What if our heroes exchanged their battle axes for Stratocasters? And what if lyrics and harmony were actual magic? Against the Gloom is a fantasy TTRPG of melodic mayhem that asks this and more! It's about the joy and power of music, chosen family, and building community in the face of the void.
Roll dice. Build your playlist. Fight the Gloom.
In Against the Gloom, players take on the roles of punk pirate troubadours sailing across a vast and dangerous void—the Gloom—aboard a ramshackle ship propelled by the power of song. Use your character's sonic powers to push back the Gloom as it seeks to obliterate any pockets of community that dare to resist it. Build your story one gig at a time.
The Gloom is a sentient, fog-filled purgatory world of bleakness and despair, and there is no escape. It is alive, quite intelligent, and you don't even need to ask: it really wants to hurt you.
Fortunately for you, the Gloom is vulnerable to one thing: music, especially amplified music. In the Gloom, music is a powerful kind of magic. And you know how to play because you are Gloomfarers, those brave and wild souls that venture out into the void. You sail aboard fantastic flying vessels, seeking new and powerful songs to strike back against the Gloom and keep your band moving. But as you sail on and rock out, you can feel the Gloom watching you, a twisted elder god with a hunger for misery.
Scattered around this miserable realm are the Anchora, floating islands, your stops on this surrealist concert tour. And they are constantly in trouble from the Gloom. The Gloom wants to tear them down and destroy them. Only you can stop it.
So pick up a different kind of axe–or some drumsticks, or a mic–and take a stand and shine a light. Like Ghostbusters who are also Van Halen, who are also pirates.
Against the Gloom is a facilitated tabletop role-playing game that encourages collaborative storytelling. The facilitator, your "roadie," will help move the story along and call for dice rolls, but the spotlight is on the band.
Together, you'll tell stories that explore the power of art, song, and being LOUD. Imagine a community of weirdos in a dark and desperate world: what would it be like if rockers were our most needed heroes, and playing with wild abandon was the true key to salvation?
Against the Gloom is a modern storygame that encourages both players and characters to wield personal autonomy and collective—rather than purely individual—power. It is about finding your community, crafting your vessel, and playing actual music together (with a collaborative playlist!) to push back existential dread and the weathering of grief and time.
What's included:
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A set of unique character playbooks: the Thunderwell, the Soulbell, the Brightstring, the Heartkey, and more.
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Guide to Against the Gloom's easy-to-learn d6 (six-sided dice) system inspired by Yahtzee — you'll "harmonize" dice values to succeed, earn and spend songs on a collaborative music playlist, and truly unite your band.
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Rules for collectively imagining and building out Anchora to visit and explore as your band sails across the Gloom.
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Safety tools and frameworks that support joyful, consent-based storytelling while roleplaying as messy musicians.
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Gorgeous illustrations of weird musicians rocking it out in the face of despair, ennui, and self-sabotage.
Short fiction by the game's designer, Dustin Patrick Winter—also a published speculative fiction writer—to set the tone and inspire you.
You don't need to be a musician to play one in a TTRPG! Get loud, be weird, and lead on with your heart's song as Against the Gloom takes you on the wildest journeys you can imagine.
Lead Designer Dustin Patrick Winter (he/him) is, among other things, a musician and Ennie-nominated game designer living in the woodsy ‘burbs near Baltimore, MD. As the lead designer, Dustin brings his love of music and encyclopedic brainful of rock-and-roll trivia aboard this fine ship. You can expect him to bring his interest in stories of found family, polyamory, and casting rad spells to this project. He can be found on social media @NeverSayDustin.
"Against the Gloom is a rocking good time full of hope punk, found families, communal world building, and the power of music to heal the world."
— Deidre Delpino Dykes, playtester
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