Played The Black Sword Hack
Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time to try many other ttrpgs as often as I would like. Conventions are a great way to sample other RPG systems and settings. And there are always Discord channels or Start Playing to try different flavors and mechanics. I found myself talking with a gentleman at North Texas RPG over a vendor table, and somehow, Elric, Michael Moorcock, and The Black Sword Hack (BSH) came up. Turns out he was soon starting a Roll20 campaign using this “rules light” system and invited me to join.
We played the first game with three of his friends the other night and I had a great time. I have owned the print book of Black Sword Hack for about a year. Written by Alexandre “Kobayashi” Jeannette with terrific art by Goran Gligović, it was funded on Kickstarter in December 2022 and was released as a 112‑page A5 hardback (PDF) in 2024. BSH puts you and your companions in a fading, dark, dangerous world where the forces of Law and Chaos battle for supremacy. The allusions to Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champions Cycle are not subtle, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This game feels pulpy and fantastic. I was literally waiting for Rackhir the Red Archer or friend Moonglum to round a corner as an NPC encounter.
If Jeff Talanian’s Hyperborea is the closest thing to playing out our Conan the Barbarian fantasies in an RPG, then BSH does the same for the Elric of Melniobone’ reader and fan. I have only played one 3-hour session, but I intend to become a weekly regular and see how it goes.
The rules allow a great deal of interpretation by the GM, and the inventive dice mechanics are a little different than D&D. Notable dice creations include the Usage Die and the Doom Die. The Usage Die is a utility die used for tracking ammo, rations, water, or demonic favor.. almost anything. Here’s how the Usage Die works:
- When you use the resource, you roll the die.
- On a roll of 1–2, the die steps down to the next smaller die type. (d12 → d10, etc)
- If you’re already at a d4 and roll 1–2, the resource is depleted or exhausted.
- If you don’t roll 1–2, the resource is still available, and the die stays the same.
Example: You have a quiver of arrows d8. After a fight, you roll the d8 and get a 2 → now it becomes a d6.
Frankly, you could use this die system for tracking other mundane items in your other RPG of choice, too. It’s easy and injects some real-world resource uncertainty into the session, and it feels much less like in-game accounting.
So, what then is the Doom Die? It sounds so ominous… and it can be! Think of it as a personal Usage Die tied to your character’s luck, sanity, and cosmic stability.
Every PC starts with a Doom Die—usually a d6, though it can vary by Origin or background established during character generation. Here’s how it works in the Black Sword Hack.
You roll your Doom Die whenever you:
- Critically fail (roll 20) on an action roll (combat, saves, attempt an athletic maneuver, etc)
- Push yourself beyond normal limits (e.g., casting sorcery, invoking a dark pact, or demanding a boon from a bound spirit)
- Call upon Doom voluntarily for help (see below)
On a roll of 1–2, your Doom Die steps down (e.g., d6 → d4 → gone).
Once expended, you are DOOMED!
- You roll with Disadvantage on all rolls
- The only way to remove this is by a full rest in a safe haven. You should also address the Doom in your game narrative (e.g., a necessary pilgrimage, cleansing, or sacrifice)
This makes for some really risky choices, but they are also a lot of fun–tempting fate. Again, you can voluntarily cast the Doom die to push your limits. Examples of why you would do this might include
- Rerolling a failed check
- Getting insight or information
- Avoiding a terrible consequence
But, any time you roll your Doom Die, you risk it stepping down. This is a push-your-luck mechanic, and it fits the pulp fantasy feel perfectly. Danger and fate seem to slowly simmer as the tension rises.
I am playing this campaign now on Tuesday nights, and I plan to share thoughts and observations here about the Black Sword Hack. A video will surely follow soon on my YouTube channel. Please go like and subscribe to follow EruditeDM there. Thanks!
https://www.youtube.com/@EruditeDM
You can follow me on YouTube: @EruditeDM, or on X: @EruditeDM. Feel free to email me at EruditeDM@gmail.com.
And please make sure that you sign up to our mailing lists for free articles and cool content ideas for games like Shadowdark RPG and other OSR games!
