These Teeth Are Mine is a mini RPG designed for solo play, where you take on the role of a Tooth Wraith, running through a forest full of terrors, desperately trying to get home.
You can PWYW for this title on DriveThruRPG or itch.io, or download a free PDF here. To get early access to monthly games, support me on Patreon.
A Tooth Wraith is born when a wolf pup grows their first milk tooth. The Wraith is bound to that pup – and The Corporeal, the mortal world – until the final one is lost.
Once the final fang is collected, a powerful instinct is awakened within the Wraith and it begins its journey to The Incorporeal – a home which it has never known – through the needle-carpeted moss scent of The Forest, with its hoard of precious teeth.
How To Play
You are a Tooth Wraith. You must tear yourself away from the The Corporeal and begin THE JOURNEY. The last deciduous tooth has fallen from your bound-pup’s head and you now feel The Call.
This game is designed for 1 player.
To play, you will interpret the names and descriptive poems relating to SHADES who lurk within THE FOREST and create a narrative around how you defeat them, or how they defeat you…
To play, you will need:
- These rules and the SHADES page
- Two 20-sided dice
- A pack of standard playing cards, with the Joker removed
- A way to write things down
The Becoming
In The Corporeal, you collected the fangs that your bound-pup lost, leaving them gifts in return as the age-old bargain dictates. While you and watched your bound-pup grow, you took on aspects of their personality, which stay with you on THE JOURNEY.
Write down three words that represent your STRENGTHS. For each word, write a story of how your bound-pup gained that STRENGTH.
- Your STRENGTHS are your bastions that pull you from the brink. When one of your STRENGTHS would help on THE JOURNEY, gain a +7 bonus to your roll.
Write down three words that represent your FEARS. For each word, write a story of how your bound pup gained that FEAR.
- Your FEARS are your undoing. When your FEARS would hinder you on THE JOURNEY, suffer a -7 penalty to your roll.
Write a phrase or sentence that represents your TENET OF THE PACK
- The TENET OF THE PACK is the final lesson that your bound-pup learnt when they lost their last tooth. When you invoke your TENENT OF THE PACK, you can pass by a SHADE without penalty. Your TENET OF THE PACK can only be invoked once.
The Journey
THE JOURNEY takes you through THE FOREST – a dark and wretched place of fleeting shadows and lost spirits – to THE GATE between worlds.
Dwelling within THE FOREST are SHADES – old Wraiths who are unable to move into The Incorporeal. They bar the way for any who pass through, feeding on their fears and stealing their memories or their precious TEETH. They are the lost who long to damn any who cross their path to share their fate.
Throughout THE JOURNEY, you will draw cards from the pack to find which SHADES stand in your way. Whenever you draw a card, refer to the SHADES page to interpret their powers and how they might attempt to keep you in THE FOREST.
You begin with 28 TEETH, these are the milk teeth you collected from your bound-pup. When you wish to move past a SHADE, decide how they challenge you and how you attempt to overcome them, then roll 2d20 and calculate the total.
If the total is greater than the number of TEETH you have, then you SUCCEED. If your total is equal or lower, you FAIL.
When you SUCCEED, your plan worked and you pass by the SHADE.
When you FAIL, your efforts are not enough, pick one:
- You lose one TOOTH
- You lose one of your STRENGTHS
- You gain a new FEAR
Answer these questions before you move on:
- Who did you encounter in THE FOREST?
- How did they try to keep you there?
- How did you plan to defeat them? Did your plan succeed or fail?
- If you relied on your STRENGTH, how did it help you, or fail you?
- If you were hindered by your FEAR, did you manage to overcome it?
- What, if anything, did your foe gain from you?
Once you have answered these questions, discard that SHADE’s card, shuffle the deck, and continue.
The Gate
Once you reach THE GATE – by drawing any ACE card – you must pay a toll of 2 TEETH to leave THE FOREST.
If you can pay the toll, you pass through into The Incorporeal and to the bliss of your next life. Your journey is ended, describe what awaits you beyond THE GATE.
If you are unable to pay the price, then you may not leave. You melt into the shadows and branches and become a SHADE.
Write four lines that invoke your FEARS to describe the SHADE your Wraith becomes. When you next play, add the Joker card to the pack, to represent this new SHADE
Shades.
