It's Worse Than That! - Devil's Bargains

Now that I’m wrapping up the playtest version of Beneath Ahknoor, I’ve been looping back around to other projects. First up: a new volume of It’s Worse Than That!, this time, all about Devil’s Bargains.

I loved using this one at my own table to kick off a session. Even before the game got going, I could see the wheels turning in my players' heads. They were already scheming, thinking about consequences, and slipping into character. That’s what I hope this volume offers to other GMs and players: a creative warm-up that sparks the kind of play where tension and fiction feed off each other.

This sampler provides a mix of advice and hands-on practice to give you a whole new way to build up your creativity for use at the table.

As Marsh Davies (Teeth) put it:

"This is such a good exercise! I find getting the sweet spot for a Devil's Bargain difficult, it's easy to come up with something horrible, but coming up with something horrible that is nonetheless still devilishly tempting...? Having some solo scenarios like this to work through is really helpful practice."

Another playtester said:

"I wouldn't even think of training such a skill, and training it in a 'safe' environment is awesome!

The sampler is designed for both solo use and group play. I’ve used it as an ice-breaker. It’s a great way to get players thinking creatively before the game starts. It’s also system-flexible: I built it with both Blades in the Dark and Scum & Villainy in mind, using a Victorian city and a spaceport as alternating settings. The goal is to show how these techniques work across genres and systems.

I’d love to hear how it’s working for you. If you’ve used It’s Worse Than That! at your table and it helped spark an “aha!” moment, let me know. Those stories keep this series going.

Thanks for reading, and keep offering tempting, terrible choices.