Old Gods of Appalachia RPG

Step into the shadowed hollows, heed the warnings of the whispering pines, and pray whatever sleeps beneath the mountain does not stir when you speak its name.

Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game is a massive, 416-page standalone tabletop roleplaying game produced by Monte Cook Games in direct collaboration with Steve Shell and Cam Collins, creators of the award-winning, eldritch horror audio drama podcast. Powered by the narrative-driven Cypher System, this lavishly illustrated hardcover transports players to an alternate, dark-turn-of-the-century Appalachia—a world of isolated coal towns, sprawling mountain ranges, railroad booms, and primordial, cosmic horrors buried far deeper than any mine shaft should dare go.

The core book provides a complete, self-contained gaming experience requiring no other rulebooks to play. Players step into the worn boots of miners, healers, conjurors, drifters, and everyday mountain folk fighting to protect their homes and kin against corrupt industrial barons, restless haints, dark pacts, and the waking ancient entities that were imprisoned beneath the ancient hills before man walked the earth. With deep historical lore, rich folklore-based magic, atmospheric storytelling advice, and ready-to-play adventures, the game effortlessly captures the Southern gothic poetry and lingering dread of the podcast.

Game System and Setting Features:

• Tailored Cypher System Engine: Streamlined narrative mechanics utilizing the intuitive "descriptor, type, focus" character generation model, customized with bespoke mountain archetypes, backgrounds, and thematic abilities.
• Folk Magic & Rootwork: Rules for subtle, authentic mountain conjuring, warding, herbalism, and pact-making that emphasize folklore, storytelling, and grave consequences over flashy spellcraft.
• Alternate Appalachian History: Deep worldbuilding spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries, covering company coal towns, timber clearcuts, the Holler folk, and the sinister machinations of the Barrow Mining Company.
• Horrors of the Hills Bestiary: Complete profiles and stat blocks for twisted cryptids, ancient slumbering things, predatory spirits, corrupt automatons, and mortal zealots.
• Introductory Adventures: Pre-written, highly atmospheric scenarios that plunge your table straight into the dark hollows and moral ambiguities of the setting.

Book Contents:

• 416-Page Full-Color Hardcover Rulebook
• Complete, Self-Contained Cypher System Rules Engine
• In-Depth Gazetteer of Alternate Appalachia and Secret Societies
• Extensive Bestiary of Mountain Cryptids and Eldritch Horrors
• Modular Story Scenarios and Campaign Frameworks