Death Valley - A horror/western TTRPG
Deaths overworked, so when you died, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, Death missed picking you up. Now your rotting, changing waking back up. Your bloods gone cold, you are no longer mortal. . .
Death Valley is a TTRPG for you and your friends who might like to play the dead folk, ghosts, ghouls, and zombies. You died at the wrong time and now your are cursed to walk the earth, don't worry though Deaths looking to make that mistake right, on top of that mortals, and other undead might get to you first. Its one hell of an unlife.
Death Valley is currently being developed by Aaron Bryant, building on the foundations of the original game created by Tim Roberts. This collaboration marks the beginning of an exciting mentorship initiative, with Aaron proudly taking the role as the first of what we hope will be many talented developers mentored by Tim. With a shared love of western films, their collaboration sings truth to those dustblown tales of a bygone era.
In addition to its rich narrative and game design, Death Valley will also showcase original artwork by Vincenzo, harkening to the spaghetti western posters of the 1950s. This art style brings a sense of isolation, and grit to a world where the dead are still walking among us.
This creative team seeks to evoke the spirit of the west in every page, and in every rattling bone. Come out to Death Valley, were all dying to meet you.
COMING TO BACKERKIT 14th OCTOBER 2025!
Death Valley - Locations
During your time in Death Valley there are few key places you may want to get acquainted with before you go and get yourself killed again. For the majority of your stay you can expect to reside in Bardo’s Bluff. The place where all the cold bloods live.
Bardo’s Bluff is nothing short of a little bit of everywhere. This town is made up of immigrants, refugees, and also colonisers and outlaws. The Black Veil church towers over the rest of the homes, businesses and towns, keeping a watchful oppressive eye over the residents.
On the other end of the spectrum is Iron Ridge a haven for the warm bloods. Living humans have mining operations all over Death Valley and Iron Ridge was built to house miners and their families. Due to it been so close to the undead it was natural that this town became the Head Quarters for The Thanatos Guild and that Guild stands as the judge, jury and executioner for any undead that try to step foot in the town.
Each of these towns lie within what is known as Scorpions Gulch - The Gulch provides and taketh away. Venom river through the middle giving substances to the living. The Petrified Grove is a hidden wealth of corrupted energy and everything in the Gulch is isolated from the country by large out croppings of ancient stone.
There’s more to the valley than what is written on your map.
Folks talk about ghost towns like Shady Rock, ruins in the south and other oddities buried in the desert sand. Maybe you and your crew discover out there or many you’ll become part of the scenery.
The Coldbloods of Bardo's Bluff
The original cold blooded setters came from all over the Eurasian continent, looking for refuse. These heretics held the believe that undead and mortals could live together. Today things look a little different. Some still seek refuse from persecution in their homeland but some wish to continue that persecution and maintain order.
Others walked until they answered Death Valley's siren call, and others have still been here the whole time. Regardless of how you got here you are now part of one of the largest undead networks in the United States, Bardo’s Bluff.
Bardo's Bluff is home to a mix of new and ancient and this can lead to a divide in the way the undead think of the world should work. There is a toxic air of push and pull within this community, a dance macabre between power and balances.Those who view themselves more highly tend to stick to the center of town closer to the Black Veil church. Main street is filled with various businesses, run by working class undead to fulfil the needs of the town. Further away from the center are the residential areas, notably the Cribbs. Part of the town where skeletons and others allure undead congregate. Once you start seeing the boundary stones at the border of town is when you will find Great Golds tending to their plots. The experiences, myths and culture that the undead bring to Bardo Bluff breathe life into a town which is constantly on the edge of final death. Politics aside Bardo's Bluff offers community to everyone if you know where to look.
The Warmbloods of Bardo's Bluff
The mortals who call the valley their home are cobbled from mean dirt and meaner spirits. It takes a lot of gumption to survive everyday in a place that you rather see you die. People are more worried about staying alive, tend to miss stories about the dead. Those stories are told in spades around the campfires in the desert. But the people who travel west looking for gold or a fresh start have never heard ghost stories like the ones that come out of Iron Ridge.
