Sinjin

First: For whatever reason, this game doesn't properly display on itchio searches. 'Sinjin' finds a user with that name, and only a user with that name.

So if you've found this page, good job.

Now, Sinjin is a horror exploration rpg set in industrial age undead florida. Think Sabrael Annihilation. Or, to put it another way, Hunt: Showdown.

The PDF is 77 pages, with an ethereal but easy to read layout and a clean black and white aesthetic.

Sinjin's core rules are simple. Roll some low dice, succeed on at least one 5 . HP is GM fiat. Traits and equipment matter, but are also partly subject to GM interpretation.

Maps in Sinjin change, fluctuating with each scenario, and they also have a Depth subsystem that determines how spooky they are. If the overall setting gets to a certain Depth, the game ends and the world of the dead breaches into the land of the living.

There's an interesting necromancy subsystem, where you can take souls as skills (i.e. blacksmith, thief, etc,) and if the use of a soul goes wrong it deactivates until the end of the scenario. However, like everything else, how this works is at least partly GM fiat.

Progression is likewise simple and nuanced. After each job you complete for a a faction, you get a few coins, a unique artefact, and an opportunity to improve your dice.

Sinjin gives good advice to the GM, and it spells out important locations, items, and creatures, but it really wants the GM to run the game as more of a cooperative story with a few mechanical terms as guideposts, rather than use the mechanics as a foundation to build a story on top of. Depending on who you are as a GM, this might make it the perfect game or it might clash constantly with your style.

Even if it does clash, though, the writing is lovely. It's evocative and interesting and paints a very vivid picture of the game's setting without leaning too heavily on concrete details.

For folks who like refereeing, I think Sinjin is a prize. It feels to me almost like an adjudicated wargame, only focused on plot rather than combat result. So if that's you---or if you like osr, southern gothic, or Hunt in general---I'd strongly recommend checking this out. It's a great read, and I think it'll click really hard for some folks.

Eerie, novel and absolutely sublime - Sinjin blends an evocative necromancy system with a Zone expedition worthy of the greats like STALKER and Annihilation. It feels familiar enough to easily grasp as a GM, while doing plenty to blaze new trails and bring its unique setting to life ~ I really can't recommend this enough!