The eternal battle between Order and Entropy is a staple of fantasy fiction, yet it is rare to see it handled with as much stylistic flair as it is in Broken Lands: Adventures Between Law and Chaos.
Carlos Ferrer has crafted a setting that wears its influences proudly, drawing inspiration from the likes of Michael Moorcock, Jack Vance, and Fritz Leiber. The game presents a world of sword and sorcery where players take on the roles of heroes and antiheroes caught in a fragile balance that is beginning to fracture.
This document serves as a Quickstart guide to introduce the game before the core rulebook is published in 2026 via a crowdfunding campaign. While it leaves out some rules, it provides more than enough material to get a table started, including a summary of the setting, the core system, combat rules, and a complete starter adventure.
The World of the Broken Lands
The setting is defined by a history of conflict known as the Great War, which technically ended nearly two centuries ago but left deep wounds that are beginning to bleed again. The world is caught between two massive, opposing forces. On one side is the Patriarchate, a theocratic state of Law where obedience and order supersede joy. On the other side is the Scarlet Empire, led by the Scarlet Lady, which seeks to offer the world as a sacrifice to the gods of Chaos.
Between these superpowers lie the Broken Lands, a collection of smaller nations that will soon be forced to pick a side. The setting is rich with dark fantasy elements, weird science, and horror. It features unique cultures, such as the Mereni, a race fleeing from another world that values Cosmic Balance, and the Merendrak, who have allied with dragons to control the Eastern Continent. The atmosphere is tense and political; the gods of Law and Chaos are actively rushing toward a new confrontation, using human agents as pawns in their struggle for the Multiverse.
The System
Broken Lands utilises a custom system that relies principally on 10-sided dice (d10), though d3, d6, and d20 are used for specific damage or table rolls. Characters are defined by three characteristics: Body, Mind, and Spirit.
The core mechanic is straightforward and robust. When a character attempts an action, the player rolls 1d10 and adds the result to their skill score. If the total meets or exceeds the difficulty, ranging from 10 (Easy) to 25 (Very hard), the action succeeds. The system includes an “exploding die” mechanic where rolling a 10 allows the player to roll again and add the result, theoretically allowing for limitless totals. Conversely, a natural 1 indicates a Complication.
One of the more interesting mechanical flourishes is the “Death Risk.” When a character suffers a wound, a player can choose to check the Death Risk box. Doing so halves the incoming damage, potentially saving the character from incapacitation, but it makes them vulnerable to permanent death if their Life Points hit zero subsequently. It is a clever way to simulate the desperate resilience often seen in sword and sorcery literature.
Combat and Magic
Combat is structured into rounds of approximately six seconds, divided into three phases: Quick, Regular, and Slow. Action order depends on the complexity of the task; for example, shooting a loaded bow happens in the Quick phase, while loading and firing happens in the Slow phase. Melee is resolved through opposed rolls rather than separate attack and defence rolls, meaning a skilled defender can damage an attacker during the exchange.
Magic in the Broken Lands is not a trivial affair. Sorcery involves manipulating the elemental principles of reality, known as spheres. Casting a spell requires overcoming a difficulty threshold and spending Magic Points (MP). If a spell targets a living being, the sorcerer must also win an opposed Spirit roll against the victim. The Quickstart includes specific spells relevant to the included adventure, such as Inhibit Chaos or Summon Demon.
Adventure: Hearts & Masks
The guide includes a starter adventure titled Hearts & Masks, which can be completed in a roughly 4-hour session. It is a tragic love story involving a priest named Taurus, his Mereni wife Shirina, and a slave named Swift.
The adventure begins in a coastal trading post called Low Rocks, where the players witness a confrontation involving agents of the Scarlet Empire. It eventually leads to the Temple of the Sacred Blade, where a ritual sacrifice is planned for the winter solstice. The module is well-detailed, providing maps of the settlement and the temple, as well as distinct motivations for the pregenerated characters. It highlights the moral ambiguity of the setting, as players must navigate between the cruel practices of the Scarlet Empire and the complex personal histories of the NPCs.
Final Thoughts
Carlos Ferrer and the team at Ediciones t&t, along with illustrator Daniel Jimbert, have produced a visually striking and mechanically sound introduction to their world. The translation by Oso Búho and Carlos Ferrer, edited by Neil Kingham and Tim Gray, makes the text accessible to an English-speaking audience for the first time.
For those who enjoy the grittier, high-stakes feel of classic sword and sorcery where gods meddle and magic has a cost, Broken Lands is a game well worth watching.
Quick Links
- The whole book isn’t out yet, but you can pay what you want for the Quickstart.
