A Fistful of Darkness

A Fistful of Darkness is a Weird West Fantasy hack of Blades in the Dark with heavy emphasis on the fantasy part. It’s not intended to be an accurate history lesson or a simulation of past times. It is designed to be a cinematic game which lets you play all those Weird West tropes towards the end of the world.

A Fistful of Darkness is not a complete game. It’s a hack for Blades in the Dark by John Harper. You will need that game to play and if you don’t already own it, get it NOW! It’s more than worth your money.

The Setting

Imaging a world with the magic and mystery of the frontier: wide open
plains of the Old Wild West in all its beauty and madness, where violence
and sacrifice dominate every single day. Now add the Hellstone rush, under-
ground mayhem in mines and brand new sciences & machines. Don’t forget
immigration, injustice, vigilante justice, outlaws, gunslingers, slick talkers
and setting suns. This all in the face of an impending doom: Demons and the
four riders bringing the end of the world as you know it. How do you make
it to the top of this powder keg, which side will you take in the impending
war and how much will your soul suffer? Let’s play to find out!

The Rules

• 12 new playbooks
  • The Fist - Like a cobra, ready to strike
  • The Shot - A deadly gunslinger & showman
  • The Law - A lawmen & enforcer
  • The Gamble - A subtle manipulator & sly trickster
  • The Scout - A stealthy tracker & hunter
  • The Outlaw - A maverick & desperado beyond rules
  • The Thunderheart - A totem fighter born from the land
  • The Speaker - A spiritual guide & protector
  • The Plan - A well-connected mastermind
  • The Gentle Touch - An empathic light in a dark world
  • The Wrench & Saw - Mad scientist, Hellstone otaku
  • And special: The Revenant - A vengeful spirit in a dead body
• 4 new Posse Playbooks
  • Hellstone Scavengers, Outlaws, Bounty Hunters, Tribe
• New mechanics for your characters, crew and world (for example: Hellstone, Grit, Ablass, Stigmatas, Doom, Riders of the Apocalypse/End Game, Underworld Runs, Mutations)
• Modified rules for Payout, Downtime and Entanglements/Rider Events, which tie into the Doom and Riders systems
• A toolbox to create your own Weird West setting via world building
• 24 new factions for Mudwater and beyond
• ~180 pages of unique content including art

“Get ready, Mateo. Doom is coming to dinner.” — MARSHAL McCAIN

DOOM IS COMING TO MUDWATER

It was a dark time,  and it just got much darker: As if living in a cruel and heartless frontier world was not enough, as if living in a Hell on earth was not enough... in a too deep mine near that sleepy hollow called Mudwater they found Bloodstone. Thereafter known as Hellstone.

The old ones say that some things are better left uncovered and Hellstone is definitely such a thing. Like the original box of Pandora it was found deep in the earth, and now there is no way undoing it. You think the gold rush turned men into greedy monsters? Think again, because now we have all that and the real thing: monsters and demons, spirits and ghosts, mutants and undead soulless killers. Hordes of them hunting in the night, ravaging the countryside and swarms of living nightmares attacking from the skies. Beware traveler, no road is save anymore. They are coming from the mines, they are coming from underground maws, spawned into the dark where Hellstone is found.

Hellstone turned out to be way more valuable than any other resource known to man, even more precious than your beloved gold. Since they found a way to gain energy  from Hellstone there's a new generation of marvellous machines and weapons for your greedy way to the top. Science and ancient magic rituals are equally powered with what Hellstone brings. Some say there's a just and appropriate way to use  Hellstone, most of them just don't care if that's true. They are too busy exploiting it. It's a new world and everybody wants a big piece of it or die trying.

The elders and wise ones are sure the final days are upon us, that Hellstone is the first omen of a grim doom: The four horsemen will come. The white, the red, the black and the pale horse along with their riders will end existence and bring judgement and redemption. It's obvious that Hellstone plays a crucial part in this but the greedy ones are too blind to see. Does your posse recognize those signs or are you're too busy climbing to the top at the expense of their fellow people?

Thought you knew the face of greed? Come to Mudwater and learn anew. Some fools say it’s better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. Oh, yes! Who needs Heaven anyway when you have a Hellstone colt in your hand, still warm from killing a horde of demons? Just pray that you never run out of ammo... and pray for the day of your creator's judgement.

Find additional free/PWYW content for the game (clocks, NPC card templates, ...) here: https://monkeyecho.itch.io/a-fistful-of-darkness-extended-content

Looking for a printed book?

• Check out the hardcover via lulu
• Check out the softcover/paperback via lulu