Through the Breach (Savage Malifaux) [ EDIT ]

Genres: Steampunk, Urban Fantasy, Horror.

System: Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE).

Number of Players: A minimum of four and a maximum of six.

Posting Rate: Three or four times a week.

Game Duration: Depends on how long people remain interested.

Experience: Prior experience with either Through the Breach or Savage Worlds is helpful, but not required. SWADE is a fairly easy system to pick up, and you can learn the Malifaux setting lore as we play.

Adult Content: The World of Malifaux is a dystopian one where life is cheap, brutality is commonplace, and monsters are real. Expect violence, gore, and occultism, but nothing too graphic. My games never include child abuse, torture, or sexual violence.

Marginalized Groups: All such groups are welcomed in my games.

How to Apply: First come, first served. Leave a post below expressing your interest to join the game.


Malifaux is a skirmish-level miniatures wargame created by Wyrd Miniatures in 2009. The game became popular in wargaming circles for its unique card-based mechanics and dystopian alternate history setting. Eventually, this popularity led to the creation of a tabletop role-playing game based on the miniatures game. Known as Through the Breach, the RPG is currently on its second edition and utilizes a diceless, card-based resolution system much like the wargame.

I've previously considered trying to run Through the Breach as a play-by-post game, but the card mechanics proved difficult to translate into pbp. Fortunately, I have recently come across a great fan-made Savage Worlds conversion for the Malifaux setting. It's good enough that I decided to revisit the idea of a Through the Breach pbp game. So here's my pitch:


The Setting

Through the Breach is a twisted mirror of Earth in the early 1900s, where steam power collides with monsters, magic, and the Wild West.

Human history in this setting unfolded similarly to our history, with one major difference: the inclusion of magic. Magic has always existed on Earth. Wizards waged war with mighty spells augmenting themselves. The art of medicine used magic to great effect, while advances in technology relied upon it. This improved life considerably... until, of course, the magic disappeared. Over time, magical energies began to wane. Eventually, the mightiest of sorcerers could only manage the simplest spells. Humanity was at a loss, and even though people tried to adjust, many problems arose.

In the year 1787, the remaining wizards of the world banned together to attempt an audacious ritual that would bring back magic to Earth. The desperate attempt seemingly failed, and it cost the lives of almost everyone involved. However, all was not truly lost. A large portal to another world was torn open. It was known as "The Breach of the Great Boundary" (or just "The Breach" for short), and it didn't take long before a few brave souls decided to ventured in. On the other side of the Breach, explorers found waiting for them an abandoned alien city of black stone and gothic architecture. Beyond the city's walls was a brand new frontier; a wilderness under a sky of twin moons and strange stars. The world, and the city itself, came to be called "Malifaux."

The City of Malifaux was completely uninhabited and rife with countless dark secrets and mysteries. Explorers discovered formulae for building powerful robotic constructs, spells not known to mankind, and magical relics, among many other things. Malifaux was a magic-rich place, and the city seemed absolutely filled with magic. Visitors found magic incredibly easy to cast. Even those without any arcane knowledge could sometimes spontaneously shoot fireballs or cast other magical effects. But all of those things paled in comparison to the greatest discovery of all: Soulstones.

Soulstones were rare crystals, each worth a small fortune, that seemed to gather arcane energy on their own. When harnessed, they enabled Wizards to cast spells more easily, and they could be used to power magical weapons or constructs. Best of all, Soulstones could be transported back to Earth, allowing for those on Earth to use magic, as well. The Soulstones were named for their most curious trait. When a Soulstone was depleted of energy, it would refill if it was placed near someone just as they died. While there were other ways to recharge Soulstones, this unique feature got them their moniker.

The Soulstone Trade became a booming global business. Tens of thousands of settlers flooded to Maulifaux looking for treasure, adventure, or just to escape their problems and start over on a new world. New settlements and boomtowns arose in the wilderness beyond Malifaux City in order to facilitate the mining and transport of Soulstones. Earth seemed to be heading into a new golden age of magic as Soulstone harvesting increased.

As settlers spread across the World of Malifaux, there began to be reports of encounters with strange creatures and horrific monsters. Some reports even told of monsters using intelligent language. Though the tales were initially laughed at and dismissed, this changed when a caravan of hundreds was slaughtered by demonic beings sporting wings and horns. It soon became clear that Malifaux was home to more than just dangerous animals but seemingly sapient beings. And these beings strongly disliked humanity. These natives of Malifaux became known as the "Neverborn" - roving nightmares with many forms and faces, and they would remain an ever-present threat to human existence on the alien world. Though no one knows for certain, it's presumed that the Neverborn are responsible for the fall of the Breach.

On that now infamous day, a decade after it was first opened, the Breach suddenly started to close. From Earthside, the sounds of combat and men dying could be gleaned as the Breach shrank down into nothing. Just before it shut for good, a dead body was thrown through the Breach, with the word "Ours" cut into it. The Earth's supply of Soulstones was cut off. Desperate attempts to re-open the Breach failed.

Humanity began the "Great Powder Wars". Nations fought once another for the small supply of Soulstones still circulating. Wizards hoarded their Soulstone stockpiles, and the fighting was bloody. As a result of the Wars came the rise of "The Guild of Mercantilers". The Guild was an extra-national organization that helped to curb further warfare by agreeing to manage the world's meager stockpiles of Soulstone. In time, the Guild developed into the sole practitioners of effective magic, and thus a global powerhouse.

The Breach stayed closed for nearly a century. Eventually though, to everyone's shock, the Breach re-opened. The Guild immediately sent explorer teams, and they reinforced the area near the Breach. The bodies of the original inhabitants were never found. There were signs of combat, but no signs of life. The City of Malifaux was empty once again. The Guild set about re-colonizing the city and the surrounding landscape. The Guild in Malifaux established itself as the primary governmental authority, and the Soulstone Trade began anew.

It is now 1907; a time of great opportunity and progress. With Malifaux City once again settled and the Breach stable, new torrents of people are flooding into Malifaux seeking opportunities for jobs and adventure. Convicts from Earth are also sent to Malifaux to work the Soulstone Mines. The Guild controls roughly a quarter of the city, along with many outposts in the wilderness beyond, and it rules with a tyrannical fist. Only Guild members are permitted to use magic, and those casting spells without authorization are hunted down by the group's Witch Hunters. Necromancers and magic-wielding terrorists work to undermine the Guild's authority, while organized crime from Earth has made a new home for itself in Malifaux. The nightmarish Neverborn are also still a problem. They want humanity to leave their lands, and they infiltrate the dark recesses of the city, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

It is a time for adventure and horror, and, if you're lucky, success beyond your wildest dreams. And all it might cost you is your life and sanity.