Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Befallen can be played solo or with a small group, with or without a GM. It has a custom dice system that threads through skill rolls and combat that smashes your roll DC and your skill roll into a single dice throw, meaning if you're playing solo or without a GM you aren't rolling against yourself.

A banner with the title “Befallen” on a collage of artwork. From left to right: a sea monster with the front half of a shark and the back half of a kraken crushing a ship in it’s tentacles; a village with nordic-inspired architecture nestled in a misty pine forest; a door frame wreathed in pink flowers standing in the middle of a burning village, from which emerges a giant hand; a seaside village overhung with ominous green clouds; a being of twisted metal and glowing embers, twisting the clouds between it’s fingers.

April 27, 2025 at 4:02 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

You’ll create your character, take on quests, unravel plots, fight monsters and try not to be corrupted by dangerous otherworldly entities intent on gaining a foothold in our world, all while unraveling your obsession—the mystery that you have dedicated yourself to solve.

A man kneels in a forest, leaning on his unsheathed sword. He is overshadowed by a tall growth of intertwining plants behind him—the foliage and branches forming the vague shape of a humanoid, with hand outstretched towards the kneeling man. Tiny seedlings sprout from the man, tearing through his skin and clothes as they seek the sunlight.

A mesmer of bliss: a possessing spirit that feeds off of pleasant dreams. It is a humanoid figure, with the legs of an insect, the armless torso of a woman and skin that shifts between yellow and fuschia. From it’s back sprout the massive opalescent petals of a flower, like the wings of a butterfly, glowing with magical blue pollen.

April 27, 2025 at 4:02 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Befallen is the Deal of the Day today on @drivethrurpg.com !!!!

Befallen is a bit like if you smashed together Lovecraftian cosmic horror, with the Magnus Archives and set it in the world of Dark Souls—and it's 70% off!

www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...

Befallen cover art. A knight sits on a boulder, cleaning his sword. Blue crystals grow from between the joints in his armor, covering his shoulder and protruding from the visor of his helmet. In the background, crystal formations sprout from the ground as a village burns, sending up a plume of purple smoke that blots out the sun.

April 27, 2025 at 4:02 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

About once every 6 months I remember that I'm still obsessed with this album

Screenshot of Spotify playing Placebo's album, "Meds".

December 8, 2024 at 1:50 AM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

And Muse, my little solo journalling game about being an artist haunted by an eldritch muse, is always free.

www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/4...
circe10.itch.io/muse

Muse. A solo journaling game of eldritch creativity. An easel stands in teh middle of a dark room, blank canvas ready to be painted on. A small table, splattered with stands next the easel, adorned only with a paint-covered can holding old brushes. All around the easel, a collage of multicoloured paint splashes litter the floor. Out of the darkness behind the easel, a multiarmed creature, with spiralling patterns across it's mouthless face, emerges in a sea of stars.

December 1, 2024 at 3:53 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Every game maker is competing for air space and attention in this, the days of fat sales. But yes, both of my big GMless games are quite discounted right now, so if you wanted to try them, now's a good time:

Drivethru:
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/5...
www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/3...

December 1, 2024 at 3:53 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Forgot to include the alt text on this image (shaaaame). So reuploading the image with alt-text and a bonus bit of art that hasn't made it's way into a post yet - an Avatar of the Watcher Beneath the Waves (a dead god and one of the Corrupting Powers).

Oathbound Hunter. An oath is a powerful, sacred and magical thing—a promise given and a binding willingly placed upon your soul. Oathbound Hunters are fighters, enforcers, trackers and killers who bonded themselves through the ancient practice of oathbinding to an order or deity. They seek out their goals with a single minded determination born of their oath.
Here, you’ll find 3 binding oaths to choose from:
- Order of the Brass Shield
- Packmate of the Wild Hunt
- Whispers of the Last Gasp

November 18, 2024 at 5:14 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

The Awakened Scholars are researchers who delve into occult mysteries. They wield the magic of reflections and harmonics, risking corruption for power and arcane knowledge. In play, Awakened Scholars can tap into the mirror dimension and craft profane artifacts, but are always battling corruption.

