BROKEN WONDERS - Fantasy Forged in the Dark
A downloadable game
Broken Wonders is a Roleplaying Game about a crew of adventurers in a medieval fantasy world.
Adventurers as underdogs
This isn’t a power fantasy. Broken Wonders is about being adventurers, and adventurers are underdogs. There are terrifying beasts, ruthless undeads and f**king gods out there. You’re going to lose sometimes. You’ll get bloody a lot. You’ll probably stress to death. Life as an adventurer isn’t easy.
This game was inspired by OSR-ish style of play: An open world, a lack of pre-written plot, an emphasis on creative problem solving, disregard for “encounter balance”, high lethality, and the use of random tables and fortune rolls to generate world elements that surprise both the players and the GM.
As a standalone game based on Blades in the Dark, the rules have been widely adapted to offer a new game experience focused on adventure and medieval fantasy.
The rules are mostly setting neutral and can be easily adapted to your favorite setting.
Main Content
- PDF rulebook with index and search option. The "spreads" format makes easy-to-print A4 sheets that can be used as reference during the game.
- Character sheet (PDF, and high-resolution image file to play on virtual boards)
- Fast character and crew creation
- 4 unique backgrounds: Cleric, Fighter, Mage & Rogue. Each contains options to differ even from identical backgrounds.
- 50+ background abilities to empower your characters
- A free-form magic system with 3 faiths and 3 magic paths as starting examples
- Useful list of items with price and load
- GM guidelines and advices
- All the basic rules you need. Check the Table of contents screenshot for more details
- Rules for epic play
- A versatile system for playing complex scenes quickly with little or no preparation.
What is different from "vanilla" Blades in the Dark?
- Actions have been reduced to 6 to increase their importance
- A free-form magic system
- New rules for harm and recovery
- Trauma replaced by exhaustion allows for characters with a much higher potential campaign lifespan, while keeping the importance of stress management
- A new mechanic: Endurance reserve to soak harms (replaces special armor and offers new tactical possibilities for the players)
- Many special abilities are completely new
- Group actions are no longer overpowered, some teamwork actions are simplified
- The addition of fumble as opposed to critical success
- A way to manage downtime and resources adapted to the adventurer's life
- There are no detailed crew and faction management rules, which allows you to start playing faster and makes the downtime faster.
Information
- Recommended Players: 3-5
- Recommended Age: 15+
- Playtime: 2-6 hours per session
Status | Released |
Category | Physical game |
Rating | Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (8 total ratings) |
Author | Dave Craigen |
Genre | Adventure, Role Playing |
Tags | Exploration, Fantasy, Forged in the Dark, OSR, PbtA, roleplaying-game, Sandbox, Tabletop role-playing game |
Average session | A few hours |
Languages | English |
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $7.70 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Community Copies
Support this game at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Community Copies
Every purchase beyond the minimum price will generate a community copy. If you can't afford this game, enjoy a free copy
Development log
- SECOND EDITION: New features and changesMar 24, 2023
- Broken Wonders 1.2Nov 27, 2022
- Broken Wonders 1.0 release notesOct 29, 2022
Comments
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I cant say enough how glad I am to found this game! I really liked BitD system, but was homesick of a fantasy setting. So thank you!
Is there a discord or a forum where people can talk about the game?
Thanks for your enthusiasm, I appreciate it and hope you enjoy the game! And sorry for the delay, I've been traveling offline for a while.
A discord server is being set up, all those who own the games will be notified as soon as it's ready!
Will it have more community copies one day ? I can't afford the game now.
Took a while but yes, there is a new batch
Thank you for the community copies, I'm absolutely broke but was looking for a system to run a D&D style heist and I think I found it in Broken Wonders. As soon as I'm on my feet, I'll make a donation to thank you.
any chance of more community copies?
I just added a few! I add them regularly but they go away quickly
oh, I will wait, thanks bro, the game sounds fucking cool
Let me know what you think when you've read or played it!
if you can tell when you add them, will be cool
Thanks to generous tippers, I added a few more ! I hope you can grab one in time
This is a wonderful adaptation of the BitD system! Very well done. I think I’m going to add back in certain fatigue conditions because I’ve found that playing with trauma in BitD is very fun and generative for my players. Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much!
You can totally add a personality quirk to a fatigue or to replace a fatigue, and even reward with xp if they use it to get into trouble!
I like the latest update, can't wait for more! Do you plan to add a list of magic items? And maybe some treasures as well?
Thanks! Yeah, I expect to include a lot of random tables in the next update.
It's done!