Bar the Windows, Bolt the Doors
A downloadable roleplaying game
The town of INCHWICK holds a deadly secret. In its dark woods, in its maze-like streets, in the depths of the old coal-mine, nefarious rituals are carried out for the veneration of a terrible, unseen master. You have stumbled across their secret. Now they are coming for you.
Take the role of unfortunate outsiders defending a remote cabin against terrible foes. You must survive through a long, deadly night until the safety of dawn. Bar the windows. Bolt the doors. Fight off the night. You are not prepared for what is coming.
Bar the Windows, Bolt the Doors is a pick-up-and-play horror tabletop roleplaying game which does not require a Game Master. Players instead work together against foes whose acts are determined by the contents of this ruleset. Bar the Windows, Bolt the Doors is intended to be played in quick, single-session adventures packed with horror tropes and scary fun, and is designed to make the experience different every game!
"Such a fun game with monsters who act in accordance with conditions! They just move themselves! Your perfect cabin in the woods oneshot spooky game" - Cat Elm, Cat Sìth Press.
"Had just a stupid amount of fun... I cannot WAIT to play this again. Perfect campy horror Halloween fun" - Ella Watts.
Includes:
- The rulebook as a digital pdf, containing over thirty pages of rules with atmospheric illustrations
- A map of the cabin for use at your table, plus two bonus maps: an old coal-mine and a half-burned mansion
- A printable character sheet
- Optional hard mode rules
- 72 random prompts to help you describe the rooms you encounter
You will need:
- Two to six players
- At least one six-sided dice and twelve-sided dice
- A pack of cards
Content Warning: contains insect-based horror, cults, home invasion, the undead, and general gore.
Expansions and other games based on Bar the Windows
Status | Released |
Category | Physical game |
Rating | Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (21 total ratings) |
Author | Stoneshore |
Genre | Role Playing |
Tags | GM-Less, Halloween, Horror, Tabletop, Tabletop role-playing game |
Average session | A few hours |
Purchase
In order to download this roleplaying game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $10 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Bar the Windows, Bolt the Doors 1.21 updateOct 07, 2023
- 1.2 updateNov 02, 2022
- Blood Yule Released (and 1.1 update!)Dec 03, 2021
- November News: Expansion and UpdatesNov 21, 2021
- Hard Mode Optional Rules Released!Oct 26, 2021
- Mine and Mansion Map ExpansionOct 01, 2021
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
A fun quick game. However, it is one where the enjoyment you get out of it is going to depend on how much you put into it. I recommend putting a lot into it.
A splendid accomplishment, looking forward to playing soon with my gaming group! Quick suggestion: consider adding “GM-less” to your tag list so that your creation can be more readily found with itch’s search system.
Thanks so much! I'll certainly do that :)
I´d really like a example gameplay. I don´t understand the mechanics at all. Is there any of this in the web?
There's an actual play from RPPR over at http://actualplay.roleplayingpublicradio.com/2021/12/systems/bar-the-windows/bar...!
There are some community copies? would like to try it :)
Hey, thanks so much for your interest! Community copies aren't available at the moment, but if you want a copy of the core rulebook for review purposes or can't afford the full game, email me at stoneshore.trpg@gmail.com :)
Thank you so much, I'll write you. :)
This is such a brilliant concept, and I absolutely love how the game plays. Highly recommended!!!
Thanks Ella!!