From the First Flame - An Urban Fantasy RPG

Discover a Magical Europe

From the First Flame is a TTRPG Urban Fantasy, set in an alternative Europe and enlightened by the spark of magic. Everything you thought impossible here can be real, alive, and in plain sight. 
Navigate a modern society where creatures of myths and folklore and humans live together, despite their differences.  
The title is a reference to Prometheus' fire, and in our setting it symbolizes the first glimmer of magic on Earth. It’s a gift Mother Nature gave to her children. 
100+ pages Core Rulebook!

You’re part of the legend

Take your role as an Arcanist and start your own adventure! Remember, even the smallest person can make the biggest changes. What extraordinary character will you choose to be?

• The Devil in me
  Devils are not the wicked creatures you’ve been told about. They were born on Earth, just like us, ancient children of Mother Nature. If they now have their own lands, the Seven Hells, it’s only because of the hate that forced their ancestors to create them.
  Choose from seven different types of devil, each with a different culture and unique abilities. 
   
• Grotesque Fairy Tale
  Most Fairies hid themselves in the Otherworld to avoid war with humans, and showed up only to play with them, not for revenge but due to their trickster nature. They live in two different reigns: the Seelie one, with the Courts of Spring and Summer, and the Unseelie one, which possesses the Winter and Autumn Courts. Depending on the type of Fairy you are, your position in the hierarchy will change. 
  However, some of these people decided to stay on Earth, hiding in forests, seas, or among humankind. They don’t follow the Otherworld rules, or their monarchs.
   
• An ancient Myth
  Mythoi is a term used to identify a vast number of people from European myths, especially the ones from the Mediterranean basin. Satyrs, Nymphs, Lycan, they’re so different that it’s impossible to talk about them like a singular culture; however, they were put together because they all came from humans modified by the magic in their environment, in ancient time.
  Playing a Mythos means you’re going to have a special connection with the World, and with all its fruits. 
   
• The Witch left unburnt
  Witches are a different kind of human, one that’s able to control arcane magic and use it at their advantage. Their unique bond with their power made spirits interested in them, thousands of years ago; for this reason, every witch has a familiar to help them find their way. 
  Ancient families rule the arcane society, continuing their legacy and showing their strength. However, common witches are more and represent how much Europe wants to change. What side will you take?
   
• Child of two worlds 
  Sometimes, your identity can be a complex mix, and you can find yourself between two different cultures and realities. Sometimes it means prestige, others it means nothing, but the unlucky children, like Imps, know being a half-blood can also be a nightmare. 
  Explore what it means to be born in the middle, its perks and its struggles. No matter what road you take, you’re still you. 
   
• What you call a monster
  Curses change your life forever, and for now it’s impossible to cure them. Vampires and Werebeasts know that, and are just now being accepted as a part of society, even if many humans still think of them as monsters. Would you like to know what it means to have chaos in your blood?
  Moreover, if an enchanter decides to try a heinous crime, like a modern Victor Frankenstein, a life can be used to create another being. That, for society, is considered an abomination. 

Between rebellion and tradition

A large part of the Arcane Society is very fond of its traditions, as they are part of an identity they had to protect fiercely in the past, to avoid disappearing in the folds of time. There’s beauty in this legacy, but also the signs of a decadent system that doesn’t want to let its power go. 
In the underground, now that the city life is an integral part of their lives, the new generations protest for a growth that will make the World a better place for everyone. How to build a bright future, without letting our roots be forgotten?

Under the Surface

Seekers of knowledge, technomagic cultists, dangerous criminal groups… under the cracking facade of society there’s a universe of secrets, some of them much more dangerous than the others. You may be an Arcanist, but be careful: curiosity will kill the cat, if you’re not.

A world for your stories

Our idea with From the First Flame is to give you a worldbuilding with a ton of ideas and suggestions, so that you and your party could have a place to set your own story. We just wrote the premise, but the tale is yours, and the Bard (or Game Master) will guide it. 

The world of From the First Flame is complicated, with many flaws that reflect real-life ones. We think that it’s important to represent these kinds of topics in our world, even if in a different reality. So, don’t be surprised when you’ll find social battles as a key part of our lore.
Also, this game is unapologetically LGBTQIA+, and we hope it can help to create safe spaces.
We stand against every type of discrimination and oppression, and our work is going to reflect our views.

How to Play

The system of From the First Flame is built on how many successes you can obtain in a roll, which are needed to pass tests with difficult variability. 

To the action roll a number of d8 equal to 1 Characteristic + 1 or 2 Abilities, combining them in a coherent way to your action. 
The player says what they want to use, but the Bard can give advice or ask for changes in case they think the choice isn’t coherent on a narrative level.
The Bard can ask for a Roll Characteristic + Characteristic, in situations where the reaction must be immediate: for example, to dodge a surprise attack or when they try to get rid of a Condition. 

Every even number corresponds to 1 success, the only exception is 8, which value is 2 successes. 
The odd numbers don’t count, except for the number 1, which eliminates a success and transforms an eventual failure into a critical failure. In safe scenes a critical failure creates only a narrative inconvenience, but in dangerous ones the Bard can decide to inflict a Wound or a Condition to the Arcanist. 

The Call of Hecate:
Arcanists can amplify their powers and magic by summoning the arcane flame, which gave them birth.
It allows you to reroll a dice, start with a guaranteed success, help an ally or many other things, you just need to spend your Primordial Points. Every player starts with 8 Primordial Points, and can regain a part of them resting. 

Try our Quickstart

If you want to try our game, here’s the Quickstart! 
You can leave us feedback if you’d like, so that we could find new ways to make it more entertaining for players and masters.

Click one of the two banner below to select the language!

Pledge Levels

Moon Agent

With this pledge you'll get the From the First Flame Core Rulebook and the Kickstarter exclusive Hollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things.

Everything is in digital format.

What are you waiting for? This strange reality could use an Arcanist like you! 

• From the First Flame Core Rulebook, 100+ pages.
• Hollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things
  A strange catalogue about interesting magical artefacts, places and creatures. This is a Kickstarter exclusive.

Truth Seeker

With this pledge you'll get the From the First Flame Core Rulebook, the Kickstarter exclusive Hollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things and Cronache Italiane (collection of three one-shots).

Everything is in digital format. 

Remember, magic can be a magnificent thing, but it can also be scary as any product of our souls. 

• From the First Flame Core Rulebook, 100+ pages.
• Hollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things
  A strange catalogue about interesting magical artefacts, places and creatures. This is a Kickstarter exclusive.
• Cronache Italiane (Italian Chronicles)
  Three one-shots that can be played singularly or as a short campaign; after all, there's a thread that connects these cases, and an enemy that needs to be stopped.

Arcane Hacker

With this pledge you'll get the From the First Flame Core Rulebook, the Kickstarter exclusive Hollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things, the expansion How to Survive in Another Realm and Cronache Italiane (collection of three one-shots).

Everything is in digital format.

Maybe your next holiday will be full of adventures!

• From the First Flame Core Rulebook, 100+ pages.
• Hollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things
  A strange catalogue about interesting magical artefacts, places and creatures.Thisis a Kickstarter exclusive.
• Cronache Italiane (Italian Chronicles)
  Three one-shots that can be played singularly or as a short campaign; after all, there's a thread that connects these cases, and an enemy that needs to be stopped.
• How to Survive in Another Realm
  Grab your backpacks, we are going far, far away! 
  Would you like to visit a casino in Asmodeus' realm, while admiring the artistic beauty of its cities? Are you ready to experience the magic of the Otherworld? These little tricksters love to prank tourists, but their Courts are magnificent, you should see for yourself! If you wanna live some crazy adventures in another realm, this is the guide for you, my friend! 
  This Manual contains more information about the Seven Hells and the Otherworld, from geography to local costumes, arts and even politics.

Flame Herald

This is an Early Bird discount for the first 72 hours.

With this pledge you'll get the From the First Flame Core Rulebook , the Kickstarter exclusiveHollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things, Cronache Italiane(collection of three one-shots)and the expansionHow to Survive in Another Realm. Plus the Setting supplement The Arcane Society: our people, its secrets.

Everything is in digital format. 

Our society is as complicated as beautiful and full of secrets. 

• From the First Flame Core Rulebook, 100+ pages.
• Hollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things
  A strange catalogue about interesting magical artefacts, places and creatures. This is a Kickstarter exclusive.
• Cronache Italiane (Italian Chronicles)
  Three one-shots that can be played singularly or as a short campaign; after all, there's a thread that connects these cases, and an enemy that needs to be stopped.
• How to Survive in Another Realm
  Grab your backpacks, we are going far, far away! 
  Would you like to visit a casino in Asmodeus' realm, while admiring the artistic beauty of its cities? Are you ready to experience the magic of the Otherworld? These little tricksters love to prank tourists, but their Courts are magnificent, you should see for yourself! If you wanna live some crazy adventures in another realm, this is the guide for you, my friend! 
  This Manual contains more information about the Seven Hells and the Otherworld, from geography to local costumes, arts and even politics.
• The Arcane Society: our people, its secrets
  With this supplement, you can learn more about the world of From the First Flame, digging deeper in its society. Discover more about historical figures, important Witch families, unique legendary creatures, and so much more! 

Flame Herald

With this pledge you'll get the From the First Flame Core Rulebook , the Kickstarter exclusive Hollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things, Cronache Italiane (collection of three one-shots) and the expansion How to Survive in Another Realm. Plus the Setting Supplement The Arcane Society: our people, its secrets.

Everything is in digital format. 

Our society is as complicated as beautiful and full of secrets. 

• From the First Flame Core Rulebook, 100+ pages.
• Hollowverne's Bizarre Guide to Marvelous Things
  A strange catalogue about interesting magical artefacts, places and creatures. This is a Kickstarter exclusive.
• Cronache Italiane (Italian Chronicles)
  Three one-shots that can be played singularly or as a short campaign; after all, there's a thread that connects these cases, and an enemy that needs to be stopped.
• How to Survive in Another Realm
  Grab your backpacks, we are going far, far away! 
  Would you like to visit a casino in Asmodeus' realm, while admiring the artistic beauty of its cities? Are you ready to experience the magic of the Otherworld? These little tricksters love to prank tourists, but their Courts are magnificent, you should see for yourself! If you wanna live some crazy adventures in another realm, this is the guide for you, my friend! 
  This Manual contains more information about the Seven Hells and the Otherworld, from geography to local costumes, arts and even politics.
• The Arcane Society: our people, its secrets.
  With this supplement, you can learn more about the world of From the First Flame, digging deeper in its society. Discover more about historical figures, important Witch families, unique legendary creatures, and so much more! 

Stretch Goals

In case the project succeeds, and funds exceed our expectations, we’ve set different Stretch Goals. Our most sincere thanks to the association Il Salotto di Giano for their support and collaboration.

Every backer will get a newOne-Shot written by the creative minds of "Avventurieri di Giano", from Il Salotto di Giano.  They're all incredible adventurers!
This Unlocked content will be featured in every pledge.

This Expansion will explore the seven most famous Universities of Sorcery in Europe. How do they operate in the society? When were they founded? What is their story? 
With this Stretch Goal, you will have more information if you want to play in an Academic setting. Everyone loves a magical school.
This Unlocked content will be featured in every pledge.

This is an indie project with a low budget. So, if the budget is higher, we can pay a talented artist for more illustrations in our Core Rulebook!
This Unlocked content will be featured in every pledge.

Some lives are created artificially, and in From the First Flame lore that's what gave birth to Messangers, legendary creatures most would call Angels. 
Investigate their origin, and solve an incredible ancient mystery!  
This Unlocked content will be featured in every pledge.

Policies about Art

Unfortunately, we don't have a professional artist on our team now, but if the project succeeds, we are going to hire someone for covers and illustrations. 
We don't care if it's easier, we're not going to use any type of AI. We want something made with the passion of an artist, not by a soulless machine that steals from others.
We are not professionals but, if necessary, we prefer to use our drawings, instead of a machine. Hopefully, we’ll have the money to hire artists. We want to work with human souls and see their vision in their art.

We are currently using different programs for editing, typesetting and ocasionally drawing: Canva Pro, Affinity, Medibang Pro and Krita.

Inspirations

Many things have inspired us as creatives, and we want to include a list of the most inportant works, those which have helped us shape From the First Flame.

Reverse 1999 (Bluepoch), Little Witch Academia (Studio Trigger, Yō Yoshinari, Masahiko Ōtsuka), The Owl House (Dana Terrace), Fear & Hunger Termina (Miro Haverinen), Arcane (Fortiche Production), His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman), Nimona (Nate Stevenson), and the incredible World of Darkness.

Press & Info

About us

Cerfnoir Project
We are Michelle Epifani and Alex De Santis, and we founded Cerfnoir Project in 2024. Our goal is to share From the First Flame, as well as other future creations, with people who might find them interesting, and improve ourselves with every step.

Collettivo dei Mondi
We are part of a group called Collettivo dei Mondi with other writers and creators: Macabre Punk and Lallotales. This has been possible thanks to La Porta dei Mondi, which hosts us and gives us space to show our games.

If you want to try one of our works, you can join us on discord (for now, only in Italian).

Follow us
You can find our works on itch.io: https://cerfnoir-project.itch.io/
Or on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/it/publisher/33249/cerfnoir-project

For our italian followers: cerfnoir_project
For our international followers: @cerfnoir-project.bsky.social

Illustrations artist: Angiedragoness 
Logo artist: Ekate Visual Designer