A topsy-turvy portal fantasy
Grit System RPG

Seen from a distance, the magical realm of Seasons’ Keep looks just like a “fantasy” world imagined by the Reggies (regulars) who inhabit planet Earth. Up close, the truth becomes obvious: Seasons’ Keep is not the shadow of Earth, but vice versa! Yet even as ultra-magical, erratically modernizing archipelagos go, it’s undeniable that rapid changes on Earth are warping Seasons’ Keep, and vice versa…

Drawing inspiration from retro video games, art history, Arthuriana, and portal/isekai fiction, The Sometimes Kingdom RPG is based on the lifelong worldbuilding obsessions of artist Ethan Gould.

Dive in, become a professional contractor–Adventurer, and take on all problems rated lower than “imminent doom” by The Questing Network, a raggedy “un-profit” network run jointly by the Seasons.

100 pages of wonder &
innovative rules

• Play as classic high-fantasy classes – Such as Knights, Unnaturalists (wizard-detectives), Drivers, and Body Witches!
• No elves, no dwarves – Play as a talking Skeleton, a teen Giant, a clever Talking Animal, a rules-lawyer Dæmon, or a vivid FaE. Leave the eugenics horseshit of other magical worlds behind and scoff at propriety.
• Every! Single! Character! Can cast spells! – Build any spell you can imagine using our unique system of spell-forging by selecting words of power: it’s simple, intuitive, and endlessly fun!
• Unexpected encounters in an absurdly original world – Less Tolkien/dragon game, more Phantom Tollbooth/Venture Brothers.
• Redefine heroism as a questing freelancer – Turn your lust for adventure into a badly remunerated career! Save the Seasons from going magically berserk!
• The Grit System – It's quick to learn, player-empowering, and endlessly flexible. Burn grit to boost any roll!

Grow your ever-mutating list of spells, heal a ghost, die as a skeleton and come back as… a different skeleton, confront the most powerful mages in the realm, take a ride on a subway made out of femurs, fight a vampire staircase, be consumed by the horrors of the forest, romance a living automobile—we don’t care, only please, save the Seasons from going magically berserk! Just, you know—FIX IT!

If you love beautiful, queer-friendly fantasy games, The Sometimes Kingdom RPG is for you. Note, we will be updating this rulebook periodically with new content. Get it now, and get in on the ground floor!

Now playtesting!

Interesting in trying the game? Join our Discord and say hello!

We are currently refining this game with a goal of eventually publishing a full version including more chapters: a Field Guide full of beasts and strange magical entities! glorious lore! a multi-page print-at-home character sheet-zine! a full list of forged spells, for those in a hurry! more about the Regular World of Earth and how to get there!

We would love your help playtesting and improving the game. Join us, meet the game's creators, and explore Seasons' Keep with us!