Old Gods of Appalachia is a Tabletop RPG published by Monte Cook Games. Based on the Old Gods of Appalachia horror podcast, it is set in an alternate Appalachia, primarily during the early nineteen hundreds. While the setting is based on the Appalachia that existed during that time, there are many differences, up to and including beings of immeasurable darkness and incomprehensible desires. Working with the other players, through might, skills and magic, you might try to protect your community against the ravenous creatures of the Inner Dark, uncover the plots of the sinister Hollow Men, or unearth a beast that's long been dreaming in the dark.
The Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game is powered by Monte Cook Games' Cypher System. The core rulebook is standalone and comes with everything you need to play, including two complete adventures to launch your campaign—the Cypher System Rulebook is not needed.
NOTE: This page is for tropes exclusive to the Old Gods of Appalachia RPG. Tropes that also apply to the podcast or are common to the Cypher System as a whole should be put on Old Gods of Appalachia and Cypher System, respectively.
This game provides examples of:
- Artistic License – History: In real life, by the timeframe of the The Luthier's Folly adventure, Stonega, Virginia was segregated with separate churches, schools and community halls. Because this is an alternative version of history, it's recommended that if the group wishes, PCs of all ethnicities and backgrounds can move through the world equally and share the important spaces in the adventure.
- Breakable Weapons: Artifact depletion in this game works slightly differently from the standard Cypher System and other games. An artifact that would deplete in another game instead comes due in Old Gods of Appalachia, and its owner has a choice: let its power fade or pay a special cost to keep it alive. In most cases, the cost is unknown until the artifact comes due (and lets the character know). Typically, the more useful and powerful the artifact, the more complicated or difficult the cost. The goal is for the character to make a difficult choice, but not an impossible one.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: The writers acknowledge that while they have worked closely with the creators of the podcast to remain true to the world, changes are always necessary to successfully turn one type of story-based medium into another, and some elements have been altered so that they no longer exactly match the podcast in order to make the game more playable.
- Supernatural Fear Inducer: One of the Protector's player intrusions is Induce Fear, which imbues your attacker with fear so that they falter and fall back.