Iron Ridge is one of the main town's of Scorpions Gulch with humble beginnings as a mining operation. These miners have seen and heard enough to make you sleep with one eye open. Also the stories aren't true. But every once in a while they'll talk about a person who came up out of the mines and headed to the city or kept back the night by speaking tongues.
The day to day of peoples lives here are fuelled with strive and hard work. But if you know anyone who works hard, they play hard too. Live is celebrated in the valley there is as much importance but on making it another day as there is remembering someone who's journey is over. Funeral rites in Scorpions Gulch have taken a turn for the hotter in recent times. The push to have funeral parlours has increased, advertised as a more honourable way to send of the dead.
But the people don't know about Death Valley can hurt them. But believing a ghost story and seeing a ghost are two very different things around these parts.
The Church of the Black Veil
Depending on who you ask there is nothing above the Order of The Black Veil. The Prophet. The first undead shows there Priestess Sophiannus to create the church of the Black Veil and spread their teachings.
The Black Veil reviews the truth behind how the undead came to be and how undead are closer to the monarch then other forms of beings. Undead are meant to be shepherds to the living. Leading them to salvation. The Veil of the town Beatrice Monad is the idyllic sort to say the least. Her devotion to the teachings of the church made her the perfect candidate to oversee the daily proceedings of the Bardo's Bluff chapter.
She is a picky shepherd when it comes to maintaining her flock. She prefers the churches followers to be fully faithful not wasting her efforts on converting anyone with doubts. The majority of Bardo's Bluff are loyal to the church. But there is a minority in town who are vocal about their distrust. This minority is composed of mostly the low undead in the hierarchy of the Black Veil church. To them the church is stone on their backs weighing them down and keeping their knees bent.
Thanatos Guild
The only thing that is certain in life are death and taxes and the undead of Scorpion's Gulch are long over due on both.
The Thanatos Guild is a group of specialised hunters. They're prey being the undead that wreck havoc on the living. It was established in the 1819. The Guild has kept back Ghouls, Vampires, Skeletons and more... from killing innocent folk. They know all that is to know about how to take out cold-bloods. From dancing on graves to paralysed grave golems.
Killing the minions of wights to weaken them and use some silver to destroy any undead unlucky enough to touch it. All of this has kept under secrecy. The public need not to be concerned with what goes bump in the night. The Guild handles their business under the cover of night. Prefers to have their bases in remote locations.
One of the largest bases of operation of The Guild runs through the abandoned mines and tunnel systems beneath Iron Ridge. Using the town as cover and funnelling funds to the Guild to maintain its operations. One of such operation includes the occasional sacrifice to Bardo's Bluff. To keep the undead from attacking the town.
Character Creation
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Character creation is laid out in 7 easy steps.
So grab a character sheet and set your strength, agility, wits and empathy scores to 2 and lets get started.
STEP 1: Determine your former life. This choice will give context to your undead, as well as some bonus stats and start up items.
STEP 2: Determine your wrongful death. How did you die and what did your death mean to your character?
How did death fail to find you in your last moments.
STEP 3: Choice your undead form.
There are lots of undead forms. So what did you wake up as? Are you a REVENANT obsessed with revenge. A HELL HOUND bent on revolution. Or a VAMPIRE who uses social manipulation to come out on top. Your form will give you undead ABILITIES, BANES and ONE key ATTRIBUTE. Your form will give you undead ABILITIES, BANES and ONE key ATTRIBUTE.
Then, answer post mortem questions.
STEP 4: Determine your stats. This step will have you point buying the rest of your stats as well as figuring our your max life force and resolve.
STEP 5: Pick a roll for your gear. You've been undead for a little while so it safe to say that you might have some weird stuff on you.
STEP 6: Is where you just add some more personal details, like your name and pronouns. You may not share the name you had when you were a live, cos dying could of made you a whole other person.
STEP 7: Work together with your group to figure work out your bonds and burdens. You may may role the provided table for your role and connections or work with other players to create your own. Bonds and burdens give depth to each characters story as they inevitably connected then more then just meeting at a bar and stories which have connections which are deeper than the Grand Canyon.
Which undead character would you like to play?
A vampire?
Ever wanted to play as a Vampire in the American old west. Here's how this undead form works in Death Valley.
