Tales & Twists: Whimsy and Resilience to Face the Darkness

 “Borogodó” is a word in Brazilian Portuguese that has no direct translation to English. At its core, it refers to that intangible quality of things that makes them charming, special, or even irresistible. It’s a close cousin to the French “je ne sais quoi”, but with the charm of the Girl from Ipanema, the heat of acarajé and the rhythm of forró. And that’s what Jack of All Tracks brings to the table in their first release, Tales & Twists: a collection of Daggerheart compatible campaign frames. 

Made by a group of diverse Brazilian creatives, each of the campaign frames introduces a new world, new mechanics and new tools to add to Daggerheart’s core rules, adding new twists to familiar tales, all of which are — as it is the nature of all creative endeavors  — deeply inspired and flavored by the lived experiences, art and history of a nation that, even in its darkest moments, chose hope over fear, and whimsy over despair, often using art as an instrument for liberation.

In A Sweet Resistance, rebellious candykin of Candora stand up against the invading insectoid primacy that wants to consume its world and people to feed their growing Hive. Notoriety mechanics set the sweet rebels on a tightrope walk between furthering their cause and calling the imperium’s attention to their actions, while foe-controlled zones pose additional threats to their plans.

A Sweet Resistance's core player principle — whimsy as an act of rebellion — pays homage to the comedians, musicians, playwrites and other creatives that used art as a way to stand up against the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985.

A preview for A Sweet Resistance is available on itch.io, with a sneak peek into the world and mechanics, as well as the campaign frame's inciting incident.

In The Ruins of Elementia, a city’s ruined legacy beckons from below, calling those bold enough to brave its collapsed structures and dive deep into a seemingly bottomless pit for elementally empowered boons and riches. It brings a fresh take on dungeon crawling, with new mechanics for looting and a tool-set for dungeon-building such as the dungeon cards, which — drawing from OSR-style games —assist GMs in coming up with dungeons on the fly.

The Ruins of Elementia also takes a conscious step away from traditional dungeon crawling settings' deep colonial roots, centering the story on the aftermath of a cataclysmic environmental disaster and the rebuilding of the community directly impacted, by whatever means necessary.

In Dies Tenebris, a city suffocated by soot, fog and ambition is lit by the faint glow of a hidden sun and marvels of industry, while in the shadows, something stirs with mechanics for diving headlong into the horrors of a world that can turn monstrous. While the working class lives and breathes the corrupted smog that suffocates the lower city, the elite rejoices its purified air without ever looking down from its gilded ivory towers.  

This industrial horror campaign frame invites players to explore themes of personal horror against a backdrop of class struggles and environmental collapse.

As for the final two campaign frames, they will be picked by our backers during the crowdfunding campaign from a selection of pitches by our team, ranging from the thrill-inducing Mad Max meets Dune with a Dungeon Crawl Carl adrenaline rush of A Rude Sandstorm; to the high stakes (pun fully intended) camp-fest of Glam Rock Vampire Hunters, to the mythology inspired coming of age adventures of High School Mythical — all pun-y working titles. 

Tales & Twists is part of Gamefound’s 2026 RPG Party. Follow now for exclusive rewards and help shape what this story’s plot twist will look like.