# Choir of Flesh tags: #game/rpg/OathOfFlesh ![[Choir of Flesh (cover).jpg]] ![[Choir of Flesh (camera).jpg]] **Choir of Flesh** is what happens when the Rapture finally shows up, but God forgot to mention that "salvation" involves being melted into a singing pile of meat or eaten by the ground. Set in a charmingly devastated 1000 AD France, you play as an "Unbroken"—one of the few poor sods who hasn't yet succumbed to the **Celestial Choir** (angels who want to remix your DNA into a hymnal) or the **Flesh That Feeds** (a subterranean horror that treats physics as a suggestion). It is a game of survival, resource scavenging, and settlement management where "winning" usually just means you didn't grow a mouth on your forehead today. The core resolution mechanic is a D20 system that refuses to let the Game Master do any work. All rolls are player-facing. When you want to do something ill-advised, you roll a **D20 + Attribute Modifier** against a Target Number (TN). If you meet or beat it, you succeed. If you fail, something terrible happens, usually involving body horror. Combat is grid-based and tactical, relying on a nasty injury system rather than a pool of Hit Points. You don't just lose health; you accumulate **Minor** and **Major Injuries** which eventually lead to **Trauma**—a persistent tally of how broken you are that makes everything harder until you inevitably die or wish you had. The best part of the design is the **Anguish** mechanic, which helpfully quantifies exactly how much your soul is eroding every time you look at the things you're fighting. ## Character Creation Walkthrough Creating a victim—sorry, *character*—in **Choir of Flesh** involves the following steps: 1. **Roll Attributes:** Roll 4D6, drop the lowest, and sum the rest. Do this six times and assign the scores to **Strength**, **Constitution**, **Dexterity**, **Intelligence**, **Willpower**, and **Presence**. Consult the modifier table (10-11 is +0, etc.) to find your actual useful numbers. 2. **Calculate Derived Stats:** - **Carrying Capacity:** Equal to your **Strength** score. - **Defense Rating (DR):** Equal to your **Dexterity** modifier (plus armor, eventually). - **Initiative:** Equal to your **Dexterity** modifier. - **Vigor:** Equal to your **Constitution** modifier + **Willpower** modifier. - **Move:** Everyone starts with a Move of 2. 3. **Set Base Counters:** Set **Anguish** to 0 (for now) and **Humanity** to 20. 4. **Select Proficiencies:** Choose one **Weapon** proficiency and one **Armor** proficiency. 5. **Choose a Feat:** Pick one starting Feat to give your character a false sense of competence. 6. **Optional Drawbacks:** You may roll for up to three **Drawbacks** (like "One Eye" or "Coward"). For each flaw you accept, you get an extra Feat. 7. **Select Skills:** Choose 4 **Skills**. If any Attribute is 16+, you get a bonus Skill associated with it. You can optionally swap a Skill for a **Gift of the Unmade**, which is a nice way of saying "useful mutation." 8. **Flesh Out the Background:** Roll or choose on the flavor tables: - **Sin:** The flaw that anchors you to reality. - **Shard of the Old World:** A trinket from before the sky broke. - **Whisper of Doom:** A rumor or quest that will likely kill you. - **Former Occupation:** What you did before the world ended (grants one extra Skill and a specific Trouble). 9. **Gear Up:** Grab a weapon, a Gambeson, and 30 Rations. You have a small budget of additional Rations to spend on other gear, but don't worry, you'll lose it all soon enough. # References - [Buy the Digital or Print Editions - DriveThruRPG](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/535110/choir-of-flesh) - [Official Game Page and Store - Blackoath Entertainment](https://blackoathgames.com/choirofflesh) - [Video Review and Overview - Dungeons & Dyslexia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R0vGCyhaXU) - [My Solo RPG Journey: Choir of Flesh. Gunter's Trials Part 1](https://terminallynerdy.substack.com/p/my-solo-rpg-journey-choir-of-flesh-617) > [!note] Editor's Note > No notes. 10 out of 10.