Some years ago, I started working on a storytelling engine built on what I loved and containing what I missed. There have been so many great story ttrpgs and storygames designed in the last few years, but for me, I missed some parts and, at the same time, I thought some bits were unnecessary.

And the games I was impressed by the most were simple. The games I wanted to love were a bit too complex, but still had a great overall flow and feel to them. I wanted to make a game with as few and easy arithmetics as possible. A player-facing game in which word-labels and narration could play a part in the mechanics. In which modifiers were as easy to handle as saying a word when describing something.

So I ended up with an engine inspired by games powered by the apocalypse, forged in the dark, and powered by fate, and built on the use of traits creating a small D6 dicepool, and the concepts of facets, which basically are mechanically charged words modifying that pool.

And right now, the first quickstart documents are uploaded here, providing a good overview of rules, playbooks, and how to play the game. Over the coming weeks, more playbooks along with magic paths for mages will be added.

We started here at itch.io, calling ourselves Roguish Games, after the name Roguish we called the game, as we wanted to toy with the concepts of rogue-like games on PC and old-school TTRPGs. But after spending time working, researching, and developing our game, we realized the name was already under too heavy use to continue with it, and we decided to switch our label to Ogre Pit Games. And our Roguish game was also renamed Ogreish. Same game, different name.

So from now on, if you have followed us, our project will go by Ogreish.

I would be delighted if you, who are interested in these types of ttrpgs and storygames, would check it out and drop me a comment, good or bad. The documents are not laid-out in any way, so digest them as the early prototype game-testing docs they are.

https://ogre-pit.itch.io/ogreish

Thanks ahead & game on!

-The OGREISH Team

I'll continue with updates for Ogreish in this thread. I hope it's ok!

A few updates were made yesterday and today, so if you're curious, you'll find the Rogue playbook and the Character Keeper available through the link above in the first post.  Comments are more than welcome!

Heya! We've just uploaded the Mage playbook and two magic paths; witchcraft and elementalism. In addition, the Character Keeper is also updated!

https://ogre-pit.itch.io/ogreish

I would love to hear some comments or feedback! Cheers!

 Hey everyone, here's an update:

I wanted to share a bit about how PITCHFORK Extended came to be, how it connects to the OGREISH framework, and how it just got funded on Kickstarter in only 25 hours!

From OGREISH to Folk Horror Villagers

PITCHFORK started as an experiment – an offshoot of OGREISH, built to explore the framework’s potential for survival-driven, high-stakes storytelling. Instead of warriors, outlaws, or treasure hunters, this game focuses on ordinary villagers – blacksmiths, shepherds, and midwives – who must stand against an unnatural terror creeping into their world. The mechanics emphasize collaboration, difficult choices, and an unforgiving environment, all rooted in OGREISH’s design philosophy.

The idea was first distilled into a one-page RPG for the One-Page RPG Jam here on itch.io, where it resonated with players who enjoyed its grounded tension and brutal simplicity. That jam was a huge catalyst – it gave the game its first audience and proved that the concept had something worth expanding.

A Kickstarter Success Story

After seeing the response, we decided to take PITCHFORK further, fleshing it out with more tools for GMs and players, expanded mechanics, and deeper worldbuilding. We launched a Kickstarter on February 24th, and within just 25 hours, it was fully funded!

For a small, unknown game with no big marketing push, this was beyond what we expected. The fact that so many backers took a chance on PITCHFORK proves that there’s an appetite for games that mix folk horror, survival, and community-driven storytelling.

What’s Next?

With funding secured, we’re now working on making this zine-sized RPG the best it can be, packed with rich storytelling tools, evocative art, and the kind of mechanical depth that rewards player-driven narratives.

If you’re interested, you can still check out and support the Kickstarter here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/empathchamber/pitchfork-extended-rpg

And if you want to see where it all began, the original One-Page RPG version is still available on itch.io, thanks to the amazing community that helped bring it to life!

Huge thanks to itch.io, the One-Page RPG Jam, and everyone in the indie RPG space who has supported this project. Excited to see where it goes next!

– Christian