| HEARTS | DIAMONDS | SPADES | CLUBS | |
| K | THE LONG ARMED KING
Who, with spindled limbs awaits For Wraiths to enter his domain With brittle fingers open wide To grasp the Wraith and take their prize |
HEARTLESS THE GIANT
Their open chest is waiting To fill with little fangs Whose stoney skin will never break They tower o’er the land |
CROWCOVEN
What misery to be lonely, together What pain to be alone, together The crows will mass & scratch, together To pick the covered bones |
MARA NIGHT WITCH
Mara never knows when to stop Mara uses darkness Mara will not bend or break Mara knows your fears |
| Q | TROLLMOTHER
Her cave is marked by strands of hair That wander from her mountain skull Shudder at the screaming sound Her nursing mewling bellowing brood |
THE QUEEN OF WEBS
Silver // Watching Quiver // Tasting Waiting // Consuming Queen |
MISTRESS UNDER ROOTS
The great lung is all above And here she slumbers, waiting With arms held out and twisted To pull you ever closer |
MOTHERWOLF
Blood. Sweat. Fur. Rage. Movement. Unity. Pack Blood. Fur. Unity. Claw. Pack. Hunt. Blood |
| J | THE RISEN
The Forest floor is dark and cold And home for many Whose shades unfold And wrench the fleeing down |
THE PRINCE OF SHADOW
To be called Prince is all he wants To hear the single word To see the heads bow in respect To rule this hollow world |
THE GREY WARDEN
Beyond them there is no gate. This is not the end. This is sentinel. Unshakeable. This is sentinel. Unmoving. |
THE LORD’S AMBITION
Some choose to stay amid the trees To try and make The Forest theirs This ambition is a curse For even The Lord can never leave |
| 10 | EYELESS AND WAITING
It is dark here and it can smell the fangs It is dark here and it can smell the fangs It is dark here and it can smell the fangs It is dark here and it can smell the fangs |
WORMFATHER
The comfort of a warm embrace As the bodies writhe together One whole made from many The form of Wormfather |
MAW THAT GAPES
What is a maw without teeth? It asks you, slowly, desperately What is a maw without teeth? It opens |
ROTTEN SAVIOUR
See that light over the marshes? It is calling you, here is safety See, it wants you to live, Come closer. It is waning. |
| 9 | SHROUDED IN SHADE
Whatever lies beneath the shade Cannot be seen, where weak light Touches only darkens where they hide Glinting teeth in darkness |
CONSUME THYSELF, SNAKE
its fangs embed into its tail wrap around its fangs embed into its tail wrap around you and wait for you to be with it forever its fangs embed into its tail wrap around |
WITNESS FROM THE DEPTHS
There is an eye below, that knows your passing There is a mouth beneath the eye, that knows your taste |
LONGING
There is a world beyond That it can never reach It is jealous and spiteful And will devour your hope |
| 8 | ELON WHO HUNGERS AND HATES
To want is such a hardship When given everything To hunger is so futile When given everything |
THE SICKENING POOL
See how the water seems so clear Crystal and inviting Just beneath the surface You can see the bodies sickening |
DECAY OF DREAMS
Who are you, now? Can you not remember? We have been consuming while you slept You are us, now. You are us. |
THE LIDLESS EYE
Unblinking, for it cannot Watching, for it must Screaming, without words Hating, for that is all it knows |
| 7 | ETERNAL, DENIED
They are the trees that wait The sky above The earth below, forever They cannot leave, for they are here |
SPITTLEGHOUL
It drools and sups The droplets from the trees For they are beings too It will find you |
DEFILED
See the white flower, How it dries and wastes away See the misery That was once hope |
WHISPERS
Every voice that was ever lost In The Forest is waiting here To tell you to stay And give them your teeth |
| 6 | MISERY TO COME
This is just the beginning The world beyond has nothing for you There is only misery to come Stay in the comfort of sadness |
MIST, WHICH ACHES
We are so cold, without bones We are so cold, make it stop Hanging in the air, so cold We cannot leave here, nor will you |
COUNTESS DIVINE
This must be an angel, Which means you must be dead Lie down here, For the dead don’t walk |
THE PALE RIDER
Can you hear the hooves? They are coming they are coming Can you hear the grate of steel? They are coming they are coming |
| 5 | DARK ABODE
This could make a fine home, When all your teeth are gone, return here This could be where you stay Why wait? Why leave? |
POISONED WORDS
Honey & almonds You have heard these for the first time They taste sweet and burn inside you Lie down and give in |
SWEET MICHAEL
How could you leave Sweet Michael? He’s here all alone Give unto him, for he needs you Don’t leave, he cries, don’t leave |
ALONE IT CANNOT SEE
Who is that in the woods? Come closer, I need you to see Come closer, you, the watcher I need you to see |
| 4 | NIGHT MAIDEN
Who stalks the night and looks again For The Prince of Shadow riding Who lies in wait for any who Are in the darkness, hiding |
THE DROWNING BED
This seems a place to rest your head The gasping breaths come as you lay Your tired body down and feel the water In your lungs. This seems a place to stay |
WEEPING AND LOST
Do you know the way? I am lost and alone Can you stay with me and show me? We are lost, no longer alone |
TOOTHLESS THE CRONE
This poor broken back, These old bones Would you leave them here? What harm could they do? |
| 3 | HUNGRY BENEATH THE GIBBET
Sway above, we hunger below They cry as shadows flicker Whatever falls, we will consume They cry as you draw closer |
NETTLEWARLOCK
It stings and waits for you to look away and stings and waits for you to look away and stings and waits for you to look away and stings and waits for you to look away |
SHE WHO KNOWS YOUR NAME
Can you hear her calling? A name holds more power than you know That voice that will keep you here Can you hear her calling for teeth? |
OLD OAK
That creaking you hear is branches Is old bones is aching bodies Is teeth that grew into a great old oak. That creaking you hear is branches |
| 2 | THE MOUSE THAT HIDES ITSELF
Something in the corner of your eye Just moved Something small, you thought, But you cannot say. It is here. |
BENEATH THE FOETID EARTH
The scent of soil is strong It is heavy and wet and weighs on you Give in, let the earth take you Give in. This is the end. |
MAGGAROTH THE WATCHER
The tower breaks the canopy How could you not have seen it before? From the very top, you see them They draw their lips back from their gums |
ACHING AND CROOKED
The back of The Crone Has a life of its own Can you keep it at bay Or will it steal you away? |
| A | THE GATE
The Forest ends, can you pay the toll? |
THE GATE
The Forest ends, can you pay the toll? |
THE GATE
The Forest ends, can you pay the toll? |
THE GATE
The Forest ends, can you pay the toll? |
Ursidice 