Defy the Gods

Find your fortune in the half-drowned halls of lost Atlantis. Fall in love in the hunting grounds of giant sphinxes. Slay—or seduce—your rivals in a metropolis of clay, gold and lapis lazuli. A single sword stroke or kiss can change everything. 

Defy the Gods is a roleplaying game of daring adventure, ruinous romance, and cursed power. Inspired by Clash of the Titans, Conan the Barbarian, and Princess Mononoke, it’s sword & sorcery that stabs you in the heart. 

In Defy the Gods, you and your friends fight jealous gods and cruel tyrants who want to destroy you. You spin a story of wild invention and heart-rending drama. Explore a fantasy ancient Mesopotamian world that you build at the table—its Pantheon, its Cities, its trackless Wilds. Its dream of Atlantis, its fate in the Underworld. 

Win hearts and give your own. Your romantic entanglements leave you vulnerable, but they may save you from yourself. Unseat the world's powers and dare to seat yourself on their throne. Leap into danger, surrender your heart, and ascend to monstrous, godlike power. 

In this book, you’ll find: 

• A system designed for playing emotionally entangled outcasts with the gods themselves against them.
• A fresh take on Powered by the Apocalypse where you can roll too high and blaze with glory.
• The World Scene interlude where you play the villains and sharpen the story’s drama.
• Rules for building gods and city-states with their own cults, customs and conflicts.
• Over 30 creatures and enemies to challenge.
• A guide to fantasy ancient Mesopotamia from the starry heavens to the Underworld. 

Defy the Gods is a sword & sorcery story game about love and power. It's equal parts romance and adventure, using a version of the Powered by the Apocalypse engine. The game's mechanics point your story in exciting directions. Like Thirsty Sword Lesbians, you may flirt with and tempt other characters. In the midst of this, you may also seize might for yourself, at the risk of cutting yourself off from your intimate connections. 

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What manner of sword & sorcery is this? 

Sword & sorcery is marked by propulsive action, gritty urban life, cosmic horror, protean wonder, and the drama of street-level heroes taking on overwhelming odds. Like a lot of recent sword & sorcery fiction, Defy the Gods focuses on these elements and scrapes away everything else. Howard Andrew Jones called this "new edge" sword & sorcery. 

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What makes this a queer game?

Defy the Gods is a game of universal, visceral attraction. You may win anyone's interest. Spend others' hearts to aid or thwart them, throw them off-balance, or tempt them to do what you want. In Defy the Gods, love has no rules.

Also, the world is against you. The Pantheon of gods hates you, and the City's rulers want to push you to the margins. If your flirtation goes awry, the world is ready to stomp on you for it. While your adventurer has tremendous talents, they are—at first—nothing compared to the forces arrayed against you.

Sword & sorcery is about underdog heroes battling civilization and unstoppable supernatural forces. This is queer life in a nutshell.

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What's Included?

• Digital Only: Both PDF and EPub versions + Play Sheets in full color and printable formats
• Standard + Digital: Hardcover book + all digital files
• Standard + Dice + Digital: Hardcover book + 6 dice + all digital files
• Standard Edition Bundle: Standard edition hardcover + 6 dice, 2 pins, 1 patch + all digital files

 

"Defy the Gods is a really smart, purposeful take on sword & sorcery roleplaying, backed by mechanics that drive you toward interesting and loaded narrative. It's a really cool game." 

—Avery Alder, creator of Monsterhearts, The Quiet Year and Going For Broke

“Defy the Gods immediately feels both innovative and familiar. The glowing and burning success system is going to make every roll exciting. An incredibly elegant twist on PbtA that fits the world perfectly. Exactly what you want in a core mechanic and a new setting.” 

—Brian Liberge, Games on Demand

“When even the gods conspire to oppress and control, the only act that is just is defiance. Defy the Gods puts the power and responsibility in the hands of your adventurers to fight the gods themselves or succumb to your own doom.” 

—Sean Nittner, Evil Hat Games

 

Strike boldly.

Love fiercely.

Ascend to a glorious destiny...

…And be transformed forever.