Myrrorside- A Horror Experience You Should Definitely Check Out

While the Halloween season is officially over, there is one, last item on my to-do list that I've been meaning to cross off. And since I don't want to be haunted by a review I didn't get around to, I figured there's no time like the present. So if your need for a horror game hasn't left you quite yet, and you still haven't tried anything that's really scratched that itch, let me invite you to take a walk with me.

... a walk to the Myrrorside.

It's wild out there, trust me.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

So Just What IS Myrrorside?

The world around us seems solid enough, at a glance. And in the light of day, all the myths and whispers about people who've disappeared, or monsters crawling out of the shadows, seem ridiculous. There are some places, though, where the boundaries wear thin, and where one might find themselves falling through a hole in the world. A hole that tumbles them into a place where everything is upside down, and where the normal rules of reality don't make sense. A place filled with the hostile, and the alien, where the comforts of logic and science crack apart, and where dark magics and terrible legends reign supreme. It is a place where nightmares stalk, where the currency is screams, and where terror is the only feeling that can survive.

A dark reflection of the world we know, this place is the Myrrorside.

It is a grim world full of horror and dread.

As a setting, Myrrorside puts me most in mind of Changeling: The Lost, though with heavier doses of Beksinki in its makeup. Not only that, but characters are even more at risk, since they are assumed to be normal mortals who have stumbled through the darkened mirror, and found themselves on the other side of reality. A place where monsters dwell, and where true horror stalk their steps. If they survive long enough they might grow wise to the ways of this place, and perhaps even learn some of the tricks known to the creatures who reside here. Of course, those who remain too long may find themselves unable to return back to the mortal world, finding that in their attempts to merely survive they've grown too adapted to the Myrrorside to ever leave.

Adding into the horror, the Myrrorside is accessed through places that have endured great tragedies, and suffering. Sites of mass violence, torture, senseless crimes, and other places that usually end up with the label of haunted are often the thin places in reality where one might step through into this dark and dreadful realm. Or, almost as bad, these are places where residents of the Myrrorside might emerge, hungry, and looking for prey... or just to lay hands on a piece of the mortal world before their time runs out, and they must return to the terrible place they call home.

Maybe your players fell through a hole in the world, and they're trying to get out again. Maybe a monster is stalking their home, or their neighborhood, and they have to figure out how to send it back. Perhaps they wind up in a psych ward where no one believes the patients' panicked screams about the things living in the walls. There's all sorts of ways this game could go, depending on how creative you want to get.

How Does It Play?

Regular readers know that, generally speaking, I'm not a fan of rules-lite games. With that said, Myrrorside bears a strong resemblance to Savage Worlds, which is about as rules-lite as I'm willing to go when it comes to sitting down and rolling the dice at my own table.

Like most RPGs, Myrrorside gives you a list of Attributes, and a list of Skills, and like Savage Worlds each one of them has a die type ranging from 1d4 to 1d12. When you roll a check, you roll both applicable dice (Attribute and Skill), and take the better result before adding any appropriate modifiers. 0 is considered a Pyrrhic victory, where you do what you wanted, but there's complications. A -1 is just barely failing to do what you wanted. +10 is considered a monumental success. -10 is considered a colossal failure. If you come into a situation where you don't have a particular skill then you can often roll just your Attribute die, and hope for the best. Additionally, you may have situations where you gain Advantage and Disadvantage, and it works the same way as in DND 5E; except in this game you might be rolling 4 dice and choosing the best of your results.

The last thing that makes it really similar to Savage Worlds, to me, is that there's no hit points. I know the SWADE system isn't the only one that does that, but it sort of goes with the comparison. Where Myrrorside innovates is that you can go down levels physically, psychologically, and socially, meaning that you can injure your body, your mind, and your reputation, which can make for interesting challenges as the tale unfolds. And of course your body heals faster than your mind, which heals faster than your social standing... particularly among those who call the Myrrorside home.

Consider Giving It a Try!

The usual warning for content here, Myrrorside is not a game for the faint-hearted. It really embraces the horror aspect, and from the eldritch to the splatter there's some stuff in here that might be disturbing for some gamers. So before you crack these covers, take a deep breath, and make sure you're in the headspace for a game that can get bleak if the dice aren't with you.

