After the success of Odyssey – Black Tales, a dark reinterpretation of the Homeric classic devoted to the deeds of Odysseus, and the recipient of the Best Adaptation Award at the No Dice Unrolled 2024, the project returns to Kickstarter this February for ZineQuest, with the launch of Troy – Black Tales: a role-playing game that rewrites the Iliad and the Aeneid, allowing players to experience firsthand the siege of Troy—whether as the besieged or the besiegers—and to set sail with Aeneas on the conquest of Italy.
But in Black Tales, just as with Odysseus, the hero portrayed by Homer and Virgil Aeneas is not an unblemished leader or a noble savior, but a ruthless conqueror. You will become part of his assault crew… or will you choose to stand with the invaded? The choice is yours.
Aeneas and Odysseus became myths and roamed the known world after having destroyed the sacred stronghold of Troy.
Engines of fate, soulless executioners.
The poems of the victors disregard the desperate heroism of those who stood against their untameable advance.
Black Tales is a rules-light tabletop RPG for 1, 2 or more players compatible with 5e, Old School Essentials and Mork Borg.
In Odyssey – Black Tales You will be part of Ulysses’ crew, the greatest liar in history, and rank in his small army of marauders.
Will you partake in the pillaging of the Mediterranean or will you risk your life in an attempt to protect the peoples of the Great Sea? The choice is yours alone…
In Troy – Black Tales you’ll experience firsthand the siege of Troy — whether as the besieged or the besiegers — and will sail with Aeneas on the conquest of Italy, playing as part of his crew, or as part of the invaded Italic peoples.
ODYSSEY – BLACK TALES
“I Shall tell you the truth of the one who is hated.
As much a bastard as he was cunning, he became a myth and roamed the known world after having destroyed the sacred stronghold of Troy.
Along with his crew, he plundered countless cities; greedily and without mercy he ruined their inhabitants and their souls too.
Meanwhile, his people rejoiced his absence and prayed for Hades to guide him into the realm of shadows.”
– Aura, Oracle on board
The sole survivor of his troop of soldiers, with the world believing him dead or lost after years withou sightings, Ulysses washes up on the island of Scheria and meets Nausicaa, daughter of the Phaeacian king Alcinous. Moved to pity, the young woman leads him to the palace, where he receives a hero’s welcome by the king and the promise of a ship to return home. The castaway reveals to Alcinous that after a long series of trials, at the very last hurdle, his crew mates killed several of Zeus’ sacred cattle, and for that grave offence the God of the sky obliterated them all with lightning. Ulysses alone was spared.
Ulysses and his crew sacked and pillaged their way across the Great Sea, stealing treasures and oppressing its peaceful people. His ship bore no flags and the raiders’ faces were concealed so as to avoid being recognised.
But the lost song of the Sirens tells of a small band of true heroes which acted, unbeknownst to their captain, to foil him and save as many people as possible from his bloodthirst. Their plan was to overthrow the tyrant Ulysses and end his streak of violence, but the legends do not say whether they succeeded.
Now, you are tasked with telling the true tale of the Odyssey.
TROY – BLACK TALES
In Troy – Black Tales, the war for Troy is not a tale of honor and destiny, but of conquest, cruelty, and survival. The greek champions are ruthless leaders, driven by pride and vengeance, and their followers are the instruments of devastation.
In the Iliad, you may fight among the besiegers, tearing down walls and lives in the name of victory… or stand with the besieged, struggling to endure as the world collapses around you.
In the Aeneid, when Troy finally falls, the story does not end. From the ashes of the ruined city, Aeneas gathers the survivors and sets sail toward an uncertain future, carrying war and suffering to new shores on a journey that will shape the fate of Italy.
Now, you are called to tell the true tale of Troy and its aftermath—choosing whose side of history you will stand on.
In Black Tales you can choose to play as Marauders, taking part in the pillaging and attempting to survive until the spoils of war are shared (fools!), or as Saviours, scrambling to save the peoples of the sea without being caught, and finally to gather allies and weapons to overthrow Ulysses or Aeneas when the time is right.
TO PLAY SOLO: The manuals will include rules to play Odyssey or Troy as a journaling game, with various prompts to select on every dice roll which will guide you in filling the ship’s log. You’ll be keeping track of resources and allies while the choices you make will determine both your fate and that of the people of the Great Sea.
FOR 2+ PLAYERS: A duet journaling game in which one player is always part of Ulysses’ raiding party while the other changes roles to represent the various peoples being attacked by the ancient hero.
FOR 3+ PLAYERS: Players will traverse the seas as Marauders or, as above, interpret the peoples who are being attacked and oppressed by Ulysses’ or Aeneas crew. The manual includes an original Old School ruleset developed by Andrea Rossi accompanied by maps, classes, magic items, equipment and monsters inspired by the classic poems.
The project includes the conversion kit: a small reference document that allows you to switch out the stats used by the native system for those in use by other Zinequest-famous RPGs: OSE, MÖRK BORG and 5e
CREDITS
Officina Meningi is an independent label of gamebooks and RPGs completely different, awarded with several important trophies!
The authors involved in our projects are established professionals and for Black Tales, we have created a spectacular team involving Valentino Sergi, author of the award-winning projects The Necronomicon Gamebook, The Horror Gamebook and many successful RPGs such as Blood Sword 5e, Brancalonia (4 ENnies Awards); Atropo Kelevra, award-winning designer of Last Sabbath – The Witches’ RPG and Totem – The Spirits’ RPG (written with Valentino) ; Andrea Rossi, curator of the italian edition of Old-School Essentials; Jorge Coelho, comic artist for Marvel, BOOM! Studios and Image; Emanuele Ercolani, comic artist for BOOM! Studios and Dynamite; Moreno Paissan, cartographer for Free League, Acheron, Horrible Guilds and dozens of other publishing houses; Marco Sada, cartoonist and bookgame illustrator; Fabio Babich, comics artist; Mimir, iconic illustrator of Epigons; Valentina Tretola, comic book author; Veronica Wu, twitcher and Old-School cartographer; Alberto Furlan and Ian Hathaway, translators and RPG authors.