Awakened Scholar. Nestled amongst the Northern mountain ranges, in the shadow of The Teeth and hidden from the prying eyes of the rest of the world lies the College of Enlightened Analysis. Here, college scholars use scientific methods to delve into arcane mysteries, relying on a state of awakening achieved through contact with a dead god to broaden their awareness. These scholars have tapped into many forces, once thought mystical or arcane, and bent them to their experiments—most notably, the forces of harmonics and reflections.

November 18, 2024 at 4:20 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Back Alley Duelists are the descendants of a cultural tradition of duelling that was suppressed, but never lost. In game, they are slippery combat masters who have a special move where they can execute a combo to one-shot their opponent (If you've played Utopia, you'll recognize Kill Shot)

Back Alley Duelist. In the city of Karn, blade masters stalk the alleyways, engaging in duels beneath the light of the full moon, trying to build their legends, heap honor upon their name, or reclaim honor long lost. It is said that the Goddess of the Moon is the patron of fools and those who are lost, with no place to go.
Here, you’ll find two paths to choose from:
Glory Seeker
Forgotten Blades of the Moon

November 18, 2024 at 4:16 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Rogue Alchemists have one skill: brew elixir. They instead learn recipes for elixirs to do everything from burn down the world, to turn themselves into werewolves. And as they gain more skilled, they can produce more doses with each crafting, filling out a grab bag of useful alchemical tools.

Rogue Alchemist. The teachings of the alchemical arts are closely guarded by the Alchemical Orders: The Order of the Gleaming Dawn, the Order of the Twilight Moon and the Order of the Silver Phial. They restrict their knowledge to a chosen few students who follow their strict rules and hold to their regimented value system. However, there are those few alchemists who eschew the strictures of the Orders and learn the secrets of alchemy through their own experimentation or by stealing the secrets held by the orders. These are known as Rogue Alchemists.

Elixir Recipes:
Healing Elixir (1 resource; d6 challenge): Recover 2 fortitude.
Alchemist’s Acid (1 resource; d6 challenge): You can apply this elixir to an object such as a door or lock, to weaken it, reducing the challenge die when interacting to a d6. You may also use this item when you take the Attack action in combat. If you do, roll with Artifice instead of Strike.
Explosive Vial (1 resource; d6 challenge): When using this item to blow up an object, roll with Artifice. You may also use this item when you take the Attack action in combat. If you do, roll with Artifice instead of Strike.
Ethereal Elixir (2 resources; d8 challenge): An elixir that causes your body to briefly shift into the ethereal plane, a parallel plane of existence where you can move unseen, and pass through solid objects up to 2 feet in thickness, before returning to the physical world. This elixir lasts 1 minute.
Elixir of Weightlessness (2 resources; d8 challenge): An elixir that causes your body to temporarily lose its mass, becoming weightless. While this elixir is in effect, you can propel yourself through the air by pushing off objects. The elixir lasts up to 10 minutes.
Mutagen (2 resources; d8 challenge): An elixir developed by the Order of the Gleaming Dawn. When you use this elixir you become faster and stronger for the rest of the current day, adding an additional d10 to your dice pool when making a roll with Strong or Deft.
Basilisk Blood Elixir (3 resources; d10 challenge): An elixir developed by the Order of the Silver Phial. When you drink this elixir, your skin hardens to stone. Whenever you would take damage, roll 2 defensive dice (this stacks with armor). The elixir lasts until the end of the current combat scenario.
Silver Moon Elixir (3 resources; d10 challenge): An elixir developed by the Order of the Twilight Moon. When you drink this elixir, you turn into a werewolf, or other lycanthropic form.

