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"The fire fades, the mind fractures, but the loop remains."

Lore

The ash of the ancient world clings to your armor. You are a Cursed One, bound to an endless cycle of death and rebirth within the depths of a volatile chasm. As you descend into the fog, you must manage your dwindling stamina and defend your fracturing sanity against the terrors of the void. Will you harvest enough souls to ascend, or will you wither into nothingness? The fire is waning, and the abyss calls.

Game Details

  • Number of Players: 1 (Solo-First)
  • Genre: Dark Fantasy / Roguelike / Print & Play
  • Play Time: 15 - 20 minutes per cycle
  • Main Mechanics: Resource Management, Turn-Based Tactical Combat, Risk vs. Reward Exploration

Core Mechanics

  • The Unified Rite: Experience the ultimate edition of Cinder & Ash, combining the core rules with the deep mechanical progression of the Embers of the Abyss and Whispers of the Scorched expansions on a single sheet.
  • The Weight of the Mind: Manage your Sanity (SN). Drifting into Hysteria (0 SN) alters your perception of reality, permanently penalizing your attack rolls and forcing you to face the nightmarish Corrupted Bestiary instead of standard encounters.
  • The Ashen Armory: Scavenge for souls or roll for randomized Equipment like the Greatshield and Twin Blades. Alternatively, bind yourself to powerful but cursed Forbidden Artifacts that grant immense strength at a dangerous cost to your vitals.
  • Abyssal Depths Endgame: Defeating the standard Chasm Boss is only the beginning. Brave the true endgame by plunging into the Abyssal Depths, surviving deadly new threats to track your Ascension bonuses and Cycles Survived.

Requirements

To play this print and play roguelike, you will need:

  • 1 Printed Copy of the ruleset and the game sheet (which condenses the core game and the two expansions).
  • 1 Standard Six-Sided Die (1d6) to resolve trials, combat, and exploration tables.
  • Tracking Tokens: Small dice, paperclips, cubes, or a pencil to track your Vitals (HP, ST, SO, SN).

FREE OST INSIDE!

More information
Updated 8 days ago
Published 17 days ago
StatusReleased
CategoryPhysical game
Rating
Rated 4.0 out of 5 stars
(2 total ratings)
AuthorSoul Art Toys
TagsBlack and White, business-card, Dark, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Medieval, One-page, Print & Play, solitaire, Solo RPG
AI DisclosureAI Assisted, Graphics, Sounds, Text

Download

Download NowName your own price

Click download now to get access to the following files:

Cinder&Ash Definitive Edition - Ruleset.pdf 451 kB
Cinder&Ash Definitive Edition - Game Sheet.pdf 505 kB
OST - Descend Into The Fog.mp3 28 MB
Cinder&Ash - The Lore Scrolls.pdf 1.2 MB
Soul-Bound Blade Token.stl 23 MB

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Soul Art Toys8 days ago

UPDATE:

Wanderers of the Chasm,

The cycles continue, and two new additions have just been added to the download section to deepen your descent:

  • 3D-Printable Soul-Bound Blade Token (.STL): Bring a piece of the Chasm to your tabletop. Fire up your 3D printers and forge your own custom sword token, perfect for tracking stamina, marking your status at the Bonfire, or counting your cycles.
  • "The Lore Scrolls" PDF: Peer into the madness with this illustrated guide uncovering the grim secrets of Cinder & Ash. Read up on the tragic backgrounds of the Travelers, the standard and forbidden artifacts of the armory, the horrific bestiary of the Hysteria layers, and the cosmic entities ruling the dark.

Both files are free to download right now on this page. Ready your blade, sacrifice your souls to the flame, and plunge back into the depths.

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Soul Art Toys17 days ago (1 edit)

Here is an example gameplay walkthrough of Cinder & Ash Definitive Edition to show you how a cycle plays out, utilizing the core mechanics, stamina management, and risk-reward loops.

