S��������: A� ������� � I��� RPG - B������ E�����

Designed and written by Alex T.

Text Copyright © 2023 Blackoath Entertainment

Illustrated by Simone Tammetta (ORB).

Cartography by Glynn Seal.
Layout by Alex T.

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“Incense & Iron Roleplaying” logo by Alan Bahr.

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S�������� was made possible thanks to the support of my
patrons. A million thanks!
www.patreon.com/blackoathgames

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: You are free to

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share and adapt this material for any purpose as long as you give
attribution.
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www.blackoathgames.com
blackoathentertainment@gmail.com
 T ABLE OF C ONTENTS
What is Incense & Iron?………………………………………………………….……………..7
The Basics…………………………………………………………………………………………..11

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Character Creation……………………………………………………………….……………..13
Abilities………………………………………………………………………………………….14
Skills, Feats, Combat Maneuvers & More…………………………………………..15
A Weapon Marked by Darkness……………………………………………………….23

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A Brutal Past…………………………………………………………………………………..26
Other Starting Occupations……………………………………………………………..31
Commoner……………………………………………………………………………………..31
Knight-Errant…………………………………………………………………………………34
Tomb Robber…………………………………………………………………………………..36
Gear……………………………………………………………………………………………..38
How to Play………………………………………………………………………………………….43
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The Core Mechanics………………………………………………………………………..43
Combat…………………………………………………………………………………………..43
Healing & Death……………………………………………………………………………..53
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Conditions & Saving Throws……………………………………………………………55
Fatigue…………………………………………………………………………………………..56
Travel Procedures…………………………………………………………………………..57
Corruption……………………………………………………………………………………..63
Earning Experience Points………………………………………………………………64
Playing Without a Game Master……………………………………………………….65
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A Land Ravaged by War……………………………………………………………………….72

The Kingdom of Pavaria…………………………………………………………………..76
The Cadaennor Dominion………………………………………………………………..77
The Church of the Burning Light……………………………………………………..79
The Threat of the Demonic……………………………………………………………..82
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The One Hundred Years War……………………………………………………………83

No Man’s Land………………………………………………………………………………..84
Weekly Events………………………………………………………………………………..95
Treasure & Rewards………………………………………………………………………..99
Of Beast & Men………………………………………………………………………………….103
What the Numbers Mean………………………………………………………………103
Evil Creatures & Spirits of Darkness………………………………………………104
Apostles……………………………………………………………………………………….104
Beasts…………………………………………………………………………………………..107
Humans………………………………………………………………………………………..112
Monsters………………………………………………………………………………………115
Deshrak’s Thousand………………………………………………………………………….118
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 What is Incense & Iron?
’ve had the idea of creating a
I game with a strong Catholic
Church-like presence for a long
time, to tell the sort of stories you
would �ind in Spain in the 15��
century. Countries riled up by
religious fervor, with an all-
powerful Inquisition committing
unspeakable acts of violence in the
name of their god. You know, fun
stuff. Although I consider myself a
spiritual person, I always found
the lengths some people would go
to defend their religion and
spirituality quite frightening.
Having grown up in a Catholic
milieu, with my grandmother
being a hardcore Opus Dei
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supporter, and going to a Catholic
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school certainly didn’t help me see
the best of Christianity or religion
in general.
The idea of playing in a dark
fantasy medieval world with a
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strong religious presence has
always sounded really cool to me.
The Church as a monolithic,
powerful and clearly evil
institution creates a very unique
background for any setting, and it
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opens lots of interesting
possibilities. Fighting against such
a powerful institution, but always
making sure you don’t do it openly
because otherwise you’d be
labeled a heretic is a very fun thing
to do, kind of what it is to play as
the rebellion in Star Wars. This is
not an original idea at all though,
but the same way the term “Sword
& Sorcery” didn’t appear until the
1960s, despite having been
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established as a genre for quite a
while before that, I think that there
are already plenty of stories out
there that would �it the “Incense &
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Iron” setting. These come to mind:
�Berserk, by Kentaro Miura. The
main source of inspiration behind
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Sacri�ice, the presence of the
church as an evil, threatening and
corrupt institution is a key part of
this fantastic manga.
�RPGs such as Warhammer
Fantasy, SYMA, and Ruination
Pilgrimage. For a while WFRP was
alone in the world of Incense &
Iron RPGs, but a new crop of
games are recently coming out,
and they’re all worth checking out.
�Books, such as the Safehold
series, by David Weber, or Between
Two Fires, by Christopher
Buehlman. These ones ticks all the
boxes, it doesn’t get more Incense
& Iron than this (even though the
Safehold books start as sci-�i).
�Videogames such as
Blasphemous, and to some extent,
Dark Souls.
�Films like Black Death, Solomon
Kane, The Pit & The Pendulum,
Medieval, and so many others
really capture the feeling I refer to
when I speak of “Incense & Iron”
as a genre.
Now that we’ve discussed where
the idea of this “new” genre comes
 Sacrifice: An Incense & Iron RPG
from and what its main in�luences
are, these are the core aspects of
“Incense & Iron”, as I understand it:
�The world is a dark, unforgiving
place.
�Violence is often the answer to all
problems, at least for the powerful.
�The uneducated, peasant masses
are kept under control through an
oppressive church, with little to no
hope to improve their lot in life.
�Feudal society, with the extreme
inequality that it creates.
�A strong dose of social and
religious commentary.
�Menacing, demonic supernatural
forces that only push the
peasantry deeper into the church’s
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control.
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�Low fantasy. Most characters can
only rely on their blade and wits to
�ight the darkness and an unjust
world.
So here you have it, my attempt at
establishing yet another fantasy
sub-genre. Is it necessary?
Probably not. But as all the other
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genres and subgenres in existence,
it helps to have a common
terminology when speaking about
things, and after years of seeing
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these sorts of stories and not being
able to really de�ine what they all
have in common, I think I’m happy
with my solution. Of course, I’d
love it if the term “Incense & Iron”
catched on and others started
using it, either to refer to theirs or
other’s work. So you know what to
- Alex T.
 What is Incense & Iron?

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 The Basics
W��� �� S��������?
Sacri�ice is a Role-Playing Game
that uses a D20 die to resolve all
its actions. This means that it’s
compatible with most D20 RPGs
and related material, new and old.
In Sacri�ice, you play as a
Branded, a character that has
been marked for demonic sacri�ice.
Somehow, you escaped the sinister
ritual alive, but you are now
chased both by demons and the
all-powerful Inquisition.
As a Branded, you are no ordinary
mortal. You have escaped certain
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death, and while the forces of evil
are powerful, as is the Holy Church
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and its Inquisition, so is your will
to live. Your determination and
resilience in the face of certain
death sets you apart from the
common man, nothing else. What
some deem supernatural abilities
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you know well is just a
combination of experience,
determination, and sometimes,
pure luck.
H�� D��� S�������� P���?
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Sacri�ice is best played with a
Game Master (GM) and a single
Player Character (PC). There is
nothing stopping you from playing
it with a bunch of friends, but the
game thrives when it’s “me versus
the world”, and this is best
achieved when there’s a single PC.
Alternatively, the game also
includes all the necessary tools
and oracles to play the game solo
or co-op.
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Whenever a PC tries to do
something and the result isn't
evident, or there is something at
stake, the GM will inform the
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player to roll a D20, add a suitable
ability modi�ier and/or skill bonus,
and compare it to a Target Number
(TN) speci�ied by the GM. The
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action is successful if the roll
equals or exceeds the TN. This is
referred to as a skill check.
D��������� TN
Very Easy 5
Easy
Moderate
10
15
Hard 20
Very Hard 25
Nearly Impossible 30
A��������/D�����������
Some situations, skills, gear or
effects may in�luence your
capabilities in a positive or
negative manner. When for any
reason you have Advantage, you
perform the check by rolling 2D20
and choosing the more favorable
of the two results. On the other
hand, when you have Disadvantage
you must roll 2D20 and choose the
less favorable result.
C������� F������ � S������
Rolling a 1 on a D20 (a natural 1)
during either type of check is
considered a Critical Failure: the
worst possible consequence takes
place. On the other hand, rolling a
 Sacrifice: An Incense & Iron RPG
20 (a natural 20) grants a Critical
Success: the best possible result
takes place. Combat-speci�ic
consequences are detailed on page
45, but on other occasions the GM
decides on the most appropriate
consequence.
O������ C�����
When two characters take actions
that have opposing purposes (i.e. a
character tries to sneak while
another one tries to �ind them),
their dice are rolled against each
other. The PC with the highest roll
wins; ties are awarded to the
highest ability score.
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A�������� �� � S���� C����
One character may help another
perform a skill check if they are in
the position to do so. This requires
both characters to be undistracted
and able to see the same task
simultaneously. When these
conditions are met, the character
receives Advantage to any
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applicable check that does not
involve combat. This is the same
regardless of the number of PCs
(or NPCs) assisting the character.
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 Character Creation
Warfare, pain and faith
In Aresta we stand
For the last rite of heaven,
The seventh sacrament.

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Born of blood and �ire
And blessed by Dawn's Hand
No sorrow I repent
No doubt enters my heart.

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- Inquisitorial Oath

Each player controls a single available ones. This allows you to

Player Character (PC); these are
differentiated from Non-Player
Characters (NPC), which are
usually created and controlled by
the Game Master (GM). In order to
create a character, follow these
simple steps:
e 5. As a Branded, you start the
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1. Begin by taking a new
character sheet. You can either
scan the one in this book,
download and print one, or hand-
reproduce it on a sheet of paper. As
a last resort, you can always simply
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customize your character’s
starting gameplay style. You must
also pick two weapon and one
armor pro�iciencies.
game at level 3. This re�lects your
character’s years of experience
before their current ordeal.
Last but not least, add the �inishing
touches: overall appearance,
gender, age, quirks, a basic
backstory, and any other thing you
think can help you understand

use a piece of paper to write down
all your character’s details.
2. Roll 3D6 six times (once per
character ability) and then assign
each result to one of the abilities:
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who your character is. There are
no alignment rules in Sacri�ice,
only shades of gray.
6. As a new character, you
start with 80 silver pieces (sp) to

Strength (STR), Intelligence (INT), spend on any of the gear found on

Wisdom (WIS), Dexterity (DEX), the equipment section in this
Constitution (CON), and Charisma chapter.
(CHA).

3. In Sacri�ice, all characters

are human, so you do not need to
pick a race.

4. There are no character

classes either; instead, you start by
choosing 3 Feats from all the

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 Sacrifice: An Incense & Iron RPG
A BILITIES
Abilities are the foundation of A������ S���� M�������
every character, and they only
change under very speci�ic 3 -3
circumstances. The initial ability
score is determined by rolling 3D6 4-5 -2
six times (once per character
ability) and then assigning each 6-8 -1

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result to one of the abilities. When 9-12 0
you're done, your character will
have a score in each of the 13-15 +1

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following abilities ranging from 3
to 18. Each score has a bonus or 16-17 +2
penalty attached to it, as shown in 18+ +3
the table below.

- Strength (STR): This determines - Dexterity (DEX): This describes

how strong your character is—
how capably they perform feats of e
strength such as lifting heavy
objects or breaking things.
- Intelligence (INT): This shows
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how cunning and capable your
character is at mental tasks such
as solving puzzles and riddles, or
thinking things through before
acting.
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how nimble your character is—
how good they are at dodging,
jumping, using lockpicks and
otherwise using their hands.
- Constitution (CON): This
measures how physically resilient
your character is, including how
well they fare against harmful
effects such as poisons or diseases.
- Charisma (CHA): This tells how

- Wisdom (WIS): This de�ines likable your character is—how

mental strength and ego, a easily they can get information and
combination of intuition, gain advantages with NPCs.
willpower and common sense.
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 Character Creation
S KILLS , F EATS , C OMBAT M ANEUVERS & M ORE
As we mentioned above, there are �Luck: Luck may be spent to
no character classes in Sacri�ice. automatically pass a saving throw,
Instead, what de�ines your but it must be declared so before
character is the collection of skills, rolling. Luck can also be used to
Feats, and other unique retreat from combat: if the whole
capabilities they possess. party wants to retreat from
combat, they must each spend 1

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As a Branded, you have survived Luck. This means that
something that seemed incapacitated allies can be dragged
impossible. This is mostly thanks away by surviving ones. Luck is

to a speci�ic trait that sets you
apart from your fellow humans.
Choose one of the following:
- Titanic Strength: +2 STR
- Lighting Re�lexes: +2 DEX
- Unbreakable Will: +2 WIS
- Boundless Vitality: +2 CON
There are a few other details that
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mark you as a special individual, a
veteran of a thousand horrors:
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�Branded: You bear the Mark of
Sacri�ice, a terrible scar that has
marked both your �lesh and soul.
At �irst sight, it looks like a recent
�irebrand, never truly healing.
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recovered at a rate of 1 per resting
day. A character’s Luck is equal to
half their level (round up).
�Mastery Die: Each time your
character is involved in combat
with opponents with a number of
Hit Dice (HD) lower than their
level, you can use the Mastery Die.
In your turn, you automatically
deal D4 damage to any opponent
within range. This represents
passing blows and lesser strikes
that the character deals to those
around them without much of a
thought, due to their mastery of
combat.

When in the proximity of demonic

forces (within a radius of 30 feet),
the Mark of Sacri�ice burns as if it
was just carved on your skin anew,
causing 1 damage. After focusing
for a second, you know the
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distance and direction towards the

demon or demons.

�I’m Not Done Yet!: When your

character reaches 0 HP, you can
perform a CON saving throw (TN
12) to avoid becoming
unconscious. If you pass it, you can
sacri�ice 1 CON to gain D4 HP and
miraculously stand up again. Can
only be done once per combat.

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