When you're building a Vampire Empathy will become your key Attribute and you'll gain a point in it. Vampires rule the night and through manipulation and control. Which means you will also gain Charm of the Undead Ability, giving you extra dice for when you are lying or persuading a creature using Poker Face.
On top of that humans won't be able to tell you are undead unless you are exposed to a Bane like; sun or a stake to the heart.
Other abilities that you can get will be walk in the shadows, control the minds of mortals, or use blood to do all sorts of tricks.
Healing works like just how you would expect. You got to drink folks now! You can choose to be gentle or take only a little bit of healing: 1d6 of life force. Or you can drain the whole person healing: 2d6 or a critical wound.
You can also do your new favourite thing which is any time you drink you can also take the edge of healing resolve. Now that you have your undead form you are one step closer to having your own adventure in Death Valley.
A Ghoul?
Ever wanted to play as a Ghoul in the American old West?
Here's how this undead form works in Death Valley.
Being a Ghoul is hungry work. These undead rely on their brute of cunning and their cunning brutality. Ghouls start the game with the Key Attribute being Wits and getting a bonus point for it.
This makes survival building a sense of things a whole lot simpler. Speaking of which you also gain on hell of a nose with the Flesh Prince of Foul Air Undead Ability.
One ever you are tracking things through your nose, you get 3 extra dice to you pool. Your other Abilities will be based around making the most of your meal and using your Wits and natural mind to destroy humans.
As a Ghoul you need to eat human flesh to heal. If you eat an already dead human you will only deal 1d6 healing. If you are able to get you meal raw and wiggling you will be able to 2d6 or heal a critical injury.
Now, be careful that you don't go too long without a meal, you are one of the few undead that can still starve.
And if you bit into too much of pulp that will also end your life.
Now that you have your undead form you are one step closer to having your own adventure in Death Valley.
Year Zero Engine
The Year Zero Engine (YZE) is a modular and rules-light RPG system known for emphasising story-driven, gritty, and cinematic gameplay. It was first introduced in the post-apocalyptic RPG Mutant: Year Zero and has since powered several award-winning games.
📦 Open License
In 2023, Free League released the Year Zero Engine Open Gaming License (YZE OGL), allowing independent creators to build their own games using a version of the system.
⚙️ Core Mechanics
1. Dice Pools:
Players roll a pool of D6s, usually grouped into attribute dice, skill dice, and gear dice.
A roll of 6 is a success. More successes = better outcomes.
No success? You can push the roll, re-roll the non-success dice to try again, at a cost (e.g., stress or damage).
2. Attributes & Skills:
Characters have a small set of core attributes (e.g., Strength, Agility, Wits, Empathy).
Each attribute is linked to a few broad skills.
3. Push Mechanic:
Encourages taking risks by allowing a re-roll of failed dice.
Adds consequences like damage, stress, or other narrative setbacks.
Mechanically simple, but adds tension and drama.
4. Resource Management:
Many YZE games use mechanics like degrading gear, limited ammo, or encumbrance to add survival pressure.
5. Modular Systems:
The engine is customized per game, with add-ons like:
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Stress & Panic (e.g., ALIEN RPG)
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Mutations (e.g., Mutant: Year Zero)
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Survival & Exploration (e.g., Forbidden Lands)
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Time Loops (e.g., Tales From the Loop)
MEET THE TEAM
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Aaron Bryant
Lead Creator
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Tim Roberts
Solo creator, layout and production
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Vincenzo Ingenito
Artist
Let me introduce myself, my name is Vincenzo Ingenito and I am a digital illustrator, specialized in the Art Nouveau style.
It was while I was at school, when I glimpsed a small paragraph in an art history textbook, that I discovered the Art Nouveau style, and it was love at first sight. The artist who most influenced me was Alphonse Mucha , whose works made me understand what my creative path would be, the style I so longed to explore: elegant, sinuous, and, in its simplicity, dauntingly difficult.
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Chrissy McMorris
Chrissy McMorris is an editor by day and an avid tabletop gamer by night (and also by day). She has copyedited and proofread hundreds of books and zines over the last fifteen years, including Don't Play This Game (Parable Games), Be Like a Cat and the ENNIE award-winning Punk is Dead (both Critical Kit).
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Rowan Asbel
Video production and social media marketing.
