Description
The forest’s thickness is lessening, with room for paths of turned earth, rectangular pits, a whiteness as of mushrooms peeping from the ground. With horror we see from the thirteenth tarot that the underbrush is fertilized with half-withered corpses and fleshless bones.
“Why, where have you brought me, Fool? This is a cemetery!”
And the Fool says, pointing to the invertebrate fauna feeding in the graves:
“Here a monarchy reigns, mightier than you…”His Majesty the Worm Bursts Forth from the Underworld!
Introducing His Majesty the Worm, a deluxe megadungeon RPG. Descend into the Underworld, sprawling caverns overflowing with riches and danger. Aboveground, wander the City, a bustling metropolis full of opportunity.
Its creator calls His Majesty the Worm “a new-school game with old-school sensibilities.” How new-school are we talking? This system is totally diceless. In fact, His Majesty the Worm is tarot-driven, intended to be played through draws from a Rider Waite-style deck. Themes? Tarot. Map-making? Tarot. Combat? Yes, that’s tarot, too.
Gameplay is divided into four phases. Each phase has its own structure, objectives, and actions. During a Crawl phase, players explore the Underworld, discovering treasure, building guild Bonds, and advancing quests. When they stumble across danger, they enter a Challenge phase. Armor, swords, spells, and tarot draws fight the threat. Afterward, players can rest in a Camp phase, where they use the Bonds built during adventuring to heal and recover. Then, they dive back into a Crawl phase and do it all again. Once they’ve gathered enough loot, players can head aboveground for a City phase. Here, they can bank, busk, trade, and carouse until they’re ready to visit the Underworld once more.
As a tome, His Majesty the Worm is big – over 400 pages and A4 size (about 8″ x 12″). It’s good-looking, boasting a fabric-wrapped hardbound cover with foil accents and a ribbon bookmark. And it’s thorough – world lore is rich but flexible and ten chapters contain in-depth information (and atmospheric illustrations) for GMs and players alike. Five additional appendices cover sorcery, a bestiary, Underworld dungeon creation, and much, much more.
- A4-size silver foil-accented hardcover with a ribbon bookmark, b&w interior, 404 pages
- For 3-6 players and a GM, requires a Rider Waite-style tarot deck
- Winner of two 2025 ENNIEs, Best Rules (Silver) and Best Game (Silver)
