From publisher blurb:
Karnaxos is a land torn asunder, where the echoes of dead gods fade beneath the war cries of the strong. The Shattered Lands are a brutal expanse of ruined empires, warring factions, and ancient horrors clawing their way back into the light. Here, might is law, survival is earned in blood, and only the Warborn—those tempered by strife—can carve their names into history.
Warborn of Karnaxos is a grim and relentless tabletop RPG where combat is fast, brutal, and unforgiving. Using a deadly 3d6 system with no hit points, every strike, every defense, and every decision is a matter of survival. Choose your path—mercenary, raider, exile, or zealot—and wield bronze-forged weapons, ruthless tactics, and the favor of forgotten powers to shape the fate of the world.
Will you rise to become a legend, or will your bones be lost among the ruins of Karnaxos? Steel your will, take up your arms, and fight—for only the Warborn endure.
No hit points. No second chances. Only survival.
Warborn of Karnaxos introduces a unique, simple, and innovative 3d6 system where combat is swift, brutal, and unforgiving. Every roll is a gamble—life or death, dominance or ruin—with no hit points to chip away at, only decisive clashes where warriors rise or fall in an instant.
The Diplomacy System turns words into weapons, where alliances are forged and broken in high-stakes negotiations, and the weak are devoured by the cunning.
The Combat System is built on positioning, engagement, and the ruthless reality of battle—no grinding, no attrition, just deadly efficiency.
The world itself is your enemy. Roguelike mechanics ensure that survival demands adaptability—every mistake lingers, every success opens new dangers, and the path forward is never the same.
In the depths of Karnaxos, magic is a force of raw will, bending reality but demanding sacrifice. Power is never free, and those who wield it must risk their minds, their bodies, and their very souls.
Long before Karnaxos became the brutal, fragmented world it is today, it was ruled by an empire of unimaginable grandeur—the Aurelian Dominion. The Aurelians were a race of god-touched beings, blessed with intellect, artistry, and an understanding of the natural forces that dwarfed all who came before or after. In their golden age, they walked beside the First Gods, not as mere mortals but as partners in shaping reality itself. From their Sky-Forged Spires, they commanded the land, sea, and heavens, wielding a mastery over metal, stone, and arcane forces that blurred the line between science and sorcery. Their cities, said to hum with celestial energy, were places where the laws of nature bowed to their will. Through their bond with the divine, they harnessed the World Flame, a limitless source of power drawn from the soul of Karnaxos itself, and with it, they created wonders beyond reckoning. But greatness breeds arrogance. Over time, the Aurelians grew restless beneath the will of the Gods. They began to see themselves as equals—perhaps even superior—to their celestial patrons. As their ambitions swelled, they sought to unravel the mysteries of divinity itself, no longer content to receive gifts from the Gods but to claim divine power for themselves. The First Gods warned them, pleading with their once-loyal stewards to abandon their heretical pursuits. But the Aurelians would not listen. They tore open the Veil between the mortal and divine realms, forging a terrible Engine of Ascension, an artifact meant to devour the essence of the Gods and transmute the Aurelians into beings of pure power. When they enacted the Rite of Apotheosis, the First Gods screamed in fury, and the sky itself split asunder. The divine forces of Karnaxos, once in balance, were thrown into violent discord. The World Flame, so long contained within the Aurelian’s forges, exploded outward, igniting the very bones of the planet. In a single night of unimaginable destruction, the Dominion fell. The World Flame raged across the land, splitting mountains, boiling seas, and sundering the great continent into countless fragments. The Aurelians, once the architects of creation, became the architects of ruin. The Sky-Forged Spires collapsed into the abyss, their radiant towers reduced to
shattered ruins buried beneath the earth. The Engine of Ascension, the pinnacle of their arrogance, was cast into the void, its location lost, its power forever a curse upon the world. The First Gods vanished, some consumed in the cataclysm, others retreating to the far reaches of existence, severing their ties to Karnaxos in grief and fury. Their divine laws shattered alongside the world, leaving only chaos and ruin in their wake. Now, Karnaxos is a world of islands and broken continents, scattered remnants of a once-unified land. The scars of the World Flame’s wrath still burn, in the form of raging storms, cursed wastelands, and ruins that whisper with forgotten power. The legacy of the Aurelians is now myth and ruin, their surviving artifacts both revered and feared. Some say their last descendants still walk among mortals, carrying the weight of their ancestors' sins. Others whisper that the Engine of Ascension still exists, waiting to be reclaimed by those bold—or foolish—enough to seek its terrible power. Karnaxos is a world defined by its fall, where remnants of ancient might still linger, and where those who now rule do so over the bones of a lost empire. The Gods are gone, the world is broken, and power belongs only to those strong enough to seize it.
The Warborn – Children of the Fractured Flame
On Karnaxos, magic is a force of destruction and rebirth, a remnant of the cataclysm that shattered the world. It is not a learned craft nor a gift freely given—it is an inheritance, a curse woven into bloodlines, manifesting in one out of every five hundred souls. Those touched by this power are known as the Warborn, beings who carry within them the last flickering embers of the World Flame—the same force that shattered Karnaxos in the fall of the Aurelian Dominion.
They are neither chosen nor privileged; the Warborn emerge without bias, without pattern—from the highest kings to the lowest slaves, from every nation, every creed, every people. None can predict where a Warborn will arise, and none can deny their power once it manifests.
Every decision in Warborn Of Karnaxos carries weight, and every action can mean the difference between survival and death. Whether you’re sneaking past a patrol, taking a precise shot, or breaking open a locked door, actions are resolved using a simple but high-stakes system.
How to Take an Action
When attempting an action, follow these steps:
Declare Your Action – Clearly state what your character is doing. Example: "I climb the rubble to get a better vantage point.“
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Determine the Relevant Skill – The GM decides which Skill applies. If no Skill is relevant, roll 3d6 without bonuses.
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Roll 3d6 – Roll three six-sided dice and add your Skill Level (if applicable) to the total.
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Compare to the Difficulty – The GM sets a Difficulty Number (DN) based on how hard the action is:
Easy (10+) – Routine task, little resistance.
Standard (13+) – Challenging but manageable for a trained individual.
Difficult (16+) – Requires expertise or luck to pull off.
Extreme (19+) – Near-impossible without planning, experience, or assistance.