The Iron Murk

Once the ultimate instrument of war, now an outcast and prey. You are a human, imprisoned in a symbiosis with a walking war machine. You are hunted by those who you served and protected before.

But you, compelled to a rusty cage, refuse to die.

All players but one take on the role of Grunts. They used to be the best war machines in combating the dragons that threatened humanity’s existence. Come time of peace, they were discarded. But some of them refuse to be retired. Special units hunt those remaining cyborgs to eliminate them. 

One player is elected as the Arch. They represent the actual Asset Retrieval Corps who chase the Grunts, and also all other world events, the environment, and the people.

The Iron Murk is a fast-paced, tactical game where players must weigh power against survival. The players' goal is to collect Plot points which give them a chance to overcome the raiding ARC units. It's a rules-light narrative game, built on the core mechanics of Cthulhu Dark, focusing on the action and interaction with limited systematic play.

You'll need 2–6 players, at least 6 dice, and 2-4 hours per game session.  

This is a game in development. Buying now this fully playable Alpha version of The Iron Murk supports its further development, and gets you access to all updates as they come out.

What we plan to do in Beta:

• Deep dive into the setting: world building and lore. 
  
• Social and emotional aspects of Grunts, connections between them.
  
• Example game play.
• Character generation guide and tables.
• Arch guidance, tips on how to host The Iron Murk.
• ARC units, with tables for drives, strengths, weaknesses, and examples.
• Scenarios.
• Move from the 6-fold pamphlet format to an A5 booklet.
• Full page art pieces by Jasper.