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The Black Ballad: A Metal-Infused RPG Campaign and Setting perfect after a TPK
Where do the dead go when they rest?
The poetic mystery of death has long been a fascination for the living. The images of warm hearths and a familial embrace are conjured for some, while others picture screaming in eternal torment at the hands of a demon. And yet, clerics have the power to pluck the dead back from that plane, thrusting them back into their mortal coils or even raising them into a state of eternal Undeath. Surely the gods would grow weary of their clerics pinching souls that rightfully belonged in their afterlife. Wouldn’t they?
A partnership forged in fire and blood between musicians, artists, writers, editors, and more currently rests in your hands. The Black Ballad is a 10-chapter roleplaying campaign made alongside DiAmorte’s second album, a savage metal opera of cosmic proportions. This saga will let players decide the fate of the afterlife itself while immersing themselves in musical works focusing on loss, acceptance, and determination in the face of one’s own death. Will your campaign have the gall to challenge the will of divinity?
The poetic mystery of death has long been a fascination for the living. The images of warm hearths and a familial embrace are conjured for some, while others picture screaming in eternal torment at the hands of a demon. And yet, clerics have the power to pluck the dead back from that plane, thrusting them back into their mortal coils or even raising them into a state of eternal Undeath. Surely the gods would grow weary of their clerics pinching souls that rightfully belonged in their afterlife. Wouldn’t they?
A partnership forged in fire and blood between musicians, artists, writers, editors, and more currently rests in your hands. The Black Ballad is a 10-chapter roleplaying campaign made alongside DiAmorte’s second album, a savage metal opera of cosmic proportions. This saga will let players decide the fate of the afterlife itself while immersing themselves in musical works focusing on loss, acceptance, and determination in the face of one’s own death. Will your campaign have the gall to challenge the will of divinity?
320 pages, Hardcover
Published May 15, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 27, 2024
This is an interesting new RPG (Role Playing Game) that can take place in virtually any setting or campaign. How is that possible, you may wonder? Well, as an explanation, have you ever been in a campaign where the entire party was killed? That’s where this campaign comes in. It takes place in the realm between life and a character’s final death. In a realm where the dead are awaiting their passage into either being resurrected or they are ready to pass into their eternal rest.
I read a review copy of this book, and it sounds like a well defined and easily adaptable adventure for players to explore if their characters have died, but they aren’t ready to give up and create new characters and would like to continue playing to see what might happen in the afterworld. It is easily adaptable to be used with whatever campaign or game system you and your group happened to be already playing.
It’s been a few years since I’ve played AD&D, but reading this rules system and adventure, it seemed very well explained and I can see how it can be adapted to other RPG systems. The adventure really sounded like a fun one to me, and there were multiple side quests and options for different outcomes depending on what choices the players make. There is no intended ending for this one. It is entirely up to the players as to who they choose to interact with and what they choose to do or not do. And there are outcomes that are well thought out and planned no matter which path your party chooses to take. There’s even an outcome for if they choose to do nothing at all and simply enjoy their afterlife in this realm that exists between life and death.
All in all, I was impressed by how well thought out it all was by the creators of this adventure/realm. It sounds like a very fun idea, and one that I could see quite a few people enjoying, no matter what types of players are in the group. I’ve played in adventures where everything went according to plan, as well as ones where it feels like the group “took a left turn in Albuquerque” and have gone so far “off-script” from what was planned for them that the Game Master had no idea how to get them back on track. But so far as I could tell, this one allows for that to happen and lets the players determine when and where the story will go.
All in all, if you enjoy playing RPGs, then this is one that I think you should consider giving a try. It definitely sounds like fun to me. Recommended.
I read a review copy of this book, and it sounds like a well defined and easily adaptable adventure for players to explore if their characters have died, but they aren’t ready to give up and create new characters and would like to continue playing to see what might happen in the afterworld. It is easily adaptable to be used with whatever campaign or game system you and your group happened to be already playing.
It’s been a few years since I’ve played AD&D, but reading this rules system and adventure, it seemed very well explained and I can see how it can be adapted to other RPG systems. The adventure really sounded like a fun one to me, and there were multiple side quests and options for different outcomes depending on what choices the players make. There is no intended ending for this one. It is entirely up to the players as to who they choose to interact with and what they choose to do or not do. And there are outcomes that are well thought out and planned no matter which path your party chooses to take. There’s even an outcome for if they choose to do nothing at all and simply enjoy their afterlife in this realm that exists between life and death.
All in all, I was impressed by how well thought out it all was by the creators of this adventure/realm. It sounds like a very fun idea, and one that I could see quite a few people enjoying, no matter what types of players are in the group. I’ve played in adventures where everything went according to plan, as well as ones where it feels like the group “took a left turn in Albuquerque” and have gone so far “off-script” from what was planned for them that the Game Master had no idea how to get them back on track. But so far as I could tell, this one allows for that to happen and lets the players determine when and where the story will go.
All in all, if you enjoy playing RPGs, then this is one that I think you should consider giving a try. It definitely sounds like fun to me. Recommended.
March 27, 2025
An interesting campaign that gives an interesting end to any campaign run in a fantasy setting. The themes in the campaign are very much story-driven and focused on character development, and not so much battle-oriented, which suits my storytelling style perfectly.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews