The Spiral Creating the Doomed

One player in the game is the Spiral. The Spiral... To create a Doomed character, do the following:
m Portrays the inhospitable world around the Doomed. m Roll or choose your past (this is what you ran from).
m Portrays the horrors of the Grave; all that dwells there was m Roll or choose a mirage (this is what you seek in the Grave).
either tainted by humanity or was once a human. m Roll or choose a quirk (this is what makes you weird).
m Prepares one to three descents before each session. m Set your copper pieces (cp) to zero (you are broke).
m Warns the Doomed about the consequences of their actions, m Gain three random items (roll d66 for each, see next page).
and mercilessly applies those consequences. m Gain four items of your choice (maximum of one grimoire page).
m Has final say on how some rules are applied. m Choose a name and a title (such as “the bonesetter” or “the flagel-
m Must be impartial in their decisions, but reward clever ideas. lant”) and describe what you look like.
m Is responsible for the quality and safety of the experience.
Past (roll d66 or choose; may also create your own)
2 The Doomed 11. Heretic 23. Mercenary 36. Church acolyte
All we shall face Every other player is one of the Doomed. Each Doomed... 12. Bounty hunter 24. Cutthroat 44. Cook
in these accursed depths m Creates and portrays a flawed, doomed delver. 13. Student 25. Foot soldier 45. Zealot
m Has final say on what their character does or thinks. 14. Slave 26. Tomb robber 46. Sheriff
we brought upon ourselves.
2 m Has final say on anything that concerns their homeland. 15. Aristocrat 33. Apothecary 55. Pit fighter
m Cooperates with the other Doomed during descents, using wits 16. Peasant 34. Sailor 56. Merchant
and clever solutions to overcome challenges. 22. Entertainer 35. Miner 66. Occultist
m Is responsible for the quality and safety of the experience.

Spiraling madly in its descent beneath the Burg, the Grave of the
Gods awaits; a vast abyss... an ever-shifting maw.
The Descent and the Burg Mirage (roll 2d6 or choose; may also create your own)
While playing the game, you are always in one of two modes: 2-3. Sacrifice 6. Violence 9. Power
No crops grow from this once-coveted soil, doom to all who ruled 4. A miracle 7. Wealth 10. An artifact
it: gnarled wood and whispering shadows have reclaimed it from m Descent: when the Doomed explore the Grave of the Gods.
m Burg: when the Doomed recover and (rarely) grow stronger. 5. Knowledge 8. Glory 11-12. Someone
bloodstained hands and presumptuous minds.
Below lies a coiling maze of sunken ruins and passageways; layer The first time you play, you begin with a descent. Then, the two
Quirk (roll d66 or choose; may also create your own)
upon layer of underground sepulchers, temples and palaces fused modes alternate based on the actions of the Doomed.
11. Blasphemous 23. Violent 36. Bigot
together across countless aeons. A veritable carcass of Time itself, a
testimony to our mortality and unwillingness to accept it. Time 12. Silent 24. Selfish 44. Suspicious
The Gods themselves are said to dwell deeper still, in utter dark, Whenever the Doomed perform time-consuming actions during a 13. Insecure 25. Cruel 45. Fanatic
gnawing at flesh and mind. descent, the Spiral should declare that time passes. This might have 14. Stuttering 26. Filthy 46. Narrow-minded
2 unique consequences based on the nature of the current descent,
but it always means that the light from lanterns and torches grows
15. Arrogant 33. Creepy 55. Sarcastic
16. Illiterate 34. Addicted 56. Perfectionist
Death Spiral is a minimalistic, dungeon crawling tabletop RPG dimmer, eventually dying out. Examples of time passing:
22. Loud-mouthed 35. Greedy 66. Haunted
about doomed souls who have come to the Burg in a final attempt m The Doomed travel tunnels and passageways.
at turning their life around. It is also a cautionary tale, but that m The Doomed bicker, hesitate, make plans or lie in wait. To roll d66, roll two six-sided dice and use the lower result as the tens digit, then the
shall become readily apparent once you read and play it. m The Doomed investigate something or perform activities that, higher result as the ones digit. For instance, a 6 and a 2 is 26, never 62.
A word of warning, though: as a game, Death Spiral is meant to be while not worthy of a challenge, require several minutes. When consulting the item chart on the next page, items without a number cannot
inhospitable and might prove unsettling to some. Make sure your “Time passes” is an abstract measurement, a warning and an instrument of tension; be obtained randomly during creation (but they can still be chosen). If you roll an
group is okay with themes of despair, violence and body horror. the depths of the Grave distort perception, sometimes turning minutes into hours. item you already have, you may keep it or roll again (your choice). If you roll an item
and don’t want it, you may trade it for an item of your choice worth half its price.
Death Spiral by Emanuele Galletto (RoosterEma); patreon.com/roosterema
Challenges
Whenever a Doomed faces an obstacle or threat that might take
a toll on them (such as harm, a loss of time or resources) during a
descent, the Spiral may declare a challenge. Follow these steps:
m Verify whether any of the Doomed are marked.
m Agree on what the Doomed will achieve in case of success.
m The Spiral names one Doomed who must take part in the
Challenge; any number of the remaining Doomed may join,
provided they are able to do so (the Spiral has final say).
m The Doomed describe their strategy and approaches, including
any weapons, items or spells they are using.
m Based on the past and quirks of each Doomed, their afflictions
(see below) and the choices made during the previous steps, the
Spiral establishes the challenge as dangerous or desperate.
m Roll 3d6 for a dangerous challenge, or 2d6 for a desperate one.
m If at least one 6 is rolled, the Doomed achieve their objective.
