BLACKWATER

**BLACKWATER is a solo Viking raiding RPG for one player, two dice, and a pencil.** The jarl is dead. The village burns. You didn't kneel. You took what crew would follow — warriors, thieves, the desperate and the damned — and set your longship on the black water. There is nothing behind you now. Only ash. Six rivers wait upstream. Each has its own enemies, its own waterfalls, its own boss at the source. Each lives on a single two-page spread you play without flipping. The Farmland reeve who can be bribed. The holy abbot who fights on consecrated ground. The barrow king who cannot be bargained with — because the dead do not bargain. *Your crew is your life. Every missed blow costs men. Every retreat costs more.* Three paths end your saga. **Silver** — crawl home rich, no songs sung. **Blood** — carve your name into legend through six level-ups. **Valhalla** — break three river bosses, descend the final river, and face the Draugr King on his throne of bones. Win and your name echoes until Ragnarök. Lose and your crew feeds the crows. Either way — axe in hand, story complete. --- ### FEATURES **a rules-light solo system in the Dark Fort lineage**; two six-sided dice, a pencil, and 30–60 minutes per session **six self-contained river spreads + a final descent**; raid the Farmland, Trading, Holy, Forest, Fortress, or Dead — then unlock the Draugr King's road to Hel **eleven pre-made raiders across five difficulty tiers**; from the Hearthbound Veteran for a forgiving first run to the Death-Bound Berserker for one last voyage **three declared victory paths**; choose Silver, Blood, or Valhalla at the start and play toward your own ending **eleven character story arcs**; optional saga chapters that turn your dice rolls into a complete personal narrative across the campaign **a printer-friendly variant included**; black-background pages inverted for low-toner home printing **player aids in two sizes**; Character Sheet, River Map, and Notes Sheet supplied at both 6×9 (digital fill) and A4 (home print) --- ### WHAT'S INCLUDED All files are PDFs. **Rulebook (41 pages, 6×9)** **Standard edition** — full rulebook with original black-background cover, dividers, and back cover **Printer-friendly edition** — same book with the five black pages inverted to white; cover dragon prints as a soft watermark to save toner **Player Sheets (provided in two sizes each)** **Character Sheet** — track ship, crew, runes, level-ups, and your chosen victory path **River Map** — draw the river as you raid; carries the quick reference for every roll **Notes Sheet** — blank page for sagas, lore, and personal rulings **Sizes:** 6×9 matches the rulebook trim and works best for digital fill-in. A4 versions are scaled and centred for clean home printing. --- ### CREDITS Design, writing, and direction: **The Board Viking** Designed by The Board Viking. Every mechanic, ruling, and design decision in BLACKWATER is mine. The text was drafted with AI writing assistance and revised under my direction. Boss and rules-page illustrations were generated with AI image tools and cleaned for print. The game is the design — and the design is human. Inspired by *Dark Fort* by Pelle Nilsson & Johan Nohr and *NoteQuest* by Jami Waggoner. --- *1 player • 30–60 minutes • 2d6 and pencil* **No GM. No prep. No mercy.** *Forged For Myself, Shared With You.* [theboardviking.co.uk] (https://theboardviking.co.uk)