Black Sword Hack
A dark fantasy OSR RPG built on The Black Hack, inspired by Moorcock, Howard, and Leiber. Features classless character creation with origins and backgrounds, the Doom die for Law/Chaos influence, and robust worldbuilding tools for sword-and-sorcery campaigns.
Dark Fantasy • Needs GM • 2/5 complexity • Low prep
Black Sword Hack is a dark fantasy roleplaying game by Alexandre "Kobayashi" Jeanette, published by The Merry Mushmen, that channels the pulp sword-and-sorcery tradition into a sleek, modern OSR framework. Built on David Black's The Black Hack, it draws inspiration from Michael Moorcock, Robert E.
Theme and Setting
Howard, Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar, and Jack Vance's Dying Earth—delivering a game where characters are competent but fragile, combat is short and brutal, and sorcery is effective and nasty. Theme and Setting Black Sword Hack embraces the eternal struggle between Law and Chaos that defines classic swords-and-sorcery fiction.
How Play Feels
The game assumes no default setting; instead, it provides robust tools for referees to create their own worlds dominated by this cosmic conflict. The implied setting includes archetypal locales that reappear throughout the multiverse—the Forbidden City, Amber Enclave, Merchant League, Northern Raiders—eternal tropes that help guide world creation.
What Makes It Distinct
The game explicitly excludes Tolkienesque elements. There are no elves or hobbits here, only humans ready to be corrupted by forces beyond their understanding.
Where It May Not Fit
You want denser mechanical crunch or build complexity You want a lighter or more openly heroic tone.
What this game is about
A strong fit for groups that want fantasy with more danger, grime, or moral pressure, with rules Lite helping define the experience.
Structured data and an explicit decision profile JSON document are available for remote agents.