Introduction

Introduction #

In This Mortal Coil, you play a space traveler-turned-necromancer on a quest to achieve eternal life by constructing a magical device known as an anchor. You’ll create undead thralls to do your bidding, gather energy to power your quest by harvesting living creatures, and master the forces of the Negaverse.

Along the way, you’ll explore fantastic worlds, battle terrifying creatures, and negotiate with cosmic horrors to unlock the secrets of immortality.

Using this document #

Keywords are set in a monospace font in order to indicate that they have special meaning within the context of this game.

Rolling dice #

This Mortal Coil uses polyhedral dice to introduce an element of randomness into the gameplay. When you’re asked to roll the dice, the text will tell you how many with a notation like 2d12. That means you need to roll two twelve-sided dice at the same time and sum the results.

Sometimes, you’ll see a notation like 3d8+1. In this case, roll three eight-sided dice, sum the results, and then add one to the total. Every time you see the d notation, you need to sum the result of the dice roll before applying any other arithmetic.

The two exceptions are special types of rolls called d66 and d100. When you see this type of roll, use two six sided dice (in the case of d66) or two ten-sided dice (in the case of d100), treating one die as the tens digit and the other as the ones digit.

Occasionally, the game will call for a die that isn’t directly represented by the dice sitting on your table. Most common is a d3, which you can generate by rolling a six-sided die and dividing by two (making sure to round up). You might also see a d2, which you can generate the same way as a d3, but by rolling a four-sided die. For a d2, you can also substitute a coin flip, if the situation would benefit from a dramatic flourish.

A game of space horror #

This Mortal Coil is built on top of and designed to be compatible with Liminal Horror by Goblin Archives, a modern horror hack of the game Cairn by Yochai Gal, which is itself a hack of the game Into the Odd by Chris McDowall and Knave by Ben Milton. Unlike other role playing games you might be familiar with, this line of games focuses on exploration and investigation. When combat occurs, it is fast and deadly.

To play, you’ll need one person to fill the role of the facilitator and one or more people to fulfill the role of characters who explore the world adjudicated by the facilitator. Optionally, you can play This Mortal Coil by yourself, taking on both the facilitator and character roles while aided by a set of tables called oracles.

The following themes shape This Mortal Coil.

Constant danger #

In addition to the threats of the Negaverse, space is an actively hostile environment. Zero gravity makes routine actions challenging at best and a lack of atmosphere means that you’re always one failed gasket away from suffocation or decompression.

Even within the confines of the Alfajiri system, travel is fraught with peril: solar storms, rogue asteroids, micro-meteorites, radiation, and unscrupulous rivals all pose deadly threats.

Cosmic + body horror #

Your goal is to escape the bonds of your mortal shell and achieve immortality. To do so, you’ll have to deal with forces and entities that lie beyond time, space, and human comprehension. Interactions with these cosmic horrors inevitably leave a mark — your body will become twisted and corrupted by the dark energy of the Negaverse.

Growing by doing #

Your character is not defined by a specific class or progression mechanic. Instead, you begin with a background and equipment, and grow by exploring the cosmos, building relationships, and overcoming horrifying obstacles.

Stress + fallout #

The impact of the horrors that you encounter is represented mechanically by stress and fallout. Stress is the mental and emotional equivalent of physical damage, and fallout is the lasting effect of stress on your character.

Content and safety #

While This Mortal Coil is not designed to be deliberately shocking or offensive, it does deal with themes of life, death, and undeath; lots and lots and lots of body horror; cosmic and existential dread; more body horror; claustrophobia and kenophobia; even more body horror — seriously, there’s a lot of it; and a good dose of morally ambiguous and possibly indefensible choices.

Therefore, it is critical to create a psychologically safe space where each member of the group feels empowered to speak up. While it can be fun to be creeped out and scared by the story you’re collectively creating, it is not fun to be creeped out or scared by the people you’re creating the story with.

Each group should discuss its boundaries and how to address issues of consent and safety before starting a game. Consider adopting a toolkit like The X-Card or Script Change to empower everyone in the group. Above all, though, please treat each other with the compassion that you’d like to be treated with yourself.

Safety kits #

X-Card by John Stavropoulos.

  • http://tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg
  • The X-Card is an optional tool, created by John Stavropoulos, that allows anyone in your game to edit out any content anyone is uncomfortable with as you play.

Script Change by Beau Jágr Sheldon.

Calendar January 19, 2024