Ouroboros and Ouroboros System Reference Document (v.0.9.1)

You are not the first and you will not be the last.

OnO is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license (“CC-BY”).

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Design Principles & Overview

Collaboration

Conductors facilitate the game and make rulings. Players engage with the fiction. Together, they create interesting stories.

Player Choice

Conductors share as much information as possible. Players solve problems and avoid risk through innovation and clever problem solving. Every choice matters.

Growth

OnO lacks a leveling mechanic. Character growth emerges through equipment, encounters with strange magic, and the Death Cycle.

Death Cycle

Souls grow and change (for good or ill) through death and rebirth. Potential Boons (and Curses) incentivise players to invest in even the most statistically deficient characters.

Genre Collage

OnO juxtaposes varied setting and characters in the style of shows like Infinty Train and video games like Kingdom Hearts.

Aspirations & Past Lives

Souls strive toward their aspirations and deal with the consequences of their Past Lives.

Balanced Fun, Unbalanced Numbers

OnO prioritizes fun and flavor over balance.

Roll for Risk

Players roll Saves only in the face of risk.

Modularity

Conductors pick and choose the mechanics and systems they wish to use and which they will ignore.

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Principles for Conductors

Information

• Provide information freely and readily.
• Always encourage players to ask questions.
• Never hide information behind a roll.

Preparation

• Use random tables and generators to develop situations, not stories or plots.
• Give NPCs motivations, flaws and drives.
• Draw on PCs needs and wants to create opportunities and obstacles.
• Play to find out what happens.

Choice

• Clarify player intent before dice are rolled.
• Offer difficult decisions.
• Explore the consequences (good or ill) of strong decisions.

Danger

• Telegraph danger to players. The more dangerous, the more obvious.
• Put traps in plain sight and let players take time to figure out a solution.
• Make death a constant threat.

Failure

• Failure pushes the story forward.
• Foster a table where success and failure are equally exciting.
• Elicit complications or twists from players.

Dice of Fate

• When randomness is needed, roll 2d6.
• 1-6: Bad Result / 7-9: Mixed Result / 10-12: Good Result

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Principles for Players

• Ask questions often.
• Attributes and saves represent narrative luck. They do not define your character’s body or mind.
• Fighting is a choice and rarely a wise one; consider whether violence is the best way to achieve your goals.
• Look for (and create) non-combat solutions to problems.
• If you must fight, stack the deck in your favor and retreat from bad odds.

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Player Characters (PCs)

1. Ability Scores & HP

Roll 3d6 for each Ability Score. 10 is average.

• Strength - Fighting, fortitude, and toughness.
• Dexterity - Stealth, athletics, and reflexes.
• Willpower - Confidence, discipline, and charisma.

PCs start with d6 Hit Protection, a measure of their ability to avoid life-threatening Damage.

2. Inventory and Equipment

Inventory Slots

PCs have a number of inventory slots equal to their STR or 10, whichever is higher. (i.e. a PC with STR 8 has 10 slots, a PC with STR 10 has 10 slots, a PC with STR 12 has 12 slots).

One slot for each hand. Additional slots can be flavored however you wish (i.e. a backpack, pockets, etc).

• Most items take up one slot.
• Bulky items take up two slots. Typically two-handed and awkward to carry.
• Small items can be bundled together at the Conductor’s discretion.

Anyone carrying one more than a full inventory (e.g. filling all slots + 1) is reduced to 0 HP.

Designer’s Note: The inventory system in Cairn reduces a PCs HP to 0 when all slots are filled, but my players and I always forget to implement that until they run into something that would go over their limit. This change is intended to turn the mechanic into more of an interesting choice.

Item Tags

Tag | Meaning | –|–| Blast | An attack that hits everything in a target area with damage rolled separately for each affected. | Soulbound | Costs 1 SP to ensure it will be passed to your next life. | Light | Takes up 0 item slots.| Stack # | Up to # can be stacked to a single equipment slots| Bulky | Take up two item slots. Typically two-handed and awkward to carry. | Heavy | Cannot move and attack/use on same turn. | —

3. Aspiration & Past Life

Using the following table, roll for your Aspiration and your Past Life.

Past Life:

• Roll d20+0
• Provides:
  • Equipment Package
  • [Optional] Past Life Question for flavor

Aspiration

• Roll d20+1
• Provides:
  • Advantage on relevant ability Saves
  • One item from the matching Equipment Package

All PCs begin with 5 Rations (Light), 3d4 Credits (Light), and a Death Toll(DT) of 1.

