Player Guide

Introduction

Welcome to Grim Hollow!

This book was born from a desire to tell stories about imperfect heroes fighting terrible monsters—in every guise they take. Monsters have existed in tales since the earliest humans gathered around fires. They’re an expression of our greatest fears about the world, used to explain terrifying phenomena from predators to natural disasters to disease. Yet monsters are also a reflection of what we fear most about ourselves.

Unlike many other fantasy settings, Grim Hollow asks you to consider the monster within, as much as those prowling the shadows of Etharis. Your characters may be antiheroes, opportunists, and survivalists, rather than traditional paragons. Within these pages, you will find the means to create characters who are flawed, nuanced, and oftentimes monstrous themselves—figuratively and literally. You will choose traits, skills, magic, and equipment that arm you against the darkness, but by their nature make you an imperfect hero.

You might take on the role of a professional monster slayer, defending those who can’t protect themselves; yet your strength is derived from consuming your prey, which mutates your body and makes you feared among common folk. Or your heritage could mark you as unnatural, built from flesh and metal, with only terrifying nightmares remaining of the memories of your previous life.

You must consider your actions carefully. If you choose to fight against injustice, what is the cost of wielding power? If you choose to follow your own ambitions, what havoc are you willing to unleash? Grim Hollow invites you to explore humanity through the medium of roleplaying games and asks, genuinely, “What is a monster?”

Grim Hollow offers players a different kind of power fantasy. Etharis is a world where you’ll face terrifying dangers and fight desperate battles to achieve the smallest victories. Your strength lies in choosing to fight on nevertheless. You are the glimmer of hope within the impenetrable darkness, and if you so choose, can defeat monsters while battling those within yourself.

It’s now time to lock your doors and draw your shutters. Gather ‘round the light, but keep your eyes on the shadows. You’re entering a world of darkness and horror.

Welcome to Etharis—where adventure is a given, but survival is not.

Playing in a Dark Fantasy Campaign

Dark fantasy and horror have long been beloved genres of storytelling. Such narratives invite participants to experience themes and feelings not always associated with the fun of classic fantasy. The tension of dread. The anxiety of paranoia. The drama of despair. Dark fantasy stories are gripping and immersive by their nature. Danger feels more tangible and immediate. Emotional stakes are heightened. There is a thrill in choosing to confront something horrifying.

Classic tabletop roleplaying games often see gallant heroes striding boldly across the countryside to vanquish evil, earning wealth and glory while protecting the world and its people for another day.

Dark fantasy tales are less predictable. Victory is never certain and always costly. The dangers are so great that each battle risks injury or death, making every monster encounter more frightening and thrilling as a result. Your choices are more important because they could destroy as many lives as they save. The question isn’t about how you’ll save everyone, but rather who is worth saving.

Such impossible circumstances impact your character’s journey. Dark fantasy protagonists can be selfish, embittered, vengeful, zealous, or grief stricken. Players are invited to roleplay stories and emotions that differ from the valorous heroes they might typically play. Such experiences are as cathartic and escapist as any game set in a high fantasy world, and choosing whether your character fights the darkness or is consumed by it is often more personal.

The rules in this book provide players with the means to tell their own dark fantasy stories. The unique subclasses each provide a slate of powerful and sinister new abilities. You might take on a new class with the Monster Hunter, using your expert knowledge and martial prowess to combat monsters and superstition. You might choose a species unique to Grim Hollow, burdened by the weight of your tragic heritage. You’re also able to build a completely unique character by utilizing the Heritage System, which provides the means to tailor your character to the exact story or play style you envision.

Your characters face many terrible fates, and this book includes one of the worst. You can experience the existential terror of becoming a monster by taking on a Transformation. Trade pieces of your mind, body, or soul to wield the powers of evil in your fight against that same evil. Embrace the darkness, but be wary not to lose yourself to it.

These options, and so many more, now lie at your fingertips.

The World is Broken

Etharis is a world on the brink of total destruction. The gods are dead, fear and superstition are rife, and every realm is beset by cataclysms threatening to collapse civilization entirely.

The bleak realities of Etharis make the realm incredibly dangerous. The common folk cower in their fragile bastions of civilization while monsters stalk freely across the land. Travel between towns and cities always carries risk. Even within the walls of relative safety, greed and desperation foster a different kind of evil that preys upon the kind and unwary.

In such a world, how can heroes exist? Etharis is defined by horrible events, and it stands to reason that the characters within it follow suit. When tackling character creation, you must consider how being surrounded by persistent danger has led to a life as an adventurer, braving dangers that most flee in terror. Is your character bitter and cynical, only looking out for their own interests? Does the world’s cruelty inspire you to push back against despair, resolving to fight for the last glimmers of hope that remain? What is your character fighting for?

Whatever your motivations, the overwhelming dangers of Etharis seek incessantly to destroy you. The wilderness is perilous, and night is especially so, where light serves as a beacon to those creatures lurking in the inky darkness. Travel is not for the faint of heart. It’s important to carefully pick your battles—not every fight or encounter is worth risking injury or trauma, even if it means leaving others to their doom.

