KARST + PDF

In the center of the Mirror Sea lies the Karst Archipelago.

It was once surrounded by the Three Distant Shores, but a generation has now passed since the last ships arrived in the archipelago from those faraway lands. Life has gone on for the folk out here. Small communities, island kingdoms, and nation states have formed out of old refugee settlements, pirate camps, and trading outposts. Much remains unexplored. Ancient ruins, lost treasure, and uncharted islands beckon. Yet… there is a peculiar and sorrowful feeling here. Tragedy has befallen the Karst Archipelago, grasping it in a slow, tender, and fatal embrace. The end is near, but it is still a few chapters away. Welcome, fellow authors.

Karst is a role-playing game of storytelling, discovery, and soft horror, presented by the Karst Archipelago Historical Society. Set in a haunted archipelago filled with animal folk and terrible secrets, Karst features a simple, flexible set of rules and guidelines to help you and your friends create Ballads and Requiems: tales of glory and woe. Karst is based on some of the earliest games of the genre, but informed by more recent systems and sensibilities; there are no classes within the game, but through a system of character customization, they can be recreated and reimagined. Content from other games and systems is easy to integrate with Karst, and the rules are designed to grow—or shrink—with your group's needs and tastes.

Author: Caz Downing-Bryant
Illustrator: Anastasia Khmelevska
Editor: Erin Cusick
Proofreader: Christine Crabb