Dweller Among the Dead by shrug
Dweller Among the Dead is a solo ttrpg about the experience of living under a restrictive and ritualistic society and the struggle to break free from it. The core mechanic involves two six-sided dice: one representing conformity to tradition and the other representing questioning and impulse. With these two dice, the player is guided to developing their character, the society they are bound to and the ways in which those bindings have begun to chafe.
With a dark gothic atmosphere of repression and struggle, this is a game that evokes strong visual imagery and scenes of heightened emotion. There is just enough in-built worldbuilding to give the game structure and atmosphere without limiting the player’s experience. The prompts are both deeply evocative and creative, ensuring that whatever story you end up exploring will be memorable.
Using two dice to represent opposing forces within the character is a wonderful mechanic that reflects the internal struggle of the player character. I would have loved to see that struggle developed a little more; the roll determining the character’s choice for penance or purgation seemed so significant it deserved more fanfare.
This was a short but very fun and atmospheric game. The prompts felt moody, emotional, the mechanics appropriately expressed the game’s themes and I really enjoyed journey it took me on.
Dweller Among the Dead by shrug - available here
Download for free on itch.io!