Where Silence Has Lease
A downloadable game
To the far northwest of the world lies the island continent of Thrascia, an icy land of snow, forests, volcanoes, and untapped natural resources. There's gold in them there hills, and strange wonders in the back of beyond. Apart from the Port, this is a lawless land, where pioneers must make their own way. Will you live an honest life, and build a reputation of honour and daring? Or will you give in to the temptation of this fresh new life, lying, cheating, and backstabbing your way to a fortune- Blood'll wash off gold with just a shake of the pan, eh? Or will that lonesome silence behind the North Wind claim you? Will you leave the cold frontier wealthier and wiser, or in the jaws of the wolf or bear?
Take the Golden Gamble before it's too late. What do you have to lose?
Where Silence Has Lease is a tabletop role-playing game using a diceless, card-based system, with a fantastical setting resembling the Alaskan and Yukon gold rush. It is focused on survival, grueling travel, and dangerous exploration. Included is a full system, including a game engine, equipment, a bestiary of fearsome critters, tables and generators for overland encounters and weather, and world-building information. (136 pages; 2 or more players, each will require a Standard 54-card deck, with Jokers).
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $1 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- 2025 version6 days ago
- 2023 EditionAug 14, 2023
- August 2022 modificationsAug 13, 2022
- Bright Cover VersionMar 15, 2022
Comments
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Hi, I got the rulebook a while ago and have finally started trying to set up play sessions with some friends! Very excited to give it a go! I was wondering if you have any tips or recommendations for making characters. As far as I can tell, the rules for character creation are spread out throughout the book, and I'm not sure if I found them all. Is it only revealing cards for starting funds and, based on the trait section examples, perhaps 5 Gold Rush points to start for traits? Anything else I missed that we should be sure to do? Thank you!
Hey, thank you for writing in. Character creation involves picking five traits listed on pages 22-26, and generating the starting funds by revealing cards (30). Page 26 has a few "packages" listed for players who don't want to spend time looking for combos among the traits. There are no starting Gold Rush points, those are earned in play for later advancement.
And that's it! Most of how a character operates is through item use and what cards you remove from your deck for encumbrance. For example, if you want your character to be stealthy but not very charismatic, keep the Spades in your deck and use up most of your Heart cards in your encumbrance pile.
Easy enough! Thank you very much for the help. Can't wait to try it out.
Hello, I'd like to inform you that a new edition is now available, updated, proofread, and clarified.
Yo, this game looks amazing! Just the name alone made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end when I read it. “Where the Silence Has Lease”. Wow! What an incredible name.
I picked this up in the Ukraine bundle, and I’ve only skimmed it so far, but I gotta say: you’re selling yourself short! There’s so much content here. And you’re giving away 136 pages for $1? That’s wild!
(Maybe consider upping the price after the bundle ends)?
Thank you for your comment! I keep the price low because it's a strange system and setting, and hard to play online, so I didn't want customers to feel ripped off it they can't use much of the material, and pricing it (rather than giving it away for free) also lets me notify buyers with update emails. If there's enough interest I'll try to sell it in a POD format on Drivethrurpg.
Have a good day!