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.

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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!

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