Lichcraft

A breakout success in the the UK.

Nominated for Polygon's top Indie RPGs of 2020, and many more.

Back in print and as relevant as ever, this breakout game by designer Laurie O'Connel is set in a fantasy United Kingdom. Here, you play transgender necomrancers, seeking immortality in order to get to the end of a 300 year long NHS (National Health Service) waiting list.

This is a game about spite, necromancy, and being queer. Although the game itself deals with serious themes, it is set up to be tongue-in-cheek, satirical, and intimate.

Lichcraft is a rules-light tabletop RPG set up to be played with 2 or more players. The play is inspired by Forged in the Dark systems, with a simple D6-pool resolution mechanic. Instead of choosing classes or players, characters begin by choosing their politics, hobby, day job, and magical source, and use attributes from these to add to their dice rolls.

"The Year is 2069. The setting is Great Britain. The Tories have been in power since 2010.

Due to National Health Service cuts, trans healthcare has become increasingly hard to access. The waiting list for a first appointment at a gender identity clinic is now 300 years. They don’t want to outright refuse you; that would imply that the health service is over capacity or underfunded. Instead they will simply add you to the end of the list and wait for you to die.

But they are fools. For you have learned the secrets of immortality. And you will get to the end of that waiting list, even if it means waiting another millennium..."