Vampires & Claymores
A downloadable Pamphlet TTRPG
Vampires & Claymores is a pamphlet Tabletop RPG about recently turned vampires discovering more about themselves while avoiding losing their minds to the everlasting hunger.
Vampires & Claymores features:
- A minimalistic d6 pool system .
- A Blood spending mechanic to keep the tension sky high*.
- A Skill learning system that intertwines with the emmergent story being told.
- Free-form magic rules.
- A Feral mechanic that accounts for vampires going insane for Blood and losing touch with humanity.
And also:
- Character sheets with character portraits by Ramonkey
- Character sheets by Bruno Prosaiko
- B&W and Minimal versions for maximum ink savings
Social Media:
Bruno Prosaiko: Twitter, Instagram
SAFETY:
*The blood spending mechanic has the potential to be harmful towards some people. It does not mean necessarily that the character takes harmful action towards themselves, but that they exert themselves in a way determined by their player and agreed by everyone at the table.
Vampires & Claymores is a game that possibly deals in dark and personal themes. I don't claim to be an expert in safety and for this reason i'd like to especially recommend the TTRPG Safety Toolkit by Kienna Shaw. This toolkit contains important information and methods on how to keep the game safe, which i consider essential to garantee a good and enriching experience for all of the players and the GM.
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Compatibility LogoApr 04, 2021
Comments
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Hi, I'm not sure if I'm just being dumb but how well does this system handle long play, my guess is probably not that well but im not sure
I just want to know if its possible or not
Hi! THanks for your comment!
Yeah, you're totally right! V&C is probably better suited for short term play, you'd probably need to make some changes in order to run a satisfying longer campaign!
Cheers!
How many players do you recommend, and what age range?
Heya, sorry for the late response, but thanks for your comment!
I think your average 1 to 6 players should work just fine, although having less players gives them more time to shine and describe their flashbacks when gaining skills/blood spells!
I think this game is probably better suited for adults, unless you really downplay some of the more violent aspects
Cheers!
Interesting game. I also made a game about vampires. cheers.
The insight mechanic is very clever however I didn't see how PC gain it? By discovering their environnement?
Heya, thanks for the comment!
The PC may gain an Insight at any time during a game session, up to their Player's choice (max. once per session).
The rules recommend this to happen during a critical or important moment, but that's just a suggestion.
Cheers! :)
this is a great game, but i don't understand a little bit about the mechanic (although it's very light :)). Can you explain for me about the "Insights"? I wish there were sample characters....
Thank you so much!
An Insight is basically a story revelation about why your character knows a certain Skill or Blood Spell.
The idea is that the Vampire learns or remembers something that grants them access this advantage. It's like an epiphany that comes through the confused and bloodthirsty space of mind associated with vampirehood in this universe
For example:
-question: Who turned you?
-answer: The Master of a vampire manor full of intrigue and subterfuge
And that's how it works, basically.
It gives you a mechanical advantage and a story bit that can be used later in the game for whatever purpose :)
Cheers! And thank you for your question o/
Omg, thank you soooo much for the explanation, it helps us have better experience while playing. Can't wait to see more of your games!
Beautiful game, the design is really awesome and love the mechanic !!! Thanks for sharing it !
Thank you so much! Super happy to read that :D
Hello Tothevic. I've absolutely fallen in love with your game and have started a major hack/conversion of it. A) would love to send it over when i'm done with the draft and B.) what sort of license is Vampires & Claymores published under? Thank you for this wonderful game, it is an utter inspiration with a super pensive tone.
Hi, thank you so much! It's an honor!
I would LOVE to see your game and i can't wait for it
V&C is under no specific license as of yet, but i will soon put it under CC BY 0.4, which is basically the orientations i give people normally when they ask
Just credit the author and we're good haha!
Sounds good!
Hi TorTheVic, I love your clever and minimalistic take on vampires!
I'm the Italian translator for games like Undying, Lovecraftesque, Home by Dark (unpublished), and Violentina. I also volunteer as a translator for "Storie di Ruolo" free compact RPGs section (Lasers & Feelings, Accio Hogwarts, We That Remain). I'd like to translate V&C for you and/or them to share. Are you ok with that?
Plus, are you ok with your art and layout being preserved in the Italian version?
Let me know if you'd like to see other games of yours in Italian language as well.
Cheers
Hello dimofamo, thank you so much!
That sounds super cool, i really like the idea.
Where can we talk about this in detail? E-mail? maybe Twitter?
Nice! #nickname#@gmail or @dimofamo on Telegram
I love this game.. all the parts! system, design, idea.. but, a question: could I translate it? just for the people who play with me ;)
Thank you!! Glad you liked it :) No problem at all
Just a lovely game! You should get it!
5 Stars!
Thanks so much for your kind words :)))
It's quite an inspired little system. All the pieces fit together perfectly. I used the Action and Challenge dice system for Robots & Ruins for the #rpglatamjam. I might have a few more uses for it too.
Thanks!! I read Robots & Ruins and loved it! SO COOL
Elegant.
May I borrow the opposed die pools for a project in the Chalcolithic period? Spirits, Sinew, Soul and Skills.
Thank you!! Of course! Really curious to see your adaptation
Here is link: https://tibbiusgames.itch.io/sbcw
Fantastic. Absolutely sophisticated design.
Thanks Walter! So so glad you liked it! Been tweaking with this little system for a while now haha!
Such awesome material!!! thank you my friend! <3
Thank you so much Filipe!!! Glad you liked it!! <3
This is such a beautiful pamphlet and character sheet! Simple and to the point. That's really all you need to play a great game
Thank you so much for your kind words!!
This has some of the coolest looking character sheets I've ever seen. Well done!
Thanks!! I'm just so happy those two great artists helped out with those!