1. Setup & The Rite of Origin

We prepare our tracker sheet and set our starting vitals:

  • Vitality (HP): 10 / 10
  • Stamina (ST): 3 / 3
  • Souls (SO): 0
  • Sanity (SN): 5 / 5

Before stepping into the Chasm, we perform the Rite of Origin. We choose The Forsaken perk, granting us a sturdier starting frame:

  • Current Max HP becomes 12.

2. Chamber 1: Entering the Chasm

We roll 1d6 on the Chasm Table and get a 1. According to the table, we encounter a Hollow (4 HP / 2 DMG / 3 DEF). Because we always act first in Chambers, combat begins immediately.

Turn 1

  • Player Turn: We want to strike early. We spend 1 ST (leaving us at 2 ST) to take the Strike action. We roll 1d6 and get a 5. Since 5 is strictly greater than the Hollow's 3 DEF, the attack connects!

    • Hollow HP: 4 -> 2.
  • Enemy Turn: The Hollow is still alive, so it strikes back for its fixed damage value.

    • Player HP: 12 -> 10.

Turn 2

  • Player Turn: Let's finish it. We spend 1 ST (leaving us at 1 ST) to Strike again. We roll 1d6 and get a 2. Because 2 is not greater than the Hollow's 3 DEF, the attack whiffs.
  • Enemy Turn: The Hollow lunges forward and hits us again.

    • Player HP: 10 -> 8.

Turn 3

  • Player Turn: We only have 1 ST left. If we miss, we're in trouble next turn, but let's take the risk. We spend our last 1 ST (leaving us at 0 ST) to Strike. We roll a 4. 4 is greater than 3 DEF—a hit!

    • Hollow HP: 2 -> 0.
  • Victory: The Hollow dissipates into ash. We harvest its soul.

    • Player SO: 0 -> 1.

3. Chamber 2: The Fog Rolls In

We roll 1d6 for the next Chamber and land on a 6—The Fog. The air thickens, and we must immediately roll 1d6 on the Omen Table before proceeding.

We roll a 3 on the Omen Table: Blood Moon.

Effect: The very next enemy we encounter will gain +1 DMG and +1 DEF.

4. Chamber 3: High Stakes Combat

We shake the dice and roll for Chamber 3, getting a 2: A Sentry (6 HP / 3 DMG / 4 DEF). However, the Blood Moon is active! The Sentry's stats for this encounter are buffed to:

  • HP: 6 | DMG: 4 | DEF: 5

Turn 1

  • Player Turn: Remember, we are currently at 0 ST. Attempting to Strike or Dodge right now would trigger a Stamina Break, costing us precious health. We must take a Recover action (costs 0 ST) to regain 2 ST. We cannot attack or defend, leaving us wide open.

    • Player ST: 0 -> 2.
  • Enemy Turn: The empowered Sentry slams us heavily.

    • Player HP: 8 -> 4. (Ouch.)

Turn 2

  • Player Turn: We are at 4 HP; another hit from this Sentry will kill us. Instead of attacking, we spend 1 ST (leaving us at 1 ST) to Dodge.
  • Enemy Turn: The Sentry swings its heavy blade, but because we successfully Dodged, we take 0 DMG.

Turn 3

  • Player Turn: We need to deal damage, but its DEF is a high 5, meaning we need to roll a natural 6 to hit. Let's try. We spend our last 1 ST (leaving us at 0 ST) to Strike. We roll... a 6! A perfect strike breaks through its armor.

    • Sentry HP: 6 -> 4.
  • Enemy Turn: We didn't dodge this time. The Sentry hits back for 4 DMG.

    • Player HP: 4 -> 0.

5. The Cycle Breaks: Wither

With our Vitality reduced to 0, our character Withers into nothingness.

The cycle is broken. We lose our 1 accumulated Soul, and any equipment we might have found would be lost. Our sheet resets, the ash clings to our fresh armor, and we wake up back at the top of the Chasm, ready to begin a brand new cycle...

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