FLOWERS WITHERED ON THE STEM – Vampire Family Drama TTRPG

Flowers Withered on the Stem is a role-playing game about bloodthirst and bloodlines. In this game you play vampires belonging to a single vampiric bloodline. Something has happened that causes turmoil within your family. You play to find out how your characters deal with this incident, each other, and their thirst for blood.

Together you create a story filled with intrigue and family drama—in the vein of Interview with the Vampire by Neil Jordan/Anne Rice and Only Lovers Left Alive by Jim Jarmusch. The game is a reimagining of Simon Pettersson’s Swedish game Svart av kval, vit av lust and its French progeny Toi qui, comme un coup de couteau, dans mon cœur plaintif es entrée.

Join us in our efforts to make this game a reality and take its production quality to the next level.

Download a print-and-play quickstart here and try the game out.

Playing the Game

Your story takes place in the 1850s, during the Victorian era—a time of oppression, inequality, and a fascination for the macabre. It’s framed by the grandeur of gothic architecture combined with a stern industrial cityscape. The dense population of a city provides a perfect habitat for a vampire. The city never sleeps—there you become just another face in the crowd, and your victims quickly disappear among the death records.

As if the internal strife within the family wasn’t enough, each vampire also struggles to control the beast within them. A violent, sadistic, and reckless force whispering to them inside their heads (portrayed by the other players).

Flowers Withered on the Stem is an entirely card-based role-playing game for 4 players over a game session of 4–5 hours. All you need is the card deck and a table to sit at. The game is played out in scenes, and the function of game master is shared by all players.

Play consists of three phases:

• Setup and flashback prologues (~1 hour).
• The first act (~2 hours).
• The final act (~1 hour).

During the setup, the players set their expectations of the game. They construct the premise for their session in a number of steps:

• Draw vampire character cards.
• Draw age cards (to find out how long they have been vampires).
• Play out flashback scenes to determine who sired whom and how it happened.
• Choose an anchor NPC that is vital to your vampire.
• Draw and answer one kicker card to determine the inciting incident that sets the story in motion.

During the following acts you play out your story to find out how the events unfold. It is a collaborative storytelling game, so involve the other characters in your schemes and agendas, and leave your character vulnerable. And remember, there is no such thing as a vampire story with a happy ending.

The Goods

The box:

• A5  (148 x 210 mm / 5.8 x 8.3″) magnetic clamshell box.
• Keeps your game stored securely and fits in among the books on your role-playing game shelf.
• Offset print.
• Additional features may be added, see Stretch Goals.

The card deck:

• Standard poker size (63.5 x 88.9 mm / 2.5 × 3.5″) cards.
• ~90 full-color cards.
• Offset print.
• Additional features may be added, see Stretch Goals.

• Pick-up-and-play. The Setup cards teach you step-by-step how to play the game at the table.
• Replayability. 4 vampire character cards and 4 age cards give you 16 unique character combinations to choose from.
• Evocative prompts. Sire and Kicker cards with prompts that kickstart your story.
• Combined cards. Relationship cards randomize both relationship prompts, NPCs, and locations.
• Safety tool. A set of Traffic Lights cards help you create a safe and inclusive gaming environment.
• The beast within. The Thirst Cards track your vampires’ bloodthirst and the influence of their inner beast.
   

Pledge Levels

Mortal [EUR 1]

If you just want to support this project, this is your level. If you only want the PDF, this is your level too—pay what you want (suggested price EUR 5).

Vampire [EUR 35]

If you want to get your hands on a physical copy of the game, this is your level.

Stretch Goals

🔒 Print [EUR 6,000]. The project is funded—we make the game!

🔒 Additional Vampire [EUR 8,000]. We include a fifth Vampire Card, Sire Card, and Kicker Card, bringing the total of unique character combinations to 20.

🔒 Card Aqueous Coating [EUR 10,000]. We upgrade the card coating for improved durability and a higher-quality finish.

Help Us Out

• Share the campaign on social media.
• Tell a friend who might be interested.
• Try out the quickstart and tell us about your session.
• Give us feedback on the Kickstarter campaign.

Fulfillment

Flowers Withered on the Stem is already designed and playtested, the text is written, the layout foundations have been prepared, and the illustrations are done. During the coming months we will edit, layout, and proofread the cards and the box. Then we’ll send it off to be printed and distributed.

• Pledge management will be handled here on Kickstarter.
• Digital distribution will be handled here on Kickstarter as well.
• US, EU, UK, and RotW physical distribution will be handled by us (shipping from Sweden).
• Our ambition is to have the game delivered to you by July 2027.
• PDFs will be sent out as backers begin receiving their physical copies.
• The game will be released to the public after backers have received their copies.

About Us

Bläckfisk Publishing

We’re a Swedish duo of brainstormers, dreamers, and workhorses. We want people to craft stories, stir emotions, and explore the unknown, so we develop tools for creativity and community—usually in the form of role-playing games. 

Our work is aimed at those with a curious spirit and a playful heart, eager to generate experiences that break the confines of everyday life. Simply put, we create stuff for people who are kind of like us.

Alf Peter Malmberg is the game’s designer, and he also handles the administration and finances for the project. He has a master's degree in business and economics and works as the director for a cultural center for adolescents. Peter is one of the creators of Blood Feud, as well as the designer of Traffic Lights, and the author of the Swedish RPG Fornsaga.

Lucas Falk is in charge of the game’s layout and editing. His background is in information design and he currently works at a non-governmental organization focused on facilitating peer-to-peer learning. He’s the game designer and art director for Heroes of Cerulea, Knight Forlorn, and Windsoul, to name a few.

Collaborators

Ronja Melin crafts the game’s illustrations. We’ve worked with her on a number of games (Blood Feud, Heroes of Cerulea), and she’s also worked on Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Hunter: The Reckoning, and The Troubleshooters among many others.

Will Jobst serves as editor for the game.They are an award-winning game designer, editor, and publisher, with idiosyncratic games like Plasmodics, This Discord Has Ghosts in It, and Campfire.