Blightfall is a low-prep, dark fantasy where mutated villagers risk further corruption for the power to defend their home. Focuses on quick progression, intriguing classes, and collaborative worldbuilding.
Blightfall is a dark fantasy TTRPG for a GM and 3-5 players. Doomed villagers infected with darkness sacrifice shreds of their humanity for the power to protect their home. A unique system, part collaborative worldbuilding to create your shared civilization and threats, part narrative and combat engine to play inside your creation. But no matter what you do, your characters will eventually become abominations.
The book with cover art from the incredible Sarah Mason.
The GM plays The Blight, weaving the world, tracking the players' swelling corruption, and offering dark deals to anyone interested in bending or breaking the rules of the game. Players choose between six classes: The Belltower, The Harbor, The Garden, The Bonfire, The Cathedral, and The Mausoleum. Each class offers unique ways to shape the world and bend the narrative with their burgeoning power, like twisting time and communing with extra-dimensional voices.
We're collaborating with The Deepest Dark from Ella Watts and Georgia Cook! It's a GM-less, tragic horror game about exploring and ultimately dying deep below the earth, where nightmares and wonders await. Back both games about the doomed and you'll get: - An additional class for Blightfall, The Palace, focused on the glory and twisted influence of monarchy! - A solo-mode to delve into The Deepest Dark by your lonesome!
The rulebook will be in A5 format and, just like the characters, the book steadily becomes corrupted by malignant blight as well. Layout and writing is 99% complete, the 1% being minor editing and proofreading, meaning a quick turnaround for printing after the funding window closes.
The book starts as clean, parchment layout, until The Blight interjects and mutates it. (Spreads may not be final)
All backers will also receive access to the online Google Sheets Virtual Tabletop by Spreadsheet Wizard Christopher Fisher. This virtual tabletop has been tested in multiple campaigns and is easy to distribute and use.
Makes running online a breeze.
Read a (biased and positive) playtest review here.
Look at all the fun they're having. Don't you want to have fun? To distract yourself from the horrors?
Want to see it in action? Watch Corporate Crash Course play Blightfall! You can find one of the most unhinged worldbuilding sessions here, and watch them go from combat novices to masters here.
After funding, the full PDF beta, character sheets, and VTT will be sent out to backers soon after Zinetopia ends to allow you access to the game while the book is being printed.
But what if you want to play it now?
Blightfall: Bleak Edition is free and available here. Bleak Edition contains the full game rules, in easy-to-read black-and-white formatting and without art. Download it for a sneak peak at the game's mechanics, or use it to run your own one-shots and campaigns. Want to find other people interested in Blightfall and play with them? Join the Blightfall discord here. The designer will attempt to run one-shots during the crowdfunding campaign as long as he isn't being harried by demons/responsibilities.
At $6,000, all backers receive a bonus PDF supplement, Blightfall: Crowns and Swords. This supplement provides: - A partially-defined 'fallen kingdom' setting. It has lore to get you going, but still allows for the worldbuilding that playtesters love. - Additional enemies and NPCs available as needed to reduce GM strain. - A new character class tailored for this setting: The Armory, a master of weaponry, shields, and maneuvers. - Would work perfectly with the cross-collab class, The Palace ... hint, hint ...
The supplement will be delivered after fulfillment of both the physical and digital versions of the core book. All efforts will be towards the fastest delivery of the core book and maintaining the promised timeline, and then focus will turn to Crowns and Swords.
Shipping is always in flux and can change day-to-day, so these are the best estimates at this time. Packages will be sent from the US. The only physical object that will be shipped is the book, which is expected to ship via Media Mail in the US, approximately 5-10 USD.
Normally, a book shipped internationally from the US is estimated to have shipping of 15-20 USD. However, for those in the EU/UK, I am working with a fellow Zinetopia member in the UK to distribute each other's books and reduce those shipping costs.
Please note, this estimate does not include VAT/import fees. International backers will be responsible for those fees, which may be charged by your country or delivery service.
Timeline: The conservative estimate is that the physical book should be at your door in 4-5 months. The Beta PDF, VTT, and play aids will be delivered soon after successful funding, and the Final PDF will be delivered once any changes have been made due to printing requirements, so that the physical and digital versions match.
This project is participating in Zinetopia! A Small-format TTRPG event celebrating Zine Month running February 2–27, 2026.
📖 What is Zine Month? Zine Month is a month-long online celebration observed every February by the tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) community where creators share and launch new DIY zines.
🔥 Unlock the Limited Zinetopia Freebie! Receive the limited edition Zinetopia 2026 Group Zine when you back 5+ projects featuring 60+ pages from participating creators full of mini-games, sketches, activity pages, and more!