If that sounds like your cup of bloody tea, though, then grab a copy of Myrrorside, as well as The White House, an adventure that will really grab you, and suck you into the setting for your first time!

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Daily Motion channel!. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my dystopian sci-fi thriller Old Soldiers, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

If Your Character Has An Edge, They Also Need a Point

Every one of us, as a gamer, has gone through an edgy phase. Whether it was because we read Frank Miller's work on Batman, or we had an abiding love of the Punisher, or we'd just seen Watchman and loved Rorschach as a character, we tried to bring some of that into our games. There is a reason, after all, that the Marquis de Edge is the first entry on my list The 5 Eye-Rolling Rogues You Meet in Your Gaming Career.

Two edges, but you still need a point.

However, there is a little piece of nuance that I think we often forget when it comes to the discussion of so-called "edgy" or "grim" characters. It's that, much like the media that inspired them, the really successful ones have a point they're trying to make. It's only when that point is absent that the concept falls apart, or starts moving into unintentional parody territory.

So I thought I'd talk about that this week.

Also, if you haven't signed up for my weekly newsletter yet, you should consider doing that! It puts you on top of all my latest releases, new blogs, fresh novels, and more. Lastly, if you want to help me keep Improved Initiative going, consider becoming a Patreon patron today... it really helps a lot.

The Iron Age of Comics, And Edgy Characters

If you weren't a big fan of comics in the 1990s, then you might have missed the Edgining, or the Grimming of the medium in the wake of both The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen by Frank Miller and Alan Moore respectively. The former comic took the character of Batman to a new level, as an aging Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement to fight a new breed of criminal with progressively harsher and more demented tactics (most of which got spliced into Batman V. Superman). This culminates in a fight with Superman, Bruce faking his own death, and then training a new generation of Batmen to continue the fight for him. Watchmen was originally going to use a bunch of characters that had been acquired by DC Comics as a deconstruction of the superhero genre, essentially showing the sorts of damaged people and fractured psyches that would exist behind the mask, but DC wouldn't go for it so Moore made his own thinly-veiled versions of those characters as an extra layer of middle finger.

Case in point.

These comics had a massive impact on the medium, going to unique places as they explored the genre of superheroes in ways that hadn't been done before. They acted as the counterpoint to heroic narratives, and showed an underlying bleakness that resonated with readers in a profound way.

What happened next is what always happens next... the tide of imitators began to crash upon the shores.

If you dig through the 90s, you'll find a small ocean of content trying to capture the lightning in a bottle of the foundational titles. Characters like Cable and Deadpool are good examples, but so are the stories of Spawn. Characters who already existed, like the Punisher and Wolverine, were taken to ever bleaker, darker storylines they hadn't been allowed to be a part of before. It seemed like every writer and every artist was chasing that high mark Miller and Moore had laid down, each in their own way.

Some of these tonal imitations were pretty good. The re-invention of Daredevil into a tortured soul trying to balance his more violent desires for vengeance (and giving us the whole Man Without Fear arc) is an example of when this worked. But a lot of titles and stories just devolved into nihilism and brutality, filling pages with empty spectacle that sort of pretended it was trying to be about something, but never really got beyond the belt pouches, bullets, and blood.

What This Has To Do With RPGs

Art doesn't happen in a vacuum, and the explosion of grim, dark, and edgy content that lasted from the late 80s to the early 90s had a pretty notable effect on RPGs as well (not the least of which was the surging popularity of the World of Darkness, which is still with us today). And while there have been plenty of unique settings and games that use grim or edgy content as a vehicle for exploring deeper issues, or to act as a counterpoint to prevailing narratives in storytelling, there are also a lot of games that were just edgy for the sake of being edgy.

Sort of a tabletop version of how Dark Souls gave us deep, impactful worldbuilding, grim storytelling, and an utterly unique challenge and atmosphere, and that spawned an entire genre of imitators, many of whom captured the look but missed the point.

Die, die, die again... but is it a statement on the futility of heroism? Or just punishment?

