MEN has been “temporarily suspended” after a customer reported the title “as potentially containing offensive content” at DriveThruRPG. And we know what happens when products are temporarily suspended, don’t we? It took them a day, for fuck’s sake!
We have quickstarts for all of our products available individually and in bundles at Drivethru and Big Geek Emporium
DrivethruRPG:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/398074/Wretched-to-the-Core-BUNDLE
Wretched Darkness and Tears of Belphegor are now available for print on demand at DrivehtruRPG (they are also at Lulu, as usual)
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/421954/Wretched-Darkness
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/423692/Tears-of-Belphegor
Our Valentine’s release is a very unromantic game, MEN – A Manly RPG for Manly Men. Get it now on DrivethruRPG while we’re still not cancelled (again).
MEN is a work of a satyr. A very serious satyr. If you do not like what this satyr says, he is gonna ram you in the guts with his big-ass horns and then ram you in the ass with his big-ass dick and then kill you and eat you. This is not a disclaimer. This is a fucking death threat!
In MEN you play real men who kill, fuck and eat things in a science-fantasy setting, the weird world of Hatia, where the main power groups are the Butt Pirate fleet, the Boomistani theocracy and the matriarchal dystopia of Oxvardridge. How did those humans got there? Well, Hatians were planning to invade Earth but, before charging in guns blazing, they decided to capture some humans and settle them in Hatia to study them. Of course men being awesome, they escaped their laboratories and now roam free and proud in the wilderness. They answer to no one but The Dude and they are always ready to fuck some shit up!
If you do not like MATURE THEMES in RPGs DO NOT BUY this game. If you are easily offended DO NOT BUY this game. If you cannot cope with satire* DO NOT BUY this game. There are plenty of “edgy” games out there less likely to get your panties in a twist. Maybe try our Wretched line instead?
Are you still there? Cool, then you’ll probably enjoy this!
* Satire is the literary or artistic use of humour, irony, or exaggeration to criticize and ridicule human vices and follies. It is a form of commentary that employs sarcasm or parody to expose and highlight the flaws of individuals, institutions, or society as a whole.
For now MEN is available only at DrivethruRPG. There will be a print on demand option soon.
Weeks ago, we invited Griffith Morgan for what was meant to be a one-shot liveplay of Her Heart Was a Locked Room and Nobody Had the Key, the introductory scenario included in Orpheum Lofts. It ended up being a three-shot, which ended last night (with an additional guest, Joseph McKeever). You can check it out here:
This is a subject that keeps coming up when talking about Wretched games. Our answer is: Of course! However, the answer must be given the proper context. What are we exactly talking about when we say Wretched games should contain sex? Are we expecting Game Master and players to describe romantic sex encounters in a Harlequin novel style?
“Suddenly, the door opened, and he stepped inside. Aria’s heart leapt with joy, and she felt a wave of heat rising up within her. He was even more handsome than she remembered, dressed in a fine velvet tunic and breeches. His eyes were dark and intense, and they seemed to look right through her. The bard stepped forward and took her hands in his. His touch was electrifying, and Aria felt her skin tingle wherever he touched her. He leaned in close, his breath warm against her neck, and she felt a shiver of pleasure run through her. The bard’s hands slid up her arms, his fingertips caressing her skin as he moved. His lips were soft and gentle, their kiss passionate and deep. Aria felt herself melting in his embrace, and the heat between them seemed to grow and intensify. His hands moved down her body, his touch exploring every curve and inch of her. He cupped her breasts in his hands, and she gasped at the feeling. His hands moved lower, and Aria felt a wave of pleasure wash over her as he teased her sensitive areas.”
FUCK NO! By the way, we loathe this kind of thing so much; we had GPT write it. This unwretchedness incarnate! Leave that shit to theatre kids and sparkletrolls in general.
Now this we approve of:
Miguel (as Bela Tusa, the Dwarf): I want to spend the night with a hooker
Sílvia (as the GM): Right. One of them accepts dwarves, but she charges double.
Miguel: Fine, I’ll paydouble.