November 18, 2024 at 4:11 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Bronze Brokers are servants of the Bronze God of Debt. They collect rumors and gossip wherever they go and weaponize it in their favor, building networks of informers to feed them gossip and shackle their opponents with the debt of the bronze god to weigh them down.
(One of the most unique classes)

Bronze Broker. Finding its origin in the city of Ravensward, a den of
warring criminal factions
and religious zealotry, the
Bronze Vault is at once
international bank, mafia-led protection racket and temple
to the bronze god of debt.
The Bronze Vault has branches in every major city in every corner of the world, lending money to rich and poor, businesses and monarchs, alike.
The Bronze Vault always collects on its debts, taking what it is owed and much more. It is the job of the brokers of the Bronze Vault to leave the walls of their temples and wring payment from those who would default on their debts. The Bronze God gifts his brokers with an unnatural intuition for ferreting out secrets and connecting information—information they employ to compel others to obey them. Many brokers take up their role to work off their own debts to the Vault, though many stay on after their debts are paid, drawn by the wealth purloined from debtors or the lures of the Bronze God.

November 18, 2024 at 4:06 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

The Fated Hero is touched by the Crone of Fate. They bend fate around them and wield a magical weapon that grows with them, physically evolving and gaining more and more powerful effects. Playing a Fated Hero, you're going to interact with Fate a lot - a metacurrency that lets you reroll a die.

Fated Hero. There have always been stories of great heroes who push past their limits to slay monsters, battle villains and defend the weak. Despite seemingly insurmountable odds, they always seem to prevail, as though the Crone of Fate themself had decreed their victories.
Fated heroes are those for whom the Crone of Fate had decreed a great destiny. They are resilient in the face of overwhelming odds and survive when others would fall.

November 18, 2024 at 4:03 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Salt Sorcerers learn their magic from familiar spirits and are the biggest users of Hedge Magic. They sing the beasts of the deep and summon spirits to do their bidding - a risky ritual where the spirit could potentially complete any task for the sorcerer, but could turn on them just as easily.

Salt Sorcerer. For hundreds of years, Salt Sorcerers have learned their craft in the coastal salt marshes where land meets sea, freshwater meets salt, and storms roll across the horizon. They eschew the gods of the cityfolk to commune directly with the spirits of the land, learning spellcraft from their familiar spirits.
Although they refer to themselves as the Medean, they have come to be known more widely as Salt Sorcerers for the accumulated salt that they gather from the reeds and herbs of the salt marshes. They use this salt to cast ritual circles or inscribe magical symbols when combined with herbs and oils.
It has become common for merchants to hire a salt sorcerer to ward their caravans against attacks from bandits and monsters, or for those traveling into deeper waters to hire a Salt Sorcerer to travel aboard the ship and sing magical songs to lull the most dangerous sea creatures to sleep.

An old sorceress, shrouded in a ritual blindfold looks upwards as a conjured spirit twists in the air above her.

November 18, 2024 at 4:00 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

The Oathbound Hunter is the closest thing to a Fighter in Befallen. They focus on combat with an ability that allows them to land a flurry of blows every time they hit and gain additional abilities based on the order they have bound themselves to.... (Cont'd)

November 18, 2024 at 3:56 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Now for probably the biggest fan-favorite: the Forge Witch. Forge witches tap into the power of their goddess, the Forge Mother, to channel rejuvinating hearth fires and fierce forge fires. They can bind spirits into items they forge to create magic items.

Full-page art by @katakemi.bsky.social

Forge Witch. The Forge Mother is the goddess of the hearth and the forge—giver of warmth and life-giving bread, who protects her followers and hones unshapen metal into useful tools and deadly weapons. Forge witches are her chosen disciples. They are masters of hammer, forge and hearth; able to coax flames with unrivaled skill. They ignite the flames of the forge within themselves and traffic with the spirits of metal and flame, awakening life within the objects they craft by binding spirits into them beneath their hammers. They often serve as wise-folk in many smaller communities, offering their services smithing and crafting charms to protect the community and cure minor ailments. Forge Witches cast magical spells by igniting collections of herbs or other materials in their forge, or by crafting small trinkets from clay or metal.

