Madcaps

In the land of Melinoe, the Dark Bishops have no idea that they are in a prison of their own design. The Other Gods laugh at their futile attempts at more power, and the commonfolk suffer. Clerics travel the land, spreading the word of the Thirteen, while the Thirteen weave their petty plots in the heavens. The Madcaps are the only ones who truly persevere in this purgatorial world, defeating beasts, exorcising ghosts, and capturing criminals. Yet with each Job completed, the Madcaps slide a little deeper into their traumas and madness...

This is a game of bounty hunters called Madcaps. In this game, you will complete Jobs each month and try to survive the horrors of the Spirit World. Loosely based on Ravenloft, The Madcaps Of Melinoe is a horror-fantasy adventure TTRPG for 1-5 players. It can be played solo without a Game Master, one on one with a Game Master, or in a group of 2-5 players.

In this game, you will:

Use a d20 to resolve all checks in a simple system even beginners to TTRPGs can understand

Combat terrifying monsters and beasts with spells, psychic abilities, and skills unique to each class 

Adventure alongside a Familiar

Level up to Level 20, creating a distinctive character all along the way

Choose from 8 Classes (Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Ranger, Monk, Psychic, Priest, and Druid), then Multiclass

Explore a dark world full of danger and excitement

Create a Madcap strong enough or clever enough to survive the creatures of the Fog

You can find The Madcaps Of Melinoe on itchio here.

That's the gist of my new game The Madcaps of Melinoe. It's a project I've worked on for years, off and on. The lore is inspired by Ravenloft but it has a much different vibe. It is my first full game to not be free and have a price: $5, although right now on itchio it's on sale for $2.50 to celebrate its publishing.

Again, I've used Inkarnate to create the map of Melinoe, which is available when you purchase in a separate PDF. I've also included character sheets for your Madcap and one for your Familiar. 

I got the idea for Melinoe because I was a little obsessed with 2e Ravenloft for a while. There were just so many books available for it! My favorite was the Carnival book. It has very few mechanics but a ton of fluff and I enjoyed it immensely. As a writer, I'm all about the fluff in TTRPGs. But as a creator, I've grown to appreciate the mechanics in systems as well. 

While I am a rules-light creator, I enjoy the process of coming up with new rules and seeing how they fit into the lore of the world I've created. I had a lot of fun adapting Colossus's d20 system for The Madcaps Of Melinoe. 

In The Madcaps, however, you have six Ability Scores instead of just three like in Colossus. I really wanted to have more options for how enemies could attack you or how you could affect the world around you with Ability Checks.

I also wanted to increase the difficulty of enemies to really highlight how dangerous Melinoe is. I think I've succeeded in that. I've added a simple Madness system that is affected only by certain types of enemies. 

There is no relationship system in this game, unlike in Goliath and Colossus. Instead, if you're playing solo, you create and manage four different characters rather than just one Main Character. I've also added the option for Group Play right off the bat in the book.

I hope you'll give The Madcaps Of Melinoe a chance, especially while it's on sale for the next 30 days!