Sílvia: OK, so you spend the night wi…
Miguel: Wait, wait, I’m not finished. She does anal sex, right?
Sílvia: She does, but not with dwarves.
Miguel: Fucking racist! I paid her double, she must…
Sílvia: No, that was the price for regular sex, she won’t do anything else with you.
Miguel: I’ll threaten her, then. If she doesn’t do it, I’ll force her.
Sílvia: When threatened, she gets scared and starts screaming. She will alert the guards.
Miguel: I pick up my axe and get ready for some fun. Meanwhile, I warn her: We aren’t done yet, let me just deal with those fuckers.
I hope this clears any doubts about what role sex should play in Wretched games. No romance and no descriptions, only action is expected!
The Wretched Darkness Quickstart is now available at Drivethru.You can get it here. You can also get it from Big Geek Emporium by downloading the Quickstarts Bundle here. The same free bundle is also available at Drivethru and includes quickstart for all of the Wretchedverse games.
So, what is Wretched Darkness?
Wretched Darkness is a mature horror role-playing game where players take on the roles of anti-hero characters who must face the unknown and confront the supernatural and the paranormal head-on. Wretched Darkness may be played as a dark fantasy game or you can make it into an actual horror experience. Players can choose from several factions for their characters, some already featured in previous Wretched games, such as the Knights of Cydonnia, BurroughsTech, the Araknyd Brotherhood and the Daughters of Ksenia, and a few new ones, like the Warden Foundation and the Children of the Night.
By default, the game is set in modern times, in urban environments, where danger lurks at every turn and death is never far away. However, you can use it to play horror games in different timelines. Combine it with Wretched Époque or Wretched Country for a 19th-century terrifying experience, pair it up with Wretched New Flesh – Postcards from Avalidad for a near-future surrealistic horror campaign, jump into the far future by using Wretched Space, or set it in any other age. This book presents you with a sandbox-style setting inspired by the works of masters of horror, such as Clive Barker, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, John Carpenter, George Romero, Wes Craven, Dario Argento, Tobe Hooper, Lucio Fulci and Mario Bava, but expect sources of inspiration as varied as William Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, William Gibson, Paul Auster, exploitation movies and Leonard Cohen’s poetry.
As a Game Master, you will find here tools and game mastering hints for running any style of horror game, such as Giallo, gore, supernatural, psychological, apocalyptic, surreal, sci-fi horror and more. Wretched Darkness uses a revised version of the Wretched mechanics, an old-school set of rules designed for playing characters that are not necessarily good or virtuous. The revised rules are still entirely compatible with previous versions, but they include new mechanics for sanity and the use of magic, as well as several new classes and playable races, such as Incubus/ Succubus, Loup-Garou, and the Wampyr. Player characters are also more vulnerable than they were in previous Wretched games: The Hit Point increase was downgraded (now, by default you don’t roll for Hit Points when you level up, you only get 1 additional point per level) and the level cap is set at 10.
This may well be the most offensive role-playing game since F.A.T.A.L. We didn’t write it (unfortunately), but we’re probably the only ones who would dare publish it nowadays. We will likely end up even more cancelled afterwards, but… we can’t resist it… MEN will be published. Soon!
Wretched New Flesh has been our slowest-selling game (it’s still Copper Seller at Drivethru, while most of the others have gone up to Silver), which is a shame because I quite like the setting. Here’s an incentive to take the risk and plunge into the weird world of Avalidad: 50% off the pdf until Sunday with this coupon:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?discount=9cda2ec1fa
Blood Red Valentine Sale: Because nothing says “I Love You” quite like a spine-tingling experience at a reduced price, we cut the prices for some of our horror scenarios until Valentine’s day.
These are titles you can find with a discount at the Red Room’s Drivethru store until the 14th:
Deviants & Dirty Deeds Issue 2
Resort of the Dead
Double Feature (The Old House, A Sweet Serenade)
The Sisters of the Seven Sins
Orpheum Lofts
The Memorial
Something Wretched This Way Comes
(In)Sanatorium
In the Mouth of Hell
Coldheart Canyon
The Bastard King
