I ran this for a group of friends — we weren't able to finish (we ended after the first Visitor death due to time constraints) but we all loved it. The mechanics are so evocative, especially when it comes to the dice. I think it's incredibly clever to flip successes and failures the way Ritual does; I love it when successes and failures both come with strings attached, and the thematic intent works incredibly well here. Also, the art is fantastic.
I have a little question. I'm planning play this in Japanese. While translating the cards, I couldn't find the word “raizing” on English dictionary. Is this a (maybe intentional) typo of “raising” or “razing”? Or any other word not English?
thanks for asking! This is an unintentional conflation of the two things, which I might claim to be intentional to be clever lol, but it was meant to be
razing. : to destroy completely by knocking down or breaking to pieces : demolish. razed the building.
Thank you for your quick response! I finished day one of the gameplay just now. The RAZING card hasn’t appeared yet, so I can fix it without anyone noticing, lol. My friends and I enjoyed this game. Folk horror is also popular in Japan.
Ritual is a folk horror ttrpg inspired by Midsommar.
The PDF is 24 pages, with clean, readable text, strong vibes, and some nice folksy art.
Gameplay-wise, everyone in Ritual controls two characters. One is an impending victim, the other is a member of the insular community they have entered. This approach divides GMing responsibilities up across the group, but it doesn't separate GMing from roleplaying. It makes for an extremely fluid game, with no pressure on anyone to do anything other than play their characters.
Visitors *can* sort of struggle against their fate, taking actions that give them more information about the community, but this is a game that expects Visitors to die. Every roll advances a Visitor towards death, and the game towards its final state.
Probably the strongest thing in this game that I wasn't expecting is its theme of duality. Visitor and Host, Ritual and Demise, 2d6 assigned to two different things, it makes for a thematic backbone that runs all the way through. The game has little wiggle room, it will always produce stories that mirror Midsommar, but it's very good at producing those stories, and very easy to play.
Overall, if you're at all into folk horror and storytelling rpgs, you should check Ritual out. It looks great, it's easy to run, and it's a fantastic vehicle for collaboration. Someone's always on hand to be the villain in someone else's scene, and someone's always yes-and-ing the gruesome details during a ceremony.
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I ran this for a group of friends — we weren't able to finish (we ended after the first Visitor death due to time constraints) but we all loved it. The mechanics are so evocative, especially when it comes to the dice. I think it's incredibly clever to flip successes and failures the way Ritual does; I love it when successes and failures both come with strings attached, and the thematic intent works incredibly well here. Also, the art is fantastic.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I'd love to hear about a noteworthy Ritual you performed if you could :)
I have a little question. I'm planning play this in Japanese. While translating the cards, I couldn't find the word “raizing” on English dictionary. Is this a (maybe intentional) typo of “raising” or “razing”? Or any other word not English?
thanks for asking! This is an unintentional conflation of the two things, which I might claim to be intentional to be clever lol, but it was meant to be
razing. : to destroy completely by knocking down or breaking to pieces : demolish. razed the building.
Thank you for your quick response! I finished day one of the gameplay just now. The RAZING card hasn’t appeared yet, so I can fix it without anyone noticing, lol. My friends and I enjoyed this game. Folk horror is also popular in Japan.
That's so freaking cool. I really like folk horror. I'd love to hear what you think of my own folk horror module for Horror Liminal !
Actually because of money conversion I cant afford the game, any chance of community copies?
Just refilled them!
Ritual is a folk horror ttrpg inspired by Midsommar.
The PDF is 24 pages, with clean, readable text, strong vibes, and some nice folksy art.
Gameplay-wise, everyone in Ritual controls two characters. One is an impending victim, the other is a member of the insular community they have entered. This approach divides GMing responsibilities up across the group, but it doesn't separate GMing from roleplaying. It makes for an extremely fluid game, with no pressure on anyone to do anything other than play their characters.
Visitors *can* sort of struggle against their fate, taking actions that give them more information about the community, but this is a game that expects Visitors to die. Every roll advances a Visitor towards death, and the game towards its final state.
Probably the strongest thing in this game that I wasn't expecting is its theme of duality. Visitor and Host, Ritual and Demise, 2d6 assigned to two different things, it makes for a thematic backbone that runs all the way through. The game has little wiggle room, it will always produce stories that mirror Midsommar, but it's very good at producing those stories, and very easy to play.
Overall, if you're at all into folk horror and storytelling rpgs, you should check Ritual out. It looks great, it's easy to run, and it's a fantastic vehicle for collaboration. Someone's always on hand to be the villain in someone else's scene, and someone's always yes-and-ing the gruesome details during a ceremony.
this might be my favorite review that you’ve left on one of my games and it’s really heartening, thank you so much!