Cursebearer is a roleplaying game focused on a group of troubled companions, thrown into adventure by curses threatening their future. In this pursuit they will come into contact with strange beings, uncover secrets and struggle with the dangerous power they wield. They will be battered and worn down by the adventure forcing them to balance heroism and safety.
Cursebearer is inspired by folklore, sword and sorcery literature and games like Dark Souls and the Witcher. Strange beings inhabit edges of the civilization and live under the cupboards of mortals. Magic is not a science but an elemental force that drains the life out of those attempting to give it permanence. Fights are furious, unpredictable and full of choices. Knowing your enemy is important as great adversaries have secrets behind their power and with knowledge the power can be turned against them.
Above all the game is about the characters. How they struggle with their curses and how they change through the course of their adventures.
Adventure
Magical enchantments, occult knowledge and great riches are found in the deep wilds and forgotten dungeons full of danger. Home is a respite but not a safe haven. In fact the characters are a danger to any place they call home as calm stirs their curses.
Curses
Characters are afflicted with a curse that threatens to devour them. Curse offers strength, and desperation or lure of power will draw them into stirring the curse invoking powerful abilities. In this gamble they risk losing a piece of themselves to the curse.
Gritty Heroism
Despite their prowess and skill the characters are mortal. Fights are unpredictable, dangerous and only few come out unscathed. Power is not free and a character pushing their limits will expose themselves to other more insidious threats.
Guides
Character is build from their instincts, beliefs and connections represented by Guides. Guides grant abilities beyond skill and when it is time to grow the characters grow from their Guides.
Player Roles
Everyone at the table is a player, but there are two distinct roles. One player takes the role of the Bearer and others take the role of the Adventurer. Together you create a story of adventure and peril.
The Adventurer
As an Adventurer you explore the game from your characters perspective, solving mysteries and fighting monsters. You interact with the world by asking questions and making bold decisions for your character’s actions and future.
You build the world with actions that change it; Befriend other characters, make new enemies, aid or undermine factions and defeat legendary beasts. Before the game you build the world by giving your character a history, friends and enemies, home and significant events.
The Bearer
Bearer arbitrates rules and sets the stage for the adventure. As a Bearer you design dungeons, cities and traps. You create non-adventurer characters, secrets and dangers for the Adventurers to investigate and instigate.
When Adventurers take action you change the world in response. These changes wary from minute changes of enemy behaviour to great changes that alter communities and balance of great powers.
You referee the rules. Whenever there is a conversation over how a rule should be resolved you make a final ruling taking into consideration the other player’s input and the situation at play. Every table plays the game in their own way. Important thing is to stay consistent and reinforce the type of game you all want to play.