak Spirit
A downloadable game
"This is genius. ... This is spectacular. ... I want to play this game, like, today." -- Overly Sarcastic Productions (The Bleak Spirit part starts at 1:11:08, but the whole video's worth watching.)
"@potatocubed's homage to the Soulborne genre ... magnificently captures the essence of it by adapting the Lovecraftesque diceless storytelling system by Black Armada"
-- MacGuffin & Co
Bleak Spirit is a storytelling game where you and your friends create a brooding, cryptic tale about a stranger in a strange land. Everything is falling apart, crumbling, corrupted, and the wanderer carries the potential for a return to past glories – or the power to sweep away all that remains.
Everyone contributes to the tale, sharing the sense of mystery that comes from no-one knowing the entire truth of what's going on. Everyone takes turns being the world for a scene, introducing lore which hints at the history of the setting. After every scene everyone leaps to conclusions based on the lore which has been revealed – and these conclusions affect the sorts of lore they will introduce when it's their turn to be the world.
Of course, everyone is going to interpret the lore in their own way, and introduce their own variations. You'll have to adjust your conclusions based on their input, they'll adjust theirs based on yours, and the story that results will be truly the creation of the whole group.
You will all also take turns playing the wanderer – the destiny-wreathed individual who is going to bring change to the world, one way or another. The wanderer is the one who faces the dangers of the world, who discovers the lore, and who will ultimately leave things different to how they found them.
At the end of the story the wanderer will enter a proving ground where they will confront an adversary. Everyone will have contributed their own lore to the tale but only one of you will determine who or what the true enemy is, and what sort of future the wanderer will usher in.
Finally, anyone who is not currently playing the wanderer or the world will join the chorus. Their role is to elaborate on details introduced by the other players, drenching the world in both grandeur and decay.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $15 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
hi there
Just wondering if any more community copies will be available?
Kind regards
I generally don't bother with community copies because they're a lot of faff, but if you can't afford it just hit me up on Discord (potatocubed) and I'll sort you out with a discount code or a pdf or something.
thank you
just messaged you on discord
A really neat game, with a lot of evocative inspiration and a useful set of rules and procedures to help establish a broken and mysterious world! An interesting read with cool ideas. I reviewed it in more depth on my blog!
One more to get here thanks to OSP. I played a lot of RPGs in my youth but the last time was probably like 25 years ago. I am delighted and amazed to see such wonderful ideas put into a game.
Saw this pop up in the OSP video and I have quite literally paused in the middle of their explanation to come look for the actual game. Turns out I got it in the Trans Rights in Texas bundle and I am so, so ready to pull my group to a screeching halt until they play this with me (lovingly exaggerated). I'm glad to see so many cool indie games getting that kind of promo!!
Thank you for your kind words!
And thanks to OSP for putting my game in front of 2.4 MILLION subscribers. That kind of thing makes a real difference to us tiny indie creators.
Inspired by Souls-like games, Bleak Spirit is an TTRPG for 2-5 players with a rotating GM system. You play as a wanderer exploring a land of mystery, melancholy and faded glory. What cryptic secrets are hidden within? You play to find out.
I backed this on Kickstarter and then played it in an online convention that replaced a regional convention when the pandemic broke out. Here are three things that we learned that might help others have a good experience:
We had a great experience with this game, it has similarities to classics like Swords Without Master, Dirty Secrets and Primetime Adventures. Highly recommended.
Thanks for that! It all looks like solid advice that I should probably have thought of myself. On the subject of organisation, I've seen one online game use a Trello board to keep track of introduced lore, details about the wanderer, and other things.
Anyway, I'm glad your experience with Bleak Spirit was good, and thanks again for leaving such a nice comment.
You're welcome and Trello is a cool idea.