Prepare yourself

Ruins of Past Glory is a speculative fiction storytelling game about people taking risks, forging bonds, and turning trauma into strength. Play as relatable people in tense and uncertain situations.

You are a survivor

something affected you, and not for better. You still carry it with you. But you are made of tougher stuff. Your experience has taught you something valuable and true about the world, and you've forged that lesson into strength.

The Conversation

Gameplay takes the form of a conversation between the players. Together you will describe fictional characters in fictional situations. One player will be the Game Moderator (GM). Each other player will play a Player Character (PC). While PCs drive the plot, the GM portrays obstacles that threaten the PCs and their goals. The rules come into play when a PC does something Risky or the GM does something Tense

No one player is solely responsible for the story. Instead the story emerges from the interplay of PC actions and interactions, GM reactions, and dice. You are all playing to find out the story together.

What you need to play

One or more six-sided dice
Printed playbooks
Pencils or pens
Tokens for tracking Tension (5-10)
Different tokens for tracking Patience (5-10)

What should I expect?

Shape a fantastic world — p.5

You will have input into the world you play in. At the start of each session and between some scenes, you will recalibrate the world to reflect your perspective.

Attune your survivor — p.7

You will create a PC to interact with the world. You will have an affinity for approaching certain types of risks, and Experiences that shape what is Risky.

Accept consequences — p.8

You will suffer defeat, but the story won’t end. Your PC will learn from their Experiences and grow that much tougher, smarter, and more resilient

Do something — p.10

You will act to make progress towards your PC’s goals, and interact with your peers to forge bonds, offer and receive support, and stand for what you believe.

Work with the GM — p.15

When your risks don’t pan out things get Tense. The GM turns Tension into Obstacles, Stress, and other things to make life challenging for the PCs.

On AI-generated Art

You may notice the art in this document looks a bit off. That’s because it was generated by Midjourney AI. That said, I promise no artists were harmed in the making of this prototype - our current art budget is non-existent. Eventually, we will showcase high-quality, human-created art. AI art gives you something pretty to look at in the meantime.

If you want to donate art, budget, coffee, or even just complain, reach me at: