Black Ash

Black Ash is a game forged in the remnants of a world teetering on the brink, where ash and shadow are as much part of the landscape as despair. This is not a heroic tale; it is one of survival, where every step is a gamble, every choice a brush with oblivion. What sets Black Ash apart is its brutal simplicity—minimalist, yet sharp as a blade drawn in the dark.

At the heart of Black Ash lies its stark, unforgiving mechanics. Three attributes—Body, Mind, Soul—are your only anchors in this crumbling world. Roll 3d10, assign the values, and let the dice decide how the dark speaks to you. There is no elaborate backstory, no sprawling character sheets. Your identity is reduced to three numbers—yet, those numbers will shape your fate as profoundly as the forgotten gods who left this world to rot.

The game's dice pool system embraces risk with cruel precision. 21 is your goal, the fragile tipping point between triumph and failure. But what makes this truly unique is the choice it forces: you begin with 2d10, and If you don’t succeed on the first roll, and you have dice left in your pool, you may continue to roll dice, pushing your luck, drawing closer to victory—or to disaster. Every die thrown is a gamble, every result a whisper of fate’s indifference. The result? A rhythm of tension, where success is defined by the razor-thin margin of 18 to 24, a mere three points either side of the perfect 21.

Failure is not just failure in Black Ash; it carries weight. A roll of the dice pulls you deeper into the world’s decay—wounds that cripple, resolve that falters, or revelations that cut deeper than steel. The consequence table, a simple d6 roll, ensures that failure is not an end but a dark turn, pulling you deeper into the void.

To add even more unpredictability to the journey, the Black Ash Oracle introduces vivid encounters, strange NPCs, and unsettling phenomena. Whether you are playing solo, journaling or with companions, this oracle will guide your story deeper into the dark unknown. With 100 unique results, each roll on the oracle can spawn new dangers or grim allies, haunting the journey and pulling you further into the strange and decaying world of Black Ash. It is the pulse of the game, adding organic, emergent storytelling into every session.

And yet, for all its darkness, Black Ash is minimalist in design. There are no sprawling rulesets to memorize, no long lists of equipment or convoluted abilities. You roll your attributes, your weapon emerges from the ash (a simple 1d10 roll to determine your armament, be it a fragile improvised tool or a brutal relic of war), and the story begins. Everything else—the wounds, the victories, the slow creep of the end—is born through narrative and dice, a lean framework where the story grows organically from the mechanics.

Black Ash distills dark fantasy RPGs to their essence: few rules, high stakes, and a world that is as unforgiving as it is haunting. In just a few pages, it delivers a gaming experience that is both ruthless and rich in narrative, proving that even in the ashes of simplicity, something profound can take root.