UPDATE: Due to some confusion about time zones, we have reopened submission until 20th of May 23:59 BST.
Folklore Jam is a tabletop RPG jam on folklore, myths and the people in them. Submissions due May 3rd 19th!
Rules
- Write a short tabletop role-playing game. ‘Short’ should ideally be under 10 pages, and no more than 20 pages.
- It should be a full/standalone game, and not a module for an existing one.
- Being standalone means that the game can be played by itself (with accessories like pen, paper, dice, etc.). A hack of an existing game is allowed as long as you include all the rules needed to play it.
- Hacks of pre-existing games are 100% allowed to be submitted.
- The writing and design should be done within the 2-week period of the jam but you are free to come up with ideas beforehand.
- It should be a full/standalone game, and not a module for an existing one.
- Your game must incorporate elements from folklore and myths.
- Folklore and myths from around the world can be used. However, be sensitive and respectful if you are writing about folklore and myths from another culture. Do your research!
- Interpret the ‘elements’ of folklore and myths as your see fit, but this could include: small local myths and urban legends; religious tales, epics, worship, rituals, rites, traditions; relationships between higher beings and humankind; cryptids, ghosts, monsters and classic beasts; magic, powers, hidden worlds, etc.
- Have fun!
- Don't push yourself too hard. There are lots of game jams going on, and it's totally okay to take a break.
Additional guidelines on using myths from another culture
- Follow these guidelines if you have decided to write about myths from another culture:
- Find a sensitivity reader from the culture you are writing about. Ideally, you should do it before you start writing, not as an afterthought.
- Do not use cultural stereotypes and slurs as a description of the characters.
- Do not use your game to criticise a culture your don't belong to.
Here are two good articles on how to role-play characters from another culture, which is equally applicable to game design:
“May I Play A Character From Another Race?” by James Mendez Hodes (on race issues)
A reply to "Tips and thought leadership on playing other ethnicities/genders/minorities" by Diana Moon
Best Practices For Historical Gaming by James Mendez Hodes (on history and religion)
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This jam is organised by W.H Arthur (@Aryl_Ether / https://aryl-ether.itch.io/). Feel free to contact them with questions!
Find other people talking about the jam on Twitter at #FolkloreJam
Submissions(72)
All submissions
· Windows (1)
macOS (1)
Linux (1)
Android (1)
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‘What is Here?’ is a game about building a myth around a being through a community’s eyes.
one for sorrow, two for mirth
A ttrpg of tricksters, lessons & desires.
A tabletop RPG rewriting the roles of women in folklore, fairy tales and mythology.
A tabletop RPG where you carry out heists as supernatural foxes
An investigative tabletop roleplaying game about Old Norse Magic
Robin Hood vs. Vampires. Mask up. Spill blood. Drink the Rich.
a GM-less, 2-player game about cross-cultural connection through storytelling
A Game of Storytelling and Being Forgotten
Play as kids and tell the story of how your year unfolds after you've been visited by a divine spirit. #FolkloreJam
A horror larp for 3+ people, played with minimal supplies.
A fairytale game about what you find in the woods and what you become there.
A trpg about helping passengers get to where they gotta go.
A coming-of-age game told through the dreams of a single character, La Malinche.
You're owls with a particular set of skills: alien impersonation
A diceless tragic game about the end of elven civilization.
A GMless duet TTRPG about communication and trauma
A game of folklore adaptation
A Belonging Outside Belonging game in the fantastical Scandinavian woods
A two person larp about a selkie, a human, and the vise-like grip of domestic life.
A 1-2 player game about a selkie finding their skin and returning to the sea.
Interpret the magic of love
a story game about canonizing a very good boy indeed
A pervasive horror dare that shows you the dangers of not believing
A trpg about love and loss
a tabletop roleplaying game of poetic folklore
a game of a year foretold, played with cards and silence
a storytelling game about songs about death
a cryptid rom-com simulator for two players
A Saturday-morning cartoon style RPG featuring legendary women from around the world.
A group storytelling game of online folklore
Your scout master has gone missing; maybe those campfire stories were true?
you take a train with a mysterious figure, an unknown entity of unknown power
A TTRPG of Demigods, for 3–6-ish players
An inside-out OSR dungeon crawl
GM-less TTRPG about unlikely heroes bringing magic back to the world
Can you best the mountain troll(s) in a game of chance in time to complete your quest?
Light rules and setting for adventuring parties.
A fairy-tale role-playing game for 1 player & 2 volunteers
A TTRPG for many about the funeral of a Jewish Beggar
a variant of Werewolf where the monsters aim to rid their town of wickedness
A game of twisted, desperate werewolf families
a digital-age folklore game
A conversational rpg about ghosts, family, and atonement
a single-player prop-based tale-telling game
A game of manipulative fae and the unwitting mortals they control
print-n-play rpg about ghost trains and their passengers
A freeform RPG about a (formerly) captured selkie and their family deciding whether the selkie should return to the sea.
A gang of weirdos protect the townsfolk from nocturnal monsters, until the coin dries up.
A wacky extraterestrial road trip from Nevada to Ohio.
A game of collaborative balladry (and uncollaborative murder)
A GMless game based on Celtic folk ballads
A one-shot RPG based in Jewish textual tradition
An adventure game full of fun, poetry, and gobbling humans.
A small game about cleaning up a mess, maintaining friendships and sharing your feelings
An RPG about Spiritual Growth, Enlightenment, and the Five Elements
a mini ttrpg about dealing with the fay
A shortform collaborative and competitive game in which you play a Bard looking to prove their skills.
Only when you face the rumours can you find the truth: a game of suburban moral horror.
A Cryptid RPG
an exploration of cultural assumptions through the medium of roleplay
A trpg about a boat that's a shop full of wishes for the curious enough to look.
A Game of Frozen Memory
A game of curses, consequences and conflict for a GM and 3-6 players
A GM-less TTRPG about remembering the dead.
You wake up on a world that is not quite your own. Now you have to find your way back.
save sun's daughter from the land of the dead
first draft of the game (2019)
A role-playing game about how legends evolve over generations
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