His Majesty the Worm
The forest's thickness is lessening, with room for paths of turned earth, rectangular pits, a whiteness as of mushrooms peeping from the ground. With horror we see from the thirteenth tarot that the underbrush is fertilized with half-withered corpses and fleshless bones.
"Why, where have you brought me, Fool? This is a cemetery!"
And the Fool says, pointing to the invertebrate fauna feeding in the graves:
"Here a monarchy reigns, mightier than you..."
His Majesty the Worm Bursts Forth from the Underworld!
His Majesty the Worm is a new-school game with old-school sensibilities: a classic megadungeon experience given fresh life through a focus on the mundanities and small moments of daily life inside the dungeon. His Majesty the Worm is a tabletop roleplaying game designed for dungeon crawling where the Game Master is given tools to create a megadungeon called the Underworld, the players create adventurers to explore the Underworld in pursuit of their personal quests, and Tarot cards are used as a randomizing element.
Food, hunger, light, and inventory management are central to play and are actually fun.
Tarot cards are used to create an action-packed combat system that ensures that all players have interesting choices every minute of combat: no downtime!
The game has robust procedures. Characters adventure in the Underworld, rest in roleplaying-driven camping scenes, and plot long-term schemes in the City at the center of the Wide World.
The relationships between companions, called Bonds, powers the rest and recovery mechanic of the game. Roleplaying drives the game forward.
The book has everything You Need to Play (Just Add a Tarot Deck!)
The game is intended for a traditional setup between a single GM and 3-6 players. It emphasizes long-term, Metroidvania-like play.
Also check out the free resources and more here.
His Majesty the Worm winner of two 2025 Ennie Awards for Best Game and Best Rules!
“Very cool and creative stuff here” —John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats
“His Majesty the Worm is a dungeon crawler masterpiece, bridging the way to the next generation of tabletop fantasy games. Inventive mechanics that spur your game forward, it is a must-read for designer tinkerers and a must-play for fans of avant garde roleplaying games.” —W.F. Smith, Prismatic Wasteland (author of Barkeep on the Borderlands)
“His Majesty the Worm is a dungeon crawler honed to the sharpest edge. The tarot card mechanics are novel while easy to understand. Every design decision and subsystem has been painstakingly hand crafted, with explanation for WHY it exists right here in the book, letting you hack the game into something that fits at your table. The Challenge mechanics reward clever players and tactics, keeping everyone engaged and tuned in for the perfect opportunity to lay down their next card. This game will blow your socks off!" —Ty Pitre, Mindstorm Press (author of Swineheart Motel)
“An instant classic. Brilliant and weird and eminently portable—my favorite combination. The monsters you choose to include in your campaigns and dungeons turn into the powers your players can wield. Love it. The formatting is beautiful and the prose is readable and clear while still being evocative. Fantastic.” —Zephyr Studios
Created and written by Josh McCrowell
Editing by Melody Watson and Kennedy Gerber
Cover Design by Pete Borlace and Navi Drake
Character Sheet by M. Finch, Pete Borlace, and Michael Strange
Dicier Font by Speak the Sky
Graphic Design by Pete Borlace and Michael Strange
Copyediting by M. Finch and Izzy Peters
Alchemical Icons by Martin Nerurkar
Cartography by Dyson Logos
Hangover Table and Other Tomfoolery by Chris Sanford
Art by Bertdrawsstuff, Emily Cheeseman, Charles Ferguson-Avery, Nicolas Evans, Gobert, Sophie Grunnet, Gus L, HodagRPG, Tom Kilian, Amanda Lee Franck, Savanna Mayer (@well_dipper), Thomas Novosel, Gertrud Oberg, Caitlin Reid, Marcin S, Alec Sorenson, and Emmy Verte
404 pages, hardcover, A4 size, black and white throughout, silver foil-stamped cover, and a ribbon bookmark.