The Gods are Dead

The greatest cataclysm to strike Etharis was the disappearance of the gods. Few people know the truth of their downfall, but all are aware that praying to the gods brings neither aid nor relief. The divine magic that once offered healing and protection to those in need has dwindled, and few remain who can kindle its power.

As a player, the extreme scarcity of divine magic offers certain challenges to those wishing to play a cleric or paladin. Your very existence is a notable anomaly. Within Etharis you are not simply one among a clergy of divine spellcasters, but a unique prophet of the Arch Seraphs. That’s not to say commoners follow you without question. No, suspicion and fear lead folk to doubt the divine miracles you perform, and corrupt religious orders seek to discredit or destroy you if your divine blessings threaten their own authority.

Unanswered prayers leave the faithful clinging to immutable doctrines for guidance, persecuting any who stray outside such dogma. Other folk turn to darker powers for strength and protection, worshipping daemons and other powerful monsters in place of deities. Such idols exact horrific sacrifices.

The death of the gods has serious consequences, even for those who don’t wish to partake in a divine class. Players must be aware that healing and curative magic is not readily available at shrines or temples. Similarly, resurrection is a near impossibility. Instead, those who can afford it rely on the medical sciences of apothecaries and surgeons for healing.

Magic is Mistrusted

Spellcasters in Etharis find themselves the target of hatred and mistrust. A magic inquisition has sprung up in the Castinellan Provinces, bureaucracies attempt to regulate and control the lives of mages elsewhere, and mobs hunt down those blamed for their misfortunes. Where once wizards delved into the mysteries of the universe, they seek now only to ensure their very survival.

As a player making a spellcaster, whether a wizard, sorcerer, druid, or warlock, you face a superstitious and hostile populace. Some regions in Etharis have instituted licensing schemes to regulate magic, and casting spells outside the stipulations of your license can incur harsh penalties. Even licensed mages are not wholly exempt from the resentment of the common folk, so openly casting spells in a crowded tavern often causes panic.

If you’re not playing a spellcaster, you must still consider how your character feels about magic. Did you grow up in the Castinellan Provinces, taught from a young age that mages are to be despised? Or were you raised in Valika, where bardic skalds are celebrated as keepers of ancient stories?

Humanity is Flawed

When faced with difficult circumstances, some folk rise to the occasion and seek to help those in need. In a dark fantasy setting, many fall on the darker side of the coin. Etharis is populated by the desperate and fearful—those who look out only for themselves, often to the detriment of others. Whether it’s a shrewd noble murdering their political rivals over dinner, or an impoverished farmer stealing vital medicine from their elderly neighbor to treat their own sickly child, the people of Etharis are rarely given a fair choice when deciding between decency and survival. Your character faces similar dilemmas.

Dark fantasy stories invite players to explore the uncomfortable imperfections of humanity. In striving to accomplish noble goals, you may be forced to enact terrible deeds. Would you sacrifice the lives of peasant rebels to overthrow a tyrant? Would you burn down a temple to uproot a cult living among the congregation? Heroic victories are rare in a world where so few can afford to act with honor.

Nevertheless, Etharis is also home to the scheming, the greedy, and the cruel. Such individuals often hold positions of power obtained at others’ expense, their privilege sustained by societal structures such as religion or birthright. Dealing with non-player characters (NPCs) is a cornerstone of roleplaying, but the aforementioned conditions in Etharis require negotiation tactics considered beneath many gallant heroes. Help is not something given freely by strangers, whether they have little or much to lose. Bribery, intimidation, and coercion are languages better understood in a world of mistrust and paranoia, where appeals for mercy or sympathy inevitably fail.

You Are the Hope Within the Darkness

Despite the dire circumstances facing the world, hope lingers. It may be scattered, dimmed, and threatened on all sides, but it has not been extinguished. A farmer stands against the oncoming soldiers, giving their friends and family time to flee. A merchant, with a kindly smile, hands a loaf of bread to a poor beggar. A paladin, the last of their order, continues a quest to rid the world of a daemon. Across Etharis, small acts of kindness, bravery, and charity, all stand out amid the dark backdrop. Few and far between, their scarcity only serves to make them more special.

Bringing these glimmers of hope into the world is part of what makes playing in a dark fantasy narrative rewarding. A dark fantasy setting is one in which good does not always vanquish evil. Your battles are hard fought and won at a steep price, and your victories will be fleeting. But they are victories and deserve celebration nonetheless.

Conquering evil in its entirety is rarely an option in dark fantasy narratives. Instead, your character’s goals are more personal and shaped by experiences. The loss of a loved one rouses you to seek vengeance. A daemon hunts your bloodline while you search for a means to destroy it. The world never afforded you many riches as a child, so you ply a violent trade in exchange for coin.

As you make choices and face challenges throughout your journey, know that each path you take has consequences for good or ill. Be wary of the cost of your decisions. What kindles the spark of hope for some may vanquish it for others, and in some cases those costs are the very morals and ideals that define your character.

The paths you travel and choices you make shape the fate of your Etharis. Choose wisely.