Tonight We Rot

TONIGHT WE ROT

A rules-light TTRPG about underground culture at the end of the world. Compatible with MÖRK BORG and influenced by mid-’80s goth, deathrock, industrial, and post-punk.

You’re not heroes, and you’re not saviors. You’re scene kids, burnouts, artists, and parasites.

The end is already happening. It just hasn’t happened all at once. You’re not going to stop the apocalypse. You’re going to make noise until it’s over.

THE WORLD

It’s not the end of the world. But you can hear the rehearsal.
- graffiti outside of Club Grave

The City is a rotting urban sprawl. Nobody seems to know how far it goes. As far as anyone’s concerned, it’s the only City. No one really mentions other places, even if your favorite band’s tour shirt names them. A few places in The City:

Ash Avenue: Burned-out apartments. Back-alley occult shops. The best record stores in The City. Everyone here is either a cultist, a dropout, or in a band. Often all three.

The Deadend: A crumbling stretch of nightlife that refuses to die. You’ll find goth clubs, dive bars, and secret shows. Neon pink light reflects off wet pavement and makes everyone look dead.

The Boiler Flats: Once the industrial heart of the city, now it’s a cold expanse of brick shells and shattered windows. Illegal warehouse shows flare up between rusted machinery and graffiti-tagged loading docks.

WHO YOU PLAY

“This party’s a funeral and I’m the last one dancing.” -  Morbund (Derek Willison)

The Zine Editor - Knows the bands, the clubs, the rumors, and the people trying to keep them buried. The clique’s source for information and secrets.

Scene Royalty - Everyone knows who they are, or at least thinks they do. They’re the face of the clique, able to work a room, draw attention, and throw their reputation around.

F***ing  Poser - Looks the part, talks the talk, and hopes nobody asks too many questions. A wildcard who gets by on bluffing, stealing clout, and shameless confidence.

The Loadbearer - Roadie, bouncer, gear-hauler. The type of person you want around when things get ugly.

The Burnout - Three days awake, running on chemicals and spite, and somehow still moving. A reckless close-range fighter who thrives when everything goes to hell.

Audio Occultist - Uses synthesizers, tape loops, feedback, and electrical noise to cast spells. The clique’s occult weirdo.

MUSIC IS MAGIC

“Everyone knows someone who knows a guy who summoned entities in a basement with an out-of-print cassette and a box of nails.” - DeathAnne

Rituals can be performed through synths and live shows. Cassette tapes become occult artifacts. The right frequency can tear reality open. The wrong one can bring something through.

Magic works, and that’s the problem. Every time you use it, there’s a chance it takes something back.

AFTER DARK

What you'd hear outside a club in The City.
 

THE RULES

Tonight We Rot is compatible with MÖRK BORG.

The rules are stripped-down and d20-based, with player-facing rolls. Make a character quickly, then use the Nights Generator when you need something to do. At the end of each game, roll for Torments. Each roll leaves something permanent behind in The City. On the seventh roll, it's over.

Rot and Assimilate is the introductory adventure. Your clique is hired by a zine to cover the record release party for a local industrial band. Inside the club, a rot-infested frequency turns the crowd murderous.

ADD-ONS

• These Vile Nights - A collection of four adventures for The City. Hospital Waste your clique enters an abandoned hospital to retrieve a surgical camera. In Dawnrazor, a serial killer is targeting artists from the underground. And Show Me Your Spine, your clique is hired to test out cutting-edge music equipment at the cost of your body and soul.
• Bag of band buttons - Buttons featuring bands from The City.
• Map of The City - For all you cartography heads out there, a full size map of The City.
• Prints of selected core book art - Selected full-size prints of artwork from the core book.
• Pad of Character Sheets - A pad of 25 tear-off character sheets.

STRETCH GOALS