
Heart RPG · Heart: The City Beneath
Heart: The City Beneath
Heart: The City Beneath is a fantasy horror RPG focused on discovery, risk, and change. You journey below Spire into shifting tunnels, lost gods, and impossible spaces. The stories are often tragic yet human, filled with tough bargains and moments of wonder. Players appreciate its vivid character interactions, unusual factions, and the way consequences influence every decision. It's best suited for adults who enjoy dark fantasy and surreal imagery.
At the table, each session feels like a tense expedition. You chart a course through the unknown, negotiate with desperate guides, confront ravenous places, and determine how far to push your limits. The Game Master sets the scenes, signals risks, and allows your choices to reshape the world. It accommodates 2 to 5 players, whether online or in person. Beginners are welcome, while veterans will discover layers of depth. Ready to descend? Browse available professional Game Masters here.
How to play Heart: The City Beneath
You roll a pool of d10s based on your character's strengths and the environment they're in, then take the highest die to determine the outcome. Pressure adds Stress to tracks like Blood, Mind, or Supplies. As stress accumulates, Fallout can occur, altering you or the situation. A turn is straightforward: state your intention, understand the risk, roll, manage the result, and decide your next move. Play flows between conversation, exploration, and crisis.
Players create bold, flawed characters driven by a calling and a readiness to make difficult choices. A professional Game Master presents the City’s delves, factions, treasures, and horrors, establishes clear stakes, and employs safety tools. You will use character sheets, dice, quick maps, and shared notes. Online games run smoothly over video with a shared map or VTT. See common options for online play.
In a one-shot, you engage in a focused delve with a clear objective and tight pacing, aiming for standout moments and a clean conclusion. Expect hard bargains and a taste of Fallout before wrapping up. In a campaign, your crew builds contacts and resources, attempts riskier delves, and lives with lasting scars and rewards. Obsessions deepen, relationships evolve, and the City Beneath remembers your actions. Sessions typically run for 3 to 4 hours.




Common questions
Do I need to know about Heart or Spire to play?
No. You can arrive knowing nothing. A professional Game Master will explain the rules in minutes and guide you through creating a character. The system uses pools of d10s and clear outcomes, so it comes together quickly. You will learn about Stress and Fallout as you encounter them. If you are familiar with Spire, that helps with the vibe, but it is not essential. You can also choose someone who enjoys teaching beginners when you browse available Game Masters.
How is Heart different from D&D?
Heart focuses on risk, cost, and discovery rather than tactical combat. There is usually no grid. Position and narrative matter more than exact distances. You build dice pools based on your actions and location, then manage Stress to tracks like Blood, Mind, and Supplies. Fallout alters scenes and characters, not just hit points. Equipment is lightweight and tagged, magic is potent but expensive, and factions influence your decisions. Delves feel like perilous expeditions where objectives and consequences drive play.
What tone and content should I expect? Is it quite scary?
Expect surreal horror, obsession, and strange wonder. Scenes may include body horror, cults, scarcity, and psychological strain. This is intended for adults, not children. Before play, our Game Masters establish lines and veils and utilise safety tools such as Script Change or the X-card. You decide the intensity you prefer. It can be grim and desperate, or balanced with moments of hope and beauty. The aim is to create tense, meaningful play where you feel safe as a person, even when your character is in peril.
What group size is ideal and how long does a session last?
Heart is designed for 2 to 5 players. With fewer players, you'll enjoy more focus and a tighter, more perilous journey. More players introduce cross-talk, strategies, and more chaotic outcomes. Sessions usually run for 3 to 4 hours. A one-shot is ideal for a single expedition with a clear goal and a definitive conclusion. In an ongoing campaign, you'll establish contacts and resources, take on riskier ventures, and deal with lasting consequences. Your Game Master will adjust the pacing to suit your group's style.
What types of characters can I play in Heart?
You choose a class with a unique flavour, such as Deep Apiarist, Vermissian Knight, Junk Mage, Cleaver, Heretic, or Hound. Your Calling determines what motivates you, like Adventure, Enlightenment, Profit, or Protection. Abilities, equipment tags, and Beats influence your actions and development. Character creation takes around 20 to 30 minutes with guidance, or you can opt for pregenerated sheets for a quicker start. Expect bold, flawed individuals who are prepared to trade safety for their desires.
How perilous is Fallout? What occurs when I take Stress?
Stress accumulates on various fronts as you test your luck. When Fallout occurs, the Game Master enforces an appropriate consequence. Minor Fallout might damage equipment, change the scene, or leave a temporary scar. Major Fallout can alter your journey, affect relationships or resources, or even remove your character from play. While death is a possibility, the game typically transforms you before it takes your life. Risks are clearly marked, allowing you to decide when to push forward, regroup, or negotiate for a safer path.
Does Heart function effectively online and what tools do you utilise?
Yes. Heart runs smoothly over video with simple maps, shared dice rollers, and handouts. Many of our Game Masters use Roll20, Foundry, or Owlbear Rodeo, or keep it lightweight with theatre of the mind and a shared document. The system’s dice pools and narrative positioning suit online play. If you have a preferred setup, mention it at booking. For common platform options and what they offer, see online play platforms.
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