Glass Empires SRD

Glass Empires is a Braunstein-style tabletop RPG of faction politics, pre-industrial power, and civil warfare on the discworld of Aia. The island of Glass is burning. The immortal emperor has abdicated his throne, and all-out civil war is upon the land. Learn more about the game →

While Glass Empires is mostly OSR-compatible & can be played as a traditional (if odd) D&D-like title, it is not a game about dungeon-crawling (not primarily, at least) & the gameplay loop bears little resemblance to the loops most typified by other RPGs. This is a game about relationships, debt, rulership, & the nature of the divine. In a very real way, your faction is both synonymous with & more important than your character. It is a critical assumption that you are at the very least interested in a cult of personality as a great hero, and far more preferably, that you will rule an empire or die trying.

This is the System Reference Document, containing the complete rules, setting, and bestiary for Glass Empires and the faction engine powering it! Use the navigation on the left, or search by keyword using the button above.!

Glass Empires is in open beta. Parts of the rules are still incomplete or in playtesting! Feedback is appreciated. Email:

At a glance

I want to run a game tonight.

Character creation takes 10 minutes. The main scenario has pre-built high-level faction situations ready to drop into play. Start with a house war, a caravan in need of protection, or a village that stopped paying taxes.

What do players actually do?

They lead a Party-as-faction: recruit retainers, negotiate with lords, hunt monsters for ritual cooking, and escalate their faction's power. Every action is a Move resolved against a 2d6 Save.

How is this different from D&D?

No skill list. Your capabilities come from Facts, true statements about who your character is. Your Level comes from how many people follow you. Power flows through followers, not murder or gold.

What's with the cannibalism?

Ritual cooking is a component of the setting. Kill a creature, cook it, gain its strength ... and its nature. Want to fly? Eat a Qilin. Want superhuman strength? Eat a stronger human. Each meal is a gamble: power comes with the price of becoming what you consume.

How do factions work?

Every PC leads a Faction with a type (Army, Business, Government, Mine Clan, Personality Cult, Godscult). Factions have resources & a Capital, and learning how to wield them is just as important as wielding your own sword.

My friend wants to play a wizard.

Magicians are spirit-speakers who capture spells as Totems. Six traditions (Jester, Origami Assassin, Forester, Metallurge, Snowmime, Telluric Priest) are available, each with unique mechanics. Magic is powerful, unstable, and demands respect. Most magicians die horribly.

What's the setting?

The island of Glass on the discworld of Aia. THe immortal emperor abdicated. Three houses at war, a populist uprising, a salamander mineral cartel, and a passive-aggressive Lunar Kingdom watching from above. Every faction has a goal. Every goal creates conflict.

How does combat work?

Battle Rating (BR) measures combat power at a glance. Skirmishes resolve personal fights with granular actions (Move, Strike, Cast, Disengage). Battles handle any larger-scale combat without grids. Damage comes in types with different effects.