Inside the gritty, gunsmoke-drenched TTRPG from Free League Publishing
If you like your roleplaying games with a little sulfur, a little lead, and a whole lot of trouble—let us introduce you to Black Powder and Brimstone, the infernal-fueled, bullet-bitten frontier of Free League Publishing’s grimdark fantasy offerings.
This is a game about survival at the edge of damnation. About dragging your muddy boots across a cursed world that stopped asking for heroes and started praying for fewer monsters.
But don’t get the wrong idea—this isn’t just another grim fantasy knockoff with undead cowboys. This is a fully realized system and setting where black powder meets infernal magic, and your next breath could be your last act of defiance.
Whether you’re new to Free League’s offerings or a veteran of the weird west, this game belongs on your shelf—and maybe in your nightmares.
Let’s draw back the curtain and dive deep into the mechanics, mood, and madness of Black Powder & Brimstone.
⚔️ What Is Black Powder & Brimstone?
At its core, this is a standalone tabletop roleplaying game that fuses gunpowder-era technology, infernal horror, and frontier survival into a brutal, stylish, and evocative package.
You play as:
- Worn-out wanderers
- Hell-touched misfits
- Gun-toting priests
- Cursed mercenaries
- And other damned souls just trying to survive
The world? It’s bleak, dangerous, and full of choices that lead nowhere good.
But it’s also rich with tension, unforgettable visuals, and emergent storytelling potential that few games in its niche come close to matching.
🎯 The Setting: Hell Is on the Horizon
Imagine a setting where the wild frontier collides with demonic corruption.
- Black powder rules the battlefield.
- Magic is twisted by infernal bargains.
- The Church wages war against heresy with fire and fury.
- Townsfolk whisper of creatures in the woods—and men who’ve made deals they shouldn’t have.
It’s part Bloodborne, part Deadlands, part Black Sails, and completely its own beast.
Whether you’re hunting demons across the ashen wastes or defending the last honest town on the map, every session feels like a folk tale written in blood.
🧰 The Mechanics: Dangerous, Direct, and Deliciously Dirty
🎲 Dice Mechanics
At a glance, Black Powder & Brimstone uses a rules-light engine, but it’s not shallow. Dice mechanics are focused on:
- Fast resolution
- High lethality
- Creative problem-solving
- Resource tension (especially with bullets, powder, and magic)
Expect quick rolls, brutal outcomes, and meaningful consequences.
You won’t be bogged down in math. Instead, you’ll be making hard decisions—how many bullets left? Do you trust that priest? How bad is the demon in the cellar?
💀 Character Creation
Create characters in under 20 minutes. You’ll choose:
- Archetype (Gunslinger, Outlaw, Occultist, etc.)
- Backgrounds (what brought you to the brink)
- Traits, flaws, vices
- Gear—oh, the gear!
Character options drip with flavor. Think:
- “The Preacher Who Carries a Burned Grimoire”
- “The Butcher’s Boy with a Hex-Riddled Revolver”
- “The Widow Who Talks to Shadows”
🔥 Advancement
Progression is gritty and slow—like leveling up with sandpaper. You don’t build power so much as you carve out survival and stack debts.
Want flashy powers and unstoppable combos? This ain’t your game.
Want to feel like you earned every inch of progress with pain, grit, and bad choices? You’re in the right place.
🧛 Magic, Madness, and Making Deals
🕯️ The Occult Is a Toolbox—and a Trap
Magic in Black Powder & Brimstone is:
- Dangerous
- Rare
- Tied to infernal pacts, relics, or rituals
Your character might:
- Read from corrupted scripture
- Channel forbidden hexes through runed bullets
- Consume sin to gain temporary boons
But make no mistake: magic costs.
You might gain:
- Power
- Insight
- Instant vengeance
But you’ll lose:
- Time
- Sanity
- Pieces of yourself
It’s up to the GM whether that bargain ever pays off.
Pro tip: Give every magic item or spell a side effect the players won’t know about until it’s too late. That’s the vibe.
💼 The Gear System: Where Guns Matter
Gear in this game isn’t window dressing. It’s survival.
Every weapon has character. Reloading? A factor. Powder dry? Pray. Misfire? Happens.
You’re not a walking armory. You’re someone with a single prized firearm, a knife that’s seen too much, and a half-broken flask that might save your life.
Combat is:
- Quick
- Tactical
- Scary
When a fight starts, it’s loud and messy. When it ends, someone’s bleeding, and maybe no one wins.
And that’s exactly how it should feel.
⛪ Religion and Rebellion
One of the most compelling parts of the setting is its twisted theology.
- The dominant Church wages war on “heresy”—but it’s often corrupt itself.
- Local cults whisper secrets in candlelit rooms.
- Wanderers carry prayer books right next to their pistols.
Morality here is murky. And sin isn’t just spiritual—it’s mechanical.
Characters may track:
- Their guilt
- Their “faith stat”
- Their corruption
- Their pact depth
Which means redemption, damnation, and martyrdom are all valid arcs.
You could start the game as a preacher… and end it as the heretic you once hunted.
📜 Game Mastering: Story-Driven, Scene-Focused, and Deliciously Harsh
Black Powder & Brimstone gives GMs:
- Scenarios that beg to be twisted
- Quick NPC generation
- Faction-based worldbuilding
- Events that escalate on timers
- Rules-light prep with heavy payoff
Your job isn’t to create a sandbox.
Your job is to set the world on fire and ask the players what they’ll do about it.
Use rumors. Use sin. Use debts. Use betrayal.
The game’s tone practically writes itself.
“The sheriff is missing. A preacher’s tongue was nailed to the town door. And someone saw red eyes in the wheat fields last night.”
Boom. There’s your session.
💡 Who Should Play This Game?
You’ll love Black Powder & Brimstone if you like:
- TTRPGs with dark, dangerous settings
- Westerns with horror overtones
- Occult themes and heretical narratives
- Games that don’t pull punches
- Quick-start mechanics that don’t sacrifice depth
- Art that slaps you across the face and says “Repent!”
This is the kind of game that appeals to:
- Mörk Borg fans
- Into the Odd players
- Deadlands veterans
- Horror GMs looking for a fresher, faster system
Grab the core rulebook on Amazon here
🖤 What Makes It Different?
✒️ Style With Substance
The book isn’t just pretty—it’s functional, usable, and memorable. Layouts are clean but gritty. Tables are quick to parse. Art direction oozes with hellish style.
📚 One-Book, No-Bloat System
Everything you need is in this rulebook. No constant sourcebook chasing. No rules spread across three PDFs. Just open, read, and run.
🔮 Rules Encourage Story, Not Simulation
You’re not here to count feet per round. You’re here to decide if you’ll pull the trigger before the thing in the mirror pulls something worse.
💀 Final Verdict: Ride or Die in the World of Brimstone
Black Powder & Brimstone is a tabletop RPG that doesn’t apologize. It doesn’t baby the players. It doesn’t wrap narrative in dozens of mechanics.
It dares you to play a story of sin, survival, and supernatural danger.
It says:
“Here’s a gun, a prayer, and a world that hates you. Good luck.”
And somehow, you’ll walk away with:
- A dying preacher whispering a hex into the wind
- A bounty hunter whose bullets can kill demons
- A town burning for sins long buried
If you want a game that feels like a folk horror ballad set to gunfire—this is the one.
Light the lantern. Load the rifle. Step into the dark.