Otherwise, the Doomed have failed and the Spiral makes a de-
cision based on the context: the Doomed do not achieve their
objective and suffer all related consequences, or they achieve the
objective but the Spiral applies a number of misfortunes equal
to the number of Doomed that took part in the challenge.
Misfortunes
Choose misfortunes that fit the situation from the following list:
m A Doomed that took part in the challenge suffers an affliction
that fits the situation, chosen from: cursed, diseased, exhausted,
fearful, hopeless, irrational, poisoned, wounded.
m An item used in the challenge is lost, stolen or broken.
m The Doomed are separated, scattered or trapped.
m Time passes (only once per failed challenge, preferably).
Clever Strategies
If the Doomed come up with a clever and effective strategy for a
challenge, the Spiral should reward them with automatic success.
Chains
The Spiral may require the Doomed to overcome a chain (two to
four linked challenges) in order to achieve an objective. The Spi-
ral must announce this when the first challenge is declared; failure
may only result in a lost objective during the last challenge in the
chain (prior to that, a failed roll will “simply” translate to misfor-
tunes and trigger the subsequent challenge in the chain).
Afflictions and Armor Items
When you suffer an affliction, write it on your sheet. All that you carry (an axe, a box of chalks, a treasure...) counts as
m If you have an armor item appropriate for the affliction (the one item, regardless of size. You may carry thirteen items at most.
Spiral has final say), you may break it to suffer no affliction.
Sample Items (the Spiral may add more)
m If you suffer an affliction you already have, you suffer it again
11. Antidote* (40 cp, heal poisoned) 25. Oil, flask* (10 cp)
(it is simply another affliction with the same name).
Axe (50 cp) 26. Pitons, iron (15 cp, six pitons)
12. Bandages* (30 cp, heal wounded) 33. Poison* (50 cp)
Being MarKed Brigandine (120 cp, armor) 34. Pole (10 cp, ten feet long)
When a challenge and/or chain are declared, each Doomed whose 13. Caltrops, bag (25 cp) 35. Ration* (10 cp, food for one)
total number of afflictions and items exceeds thirteen is marked 14. Chalks, box (10 cp) 36. Rope (20 cp, 50 ft.)
until the end of that challenge and/or chain (even if the total drops Crossbow (100 cp) 44. Shield (35 cp, armor)
during the challenge and/or chain); the Gods eagerly await this of- 15. Crowbar (15 cp) 45. Shovel (15 cp)
fering. When a challenge fails, the Spiral may kill any marked Do- 16. Dagger or knife (25 cp) Spear, short (40 cp)
omed that took part in it, describing it as sudden tragedy. 22. Grimoire page (100 cp, one spell) Sword, arming (70 cp)
23. Hammer (30 cp) 46. Tinderbox (15 cp)
Rotten LucK Helmet (50 cp, armor) Tools (60 cp, choose a profession)
24. Hook, steel (10 cp) 55. Torch* (5 cp, lgt 3, tm 6)
The Spiral may roll a d6 in secret to establish an aspect of the si-
Lantern (50 cp, lgt 2, tm 8) 56. Waterskin, filled with water (20 cp)
tuation (random encounters, character knowledge, the state of a
Mirror, small (60 cp) 66. Wine* (40 cp, heal fearful)
device): on a 3 or less, it’s really bad; on a 4 or 5 it’s decent; on a 6
Consumable items are marked with an asterisk (*); items that produce light do so for
it’s good. If a Doomed’s afflictions, past, quirks or items can prove a number of characters (lgt) and for a limited time (tm).
helpful, the Spiral should roll 2d6 and keep the highest roll. Lanterns consume oil, and lighting a lantern or torch requires a tinderbox.
MaKing Camp Treasure
During a descent, the Doomed may spend an amount of rations When the Doomed find a treasure, the Spiral declares how many
equal to their number to make camp: each Doomed may select one d6s it is worth (3d6 to 20d6). When you sell a treasure in the Burg,
affliction and roll a d6 (plus an extra d6 if the Doomed or one of roll its dice: you gain ten copper for each die, plus twenty copper for
their companions has an advantageous item, past or quirk; the Spi- each pair you roll and thirty copper for each three of a kind.
ral has final say). If at least one 6 is rolled, the affliction is healed. Example: Rolling 6d6 for 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, 5 grants you 60 + 30 + 20 copper.
At the end of each camp, time passes; then, if the Spiral believes the
camp is in a risky location, roll a d6: on a roll of 3 or less, things go Spells
to hell and a sudden challenge must be overcome. Spells only exist in the form of grimoire pages and may only be
cast during descents, since they feed on the energy of the Gods (or
The Burg perhaps it’s the other way around).
In the Burg, the Doomed may sell treasure to earn copper, then: m The effects of the spell contained in a page are secretly chosen
m Purchase items (see column on the right). by the Spiral and revealed the first time someone reads the text
aloud. Spells are always useful, but they also invariably consume,
m Repair broken items (costs half the item’s price, rounded up).
twist, or corrupt the target and/or the user.
m Identify the spell on a grimoire page (costs 50 cp).
m Whatever its effects, anyone casting a spell immediately suffers
m Recover from an affliction (costs copper equal to ten times the an affliction. The affliction is also secretly chosen by the Spiral.
current number of afflictions on the Doomed). m Spells with a prolonged effect last until time passes.
m Perform activities agreed upon with the Spiral, none of which
should be free of charge (cost of living and all that). Exception: for grimoire pages obtained during creation, the Spiral and the Doomed
negotiate the effects of these spells, and the Doomed will already know them.