Blackacre

 An Empire and her colony. A distant widowed land full of ancient secrets. Uncover the secrets of lost civilizations and carve out your own destiny in Blackacre.

THE SETTING

 It is the year 1910 since the reign of divine king Aklen. Most of the world is carved up by massive empires, such as the naval power of Metropol. One such colony under her reign is the Archipelago of Blackacre. You play as a traveller, one who came to the isles in search of power, wealth or answers.

The capital city of Newport is filled with chain smoking cockney gangsters. The frontiers of the isles with brigands and hermits. The air trembles as technology and unrest cascade through society. Some have formed secret societies, believing that the isles themselves hold the secret of everything from clairvoyance to life eternal.

Play as in a turn-of-the-century gangster in a noir detective story or venture into surreal horror traversing other planes of existence.  

BACKGROUNDS

Create a character using one of the four backgrounds. Anything from grizzled detectives, to scheming occultists are fair game.

• Settler – Those that were born on the isles. Sturdy and good with a six-shooter. Anyone from a common blackstone miner to a tough war veteran. Excellent for new players.
• Scholar – Natural philosophers and explorers that arrived to Blackacre. Begins with an investigation stunt. Report to a large institute in the capital of Newport. 
• Zealot – Derogatory term for those that get a little too interested in the report. May be found in large, organised groups or as lone wolfs that collect grimoires and artefacts looking for knowledge. 
• Native – Long, albino and with pale eyes. The natives encompass many tribes and customs of the isles. One thing they have in common is their grit and the belief that the archipelago itself is listening to them.

VOWS AND ARTEFACTS

Use a dozen of mundane and occult artefacts throughout your journey. Make pacts with ancient archons from wyrd lands. Not everyone believes in the supernatural, but it’ll be hard to deny your hand phasing into their ribcage and ripping out their heart.

THE SYSTEM

Blackacre uses a modified fork of the FATE system. Use the aspects and stunts to play outside the box, using over 20 skills in new and unique ways. The system is flexible, so in case there isn’t a specific skill or ability that doesn’t fit your play style, you may create your own and slot it into the game.

Combat is done via opposed rolls using 2d6s. Doubles crit unless you’re in cover or in the right terrain, so pick your battles carefully.

Notes about Open Playtest

The game’s still in development and will receive regular updates. In large part, that’s why it’s free and will remain so for a length of time. Currently my aim is to replace the placeholder art with original artwork and do an editing pass addressing poorly worded segments and miscellaneous spelling mistakes. Blackacre is a solo passion project and although I’ve received some help from my friends and colleagues, expect this to take a significant amount of time to finish. After the core rulebook is in a more presentable state, I plan to make several expansions and possibly a limited physical release.