WHAT IS SHRINES?
SHRINES is a Dark Fantasy tabletop roleplaying game about the Marked, who undertake a pilgrimage through Regions beyond the Wounds of the World. Bound to Shrines, they return through Reformation after they fall. Along the way, they gather Lore Fragments, engage in tactical, classless combat, and make decisions that reshape both themselves and the world around them.
Inspired by Soulslike design principles, SHRINES transforms danger, return, mystery, and hard-earned progression into a unique TTRPG about fair cruelty, dark pilgrimage, fragile hope, and the question of which truth will ultimately endure.
ESCALATION
SHRINES uses Escalation not only as a combat mechanic, but as the expression of a world that responds to action.
Every Main Action taken by the Marked increases the pressure in combat and brings enemies closer to dangerous Maneuvers, reactions, or turning points. This creates tactical tension without overloading every scene with complicated special rules.
In SHRINES, however, Escalation does not merely mean that a single combat encounter becomes more dangerous. Regions can escalate as well.
When the Marked act, fail, hesitate, or alter existing balances of power, factions, Shrines, Monsters, and the Wounds of the World respond.
In this way, Escalation becomes a connecting principle between combat, travel, and the course of the campaign.
LORE FRAGMENTS
SHRINES does not treat Lore Fragments as mere background text to be read and then forgotten.
Lore Fragments are pieces of truth, error, memory, lies, and interpretation. The Marked gather them, connect them, and attempt to understand which Wound shapes a Region.
In SHRINES, knowledge remains deliberately uncertain:
A Lore Fragment may be true, false, incomplete, or intentionally distorted. Mechanically, Lore Fragments form a Region's Lore Value and show how deeply the group has penetrated its meaning.
This turns lore into an active part of play, preparing decisions, making conflicts easier to understand, and determining which truth can ultimately be carried forward.
TACTICAL COMBAT
SHRINES focuses on tactical combat without forcing the Marked into fixed roles, classes, or archetypes.
There is no mandatory division into tank, healer, damage dealer, or support. Instead, roles emerge from decisions, Domains, abilities, Equipment, positioning, and the behavior of the group.
Combat is dangerous, readable, and mobile:
ranges, Terrain, Light, Escalation, resources, and enemy behavior determine which options are available. This means tactics are not tied to rigid character concepts, but arise from the situation itself.
The Marked survive not because they fulfill a perfect party composition, but because they learn together, assess risks, use spaces, and make sacrifices at the right moment.
DECISIONS, AFTERMATH & RUPTURE
SHRINES does not treat decisions as simple branches between right and wrong.
The Marked make choices within wounded Regions, where truth is fragmented, factions defend their own interpretations, and every solution leaves new traces behind.
Consequences do not affect the world alone. They also affect the Marked themselves.
They change relationships, Shrines, factions, Monsters, paths, memories, and sometimes even the inner shape of the characters.
Personal change and worldly change intertwine:
Those who touch a Wound do not remain untouched by it. This makes decisions in SHRINES more than simple outcomes of action.
They determine which truth endures, which scars remain, and what price the Pilgrimage demands.
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