Gruelling Jail
The new mini tabletop game from Blade & Banter can be played solo or with a group is now available in digital or Booklet!
“Welcome to the inglorious WHITE HILLS PRISON, where criminals who cannot pay the fines serve time. Some criminals earn acquittal by making their way out of the GRUELLING JAIL alive. Progress through the dangerous maze is viewed for entertainment. No need to volunteer. Challengers are unwillingly chosen. Congratulations, you have been chosen.”
This fun, easy game is meant to be many things. It is a TTRGP your ttrpg character can play while hanging out at an inn. Your character can even play it against others to try and win a pot of coins or treats. It is also a little tabletop game that can be played solo or with friends.
Grueling Jail is an escape dungeon and a competitive race when played with others. There are traps, a puzzle and enemies to defeat as you make your way to the only exit. It is dangerous, deadly and fun.
The rules for this game are not based on any one rule set and were designed to work with any ttrpg system. These rules involve rolling one or two six-sided dice and keeping track of 20 Life Points. The rest is making decisions based on the results of the dice rolls.
The cover art and illustrations were created by the very talented Sapha Burnell. The amazing map was created by the awesome Emily Armstrong.
This game was created by me, K. S. Bishoff (a.k.a. Dazzlinkat) when I had a sudden idea that pestered me every time my players had their characters hanging out at an inn, tavern, or other rest stop during their adventures. There is always at least one player who finds the “downtime” between adventures, where everyone else is eager to do some social roleplay, work on crafts, or shop, boring.
Solving that bored player problem has been a goal of mine for years. From gambling games flavored to fit the gaming world, to tiny solo encounters where the player runs into a bit of mischief, I’ve made several mini-games.
The most important thing I learned from all these mini-games is the rules need to be few, and easy to catch onto. Trimming things down to die rolls and a small table of choices has proven to be the key to making these fast and fun.
Then, the idea of a DND character sitting at the inn drinking ale while playing DND invaded my head, and the fictitious ttrpg of Cutthroat was created. Players can purchase a Cutthroat scroll from almost any inn or tavern in Pangorio along with a pair of knucklebones (two six-sided dice). This scroll is an adventure module written by whomever (I often use a bard).
Grueling Jail is the first adventure for Cutthroat. Why is it an escape dungeon? I happened to see a vid on an escape room and my imagination hopped up and demanded a whole dungeon instead of one room. I plan on making more adventures in the future.
Grueling Jail can be purchased as a PDF and a physical booklet.
