Trophy: Dark, Gold, and Loom

by Jesse Ross and Jason Cordova

We have just concluded the Trophy incursion-writing contest. Congratulations to the winner, Linda Codega (Southern Holler), and the three fabulous runners-up: Gabriel Robinson (Gift of the Sea), Natalie Ash (The Huntsman’s Feast), and Michael Van Vleet (A Warm and Pleasant Hum). You can read these and all the other entries on The Gauntlet Forums. 

We recorded a special podcast episode to announce and discuss the winner and runners-up, which you can listen to right here. We also announced that we will be Kickstarting THREE Trophy books early next year, and those three books are the focus of this blog post. 

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Trophy Dark, Trophy Gold, Trophy Loom

​Here they are! These are mock-ups, and the images aren’t quite finalized, but you still get a good sense of what the books will look like. Each book will be 7”x10” hardcover, approximately 120 full-color pages, with a partial cloth binding, foil stamp, and ribbon bookmark.

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More about Trophy Dark

What we were previously calling “original” or “core” Trophy is now called Trophy Dark. Trophy Dark is a game of dark fantasy and psychological horror, about doomed treasure-hunters exploring an environment that doesn’t want them there. It’s designed to be played as a one-shot, perfect for convention play or as a tragic side story in your regular, long-term game. 

Here’s what the Trophy Dark book will include:

• A new ruleset, expanded and clarified from what was originally published in Codex - Dark 2. 
• Tips for running a great game of Trophy Dark.
• A handy, step-by-step sequence of events for running Trophy Dark (similar to the one found in Girl Underground).
• Guidelines for creating your own incursions. 
• Over a dozen incursions, from Codex and elsewhere, written by a diverse group of creators. 
• Ideas for using Trophy Dark as part of another game (such as a funnel for Trophy Gold, or flashbacks and side stories for other fantasy games). 

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More about Trophy Gold

Trophy Gold is a game of desperate treasure-hunters exploring the lost and forgotten places of the world. It takes the core rules of Trophy Dark and expands them for use in a more traditional, long-term fantasy campaign. The game mashes together story game and OSR principles to create a gameplay experience that is fast, flexible, and deep. 

Here’s what the Trophy Gold book will include:

• A new ruleset, expanded and clarified from what was originally published in Codex - Gold.
• New rules for journeys between incursions, and expanded “back at home” rules. 
• Tips for running a great game of Trophy Gold.
• An example-of-play transcript. 
• Guidelines for creating your own incursions plus guidelines for converting existing modules to Trophy Gold. 
• New backgrounds, occupations, and equipment. 
• Over a hundred different ritual and saints, based on the classic B/X D&D magic-user and cleric spells. 
• Brand new incursions, unique to Trophy Gold. 

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More about Trophy Loom

Trophy Loom is a setting book for the world of Trophy. It will outline all the major places, people, and strange creatures of the shared world of Trophy Dark and Trophy Gold. There are a few key details you need to know about this book:

• It will be completely system agnostic, so you can use it with Trophy Dark, Trophy Gold, or any fantasy game system you prefer. 
• It will be comprised largely of tables. Each location will have some general information common to any game set in the world of Trophy, but will otherwise be comprised of tables that include rumors, historical details, and myths about that location, so you can “weave” your own version of the Trophy world. 
• The Trophy Loom tables will be written in a highly-innovative way: some will be crowdsourced by the folks who make up the awesome, vibrant Trophy RPG community, and others will be written by specific creators from the OSR and indie communities. If you’d like to participate in the crowdsourcing, you can do so right here.

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We’re very excited about Trophy Dark, Trophy Gold, and Trophy Loom. We have been working on this project for a long time, and we have been so humbled by all the folks taking this journey with us. These books are going to be very, very special, and we can’t wait to share them with you! 

Get updates on everything we’re doing with Trophy by following us on Twitter @trophyrpg and signing up for the mailing list.

Trophy Dark and Trophy Loom cover art by Jesse Ross. Trophy Gold cover art by Jesse Ross and Anton Cheykin.​