It was past midnight. I was alone in the bar. Alone, if not for my most valued and trusted friend Jako. He never disappointed me; he was always ready to lift my burden and ease my pain. The only bad thing about Jako was that he without a drop of sweat could empty my wallet; which was the case this good for nothing evening. But then again, he's a 12 year old, matured in classy cherry-oak barrels from the north. I savoured the last from the glass and stared out into the dark night. The rain angrily chased whoever dared to walk the streets this god forsaken time a-night. Like a gunshot the door suddenly opened, an apparition entering. Figured like a serpentine road, skin like honey, and eyes that could wake the dead she looked straight at me and smiled. Desire overcame me and without really thinking about it, I smiled back. This was just the first of a series of mistakes I was about to make…

Noir is a dystopic role-playing game set in another time, in another place, filled with vile mysteries, gruesome violence and dark lust. The scene is the imposing metropolis Sandukar, the heart of the omnipresent Empire. It's a time of decay and darkness, hard boiled men, dangerous women, and fallen heroes with desperate motives. It is a journey where strong and destructive passion, vengeance and lust, wants and desires, reign over the dark back alleys and shady bars. It's a place where selfishness, greed and vanity consume forgotten virtues like love, justice and compassion. In the looming shadows of humbled buildings there are vicious rumours of forgotten slums that echo a mysterious and foreboding plague.

Legends of wraiths, ghosts and monstrous entities lurking just out-of-sight of ordinary men are told among the outcasts. In the Ministries of the State, faceless bureaucrats rule the Empire with laws and regulations, often stained by the power they wield by their authority. In the penthouses high above, the old nobility, vain celebrities, and wealthy bankers, conspire to gain even more power, fame and money. The average man struggles to survive alongside brutal gangsters, corrupt police officers and sadistic employers, to face the bleak dawn of yet another day.

It is a time for unwilling heroes, persons that only follow their own rules, in a world where good and evil are just different shades of grey.

Noir is written by two veterans in the Swedish role-playing development scene: Marco Behrmann and Petter Nallo. Together they have close to 30 years of experience, with best-selling games like Eon, Neotech and Viking to their credit.

A complete preview of Noir is available: Noir preview

NOTE: At this point in time Noir is only available in Swedish. A translation is currently being investigated and any developments will be notified on the site.

Noir is a violent and grim game which touches the darkest side of humanity in a disturbing way. Noir is not recommended for sensitive people or children under 15 years of age.

Noir by fourteen bullets

• A thrilling dark and adult campaign world inspired by i.e. Dark City, The Crow, Se7en, Sin City, Blade Runner, Batman Begins, V for Vendetta, Max Payne, L.A. Confidential, Basic Instinct, and classic Film Noir-movies as well as the works of Clive Barker, David Lynch and Franz Kafka.
• Stories trailing a tragic hero with a deprived psyche on a journey within and throughout the damp back alleys of an anonymous metropolis. Both the rules and campaign world are written to support drama and excitement to the fullest extent.
• A massive chapter on the gothic city of Sandukar, heart of the Empire with information on the daily life, organizations, personalities and history of a world much influenced by our own world in the early 20th century.
• An easy-to-use and consistent set of rules which bind the entire system together.
• Rules for creating characters that are tied to the story through relationships and personal agendas.
• An easy step-by-step way of creating deep and emotional characters with lots of options that add flavour.
• An innovative system where the main characters' agendas, personalities and drive can affect the story.
• Rules for letting the main characters interfere and manipulate the world trough the use of Fate.
• A combat system to support action, excitement and narration. Tactical choices and character decisions that affect the outcome of a battle in a direct way.
• A creative set of rules to handle social conflicts, seductions, sex and persuasion, where both the main characters' and the players' choices play a big part in the course of action, and finally the outcome.
• Extensive information and templates on how to create dynamic stories with focus on the main characters for the narrator (game master). Also included are suggestions on how to handle game master characters in a fast and easy way while maintaining total freedom of main characters in an enriching way.
• Descriptions of the occult, which by some are called the “Plague”.
• An elegant hardbound rule- and background book with a stunning 352 pages.
• An active online community with freebees and direct interaction with the game designers. A place to expand the world together with other players as well as the game designers.