Survive in a world no longer meant for you, heavily inspired by American Gods and Anansi Boys. Play as Young Gods, the reincarnations of ancient deities, struggling in an urban hell created by the New Gods.
Young Gods is a new narrative-style tabletop roleplaying game taking place within a world where magic and Miracles were real, but haven't been for a long, long time.
Young Gods are you, the player characters, the ancient and divine made as mundane as the flesh you now wear.
Long ago, pagan gods from all corners of the earth were worshipped for one reason or another, for one purpose or another. European gods of war, African gods of the land and the beasts, Asian gods of the heavens and of great myths. They were real, and felt the boon of our Worship as we Sacrificed everything to them: blood, time, sweat, gold, and more.
But those days are long gone now. Slowly, the powers of the old gods waned, and one day, vanished altogether. Made mortal by the unstoppable sea of time, they soon died to disease, famine, murder, or simple bad luck. But unfortunately for them, their spark of Divinity remained inside them, and they soon awoke in brand new mortal bodies, unaware of their true origins.
They were not allowed to die and remain dead like the mortals that worshipped them.
Young Gods seek solace in a world of chaos. Once, nature and divinity stood hand-in-hand, but not anymore. Modern faiths - the secret faiths - fly in the face of this natural world. Money fuels bullets and bombs that scorch the earth. Gasoline fuels the death of millions of animals, unaware of the catastrophes man has inflicted. Media rots the minds of the young and old alike, turning them into the perfect cattle. The Young Gods exist to escape the whirlpool of dystopia.
Young Gods seek revolution. The world is broken and must be reforged. The new faiths have imparted disastrous consequences on this world and its people, and the people do not even know what alternative there is. This is not a revolution of ideals, but a revolution of fire and blood. To destroy the New Gods is to destroy the very society that spawned them. The Young Gods exist to pour the gasoline and light the matches.
Young Gods seek power. They have sat on the bench long enough, they have seen how the new faiths have done nothing put push their people away, entrapping them in a vicious cycle of pain and reluctance. The Usurpers's abuse of their power have lead to worldwide suffering as people scream against their chains. The Young Gods exist to show them a better way.
Inspired by some of the most influential storytelling systems on the market today, the Folklore System is both a brand-new system and an homage to the games that inspired it. Utilizing the power of the often overlooked but objectively perfect d12, this dice-pool system promises versatility, a high level of modularity, and rules that lend themselves to a narrative, not just combat.
Download the free 30-page rules preview to get a glimpse into the Folklore System and how to make rolls and also perform Miracles!
Young Gods will come as 350+ page Letter-sized book containing: - A complete overview of the Folklore System - The meta-setting of Young Gods - Rules for creating Young Gods, immortal deities, mortal humans, realm entities, and more - Miracle rules, a brand-new magic system which centres itself around Worship and the risk-management of Dissonance - Storytelling rules for the Narrator on how to create not just a story, but also antagonists such as the New Gods, Pagans, and human Apotheots - An introductory setting in the form of Toronto, Canada, framed in Hedon City Stories.
Books will be 8.5 x 11 inch with hardcover binding
As well, all the art contained within the book will be made by some of the most talented individuals in the art scene, including: - Mister69M - Kadarts69 - Erodun - Omni_Draws - NineLivesArt - And many many more...
Additionally, a Deluxe Edition - the Usurped Edition - is available in print with an alternative cover, uncensored art, additional pages that explores the design process of all the art and even the system of the game, and more!
"If you liked American Gods, Percy Jackson, or really any property where you've got the fantasy mixing with the real, then I think you'll be really into it. I think it lends itself incredibly well to this sliding scale where you can play as this tight knit group of truly unique individuals who wrangle with their past lives and just enough power to keep themselves alive in this new world they've found themselves in. Or you could really lean into the VTM (Vampire: the Masquerade) roots and play it as a full secret society of beings just under the normal world's surface, where you're pitted against those who have had the time and the seemingly infinite monopoly money to get ahead in the game you didn't know you were playing. And like VTM, when it's your turn with that power, you REALLY feel it. It's also a very unapologetically sexy game. The art's incredible, and it's very in your face with the vibe that it's going for: Mythology's horny, the modern world's selling sex at you your every waking moment. But don't let it fool you; this isn't some kind of gooner game where you're making rolls for the vertical tango. What's in here is incredibly sophisticated. A phrase that I've liked to use is that it's like Playboy: you do in fact read it for the articles, just that the articles are a pretty damn solid RPG." - Jacob "Poikooze" Franks
Due to the weight of the books and the current state of international shipping, the books will ship with a flat $25 shipping rate worldwide. However, this does have the bonus of that shipping rates will not increase as stretch goals are added to the physical pledges of the game. Even the 2-book bundle will have the same flat rate of shipping. RV Games will be offering additional add-ons from a variety of games and modules which can be packaged alongside the physical pledges of Young Gods.
Hammer City Games is a Tabletop RPG publishing and development house located in Hamilton Ontario. Headed by Brenden Carlson, we are dedicated to making weird, wacky, and groundbreaking RPGs that push the art in new, meaningful directions. Our most well-known products have been HyperMall: Unlimited Violence, Earth: After Death, and the Mothership Zines Graveyard of the Gods and Starships & Soldiers.
RV Games is a queer-owned distributor based out of California, USA. Staunchly anti-Trump and suffering greatly from the tariffs that have plagued the dying country, RV Games is dedicated to producing high-quality products and placing them in the hands of the many devout backers of this and so many other projects. There is no one we trust more when it comes to moving things to where they need to go.
