Gretel's Escape

Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Gretel. 

She woke up all alone in the dark and scary woods, with nowhere to go and no idea where to find Hänsel - her beloved dog, who had been her loyal companion since childhood.

"Hello?", Gretel asked.
"Is someone there...? Anyone?"

But there was no answer. A realization slowly dawned upon Gretel that she had been abandoned in this creepy forest. 

In a drowning wave of despair, the only flicker of hope for her was a bright light she could see in the distance.
Unwilling to give up, the brave little girl quickly made a decision: She needed to find a way to get to where the light was shining from, as that would surely be the exit out of this nightmarish world.

What To Expect

Gretel's Escape is a single-player roleplaying game. You will use Tarot cards to tell an interactive story. While there is a slight bit of risk assessment and strategy involved in playing this game, you will also rely on luck.

For some playthroughs, a good ending will be unachievable, while others will feel like a walk in the park.

Just strive to make the most out of the cards you have been dealt.

Getting Started

First, ask yourself if you're in the right headspace to play this game. There will be themes of psychological horror and abandonment.

If you feel capable of handling that, you may continue. If not, your mental health is more important.

You Will Need

1.  This rulebook.

There will be tables at the end that you can use to look up what happens in the story.

2.  A deck of Tarot cards.

It should have the usual 78 cards: 56 Minor Arcana and 22 Major Arcana cards.

3.  A six-sided die (D6).

4.  A flat, spatial surface. 

You will need enough room to arrange your Tarot cards in a 4x5 grid.

5. A pen and journal (optional). 

For those players who wish to take notes and document Gretel's story as they play.

 

If you're ready to get started and use Tarot cards to throw yourself in a dark fairytale world, download the PDF and find out how you can start playing the game!

Click Here For Credits

In case the external links in the PDF don't work for you, please refer to the following links :)

This work is based on Night Reign, product of Sinister Beard Games Design, developed and authored by Oli Jeffery, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Trophy™ is a trademark of Hedgemaze Press. This work is based on Trophy (trophyrpg.com), product of Jesse Ross and Hedgemaze Press, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Trophy is adapted from Cthulhu Dark with permission of Graham Walmsley. Trophy is also based on Blades in the Dark, product of One Seven Design, developed and authored by John Harper, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

This work is based on the Carta system, from Cat McDonald and Peach Garden Games, and licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

^{The 3D model for the cover art was made in VRoid Studio.}

^{Cover Art Background: Image by liuzishan on Freepik}