Content notes
Before you open the cover
Oathclaimed is an interactive narrative board game written for mature readers and players, in the tradition of the romantasy and dark fantasy already on your shelf. It begins as a slow burn and ends the way you hope it will, for you and your partner. You decide how quickly the pages turn.
Mature romance · Dark fantasy themes · Content notes
What's inside
- Romance that turns all the way up, played in words. The deeper realms describe intimate scenes between the two of you, written in the game's own courtly language. There are no pictures of people: only words, the illustrated realms and the character art.
- Devotion, power and surrender between the characters. Roles are built on the tropes you know, so one of you may command and the other may kneel or be worshipped, depending on the pairing.
- Dark romance themes. A tribute sent to a dark lord, bargains and wagers, a captor who becomes something more, a villain worth falling for. These are story framings that both of you choose.
- Fantasy peril in the darker realms. Threats, oaths with a price, and danger on the road, as in any dark fantasy.
- Optional extras. Some cards suggest simple items from around the home. Those cards ask first, a "no" completes them with honour, and the game shows a safety note wherever one is useful.
The heat rises realm by realm. The Moonlit Court is flirtation and tension. The Shadow Wood is where the tension stops being polite. The Obsidian Keep holds nothing back. Beyond the Veil, the boldest tier, is off unless you both turn it on.
Our lines
- Every character is 18 or older.
- Every scene is between two characters who choose it, and every card can be refused.
- Everything is fiction, written by us. No real people, and no images of people.
- Nothing in the game is meant to hurt.
How the game keeps you both in control
The pact
Before the first card, you each agree to the pact: you are 18 or older, you choose to play, and you can refuse any card or stop the game at any time.
The safeword
You choose one together before you begin. Say it, and everything stops, with no price and no questions.
Hold
Say "Hold" and it is hands off for ten slow breaths. Say "show me the card" and it is shown to you.
Yield, or pay
Any card can be refused. You pay the small in-game price printed on it and the story moves on.
Beyond the Veil
The boldest cards stay off unless you both switch them on, and each of you chooses, alone, what you welcome.
Secret draws
You can have cards dealt face down to the one who rolled, or read every card together. Your choice at the start of each night.
Who it's for
Oathclaimed is for mature players only. You must be 18 or older to play this story. It is made for you and a consenting partner, played in private.
The roles are written today for him and her. Sweet or wicked, you choose.
If you see something in the game that shouldn't be there, tell us.