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Regular Volk

Version 1.6.5
Cursed folk heroes who shapeshift into beasts in a world of German fairy tales
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fantasy
Rules-LightBeginner-FriendlyNarrativeCharacter-DrivenTheater of the MindOne-Shot FriendlyLow-PrepOpen Source
✦ Indie Creator Submitted
Languages: English
Dice2d6
System FamilyStandalone
CostFree
LicenseCC BY-NC-SA 4.0
PublisherTimo Acker
Year2026
Complexity Low
Accessibility Very High
Runnability Medium

Core Mechanic

Roll 2d6, add the relevant stat plus small bonuses for a fitting item or trait, and meet or beat the Difficulty Score the GM sets. The same check resolves every action, attack, and beast action. Edge and Trouble add a third d6 and drop the lowest or highest die. Rolling double sixes on an attack lands a critical hit.

Best For

Groups who want a short, low-prep fairy-tale one-shot or brief campaign centered on a controlled shapeshifting risk, where a character's powerful beast form can consume them if they lean on it too often. It suits tables new to tabletop RPGs who still want some build texture from ancestry and curse choices.

Highlights

Failing a roll while in Beast Form builds Beast Points, which escalate through animalistic compulsions and stacking debuffs to permanently trapping the character in beast form. Folding the character sheet along a marked line physically hides the volk abilities and reveals the beast ones, so the sheet itself shows which form a character is in. The GM builds any fairytale creature by picking one of five power tiers and an archetype such as Glass Cannon or Heavy Hitter, each carrying preset Difficulty Score, HP, and modifiers.

Considerations

Combat uses no maps, grid, or positioning rules, so groups who want tactical movement or terrain play get no mechanical support for it. Entering Beast Form fully replaces a character's volk abilities, items, and weapons, so beast powers can never be combined with human-form gear in the same moment. A character who reaches 0 Health Points rolls on the Fate table, where a result of 6 or lower on the unmodified 2d6 means an immediate death that no bonus can prevent.