Designer’s Note: Death Toll is there to keep the variety of Aspirations fresh and to cut off options like Homonculus which only makes sense as an option for the first roll.

Alchemist

Equipment Package:

• Recipe book with a single entry detailing the recipe for a random potion tk
• 1d4 doses of the potion in the Recipe Book (Stack 5)
• 1d4 empty bottles (Stack 5)
• brewing equipment
• staff (d6)

Question: What equivalent exchange did your Past Life give up for success?

Assassin

Equipment Package:

• Machete (d6)
• d4 doses of Poison (Stack 5) [Apply to blade. d6 Stun damage per minute. STR save after each instance of damage taken to escape effects.]
• Padded Leathers (A1),
• Long Bow (d8, Bulky)

Question: Who was your Past Life’s first kill?

Astrologer

Equipment Package:

• Sextant
• Telescope
• Sceptor (d6)
• Star Chart
• Oddity

Question: What did your Past Life discover in the sky?

Botonist

Equipment Package:

• Hedge Trimmers
• Watering Can
• Bag of Seeds for a random plant (roll on Alchemy Common Ingredient table) tk
• Work Gloves
• Knife (d6)
• Green thumb. Literally and figuratively.

Question: Where were you buried?

Busker

Equipment Package:

• Dagger (d6)
• Musical Instrument
• Pipe-Weed

Question: Whose name did you smear in your songs?

Butcher

Equipment Package:

• Carving Knife
• 2d6 extra starting rations
• Spear (d8)

Question: What did you kill be mistake?

Carpenter

Equipment Package:

• Holes in your hands and feet
• Mallet (d6)
• Handsaw
• Nails
• Work gloves

Question: What was your Past Life’s unfinished masterpiece?

Cartographer

Equipment Package:

• Blank paper
• Map
• Pen and ink
• Knife (d6)

Question: Who did you lead astray?

Chef

Equipment Package:

• Able to recognize rotten and poisonous food
• Cooking tools
• Cookbook
• Dagger (d6)

Question: Who poisoned your Past Life?

Chosen Hero

Equipment Package:

• Weapon (d8, Soulbound)
• Shield (A+1)
• Outdated Armor (A+1, Bulky)

Question: How did your Past Life fail their destiny?

Circus Performer

Equipment Package:

• Natural Balance +1. 20ft Rope
• Grappling Hook
• Collapsible pole
• lockpicks

Question: What trick did your Past Life die attempting to pull off?

Cleric

Equipment Package:

• Ceremonial dagger (d6)
• Holy Symbol [Ward once per day tk]

Question: How did you fail your god?

Dragon Tamer

Equipment Package:

• Dragons trust you instinctively
• Baby Dragon (HP: 4, STR: 8, DEX: 12, WIL: 8; bite: d8, breath: d6 Blast)[Choose an element for breath: acid, electric, poison, fire, cold]
• Crossbow (d8 Bulky)

Question: Where is the dragon your Past Life tamed?

Druid

Equipment Package:

• Sickle (d6)
• Dowsing Rod
• Eyestone (Sense if placed in fresh water)

Question: What became of your body when you died?

Earthworm

Equipment Package: Nothing at all. Immediately roll up another life with 6 SP.

Question: What was your favorite thing about being an Earthworm?

Fisher

Equipment Package:

• Fishing pole
• Carving knife
• Spear (d6)
• Tackle box
• Bag of worms

Question: What were you trying to catch when you drowned?

Gambler

Equipment Package:

• Gambling Problem
• Dice set
• Card set
• Dagger (d6)
• Box of matches

Question: What was the biggest thing you lost in a bet?

Grave Robber

Equipment Package:

• Unsettling demeaner -1 SP
• Undead will always attack you
• Dagger (d6)
• Work gloves
• Lockpicks
• Shovel

Question: What was waiting in the grave to swallow your Past Life?

Homonculus

Equipment Package:

• Naturally Resilient (HP +2)
• Newly created Soul
• Powerful fists (d6)
• Blank book
• Mismatched armor set (A+1, Bulky)

Question: What was your relationship to your creator?

Knight

Equipment Package:

• Longsword (d10 bulky)
• Chainmail (2 Armor, bulky) or Helmet (+1 Armor)
• Cape (Light)
• Manacles

Question: What happened to the thing your Past Life was charged with protecting?

Lich

Equipment Package:

• Skeleton arm
• Crude Armor (A+1, Bulky)
• Ceremonial Dagger (d6)
• Mirror
• Oddity

Question: Why did you thirst for power?

Magician

Equipment Package:

• Spellbook (Random Spell tk)
• Fizzled staff (d8 Bulky)
• Dagger (d6)
• Ragged clothing (hidden pockets)
• Oddity

Question: What natural law did you break?

Merchant

Equipment Package:

• Llama (4 item slots)
• Fine clothes
• 3d6 extra starting money

Question: How did you swindle your customers?

Miner

Equipment Package:

• Pickaxe (d6)
• 20ft Rope
• Hard hat (+1 armor)
• Lamp

Question: What horror did you see deep in the mines?

Mountain Climber

Equipment Package:

• Pickaxe (d6)
• 20ft Rope
• Grappling hook
• Collapsible pole
• Pitch tent (fits 2)

Question: Where did you go that you were not welcome?

Noble

Equipment Package:

• Crown
• Sword (d6)
• Robe
• Oddity
• Multiply starting Credits by 10

Question: Who did you wrong with your influence?

Occultist

Equipment Package:

• Dagger (d6)
• Spellbook (Random Spell tk)
• Forbidden necklace (+1 Calm)
• Oddity

Question: What harmless act were you put to death for?

Oracle

Equipment Package:

• One eye sees the ethereal realm at all times
• Oddity
• Sabre (d8)
• Crystal ball
• Spyglass

Question: What prophecy did you get wrong?

Puppeteer

Equipment Package:

• Marrionette (HP: 6, DEX: 6, WIL: 3; dagger: d4)
• Dagger (d6)
• Unfinished Marrionette (Bulky)
• Whittling knife

Question: What did you give up to breathe life into your Marrionette?

Sailor

Equipment Package:

• Natural Calm +1
• Pistol (d6)
• Dagger (d6)
• 20ft rope
• Spyglass
• Fishing pole.

Question: What sank the ship you were on?

Sellsword

Equipment Package:

• Fear of deep water
• Big Sword (d8, Bulky)
• Breastplate & Helm (1 armor)
• Crowbar
• 20ft rope

Question: What was the worst thing you did for a paycheck?

Shephard

Equipment Package:

• Hooked-staff
• 1d4 Sheep
• Dagger (d6)
• 20ft rope

Question: Why were you not watching your flock?

The Lover

Equipment Package:

• Half of a trinket (your Soul Mate has the other half)
• Dagger (d6)
• Writing Set
• Poison

Question: How has fate tried to keep you from your Soul Mate?

The Rival

Equipment Package:

• Club (d6)
• Writing set
• 2d6 Flashbangs
• Chainmail (A+2, Bulky)

Question: Who did you hate beyond reason?

Undertaker

Equipment Package:

• Undead will not attack you
• Shovel
• Dagger (d6)
• Ether
• Work gloves

Question: Who was the hardest for you to bury?

Vagabond

Equipment Package:

• Pipe and tobacco
• Hatchet (d6)
• Lockpicks
• Book of folktales
• Harmonica

Question: What were you running from?

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4. Ancestry (Optional)

You may also roll 2d6 for your PC’s ancestry and even the ancestry of their Past Life.

This has no specifc mechanical impact, but it might make sense to let Featherfolk fly, and Man-Spiders climb walls, etc.

Players who prefer a modicum of choice can look at both possibilities for a roll and decide between the options (for doubles, subtract the number from 7 to find a second option). For example, if they rolled 2 and 6 they could then choose between ‘Mothkin’ and ‘Duckfolk.’

Nymph Types (d8):

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[Equipment stuff tk]

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Companions & Hirelings

Companions

For small player groups, each player may create one or more Companions. Roll their Ability Scores with 2d6+3 in order and give them d6 hp, a club or sword(d6), and one item from the table.

Hirelings

Unless noted, all Hirelings have: 1d6 HP and Ability Score 10.

Option: Rather than set rates, Hirelings can be priced at a share of whatever treasure the party obtains. However, this probably requires the Hireling be convinced of the possibility of treasure in the first place and more seasoned Hirelings may expect an advance before venturing with the PCs.

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Equipment

Mostly don’t worry about it but Companions and Hirelings can both use this table for item slots:

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What Do You Need to Know?

Saves

Roll a Save to avoid danger from a risky action or situation.

Roll d20. If the result is equal to or under the Ability Score: you pass. 1 always succeeds. 20 always fails.

Make difficult Saves with Disadvantage (roll twice, take the worse result). Make easier Saves (and those related to your Aspiration) with Advantage (roll twice, take the better result).

Combat, Damage, and Death

Combat

At the Start of Combat, each PC makes a DEX save for a chance to act before their adversaries.

• Success: The PC may act before their opponent.
• Failure: The PC does not get to act before their opponent.

After that, order proceeds with PCs acting, then adversaries.

The game typically plays without strict time accounting. If timing is necessary, use 10 second rounds to keep track. A round is comprised of character turns. During each turn all actions, attacks, and movements take place simultaneously.

On Your Turn:

• Move up to 30ft
• Perform one Action
  • Attack
  • Use an Item
  • Make a Save

Attacks

Attacks always hit! Roll the damage die! Subtract the enemy’s relevant Defense!

Enhanced attacks (i.e. high ground) add max die result to damage roll (d6 + 6, d8 + 8, etc).

Impaired attacks roll d4! (i.e. Target behind cover)

Blast weapons can hurt multiple enemies(see [Item Tags link tk])

Damage

To calculate and account for damage, follow these steps:

1. Roll the damage die
2. Subtract Relevant Defense (STR:Armor; DEX:Balance; WIL:Calm)

Damage is first taken from HP. Damage that reduces a target’s HP below zero decreases a target’s Ability Score. They must then make a Save to avoid Crit Damage.

Additionally, some enemies will have special abilities or effects that are triggered when their target fails a critical damage save.

Damage Table

• HP hits 0: make a save of the targeted Ability
• Paralyzed & Incoherent can be treated with a Full Rest

Curse Table

1. Your next incarnation rolls 2d6 instead of 3d6 for their STR. Overrides ‘Carry STR.’
2. Your next incarnation rolls 2d6 instead of 3d6 for their DEX. Overrides ‘Carry DEX.’
3. Your next incarnation rolls 2d6 instead of 3d6 for their WIL. Overrides ‘Carry WIL.’
4. Your next incarnation will have an intensive fear based on the way your current incarnation dies.
5. When you die, your body becomes a zombie and attacks your friends (2hp, lunge: d4).
6. Your next Incarnation will be a Maggot-kin (sentient swarm of maggots controlling & eating a rotting, humanoid corpse). Maggot-kin cannot have more than 1 HP.
7. A spectral hunter has chosen your Soul as a target and intends to consume it. They have your spectral signature and will hunt you mercilessly.
8. Your next Incarnation will hunger for the Souls of others. You must feed once a day or become Deprived.
9. 2 Curses. Roll twice. (If you get another 10 just reroll it).
10. Dissolve into Sea Foam
11. Magical Explosions (d10 Burst)
12. Lose a limb
13. Unfixed Form: roll a new ancestry every day
14. All your teeth fall out
15. Hands become feet, vice versa
16. Ears become eyes, vice versa
17. No more bones in you
18. You catch consumption (3d6 weeks to live)
19. Everyone becomes angry with you
20. Your arms dissolve into their weight in coins

Advanced Actions

Advanced Actions

WATCH OUT: Each repeated turns of Blocking and/or Dodging costs 1 HP.

Action	Check	Effect
Block	n/a	Armor & Balance x2 this turn.
Dodge	DEX for each incoming attack	Success: Take no damage. Fail: Take impaired damage.
Parry	DEX or WIL	Success: Take no damage + free Enhanced counterattack. Failure: Take Enhanced damage.

Designer’s Note: The addition of these 3 Advanced Actions is meant to give some additional strategic combat options to new players in order to get them thinking about the possibilities. They also enable Souls-like-style victory against insurmountable odds. Just like in Souls games, Parrying is more difficult to pull off and runs a higher risk, but also presents the most forward action and does not cost stamina(HP).

Reactions

When the PCs encounter an NPC whose reaction to the party is not obvious, the Conductor may roll 2d6 and consult the following table:

Morale

Groups require a WIL Save to avoid being routed when they lose half of their total numbers. Groups with a leader may use the leader’s WIL score in place of their own. Lone combatants must pass this Save when they are reduced to 0hp. This applies to opponents and allies but not Player characters. Fleeing to safety under pursuit requires a DEX Save and somewhere to withdraw to.

Recovery

Short Rest: A few minutes of rest and a swig of water recovers all of a character’s lost hp. Resting may waste time or attract danger.

Full Rest: A Full Rest requires a week of downtime at a comfortable location. This restores all Ability Scores.

Deprived: Somebody deprived of a crucial need (e.g. food, water, or warmth) cannot benefit from Rests.

Death Cycle

Uh oh, you died… Congratulations and goodbye to you! Wherever will your Soul go next?

Increase your Death Toll (DT) by 1.

Designer’s Note: Souls are not bound by the same laws of time as a mortal body. Your Soul’s next Incarnation is likely already alive and moving through the world. In fact, they’re about to show up and immediately join the party to reduce your downtime as a player!

When a PC dies, their Aspiration becomes their new Past Life and provides a full equipment package. Roll for a new Aspiration (d20+DT) and take one item from the Equipment Package.

Before your new Incarnation arrives, your Soul has some choices to make.

Earn SP

Answer these questions about your character, hitherto referred to as ‘the deceased’:

• Did the deceased save someone else from death?
• Did the deceased loot a memorable treasure or recover loot from the corpse of one of their Past Lives?
• Did the deceased overcome a notable threat or solve a community problem?
• Did the deceased avenge the death of one of their Past Lives?
• Did the deceased express their beliefs, drives, ancestry, Past Life, or Aspiration?
• Did the deceased learn something new and important about the world?

For each “yes” mark 1 SP.

Designer’s Note: The purpose of these questions is to encourage investment into characters. Simply running subsequent characters off a cliff is not going to result in many (if any) SP so it is in player’s best interest to invest in a character and a campaign even with the post-death rewards and high-lethality.

Spend SP

Select a number of Boons. Each Boon costs 2 SP.

• Carry on your STR score to the next Incarnation.
• Carry on your DEX score to the next Incarnation.
• Carry on your WIL score to the next Incarnation.
• Carry on your max HP and (roll d6 to increase it for a max of 12*)
• Carry an item from your past life.
• Eliminate a Curse.

Optional: For each Boon chosen, choose a trait or mark that your next Incarnation will inherit (i.e. a birthmark, a scar, fear of the thing that killed you, etc).

* If spending 1 SP as an antique boon, only carry on the score. Carrying and rolling to increase costs the full Boon price of 2 SP.

Antique Boons

If you purchased any Boons the last time you died, you may either spend 1 SP to take that Boon again OR you may leave it up to fate. For each Antique Boon, roll d12. If you roll a 1, the Antique Boon is lost. If you roll anything else, the Antique Boon remain with your Soul.

Curses

For each Curse which you stand to inherit, you may spend 2 SP to dispel the Curse, alternatively you may leave it up to fate. Roll the die indicated on the table. If you roll a 1, the Curse is dispelled. If you roll anything else, the Curse remains.

Your Old Body

While adventuring, you might cross paths with the corpse of your Past Life. In that instance, you can loot the body. Any items retained via boon or from your new character’s starting equipment is missing. Roll a luck check for each of the remaining items to see if it has been looted or gone bad, etc.

Additional Content

Magic & Oddities

Spells

Spellbooks contain a single spell and take up one slot. They cannot be transcribed or created; instead they are recovered from places like tombs, dungeons, and manors.

Spellbooks sometimes display unusual properties or limitations, such as producing a foul or unearthly smell when opened, possessing an innate intelligence, or being legible only when held in moonlight.

Spellbooks will attract the attention of those who seek the arcane power within, and it is considered dangerous to display them openly.

Scrolls are similar to Spellbooks, however:

• They do not take up an inventory slot.
• They do not cause fatigue.
• They disappear after one use.

Casting Spells:

• Each morning, a PC with a spellbook may roll to replace their current spell with a different one.
• Casting a spell uses a single action and causes 1 Fatigue.
• Given time and safety, PCs can enhance a spell’s impact (e.g., affecting multiple targets, increasing its power, etc.) without any additional cost.
• When deprived or in danger/combat, the spellcaster makes a WIL save to avoid ill-effects (Stress damage, additional Fatigue, injury, etc). (A critical success can either enhance the spell or negate the Fatigue cost)

Spell List

1. Roll for Spell Form
2. Roll for each term.

Spell Form Table:

Adj & Verb Table:

Noun Table: Roll d20 and any even die (so any unless you have those blasphemous Dungeon Crawl Classics dice)

Using an Oddity

A character can use an Oddity’s power as a normal action, though some Oddities ask for something in return.

Oddities are objects that house all sorts of strange and mystical powers. The power of an Oddity is palpable, even to an otherwise ignorant individual. However, determining how that power manifests may take some experimentation.

Oddity List

Bestiary

Agile Slime 4 HP, 0 Armor, 12 STR, 8 DEX, 8 WIL, Punch /Slime-Blade /Slime-Spitter (d6)

• Oozing blue slime. Glowing yellow eyes.
• Stretches and shapes its body into fists, weapons, etc.

Roach-Dog 6 HP, 12 STR, 14 DEX, 10 WIL, Pounce (d4), Shriek (d6, Stress)

• Four-legged creatures with a pair of carapaced wings, antennae, tentacle-lined mouth.
• Often travel in packs.
• Crit: Devours the target’s life-force, restoring its HP to full.

Vacuu-gon 6 HP, 1 Armor, 10 STR, 14 DEX, 10 WIL, Claws (d8)

• Medium-sized draconic vacuum cleaner. Brush/Roller head. Hose for a neck. Wheels. Dust bag stomach.
• An Oddity in its stomach causes indigestion and aggression. Safely removable by a trusted creature.
• Crit: Sucks up target’s held item(s) which go into its stomach or get stuck in its brush.

Accursed Former-Cleric 10 HP, 0 Armor, 14 STR, 8 DEX, 12 WIL, Bite(d10), Claws (d6+d6)

• Many-limbed amphibian. Stench of rotten milk. Consumes corpses with large pincers.
• Preparing a dark ritual to resume human form.
• Crit: Emits a poison spray (d8+d8 Stun)

Crusader 14 HP, 2 Armor, 14 STR, 13 DEX, 8 WIL, Broadsword (d8 Bulky)

• Soldier in a dogmatic, tyrannical army of pillagers.
• Rarely alone. Attempt to take and destroy Oddities.

Galgies 16 HP, 3 Armor, 3 Balance, 3 Calm, 7 STR, 12 DEX, 18 WIL, Rattle (d20 Stress)

• Strange fleshy orbs orbited by a pair of rings. Their eyes are sunken and dark. Their teeth are large and round.
• Galgies do not sleep and their desires are unknown.
• Crit: target takes an additional Curse.

Nuckelavee 6 HP, 1 Armor, 16 STR, 10 DEX, 14 WIL, Claws (d6+d6), low hum (d6 Stress, Blast)

• A skinless, one-eyed horse with a legless humanoid torso fused to its back.
• Arms reach down from the humanoid shoulders, dragging along the ground.
• A bulbous head with a pig-like snout rolls around its shoulders, letting out a course hum.
• Crit Damage: Spews a pungent, toxic vapour from its swollen throat (d10+d10 Stun)

Alchemy

• Most potions cost 5d20 (ALT: d10 * 10) from a reliable source.
• Potion: Look, Save, Effect, Save, Delivery
• All Potions have the Stack 5 tag.
• Brewing takes d6 hours and does not require a save.
• Recipe:

[Common Ingredient] + [Rare Ingredient] = [Looks Like] + [Delivery Method] + [Save] + [Effect]

Common Ingredient

Roll for each column.

Rare Ingredient

[Body Part] of a(n) [Adjective] + [Creature]

Body Part

Adjective + Creature

Look, Delivery, Save

Effect

[effect table tk]

Duration

Duration is attached to the recipe so you don’t have to reroll each time you make it.

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Resources and Credits

Written and Designed by SummerTimeAlice

The following games were major influences on OnO:

• Into the Odd & Electric Bastionland by Chris McDowall
• Liminal Horror by Goblin Archives
• Cairn by Yochai Gal

Thanks to these PbtA games for inspiration on the SP questions:

• World of Blades by MRDR HOBO
• Dungeon World
• Monster of the Week
• Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game

Additional Influence from:

• Monolith by Adam Hensley
• Codex of the Black Sun by Kevin Crawford

These provided inspiration for the general vibes and the world of Ouroborotopia:

• Inscryption by Daniel Mullins
• Troika by Melsonian Arts Council
• Monster Club TCG
• Infinity Train
• Steven Universe
• The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer
• Kingdom Hearts franchise
• Pokemon franchise
• Elden Ring