Tarnation

Print edition coming January 2025!

Land! a vast wilderness of unbroken ground, tucked away in a fold of reality, and ruled by an uncanny and inscrutable Law.

The politicians back stateside christened it "The Hermetic Territories."
Locals call it Tarnation.

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Tarnation is an episodic journaling game of solo role-play in a weird west setting. In it, you'll explore the strange and dangerous landscape of the Hermetic Territories, scribbling away in your journal about the uncanny creatures and unexpected phenomenon you encounter there.

What can you expect in Tarnation?

• A 40-page digital zine containing all of the core rules of the game, with illustrations assembled from period engravings.
• Built on SPAR, a flexible design pattern for generating and solving narrative situations using three 6-sided dice.
• Rules for creating compelling narrative through-lines using symbolic clocks and loose ends.
• Aflicker in the Borderlands, an introductory adventure designed to establish your protagonist and let you test out the rules.
• An extensive example of play, walking you through three rounds of play, along with advice for getting the most out of your game.
• Printable bookmarks to serve as a stat card for your character.
• A hex map to fill in with locations as you play through additional adventures.

Looking for adventures?

Tangle with Witch Marshals and snow lizards beneath the ceaseless aurora of Tarnation's outer reaches in A Hexbrand in the High Country.

Or explore Tarnation's first city while you track down two shooters before their bullets hit home in Showdown in Shutdoor.

Curious about SPAR?

If you'd like to try out SPAR before committing to Tarnation, check out the pay-what-you-want demonstration game, Brave Spartan.

Want to make your own adventure?

Go for it! Tarnation is licensed under CC-BY-SA precisely to encourage fans to make their own additions to the Hermetic Territories. Yes, you can charge for your work. For advice on how to design for the game, scroll down to the demo link below.