Dark Fantasy Setting
Overview
This extension adds a dark fantasy layer to the Grit system: two new Essence attributes (Blood and Shadow), associated combat techniques, a world shaped by The Shrouding, five human folks/kins, and a willpower-driven magic system. It requires the core Grit system.
New Essence Attributes
Two additional Essence attributes, gated behind origin, gift, technique, or cultural tradition (see Attribute Combination Tiers in the core system).
| Attribute | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blood | Lineage, vitality, fury, sacrificial power, inner wildness |
| Shadow | Concealment, stealth, withdrawal, dark proximity, elusiveness |
Attribute Combination Tiers (Extensions)
Tier 3 — Blood or Shadow Access
Blood and Shadow each require a source: ancestry, magical gift, combat school, or GM-determined circumstance. Once unlocked, they enable Body + Essence combinations:
Strength + Blood Agility + Blood Constitution + Blood
Strength + Shadow Agility + Shadow Constitution + Shadow
Tier 4 — Legendary Exception
Mind + Blood, Mind + Shadow, or Essence + Essence combinations (e.g. Blood + Shadow) are only allowed with explicit GM permission. Reserved for exceptional characters, monsters, or high advancement.
Essence Combat Styles
Blood Pool
Blood represents raw life force, heritage, and fury in combat. "I win because my body, my rage, or my lineage is stronger than your technique."
| Combination | Style |
|---|---|
| Strength + Blood | Frenzy, raw force |
| Agility + Blood | Predatory speed |
| Constitution + Blood | Turn pain into power |
Blood is inherently volatile. Consider harsher consequences on a fumble when Blood is used for the pool (see Blood Rage technique below).
Shadow Pool
Shadow represents concealment, deception, and elusiveness. "I win because you can't quite get a hold of me."
| Combination | Style |
|---|---|
| Strength + Shadow | Sudden violence from the blind spot |
| Agility + Shadow | Assassin style, hard to hit |
| Constitution + Shadow | Hide pain, stay unreadable |
Shadow thrives in darkness, chaos, ambushes, tight spaces, deception, and unfair fights.
Combat Techniques
Blood Rage
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 (Unlearned) | — |
| 1 (Practiced) | Unlocks pools: Strength + Blood, Constitution + Blood |
| 2 (Experienced) | May spend net successes on Blood-specific maneuvers (TBD). Suggested: sacrifice Health (exhaustion) for bonus successes. |
| 3 (Masterful) | Once per fight: when you would gain exhaustion from a hit, halve it (round up). |
Feel: reckless, self-destructive, overwhelming — trading safety for power.
Shadow Fighting
| Rank | Effect |
|---|---|
| 0 (Unlearned) | — |
| 1 (Practiced) | Unlocks pools: Agility + Shadow, Constitution + Shadow |
| 2 (Experienced) | May spend net successes on Shadow-specific maneuvers (TBD). Suggested: vanish from melee, reposition behind cover, impose darkness penalties. |
| 3 (Masterful) | Once per fight: negate a hit entirely (declare after seeing the roll). |
Feel: unfair, slippery, punishing — you don't win clean fights, you make sure the fight was never fair.
Folks / Kins
All player characters are human. But isolation during The Shrouding — centuries or decades of separation — shaped distinct folks, each with a +1 bonus to a signature attribute at character creation (on top of the standard 3 + 3 point distribution). Magic is available to all; the second casting attribute is determined narratively, not by folk.
| Folk | Isolation Terrain | +1 Bonus | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fog People | Nomadic — emerged from the Shrouding | Willpower | Descendants of those who vanished into the fog. They appeared after the Shrouding lifted, like ghosts given flesh. Many outside their ranks doubt they exist. |
| Fenfolk | Swamps, marshes | Instinct | Hard-eyed survivors of treacherous wetlands. They keep old lore, brew potent concoctions, and trust their gut. Prefer potions over wands. |
| Mountainfolk | Mountain ranges | Constitution | Stubborn, communal, bound by oath and stone. They endured the Shrouding by fortifying and waiting it out. Slow to trust, harder to break. |
| Havenfolk | Walled enclaves | Blood | Keepers of lineage, archives, and blood-rites. They preserved civilisation in walled settlements. Ancestral magic runs in their veins. |
| Hollowfolk | Caves, deep earth | Shadow | They dwell where light does not reach. Patient, silent, seen only in glimpses. The darkness is not their enemy — it is their mother. |
Details TBD: cultural traditions, naming conventions, starting equipment packages.
Magic System
Magic is raw, chaotic energy bent by willpower. It has no separate resource pool — casting costs exhaustion like any other strenuous act.
Core Principles
- Willpower is the foundation. All magic keys off Willpower. The second attribute is determined narratively by tradition, folk, or personal style (Willpower + Instinct for gut-feel magic, Willpower + Intelligence for studied magic, Willpower + Blood for ancestral magic, etc.).
- Magic is always dangerous. A failed or interrupted spell triggers a chaotic effect.
- No Mana attribute. There is no separate mana pool, spell slots, or magical resource. Exhaustion is the cost.
Spellcasting Procedure
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Spell Level | Minimum dice pool needed to attempt the spell (e.g. Level 5 requires a 5d6 pool) |
| Minimum Successes (Y) | Number of successes required for the spell to work as intended |
| Chaotic Effect | What happens on failure. Magnitude = Y − actual successes. Defined per spell. |
Steps:
- Declare the spell and roll your current effective pool (max pool − exhaustion).
- Count successes (dice showing 4+ after 1s cancel successes).
- If successes ≥ Y: the spell succeeds. Resolve its effect.
- If successes < Y: choose one:
- Accept chaos. The spell fails with a chaotic effect. Magnitude = Y − successes.
- Extend. Pay 1 exhaustion, keep the successes rolled so far, and roll again with your reduced pool. Add the new successes to the running total. Repeat until you reach Y or choose to stop.
- Interruption. If you are interrupted while extending (damage, disruption, choice), the spell fails with a chaotic effect. Accumulated successes do not carry over.
Implications:
- A spell with Y = 5 can be attempted with a 4d6 pool, but it will require at least 1 extension (costing 1 exhaustion) along the way.
- Spells can require more successes than any single pool could produce, forcing extensions.
- Chaotic effects scale: Y − 1 successes = minor glitch, Y − 3 = catastrophic backlash.
- Multiple extensions on a single spell can leave the caster deeply exhausted.
Spell Domains
Details TBD. Domains to design:
- Shaping (create, alter, transform)
- Unmaking (damage, decay, banish)
- Warding (shield, bind, protect)
- Sensing (perceive, reveal, scry)
- Weaving (illusion, trickery, subtlety)
Magic Items
Magic items grant a flat bonus on spellcasting success rolls. Common varieties include:
| Type | Typical Bonus | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wand / Staff | +1 success | Focuses will; most common |
| Amulet / Hood | +1 to +2 successes | Slower to activate, no hands required |
| Potion (consumable) | +1 to +3 successes | One dose, bonus for a single casting. Favoured by Fenfolk. |
| Ritual Circle | +1 to +3 successes | Requires preparation, immobile |
Full item list and pricing TBD. Bonuses should be rare and meaningful — a +3 item is legendary.
Backlash
Each spell defines its own chaotic effect. Generic guidelines:
| Gap (Y − successes) | Severity | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minor | Wild light, noise, unpleasant sensation |
| 2 | Moderate | Feedback exhaustion (1 additional), unintended effect |
| 3+ | Major | Spell targets wrong person, backlash damage, summoning |
Equipment
Details TBD. Standard dark fantasy equipment:
- Weapons: swords, axes, spears, bows, staves (using core weapon tiers).
- Armor: leather, chain, plate (using core armor tiers).
- Shields: minor armor bonus, unique combat techniques.
- Magical weapons/armor: quality above Masterwork, unique effects, may require attunement.
- Adventuring gear: torches, ropes, rations, herbal remedies, writing kits.
- Potions and consumables: see Magic Items above.
Full equipment tables and pricing TBD.
Setting Lore
The Shrouding
An age ago, a mysterious fog — the Shroud — fell across the world. It did not burn. It did not poison. It simply separated. Communities were cut off from one another. Those who ventured into the fog were never seen again.
The Shrouding lasted generations. Some folk tell of it as a slow decay — the fog appearing gradually, isolating first villages, then entire regions. Others speak of a single night when the world went white and silent.
Then, just as mysteriously, the fog began to recede. It did not vanish overnight, but slowly, year by year. Travel between former isolation zones became possible. The Fog People — descendants of the lost — emerged from the dissipating mist.
No one knows what caused the Shrouding, or where the fog truly went. Some say it still waits beyond the horizon.
The World Today
- Blood and Shadow are real, tangible forces — not mere metaphors.
- Ancient ruins and fallen civilisations dot the landscape, many still unreachable.
- Monsters and creatures exist that exceed the 7-die pool cap.
- Factions vie for influence: warrior orders, mage circles, enclave councils, and darker things.
- The Fog People are regarded with awe, suspicion, or disbelief depending on the region.
Details TBD: geography, major settlements, faction politics, history by age.
Example Characters
The pools shown below are max pools (from attribute pairs). Effective pool = max pool − current exhaustion.
The Breaker
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 9 |
| Agility | 4 |
| Constitution | 8 |
| Intelligence | 3 |
| Wisdom | 4 |
| Instinct | 6 |
| Willpower | 7 |
| Charisma | 6 |
| Blood | 8 |
| Shadow | 2 |
Without technique:
Strength + Constitution = 17 → 6d6
With Blood Rage:
Strength + Blood = 17 → 6d6
Feel: dangerous, physically dominant, turns pain and rage into violence.
The Shadow Fighter
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Strength | 5 |
| Agility | 8 |
| Constitution | 4 |
| Intelligence | 6 |
| Wisdom | 5 |
| Instinct | 8 |
| Willpower | 5 |
| Charisma | 4 |
| Blood | 3 |
| Shadow | 9 |
Without technique:
Strength + Agility = 13 → 4d6
With Instinct Fighting (core technique):
Agility + Instinct = 16 → 5d6
With Shadow Fighting:
Agility + Shadow = 17 → 6d6
Feel: slippery, unfair, uses angles, timing, and darkness.
Gaps / Not Yet Designed
- Spell domains and individual spell definitions (effects, Y-values, chaotic effects)
- Backlash tables per domain or per spell
- Full magic item list, bonuses, attunement rules
- Folk cultural traditions, naming conventions, starting equipment
- Blood Rage rank 2 maneuvers, rank 3 masterful effect (playtest)
- Shadow Fighting rank 2 maneuvers, rank 3 masterful effect (playtest)
- Setting geography, major settlements, faction politics
- Monsters and creatures (beyond core guidelines)
- Blood/Shadow fumble tables or risk mechanics
- Equipment tables and pricing
- Starting equipment packages per background