Rue From Ruin

Werewolves are bloodthirsty, shapeshifting monsters that stalk the night under the full moon. Legends blame their creation on a curse or other profane origins.

The stories and movies? They're all fake. There's only one problem: Now you're a werewolf, and none of it seems far-fetched— you were betrayed and turned into a werewolf, and that's only the start of your problems.

Werewolves are pack creatures, but this isn't that game. Betrayed, alone, and full of rage, your character undertakes a harrowing journey of troubles and self-discovery. As the narrative evolves in this paranormal horror setting, you realize there may be more to your betrayer's motives.

Cultist Trouble. Illustration by Simone Tametta

The Lunar Call System

Rue From Ruin takes inspiration from many predecessors like Ironsworn, cyanstarlight, The Wretched, Blades in the Dark, and even Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, but the Lunar Call System is a bespoke design. Using tables, dice (D6, D8, & D12), and interwoven game mechanics, you'll create a paint-splatter narrative of your werewolf's experiences during different moon phases.

Track your progress on a character sheet containing all you need to know about your werewolf, their betrayer, and the outcomes of the hunt. The Lunar Call System powers both character choice and their betrayer's efforts to elude them. The system is easy to follow and will allow an evocative tale to unfold as you close on your quarry, encounter setbacks, and ultimately gain greater control over your new reality as a lycanthrope.

At its core, Rue From Ruin is about overcoming troubles afflicting your werewolf and locating your believed betrayer. The game features over 100 escalating troubles you may encounter. Moon phases not only mark passing time but also impact the difficulty of tasks thematically. Special actions are available during the new and full moon when your human and wolf sides each reign supreme.

Overcoming troubles often comes with a cost in addition to other requirements. For example:

Trelosh plays a werewolf character in Rue From Ruin, which they've named Zee. Zee currently has the Track the Betrayer trouble. They must pay a cost to overcome their trouble and eliminate its awful effect.

Trelosh reviews all of Zee's Attributes, Allies, Items, and Powers and decides that they will sacrifice a rank of their Means Attribute for the cost. They reduce Means on the character sheet and cross out the Track the Betrayer trouble!

Costs balance consequences and progress. Take time to improve your character because you may suffer losses from afflicting troubles.

Contributors

Katie Young (Author), Will Munn (Author), Kris McClanahan (Cover Artist), Charlotte Irrgang (Editor), Bee Zelda (Sensitivity Consultant), Simone Tammetta (Interior Artist), Rick Hershey (Interior Artist), Perplexing Ruins (Interior Artist), Remi Munn (interior Artist), Patrice Long (Interior Artist), Kaspian Munn (Interior Artist)