A downloadable RPG

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     A Minus Spiral is the downward corkscrew water makes as it goes down a drain. It is a self-reinforcing vortex of mistakes a person traps themself into the trajectory of. It is one's life going down the tubes.

     It is also a tabletop role playing game for 2 to 5 players.

     A complete game takes 2 to 4 hours, telling a complete story in a single session. The rules are simple and easy to explain to new players, even if they lack prior experience with tabletop RPGs. There are no dice and no game master role, but plenty of built-in scenarios: each scenario describes a goal each player wants (the throne, a love interest, a priceless diamond) with enough props and set dressing to let them all put on a good show of fighting for it.

     The central rule is this: all meaningful actions inherently fail no matter what. Characters lack ability scores or special feats, but rather are defined by their Problem, the thing holding them back from success. They do not gain experience points, they gain "Pathos", quantified units of absorbed suffering.

     You may ask yourself why you would want to play such a dismal game, but the truth is it is not so dismal as you might expect. Minus Spiral is not a tragedy, it is a comedy of errors. A high Pathos score at the end of the game buys you a happy ending in spite of everything, and if you play along with the premise, a high score is not so hard to achieve. The game has more justice built into it than the real world.

     So relax, and let yourself get sucked down into the spiral. Join us on Discord for this and other games. 

https://discord.com/invite/SYcT3dT

StatusReleased
CategoryPhysical game
Release date Jul 29, 2022
Rating
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars
(4 total ratings)
AuthorVorpal Coil
Tagsdiceless, GM-Less, Narrative, Tabletop, tabletop-role-playing-game
Asset licenseCreative Commons Attribution_NonCommercial v4.0 International
Average sessionA few hours

Purchase

Buy Now$7.00 USD or more

In order to download this RPG you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $7 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Minus Spiral.pdf 4.4 MB

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If you are interested in the game but do not feel financially capable of purchasing it, help yourself to one of these free copies. More of these will be added over time according to the number of copies sold.

Comments

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(+1)

Let mirth and catharsis mingle in equal measure until they catalyze into the bittersweet draught that makes mortal life worth living.

Then whistle as you watch it all go down the drain.

— From the Introduction

I'm already hooked. I love the dark humor and the premise, and the layout is absolute candy on the eyes.

You've done great work, Rose!