THEY DO NOT STOP. YOU MUST NOT FAIL.
A downloadable survival horror ttrpg
THEY DO NOT STOP. YOU MUST NOT FAIL. is a solo survival horror role-playing game about escaping a mysterious, unstoppable and unrelenting foe in an impossible maze.
Inspired by Resident Evil, Dead Space and Silent Hill, learn to manage your resources, navigate strange places and survive the horror intact.
Create stories about a relentless monster constantly stalking after you and constantly breathing down your neck. Make bad combat decisions and get punished or outsmart your pursuer and live by the skin of your teeth.
This role-playing game features:
- A 4-page solo survival horror experience with easy-to-learn rules and lots of replayability.
- Big mechanical spreads done in an immersive style inspired by Dead Space. Physically shift around and rearrange your inventory with cutouts like you would in any classic survival horror game.
- Dead simple key-and-room puzzle and item crafting mechanics.
- A BADASS shotgun - the Triple Kings. Three smoking barrels of fun.
This game comes in A4 (210mm × 297cm) in PDF format with dedicated PDFs to make your own item cutouts. To play, you will need twelve-sided dice, pencils and erasers.
Content warning: Implied body horror and conveys imagery of gore.
Status | Released |
Category | Physical game |
Rating | Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars (6 total ratings) |
Author | CABBAGEHEAD |
Genre | Role Playing |
Tags | Halloween, Horror, resident-evil, silent-hill, Singleplayer, Solo RPG, Survival Horror, Tabletop, Tabletop role-playing game |
Purchase
In order to download this survival horror ttrpg you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $4.44 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Community Copies
Support this survival horror ttrpg at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Community Copies
Community copies are available for free to anyone who can't afford to buy the game. If you're facing hardships or need a break; feel free to take a copy, no questions asked!
Every purchase of the game donates another community copy for others to claim.
Development log
- Happy Halloween! More Community Copies!Oct 31, 2023
- Update 1.3.2 and more Community CopiesOct 24, 2023
Comments
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Awesome layout and ideas, CABBAGEHEAD team!
Is there any chance that Community Copies could be replenished soon? :D
Community copies have been updated. :)
woohoo!! thank you!!
They you do must not not stop. Fail.
Hi! Cool game! I have a few questions though because I keep dying lol.
1) How are you supposed to start? Are you fighting THEM right at the get go? Or rolling for a place?
2) If you miss one of three shots and FIRE AGAIN, do you fire three shots again or only one shot?
3) Is WHAT REMAINS only for when you make THEM fall or is that used also when you enter a room?
4) Can you reload all your bullets in one move or only one bullet at a time?
5) I didn’t realize that I wasn’t supposed to map out the place if I didn’t have the compass until I read the other comment on here. Also, if a room is considered empty once visited, what use is backtracking? Is it for the locked rooms? And do you need to roll for THEM when revisiting a room?
6) Less of a question and more of a suggestion. I was defs very confused at first and would have loved some kind of introductory blurb to explain how to read the rules and especially where to start.
7) One more suggestion would be to put the text of the items and places on or next to each image in the cutouts. The art is cool, but hard to remember what each image represents on a glance.
I really like all the vibes though and will try it out some more!
Thanks!
Hi! Thank you for the questions.
1) You start by fighting THEM immediately. The intention was for players to start playing the moment they read the game.
2) You fire 3 Shots in a burst each time with your Pistol and the Three Kings. The only exception is when you have less than 3 Shots loaded. So you will fire the remaining Shots instead (1 or 2). This can happen if your total ammo for a gun is at an odd number.
3) WHAT REMAINS can only be found and picked after making THEM fall. Under PLACES, each new place you enter will have its own list of items or effects. Some of these items are the same ones you see in WHAT REMAINS. If you mean entering a Room under the list of Places given, you can choose to add either 1 Shot or 1 Skin into your Inventory.
4) You reload all your Shots at once. The game won't stop you from reloading less. But it would not be wise.
5) I split my answer for this in two parts for backtracking and revisiting Places:
6) This is definitely a common problem I'm seeing from first reviews! There is a short preamble on the last page of the game right now. But it does not explain much. I plan to add a better introduction to help players get into play better in the next big update.
7) That's a good suggestion. I'll try to add labeled cutouts for accessibility.
And this was not in the questions but I notice dying quickly happens frequently for players. So I'm considering more options for players to adjust the difficulty for themselves without taking away the challenge facing THEM. Such as a better starting inventory and more risk-vs-reward effects.
Thanks for the compliments too. I hope you enjoy your next play!
Thanks for your quick reply! And actually I had another thought about what you said about mapping PLACES. I just assumed you were going from room to room in a straight line. One door in one door out. Could a PLACE have more than two entrances?
Yes. Each Place can be connected side-to-side. So they would have four "entrances". This wasn't communicated to keep the instructions short. So I'm writing a clearer Mapping section next.
Hi! I just purchased and had a few questions:
1) If I missed a hit, I get attacked. But if I have to reload, do I immediately get attacked again?
2) When I continue, it says face them on a 6+, do I roll that before or after I check what remains?
3) When scarred, is that -1 to hit rolls or all rolls?
4) There's no spot to record coins, do I just write it anywhere?
Can I only return to places when I have the compass? What do I use the places cutouts for?
Thanks! I'm looking forward to playing.
Thanks for the feedback! I made some changes to address your questions so the new version (1.3.2) should be helpful.
1) If you missed a hit and immediately have to reload, you will be attacked twice. Once for missing and not immediately taking Them down. And again for reloading and giving Them the chance. If you're having trouble with this, getting a P. Mag might help a lot.
2) You only roll to check if you will face Them when you move into a new Place. The new version has changed the rule to make it more clear.
3) The penalties only happen to your Hit rolls.
4) If you mean "SELL for COIN" under FLESH, this was the old name for currency in a previous version. You collect and use EYES to buy things instead. You can find a small box to keep track of it under the INVENTORY heading.
5) Yes, you can only start tracking and returning to old Places once you get the compass. They will disappear otherwise. The cutouts can be physically printed and cut to keep track of inventory and your map.
For inventory, the items can be placed on your inventory slots. You have a starting limit of 4x4 slots (-1 from your Pistol which cannot be removed) to work with. Note: The Triple King takes up 4 slots!
For mapping, the places can be arranged on a surface or paper to keep track of how things are laid out or connected around you. I realize mapping can be a little obscure. So I will try to make something for that in the next update.
I hope you have a good time playing!
Thanks so much!