So what does this have to do with players, and even GMs, who are looking to explore those sharper edges of morality? Those characters and games where adjectives like bleak, grim, or dark apply? Well, it means that you need to have more than just the surface-level aesthetics in order for someone to take what you're doing seriously, and for it to have an impact on the table.

Sometimes that means you're planning an arc for the character, and there's a story you're trying to tell. For instance, if you have a character who's driven primarily by hatred, or vengeance, is this a story about how hollow that victory can be, and the sort of monster it can turn you into despite what you tell yourself? Is it about trying to turn the character off of that path, to give them a bigger cause, to teach them to trust again, and to give them friends and an adopted family to help them heal? Is it about losing your grip on being that better person, and slipping back down into wrath and hatred? Because if you've seen Berserk, that's what happens for our protagonist over the years of serving with the same mercenary company... and let's not forget Guts was found wailing as a baby beneath his mother's hanged body, raised by a brutal "knight" who abused him in every way, and he knew nothing but violence and bloodshed until the Band of the Hawk taught him how to be a person.

That's Mörk Borg level dark, right there.

If you're the Game Master, though, it's equally important to ask what the purpose of the grim/edgy game is. Are you doing a deconstruction of a traditional fantasy tropes, the way Watchmen dissected the superhero? Are you attempting to make a game feel like it has higher stakes by increasing the difficulty and lethality to keep players on their toes, and/or to make things like running in shirtless, sword swinging something that is more likely to get them killed? Are you using the level-based system of power to make comments on hierarchies, personal achievements, or other aspects of a world?

To be clear, you don't have to be going deep and metaphorical with an edgy setting or character concept for it to still be valid. Maybe it just appeals to you in an aesthetic sense, you're more comfortable in that particular archetype, or it's something you haven't really gotten a chance to play. But it is important to do that as an active choice, rather than because you defaulted to it without questioning motives, desires, goals, etc.

And the more edge a character, setting, or campaign has, the easier it's going to be to swallow if there is a point to all of it. Because edge just for edge's own sake can get really tiring really quickly.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff post!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat thriller Marked Territory, it's sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

That One Time I Played a Bard Out of Spite (And Had a Ball)

I am, generally speaking, a big advocate for players changing up their concepts and trying out different roles within their games. A big part of that is because when I was a very new player I got stuck in a groove that I just couldn't get out of. It wasn't until someone else made a snide comment that I decided to change things up out of spite, and realized that what I really needed as a gamer was a bit of variety.

Are you ready to rock!?

Spite is a Powerful Motivator

I have a theory that when first introduced to RPGs, players will have one of two modes they go into as they learn. The first is that they will play something colorful, silly, probably very off-kilter and ridiculous. The sorts of folks who want to play Deadpool from the films, where he's inappropriate, and 4th wall breaking, and doesn't take anything seriously. The second is when players try to play dark, serious, gritty characters who talk like they have a throat full of gravel and whose hobbies include menacingly sharpening their blades and taking vengeance upon those who've wronged them. Like Deadpool when he was in the hands of creators like Rob Liefeld.

As a player, I very definitely pitched my tent in the latter camp.

Ranger. Combat specialty, ranged. Family, deceased. Body count... rising.

Anyone who looked at the books, comics, and movies that shaped my younger reading days wouldn't have been surprised to see that direction for me as a player. As I mentioned in my recent alignment deep dive The Punisher is Evil, Frank Castle was a regular character favorite of mine along with Ghost Rider, the Hulk, and others. One of my early gifts as a child was a leather bound copy of Frank Miller's take on Batman, and practically every movie I saw that wasn't an animated kids film was a story of a wronged man seeking vengeance.

Write what you know, as the classic advice goes.

Generally speaking, I don't see anything wrong with embracing the vengeful, violent character archetype as long as players are allowed to let their characters grow and change throughout the campaign. You can get a lot of powerful moments out of the grizzled loner opening themselves back up to having friends once more, or the catharsis of finally getting the revenge they've sought for so long. The difficulty I ran into was that no game I joined ever ran for very long... so I had to keep re-inventing the same character I'd been trying to play from different angles so I could actually finish the story I'd been trying to tell. It was like getting cut off halfway through your story, and having to start all over again when you tried to pick it back up.

