A set of 2-3 session horror mystery roleplaying games based on the popular Carved From Brindlewood. Brought to you by the unholy partnership between Plus One Exp & Gauntlet Publishing.
Take the helm of explorers on a dangerous expedition in the Arctic, telling the hidden story of why this expedition is happening, who’s pulling the strings, and what’s being kept secret. Your fate is uncertain, as you’ll pass over icy seas, under brutal conditions, into a land no map can fully explain. The story is inspired by books like The Terror, Dark Matter and At the Mountains of Madness, movies like The Thing, or TV shows like Fortitude.
Bleach Blanket Body Bag
Dance til you drop as teens in a remote paradise, looking to surf, flirt, and forget the tragic death of your friend in this same spot just last year. Despite the square-free vibes, murder is about to strike again, and it seems to be tied to the legends you have heard about this island’s mysterious past. The story is inspired by 1960s beach party movies like Beach Blanket Bingo, Muscle Beach Party, and the Gidget movies, as well as teen slasher films and surf rock music.
DEAD-PILLED
Lifemaxx as a group of Manosphere influencers and right-wing pundits celebrating their numerous wins at an isolated villa. Even as your characters release their inhibitions, they’ll (try to) survive—and uncover the identity of—an avenging angel slashing their way through them. The story is inspired by modern day tongue-in-cheek slashers like Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, thrillers like Blink Twice, political comedies like Mountainhead, David Fincher films like Panic Room and Se7en, as well as slop content from YouTube.
Carved From Brindlewood
Each game is built on the critically acclaimed system that debuted with Brindlewood Bay and has grown with The Between, Public Access, and more.
Carved from Brindlewood mystery ttrpgs are famous for:
Cinematic storytelling that incentivizes revelatory flashbacks, unexpected twists, and dramatic consequences.
Unscripted solutions, inviting groups to creatively puzzle through the unique story of each playthrough.
Lightweight rules that make it easy to onboard players, even ones who’ve never played a roleplaying game before.
Modular scenarios that reduce the prep time needed for intriguing characters, evocative locations, and strange dangers.
These three games are presented in a special short-form format that provides a full experience in just two sessions of play.
Created by Jason Cordova, Carved From Brindlewood games are an evolution of the mechanics, playstyle & sensibilities of Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) by Vincent & Meguey Baker.
On top of the updated games, we're building new ways to dig into the Carved from Brindlewood phenomenon: Tools for play, tools for creating, tools for pondering the deep mysteries of the universe.
Kingdom Vistas
Originally created to help the city of London come alive in The Between, the Unscene is a worldbuilding & session-pacing tool where players tell stories of the bigger campaign world. In Kingdom Vistas, Wes Franks & a crew of amazing designers have created 40 system-neutral Unscenes for use in Down We Go, Mork Borg, Old School Essentials, Cairn, Dungeons & Dragons, or any other fantasy RPG.
Chaotic’s Guide to the Brindleverse
The Gauntlet community’s human encyclopedia Chaotic Jamogchianwill pull together their knowledge of the hidden histories connecting these games, Brindlewood Bay, The Between, Public Access, and beyond. From early fragments in Codex to cryptic elements in the newest releases, you’ll be caught up on the web of mystery weaved across every Gauntlet release.
Designing with Brindlewood
To help game designers make their own short-form CfB games look their best, we’re getting help from award-winning layout artist Mike Martens. Mike designed these three books with a custom-built templated system in Affinity, ready for anyone’s use. As the campaign advances, Mike will make resources and instruction available in your creative toolkit.
Plus One Exp has a robust retail program currently working with almost 200 Friendly Local Game Stores around the globe. In order to avoid locking up your funds, and to avoid platform fees, we encourage retailers to sign up for our retail partnership program by emailing [email protected] and pledging $1 to follow along.
You will receive all benefits stretch goals unlocked or included in the campaign for your wholesale purchases.
Timeline
All three of these games are essentially done and will be off to print immediately after this campaign ends. As long as these games reach their goal, backers should be getting copies around mid-to-late September assuming no printing delays.
Shipping
Shipping will be charged in fulfillment once we’re ready to send books out.
US Shipping will be ~$9-15 from Plus One Exp.
UK Shipping will be ~£8-12 shipping from Peregrine Coast Press in the UK.
EU Shipping will be ~€10-20 shipping from MudKnight in Sweden.
Other areas will be ~$15-32 and ship from the Plus One or the best partner above.
Given the shifting state of global tariffs and fees we have shifted as much as possible to regionalized fulfillment. We will do our best to eliminate and reduce fees where possible, but we can’t guarantee that there won’t be additional taxes based on your countries’ policies.
