From publisher blurb:
As long as mortals have stepped over hallowed thresholds and looked into the darkness; for as long as they have watched the shadows of the forest; for as long as they have mourned a love spurned... we have gazed back. We bid our time, touching the souls of those who were open to our call - spelling horror, spelling terror - until finally, we were allowed to make our play.
The young queen of a great kingdom was deeply in love, enamored with a young knight in her court. This knight... She was truly beautiful - golden as the sun, lovely as the morning sky - but her eyes were set on another... The queen learned of this and her love turned to jealousy, which we fanned into rage. So delicious a morsel was she, so ripe with emotion. Tender, juicy...
One fateful night at a great ball, she professed her love publicly before all to the young knight, and the knight refused her. Oh, how truly sweet! We all watched, hungry, and then... The suffering of the queen was so potent, so agonizingly powerful, that our fifth sibling was born - Loss - and became so great on that day that the entire kingdom vanished, lost in the midst of the queen's pain. And as her kingdom fell, so too, did the others slowly. Then, we were able to sneak in so silently... Unknown, Darkness, Death, Isolation... We now roam freely, no longer hiding; our powers shaping these new realms... so, so delectable a taste.
Horror at the Table
Hello there, folks! Gohtykka is a setting for DayLITE: Fantasy that bases itself in the themes and theories of Gothic horror. Gothic horror as a literature subgenre is believed to have its origins with the publication of The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole in 1764, but most know it from books like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) or Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1887). The genre focuses on the idea of humanity versus fear - with the fear often being either man-made or supernatural in some aspect. With Frankenstein, Shelley shares fears of modern science as Europe finished its Enlightenment three years prior to its publication. Another popular example is Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). It explores the dark side of humanity; whether or not it is the serum formulated by Jekyll that creates Hyde, or if Hyde was there all along. With this in mind, we have worked to craft Gohtykka in a way that allows for a variety of subsets of Gothic horror to grow and flourish across the different realms, while being candid about the themes and content within each area. In the opening of the four realms, writers have shared content warnings to alert you to what might appear in those, so that you can make a choice about if it's for you or not. Alternatively, you could easily take chunks of Gohtykka and include them in various DayLITE settings or even your homebrewed ones. Horror isn't everyone's jam - it certainly isn't mine - but we know there are folks out there who deeply enjoy the genre, so we wanted to explore its roots!
Touch of the Terrors
When playing in Gohtykka, the Five Cardinal Terrors are the most powerful “spiritual” figures in the land. Since the fall of the Lost Kingdom, their strength has grown immeasurably and they now keep control over many of the souls and minds of those who call Gohtykka home. Somewhere on your Wanderer Card or in a notebook, write down the four Terrors: Unknown, Darkness, Death, and Isolation. Next to each, draw three boxes. Above these four, write down Loss and draw four boxes next to it.Above these four, write down Loss, and draw four boxes next to Loss. All Wanderers begin with two boxes checked - one in Loss, and one in the Terror that rules over their home realm.
Gaining more checks in a Terror happen when there are moments in your Wanderer's story where they succumb to that specific Terror. Perhaps a Wanderer gets separated from their party and lost in the woods of Geisterwald, which would prompt taking a mark in Unknown. Somewhere else, a Wanderer may witness the gruesome killing of a friend by a wild beast, and thus take a mark in Death. When a Wanderer's Terror Tracker becomes full (three checked boxes) in a Lesser Terror, they then fill in another box in the Loss tracker.
Reducing marks in the Terror Trackers can happen in several ways. Perhaps that Wanderer who became lost is able to regain their composure and find their way back without losing hope; the one who saw their friend killed works diligently to keep their friend's memory alive. However, when a Terror Tracker becomes full, it remains full and a piece of that Terror is always with you. Should you fill the Loss Tracker (Loss marks cannot be taken away), then you fully succumb to the Terrors and transform into a horrific creature of the night, losing yourself and your mortality.
This mechanic is optional and adds more risk and stakes to the game. However, you do not need to enforce it in order to get "the maximum experience" of Gohtykka.
What's In Store?
Four original kingdoms to explore that are rooted in various horror themes
Fourteen lineages
Twelve careers
The Terror Mechanics