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Constantinople, 1390. Every time you die, you come back—less yourself, but more powerful...

In this tabletop roleplaying game using the Grit System, players take on the role of Pilgrims doomed to walk a medieval earth filled with ravening hordes of mutated undead.

Fans of Shadowdark, Knave, or Memento Mori will find familiar high-lethality vibes alongside a unique Souls-like death loop: Pilgrims gain more powers each time they die.

The Danse Macabre Quickstart includes:

  • Simple, easy-to-learn rules
  • 3 classes of Pilgrim—peasant, scholar, and burgher—each with 8 power options
  • 20 example maleficia (mutations)
  • A full introductory quest (adventure)
  • A quick guide to the high-stakes Ottoman-Byzantine setting, defined by an uneasy peace 

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The Danse Macabre Quickstart

This Quickstart uses selected material from the Danse Macabre Rulebook. Full credits:

Writing and art by Christopher Pickett

Design and layout by Anthony Grasso
Additional art by Ethan Gould and Anthony Grasso
Additional writing and developmental editing by Wythe Marschall

Copy editing by Jedd Cole
Historical and linguistic consulting by Erica Bridges, Ph.D.
Marketing and operations led by Sunaree Paiwong
Arabic language consulting by Senua Lewis
Proofreading by Alex McGuigan

© 2026 Stillfleet Studio


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Click download now to get access to the following files:

Danse Macabre Quickstart_260703.pdf 21 MB

Comments

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Between this and Blister Critters, there's at least the semblance of a trend towards mutations in your work. Personally am not a fan of such themes, but this looks neat otherwise (and BC is very neat too).