Secrets of Salzburg
A downloadable game
It is the year 1500. In the town of Salzburg, many routes meet. Every day, carts full of salt and steel, Bohemian glass and Italian wine cross the well-defended bridge. A duty is imposed on all wares, though few people benefit.
High on the hill above the river, the pious and cruel archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach is building a new fortress to maintain control. In the streets below, scholars and schemers are hunting for secrets that will enable them to bend their fate.
Secrets of Salzburg is:
- a tabletop roleplaying game
- card-driven
- GMless (though a facilitator might play all NPCs)
- presented as a trifold pamphlet
- inspired by Apocalypse World mechanics (by Meguey and Vincent Baker) as well as Push (by Cezar Capacle)
- an entry to the One-Page RPG Jam 2023
- also available in a massively expanded German version (German only, sorry)
- ... and in Italian, courtesy of Camilla Zamboni
It includes an oracle as its central mechanic, three tables for quick character generation and three scenario sketches.
Released under the Creative Commons licence CC-BY-SA 4.0. In short, you are free to copy, share and remix the text, as long as you give credit and impose no further restrictions.
Can you uncover the secrets of the rich and mighty while guarding your own?
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Development log
- Salzburg: Frequently Asked QuestionsAug 16, 2023
Comments
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Hello there! I truly loved this short but effective GMless TRPG, and I would love to translate it into Italian. I know it has been released in CC-BY-SA 4.0, but I wanted to ask for your blessing to translate and share it on my Itch (free of charge), with link to your page and of course proper attribution. Please let me know if this is all right for you and if I may keep a layout similar to yours, or how to contact you if you want to discuss this further. Thanks so much! :)
Camilla
P.S. Please see my Itch page to see other translations I have done, including "Last Tea Shops" with the author's permission.
P.P.S. The German version looks incredible!
Hi Camilla, though I read only a little Italian, I‘ve come across some of your work. It makes me feel proud as a peacock to hear that you‘re considering Secrets of Salzburg for translation. And of course you may keep the layout, which was done in - ahem - Apple Pages. Please let me know if you have further questions or need any help (I‘m _florik on Discord).
Hey Florik, thank you so much for a quick and lovely reply! I will contact you on Discord to say hi and release the Italian translation in a couple of days! If you have any social media where I can tag you, let me know, otherwise I will just link your Itch page. :)
Never played in that time period before and it was fun to discover the unexpected secret occupations. Will definetly keep an eye on this! If this ever is released in German my group will definetly take a trip to the secrets of Salzburg.
A very intriguing game. The card prompts variety is a great way to guide the outcome in such a GM-less game. Setting and tone are conveyed clearly in what little page real estate there is. And the adventure suggestions help me a lot to visualize a possible play experience. Jumps straight to the top of my must-try list for shorter play.
Thanks for making me blush!
Thrilling and compact game of medieval intrigue. It's been nearly 20 years since I've been to Salzburg, but this pamphlet game took me right back to those streets.
Reading this makes me want to print a pack of these and drop a few in some cafes and pubs around town.
I'm glad you like it!