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Content Warning: Blood, gore, sacrifice, death

Aeruth was once a land of wonder, a place where none knew hunger or poverty or fear. A happy place, where no one wanted for anything. And yet, there were those that wanted. Those that yearned to have more. None could say for certain how greed curled its way around the heart of the people who had what they wished. Whatever the cause may have been, the fact was that those who took from others soon began to take from the land itself.

As man took from the land, the Gods who had built and preserved it watched. Waited. Observed, to see if they would turn back from their path of destruction. Finally, after centuries of deliberation and the slow, aching death of the world, they passed their judgment. The land that had been exploited fought back, bringing death and destruction upon humanity. Millions were lost to the flames that ate through steel and brick mercilessly, to the floods that capsized even the sturdiest ships, to the earthquakes that felled mighty bridges and thunderstorms that smote the tallest of towers. 

Even now, the fury of the Gods remains unabated. Only an impassioned plea to the divine will quell their anger, but the voices of mankind cannot be heard when shouted from the land below.

MORIAH is a simple role-playing game of ordinary people facing the extraordinary. It is a game of sacrifice, where people living quiet lives at the base of a holy mountain must attempt to ascend it in order to ask for the mercy of the gods. It is a meditation on what it means to give for others, inspired by LISA, Soul Sacrifice, and Blessed Messiah and the Tower of AI. 

You can contact myself, Kyle T., for a link to the Moriah Press Kit!

PLAY THIS GAME FOR:

• A sacrifice mechanic that sees you weighing up life and limb in order to overcome the challenges before you.
• A simple DICE mechanic that evolves the more that you give, going from the humble d4 to the divine d100.
• The means to become a DEITY, testing the players who were once your friends for their worthiness.
• A character sheet that allows you to graphically illustrate what you have given, and what you have lost.
• Challenges that span the breadth of flora, fauna, demonic, and divine, to be overcome with the use of DICE.
• Five preset Roads for the indecisive Deity (The Road Less Travelled, The Road of Thorns, The Road of Beasts, The Road of the Hanged, Road to the Capital) to use during a standard Journey.

THE ASHCAN CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING:

• Reflections on MORIAH and the state of the world from the year 2024
• Rules for sacrifice of the self and otherwise, as well as how to utilize the DICE
• Character and town generation rules for simple play
• An explanation of the Challenges and Places of Respite you will face along the way
• The Road Less Travelled, for pilgrims making their first attempt at ascending Mt. Moriah

THE FULL PDF CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING:

• The Road of Beasts, infested with all sorts of frightening fauna
• The Road of Thorns, overgrown with plants of every variety
• The Path of the Hanged by Stuart Martyn, a trial for those who seek wisdom
• Road to the Capital by Hipólita, a road haunted by old ghosts of an abandoned city

What People Have Been Saying

Mt. Moriah is a hungry beast. The sacrifice of your character’s body, community, and mind will undertake to Mount the World is a terrible price. However, even the ultimate sacrifice is not the end. Hopefully one of you will make it down the Road to plead for the survival of the World. If you do, I thank you. You are far stronger than I.

Bryon, A Lowly Peasant

Beautifully written and brutal in its execution, Moriah commands attention with the authority of jilted gods

A.A. Voight

Moriah is beautiful, evocative, and tragic. It is a game about doom, but it doesn’t hide that fact from the very start. Instead, it asks the players again and again how much they’re willing to give and gives them the opportunity to push forward or walk away. It is a gorgeous game that I would bring to any group willing to talk honestly about hope, sacrifice, and vulnerability.

Kay W.

Moriah is a game of sacrifice, that will grab your soul and drag it on a journey through a decadent world. It's one of the most intimate games I found, and I cannot wait to bring my players on a journey where we'll face our darkest, hidden, and obscure part, answering the question: what are we willing to sacrifice to ascend Mt. Moriah and save the mankind?

Matteo Sciutteri

Moriah asks you to reflect on its mechanics in a deeply engaging way. Even the type of die you roll is given meaning."

Robin Belle, Shrike Tabletop

When we traverse MORIAH, we inhabit a sunless and brutal parable of sacrifice and resilience.  We say goodbye to our reliable relationships, goodbye to our foundational memories, goodbye to our useful limbs.  We consider the allure of quiet return to normalcy, and the festering regret that always accompanies such a move. We look back as we push forward, and come to understand that we are attrition embodied. 

A game of MORIAH, like the mountain itself, is a bold and scraggy journey.  Like the myths and folktales it references, stories of MORIAH will be long remembered and retold by players who travel down its road.

Sean Patrick Cain, Designer of Long Haul 1983

Featured In:

• Dice Stew: https://dicestew.substack.com/p/roots-ramblings-issue-7?r=zryta&utm_campaign=pos...
• Geek Native: https://www.geeknative.com/139075/moriah-is-a-zine-month-rpg-of-bloody-sacrifice...
• Cannibal Halfling: https://cannibalhalflinggaming.com/2022/02/01/zine-month-round-up-1/
• Tabletops & Tentacles: https://www.youtube.com/embed/Eq77OGHQwlU
• In The News: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uz_9yEfI12M&feature=youtu.be
• PlusOne Exp (Top 10 Most Anticipated ZiMo Games): https://youtu.be/8WdFAVvteMs
• Wyrd Science: https://www.wyrdscience.online/post/zine-month-2022-part-1
• The Weekly Scroll: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tomnmtbUTyo&feature=youtu.be
• A. A. Voigt: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0m2zBV5Ggyk&feature=youtu.be
• HYPT Weekly News: https://www.haveyouplayedthis.com/posts/hypt-weekly-news-2-8-22
• Dicebreaker: https://www.dicebreaker.com/topics/zinemonth-2022/news/zine-month-2022-rpg-list-...
• Dice, Drinks, and Drama: [Twitch stream - link pending]
• Split Party: https://splitparty.substack.com/p/moriah-part-1?utm_source=direct&r=28eyi&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
• The RPG Internationale: 

Recommended Campaigns to Back

• If you enjoyed the back and forth between gods and mortals, and trying to prevent catastrophe: The Snow Queen by Jeeyon Shim
• If you enjoyed discussions of faith and dialogues with the divine: Tending by Tori Truslow
• If you enjoyed facing nigh insurmountable challenges: Pilgrimage of the Sun Guard by Amanda P.
• If you enjoyed arduous and bittersweet journeys: Chalice by Monkey’s Paw Games
• If you enjoyed the varied forms and trials of the gods: As The Gods Demand by Feral Indie Studio
• If you're interested in a journey the other way, descending into darkness: Lost Below The Earth by Michael Whelan
• If you enjoyed the author’s writing: Flip #1 from Afterthought Committee
• If you want to cheer yourself up and feel powerful again: Lumen Ryder Core by Samuel Mui