Rusałka Beckons You To Retell A Tragic Fairytale
The new edition of Nick Wedig's gm-less, card-based rpg of wishes gone wrong is coming to BackerKit this Fall
Under every full moon, the rusałka dance by the edge of their secret pool.
They possess many magical talents, but their gifts always have a price.
As spirits of drowned women, the rusałka remember only fragments of the life they once lived.
What memories will the pleas of mortals bring back to the surface? What fate awaits them all?
Spirits of drowned women who no longer recall their mortal life, and mortals who must learn to be careful what they wish for. These are the two sides of Rusałka, the decidedly unconventional roleplaying game designed by Nick Wedig. Not only is it card-based and GM-less, it also challenges players to alternate between two opposite points of view. On the one hand are women robbed of their life and identity, whose newfound extraordinary powers may only be used to serve. On the other is the multifaceted society that made them, where obsession pushes people to entrust their deepest desires to magic they know to be deceptive and unreliable, all in the hopes of getting what they want.
Born and distributed independently, Rusałka has long reached cult status in the storytelling game community. It is now ready for a new edition, launching on BackerKit this October 5. Behind the campaign is NessunDove, the Italian publisher who brought home the Game of the Year Indie Groundbreaker Award in 2021 with Crescendo Giocoso Ritornello and has successfully published innovative re-editions of games such as momatoes' The Magus & The Oracle and Jason Brown's Our Queen Crumbles.
The new edition of Rusałka can count on bespoke art by Letty Wilson, who has previously contributed to visual gems such as Wanderhome and Dolmenwood. For this project, she aims to capture the elusive balance between horror and enchantment typical of Slavic folklore. The box contains 105 cards, with 8 eerie and alluring rusałka decks to choose from, each related to a different theme. Will your story be as subtle as the Mists, or will it be bloody with Sacrifice?
The game has much to love. One of its most peculiar traits is how it handles the passage of time. The story you tell is also the story of the secret pool. You start by drawing its map, but how much time will pass between one act and the next? Weeks? Decades? Centuries? What else will rise to its surface with the rusałka's memories, and what will be lost forever?
Rusałka's own wish is to get your support this coming October. Just like in the game, it is up to you to grant it. And to find out what strange, disquieting stories it will summon to your mind's eye.