A forge witch stands wreathed in flames, drawing the power of the Forge Mother, the goddess of hearth and forge, into the sword in her hand. She is adornbed with metal jewelry that carries the blessings of her goddess and the forge hammer- the tool of her trade.
Art by Kata Kemi

November 18, 2024 at 3:49 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Memento belong to a lineage cursed to have all memories of them forgotten mere moments after they are formed. They can counteract this memory loss by leaving others with small tokens to hold those memories. Mementos leverage this ability to move unseen and manipulate or tap into memories.

Memento. Orran Felding was a duellist and bard, descended from a disgraced noble house; renowned for his quick wit, quick swordplay and his sticky fingers. He traveled from court to court, plying his skills with lute and sword in an attempt to make a name for himself and rekindle his family fortunes. However, his penchant for petty theft put him in the sights of a sorceress of the Varrae, who placed a curse on him guaranteeing that his name would never be remembered. Generations later, Felding’s descendants continue to carry his curse. Memories of interactions with them immediately begin to slip from people’s memories after they are out of sight, unless they have a memento to remind them of the interaction.

November 18, 2024 at 3:45 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

The Masked Visage is a magical artisan who uses a special magic, derived from doppelgangers, to create masks that allow them to copy the form of a person, animal or even a demon they bind into the mask.

Visages are all about swapping out their skills for other skills to fit their situation.

Masked Visage. Queen Nerra Albaysian, of Aikoria uncovered a doppelganger in her court. It had been masquerading as various people, including a hand maid and one of her closest advisors. After this discovery, Queen Nerra became obsessed with understanding the magic of doppelgangers and through years of experimentation created a technique by which she could steal the likeness of others through the crafting of magical masks. Nerra passed these secrets on to her daughters and they to their daughters down the line of succession until the kingdom of Aikoria fell. Now Nerra’s techniques are resurfacing again in the hands of charlatans, con artists and spies. Some theorize that it might have been the intervention of these criminal elements and their desire for Nessa’s techniques that led to the downfall of Aikoria itself.
How did you learn the mask making techniques? Was your master allied with the royals of Aikoria or with the criminal elements who orchestrated the fall of the empire and theft of its secret arts?

November 18, 2024 at 3:41 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

The Gentian Virtuoso is a magical musician, who draws on the trapped spirits of musicians past to perform perfect feats of music.

In game, they use their music to entrance or incapacitate others. This ability can take the place of normal combat moves so that a Virtuoso can play enemies to sleep.

Gentian Virtuoso. The virtuosos of the Gentian Conservatory are master musicians who seek to craft the most artful, pure expressions of music. To achieve this aim, they conjure the spirits of great musicians of the past and trap them in the Melodicus, a massive structure of gold, rune-etched-glass and mystical artifice. The Gentians utilize solos—talismans of gold, crystal and glass—to channel the collective knowledge and skill of these captive souls to create unimaginable feats of musical genius that are entrancing and sometimes dangerous to those who hear them.

November 18, 2024 at 3:37 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

Reviews and comments for Befallen are trickling in and a lot of them are talking about the unique character classes in the book, so I thought I'd put together a thread talking about them 🧵🧵🧵

My class design philosophy is that each class should play the game in a fundamentally different way.

November 18, 2024 at 3:37 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

The books look fantastic, but Tibbers isn't as interested.

November 15, 2024 at 11:40 PM

David Markiwsky

@davidmarkiwsky.bsky.social

My copy of @shawntomkin.bsky.social's "Sundered Isles" arrived today. Tibbers is more interested in obsessively popping every bubble on the bubble wrap it was wrapped in.