I'd gone through a ranger, a barbarian, and at least two rogues, and every group had dissolved within 5 sessions. Finally a friend of mine had made it clear she wanted to start a new game, and she had a whole campaign planned. So I got out my notebook of character concepts, and started brainstorming.

It was while I was in the middle of this that my roommate at the time walked behind me and snidely asked, "So what version of Batman are you bringing to this game?"

Flipping The Script

Had this happened to me today, I would have sat down with my roommate and explained that sort of comment was uncalled for, and that if he had an issue with the characters I played then we should talk it out and come to some kind of understanding. However, this happened when I was still quite fresh to the hobby, and so I did what came naturally to me as a creator... I embraced my first spiteful impulse, and ran with it.

And now for something entirely different!

The result of this mad dash of spite was a bard by the name of Eirik Perdhro. A tall, blonde-haired young man from the north country he was a singer, a storyteller, a juggler, and a flute player. With a mind for mischief and a smile that always got him into trouble, he sought adventure not for coin or vengeance, but because he'd grown up listening to his grandfather's tales of big cities and far-off deeds. He wanted to see those places for himself, and tread the same paths the old man had when he'd been young.

I dug down even deeper than those basic changes, though. The son of a tavern owner, Eirik had grown up learning to be a bit of everything. Bar keep, pot boy, entertainer, and other skills allowed him to work his way anywhere he needed to be. His home life was good, and he even had a sister. He regularly wrote letters home, telling his parents about his adventures, and sending trinkets along to his grandfather. He was, in other words, a perfectly nice young man who tended to get himself mixed up in trouble.

And the difference in that experience both for me as a player, as well as for the few folks who'd played with me, was like night and day.

A Different Mindset, and a Different Story

When I'd played a dark or brooding character, there were a select few paths I always opted for as a player. Most of them were violence, or threats of violence. It wasn't until I played a character for whom fighting was not their strongest aspect that I had to think on my feet, and ask what someone with a different disposition, different goals, and different experiences would do in a given situation.

And it led to more creative solutions.

Eirik's most potent weapon was his very blue-collar demeanor, combined with his charm. He could dress up for the ball, and keep the court dancing, but he could also walk down to the kitchen and blend in with the staff. He could walk into practically any chamber while wearing an apron and carrying a tray, and no one questioned him. Even when it came to lying to higher-profile figures, such as half-mad cult leaders, he always gave everything his best gambler's face and tried to sell it.

Frankly, it's astonishing how many doors in your average game will just open for you if you ask nicely, and you don't look like you're a threat.

Yeah, I'm with room service. There a problem?

The character did fall into his share of cliches (it was my first time playing a bard, after all). A majority of the trouble he got into was for chasing female characters who were several times his threat level, though in the interest of keeping things tasteful he would write letters, compose poems, and send presents instead of trying to just seduce someone into his bed. He was a little on the bumbling side of things, and not much use in a fight. Part of that was my own terrible dice luck, but I figured it would be better to lean into it, and make it a part of the character.

And I addressed at least a few of these in my 5 Tips For Playing Better Bards over in my 5 Tips archive, for those who are curious.

While the campaign I created him for didn't finish, it did go on longer than practically any game I'd played up to that point. And though my pendulum has since swung back more toward the serious, brooding types, I've never forgotten the lessons I learned playing an adventuresome juke joint juggler just looking for a good time. Think through a situation, consider all your options, and remember that it never hurts to ask. You can always pull your steel, but you usually can't undo that particular decision.

Most importantly, if you want to seduce an NPC, be sweet, charming, and enfold the character into your story. Don't make the DM, or the players, uncomfortable... and remember that if your lovers are all level 15+ and they want to fight over you that you brought this upon yourself.

Next Time on Table Talk!

Thanks to some recent developments, I should be getting back to my Runelords tales soon, and finishing out that campaign for you all. Until then, stay tuned, and I'll see you next time on Table Talk!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archives, as well as the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I help out from time to time. Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent short story collection The Rejects, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.