Mortal Wound

CW: death and dying, references to blood

Your character has just been dealt a mortal blow. It is difficult to focus. Somewhere in the distance, the wind picks up, trees clattering as great congregations of birds lift into the evening sky. Blood soaks the ground around you. Bile rises in your throat. You have enough energy to leave one final mark in the world. What will you do? What will you say? What will you leave for the world to find? 

Mortal Wound is a character "decreation" tool for TTRPGs and storytelling. It is an experimental method for propelling a narrative, for getting to know a character not through their own desires but through the traces they left in the world. If you are interested in character creation at a knife’s edge, use this for “off-screen” PC/NPC deaths; as a catalyst for a campaign (à la Critical Role C4); for a revenant backstory; as an alternative approach to identity formation.

MW has only been lightly tested. Feel free to play around and tweak it to your liking. The print version has been formatted as an eight-page zine for a tabloid size (11x17) sheet of paper; you can also download the text only version below. 

Leave a comment if you have questions or suggestions!