Dueling Scars

Dueling Scars is a fast, simple, single-page swordplay dice game for two players with 15 minutes. Combining strategy, luck, and intense player interaction, this game uses a d6 dice pool resolution system and a simplified version of position and effect from Forged in the Dark to drive daring combat between two players. 

The objective of the game is to kill your opponent. With each turn, you'll carefully choose an action: Thrust, Feint, Maneuver, Recover, or Lunge. Roll the dice to determine the outcome, but beware! Taking its original inspiration from Ironsworn's combat system of moves and initiative, every move comes with potential consequences where your opponent can gain the high ground.

This game is best played when printed on an A4 or 8.3 x 11.7 inches (210 x 297 mm) sheet of paper, with 8 ~ 12 physical d6 dice and two tokens. It was originally a mechanical proof-of-concept for my upcoming self-published game PEACEMAKER I made in April 2022 that I've since updated with instruction+playsheet, and posted to itch for One Page RPG Jam 2023. I would love to hear about your experience playing it in the comments below.

Credits

• Written and designed by Aaron Russin
• Cover art is by Jean-Léon Gérôme The Duel After the Masquerade (1857) and used under Public Domain

This work is based on Blades in the Dark, product of One Seven Design, developed and authored by John Harper, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.