The Witch of Myrkholt — A Solo Gamebook of the Deck of Fate

THE ROAD TO MYRKHOLT

Oakhaven, year 1008. A trader who usually travels alone hires a bow — you. He is leaving the safety of Oakhaven's city walls to follow an old road and a river towards a forest legendary for its dangers: Myrkholt.

Do you dare to discover what the road to the wilderness will reveal?

The Witch of Myrkholt is a solo gamebook of witchcraft, fate and hidden loyalties — and your first step into Mittmark, a fantasy world that has been played, mapped and written for more than 40 years.

PLAY THE FIRST PART FREE — RIGHT NOW

Don't take my word for it. The opening of the road is free to play in your browser, on your phone or your computer. No download, no account, no data collected.

▶ Play the free demo: game-of-crowns.itch.io/the-witch-of-myrkholt

WHAT YOU ARE BACKING

- The Witch of Myrkholt — the complete digital gamebook: more than 150 numbered sections, two parts, two heroines.
- THE THREE — the first three art cards of the Deck of Fate: The Witch, The Abbess and The Daughter.
- Three more cards for every stretch goal we reach — up to the full 33-card Deck of Fate.
- Your name in the backer roll, and membership of the Mittmark Guild.

THE STORY

You are Tansy, a young archer from Holtmark, new to the harbour city of Oakhaven, with a long bow, twelve arrows and a purse that will not last long. Alcuin the trader needs a bow on the road and a strong pair of hands to push his cart over the hills. The pay is fair. The questions start at the gate.

PART I: Three days of road lie between the city and the forest: an old toll tower above a lake, a fireplace where travelers rest before entering the dark forest of Myrkholt. Whom you trust, what you notice and what you keep to yourself will shape what waits at the end of the road. 

PART II: And twelve years later, year 1020, you are back beneath the dark trees.

HOW IT PLAYS

- Read a section, make your choice, and follow where it leads.
- Every roll and every fight is handled for you — no dice, no pencil, no paper.
- Your character sheet keeps track of your hit points, gear, silver and what you have learned.
- Plays in any modern browser on phone, tablet or computer, and saves as you go.
- For one player, using the Quick Combat system — compatible with the first edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game.
- Many roads and several endings. Death is possible. So is mercy.

THE DECK OF FATE

In Mittmark there are magic cards from the Old Kingdom. Once drawn, they rule the fates of those they touch.

The Deck of Fate has 33 cards, each tied to a person, a place or a thing in the story — and the cards hold more together than they do alone. 

Every card begins with my own drawing and is finished as a worn card that looks centuries old. Real tarot size, 7 × 12 cm, delivered as high-resolution files, a print-at-home PDF and a print-ready PDF you can take to any print shop.

Your pledge starts you with THE THREE: I The Witch, II The Abbess and III The Daughter.

If we unlock the whole deck, every card backer receives a secret surprise. Let us just say the cards were never meant to sit still.

Card pictures on this page are promotional; the final cards may differ in detail.

STRETCH GOALS

Every 1,500 SEK raised unlocks 3 new art cards for every backer of The Turning of the Card.

3,000 SEK — FUNDED: the book + THE THREE (The Witch · The Abbess · The Daughter)
4,500 SEK — Sealed trio
6,000 SEK — Sealed trio
7,500 SEK — Sealed trio
9,000 SEK — Sealed trio
10,500 SEK — Sealed trio
12,000 SEK — Sealed trio
13,500 SEK — Sealed trio
15,000 SEK — Sealed trio
16,500 SEK — Sealed trio
18,000 SEK — The final sealed trio: the full 33-card Deck of Fate — and a secret surprise for all who backed the project if we reach it.

Each sealed trio is revealed the moment we reach it.

WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT

- Good old OSR-style and feeling from first page to last.
- A real world, not a backdrop: every road, distance and hour is checked against Mittmark's maps and world encyclopedia.
- Folk witchcraft of herbs, likeness and old law — not fireballs.
- Plays instantly in your browser. No app store, no download, no dice to roll.
- Art cards that belong to the story, not beside it.
- Hand-drawn world art by the author.

THE WORLD OF MITTMARK

Mittmark has been a living campaign world for more than 40 years — one of Sweden's longest-running first-edition fantasy roleplaying campaigns — with its own maps, history, calendar and rune alphabet, gathered in The Mittmark Encyclopedia. Its tales have already been told in the Swedish novel DEX Legendarium, with an English audiobook ("DEX AUDIOBOOK" is available at Apple Store and Google Play - right now with an extra low campaign price if you want to hear more about Mittmark and experience the feeling of a character driver 1E AD&D adventure. There is a demo available and the whole audio book is 24+ hours long. No data collected. Enjoy the Dexperience!)

The Witch of Myrkholt is a side tale and a first introduction to Mittmark. It stands on its own. More books are coming — starting with Game of Crowns, Book I: Myrkholt, (450+ sections), the first of a twelve-book series. This campaign is for The Witch of Myrkholt only. A small introduction to a strange but yet familiar world (150+ sections).

TIMELINE

- October 2026 — campaign
- November 2026 — The Witch of Myrkholt and THE THREE delivered to backers
- Following months — unlocked cards delivered trio by trio
- 31 March 2027 at the latest — the whole unlocked deck delivered

THE MITTMARK GUILD

Every backer joins the Mittmark Guild — first to receive news, updates and special offers and small treats from the world of Mittmark. Contact: mittmark@protonmail.com

ABOUT THE CREATOR

Walter Allvin is a Swedish author and illustrator and the sole creator of Mittmark. He has built the world for more than 40+ years as one of Sweden's longest-running first-edition fantasy roleplaying campaigns, written the Swedish novel DEX Legendarium, and now brings Mittmark to players as the Game of Crowns gamebook series. The Witch of Myrkholt is written, designed and illustrated by Walter Allvin.

A WORD ON AI

The Witch of Myrkholt is my own story, set in a world I have built for more than 40 years, and the world art on this page is drawn entirely by my own hand. AI is the tool that lets one small creator do what would otherwise have been impossible  — and I tell you exactly how it is used in my presentation video (and in the "Use of AI" section below.)