Swords of the Serpentine

Swords of the Serpentine is a sword & sorcery game of daring heroism, sly politics, and bloody savagery, set in a fantasy city rife with skullduggery and death. The rules adapt the GUMSHOE investigative roleplaying system to create a fantasy RPG with a focus on high-action roleplaying and investigation inspired by the stories of Fritz Leiber, Terry Pratchett, Robert E. Howard, and others.

Your characters will discover leads that, if followed, propel them headlong into danger and forbidden knowledge. A lead might point the way to sunken treasure, jungle ruins, the missing key to a sorcerous trap, or the true identity of a notorious murderer. The GUMSHOE game mechanics ensure that you’ll always notice leads if you look for them. It’s up to you to choose which one you’ll follow into whatever perils lie ahead, in hopes of fortune, glory, justice, or just staying alive another day.

If you want to track down foul sorcerers in a corrupt and decadent city, clamber through underground ruins to sneak into an enemy’s home and rob them, or wage a secret war against a rival political faction, you’re in the right place.

Swords of the Serpentine offers:

• A fantasy city of mystery and magic inspired by Lankhmar and Ankh-Morpork
• Tools for fast and effective character creation
• A customized combat system that opens the door for cinematic, heroic battles
• Social combat that targets your enemy’s morale, letting you defeat some foes through wit, guile, and threats
• Sorcery that allows you to rip apart a tower with the flick of a hand—but are you willing to pay the price in corruption to body and soul?
• Powerful allegiances that give you influence in one or more factions across the city, but which can earn you equally powerful enemies…
• Streamlined abilities that power four distinct types of heroes, and which you can mix-and-match across professions to customize your character further
• Gameplay and rules mechanics that encourage players to help build the world they’re adventuring in
• Rules for death curses, true names, alchemy, sorcerous items, ghostly possession, political manipulation, and more!