Game Overview

The game

Murdham is a game of perilous adventures in a grim fantasy world for 1 Game Master (GM) and 1 or more players, ideally 3 to 5.

Each player controls a member of a company of adventurers. They will travel through the perilous wilderness, explore dark dungeons, investigate mysteries and intrigues, and face mortal peril, on a quest to accumulate wealth and fame.

The GM is responsible for running the game. They create the scenarios to play, control the game world and its inhabitants, describe what the players encounter, and decide how to apply and adjudicate the rules.

The aim of the game is to create an engaging emergent narrative together. It doesn’t really matter if, in the end, the player characters succeed, fail, or even die: what’s most important is enjoying the story you craft together!

The setting

The game takes place in a fantasy world loosely based on late medieval Europe. Technology is starting to make significant advancements, such as the printing press, primitive firearms, and lenses. Society is still dominated by the aristocracy and the clergy, but a new rich bourgeoisie class is starting to take over their privileges.

No place is safe: monsters, mutants, and other vile creatures roam the wilderness, and civilised areas are home to crime and intrigue. Many fear the apocalypse is about to come, and survival is their first priority.

Magic, gods, and demons are real and dangerous. They play with the lives and hopes of mortals, promising great power at a terrible cost.

The protagonists are not powerful heroes, but common folks and roguish adventurers facing untold perils in the slim hope of surviving and getting rich. Some of them will likely die in the attempt!

Game components

Everyone at the table needs paper, pencil, rubber, and a set of 6 polyhedral dice (4‑sided, 6‑sided, 8‑sided, 10‑sided, 12‑sided, and 20‑sided). Each player also needs a character sheet.

The game doesn’t need an actual board, tokens, or miniatures; all game information is instead written or drawn on paper. If you desire, however, you can still use them to enhance your experience.