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blue-black storm boils in from the west. Swords clash against shields over a crimson field of combat. Blood pools in the dirt. Widows wail and cry. Crows feast on the dead, and the nearly dead. Tattered, broken banners lie, forgotten, trampled into the mud. Kings exult while paupers freeze in the streets. Horrific beasts wet their jaws in ancient lands. Somewhere a hero is born, elsewhere another draws his last breath. A lone wanderer gives voice to his rage and frustration into the sky. And a sneering Divine looks down upon the world below him and turns his gaze away.
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This is the Darkrealm.
The super-continent of Allornus is a fantasy roleplaying game setting which, paired with it's own rule system is known as Darkrealm. It is a setting mostly based in the middle ages, with a leaning towards the historic and mythical. In Allornus life is hard. Technology, or the lack there of, makes day to day existence a challenge. Magic will eventually destroy those who wield it and living and dying by the sword usually makes for a short life.
The intention of Darkrealm is to make a gritty, more difficult dark fantasy world to exist in, where rewards need not be fabulous magical items, or mountains of gold, and story is more important than action. Where players are encouraged to run away or avoid a pitched battle. Where death can come suddenly and unexpectedly, and where every action has real risk. Darkrealm is about indulging the more mythic, dirty, and sometimes horrific elements of fantasy. And about endeavouring to make story and characters sufficiently fresh, detailed, and rewarding to replace mechanics for power and success.
In the Darkrealm wiki you'll find a living atlas of the continent of Allornus and it's sub-continents, still under development and construction. You'll also find a detailed rule system for creating unique characters who reward having a detailed understanding of who your characters are, and what their limitations and weaknesses are more than they have scope for staggering power. Based on the Tell & Roll mechanics, it is a system that encourages celebrating your strengths and embracing your weaknesses. It is a game for players who like to focus on the presence of narrative in their games, without losing touch with the importance of dice, detailed statistics, and the other 'game' elements of the hobby.
If all of this sounds like you, read on...