“Just as bones, tissues, intestines, and blood vessels are enclosed by a skin that makes it possible to bear the sight of a human being, so the agitations and passions of the soul are wrapped up in vanity: it is the soul’s skin.” 

— Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human

Putrid fog, wailing death, and the rot-black sludge. The Sarangrave.

An ancient mound squats swollen amongst the stinking fens of Bloodwater Marsh, where the dark rich earth climbs eastward towards the sagging, sinuous branches called the Fingers of the Devourer. It is an old place, of written stone, sunken skulls and interred ashes. The archaic boneyard of a nameless human sept, long broken beneath the heel of the Buruk Tepel, now seeded with fresh dead; heroes slain in the conquest of the Sarangrave.

Even as Imperial scouts attempt the comprehension of the Empire’s newest prize, newcomers arrive to make their mark. The bold and Virtuous, the desperate and the lost. Seekers of obscure lore, searchers after missing companions, scavengers in want of Druj relics and plunder.

Beyond the Whisperwood the war still howls in Thornfen, but in the south, as banners are furled and the drums fall silent, something else begins to stir. The fog moves with purpose. Unfamiliar figures walk the causeways after dark. Brigands pillaging at the edge of Imperial authority? Remnants of the Mallum’s forces? Or something older, watching from beneath the darkest of the hillside thickets?

A call for aid by adventurous heroes has made its way across the four corners of the Empire, passed from Bonesetters of the Winter Sun, to Urizeni scholars, between itinerant Highborn and swift-footed messengers of the Quiet Step. It asks for brave hearts, strong arms, and sharp minds to investigate this age-worn cemetery and defend those residing there, be they living or dead. What they will unearth will test Virtue, corrupt flesh, and show every last soul just how deep evil can run…

Bone Deep is a game in the Empire LRP setting focused on investigation, problem solving and peril within a tone inspired by the occult, horror cinema and the literature of M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood and H. P. Lovecraft. Our intention is not really to scare, but by evoking repulsion, disgust, unease and fear to provide players the thrills that are found in an engaging ‘scary story’. 

As such prominent themes for the game will include: Psychological stress, physical injury, body horror, crisis management, death, bones, malign magic, bones, decay, physical, mental and spiritual corruption, medical pathology, bones, bones, skeletons, skin, teeth and blood. The game may also contain any and all appropriate IC themes outlined by Profound Decisions here. There will be dedicated space set aside in case of any instances where any or all of these themes provoke Out of Character distress. 

Physical threat will be an element of the game, and while combat will be restricted at certain times and in specific spaces the entirety of the play area should be considered a “Combat Possible” space, with some areas being “Combat Highly Likely”, as per Profound Decisions guidelines. There will also be opportunities for Player Characters to use Magical, Religious and Surgical Skills. 

The game is set in the newly allocated Urizen territory of Sarangrave. However, we welcome interest from Player Characters from any nation. We think the game would be especially relevant for those interested in: 

• Magic, especially Winter, Day and Night ritual magic. 

• Physick and Apothecary skills. 

• Problem solving. 

• Unusual creatures. 

• Malign spiritual and magical forces. 

• Unearthing ancient obscure lore. (See Important Disclaimer below)

• Plunder.

• Opposing the sinister forces lurking in the dark corners of the Empire.

This game may also be of interest for Player Characters who: 

• Have a connection to the Imperial armies that have been fighting in the Sarangrave over the past year, especially the Citadel Guard, the Golden Axe, the Quiet Step, the Towerjacks and the Winter Sun. 

• Have assigned a Military Unit to an Imperial army during the conquest of Sarangrave. 

• Archetypes focused on the exploration and defence of the Imperial frontier, as well as investigations into the unknown (e.g. Knight-errants, Questing Knights, Unconquered, Wayfarers, Archivists, Bonesetters, Thief-takers, Bravos, Beaters, Threshers, Sentinels, Torchbearers, Wardens, Volhovs, Wagon-raiders )

• Urizeni citizens eager to make their mark on the newly assigned territory. 

Important Disclaimer: What this game will NOT include is information relevant to current or future plot by Profound Decisions set in Sarangrave. As per Profound Decisions sanctioned event guidelines, the plot of BONE DEEP will be dire in nature, but limited in scope, being concerned with a single maligned site within the vast expanse of the territory and wider world.