In the interest of full disclosure; I was a supporter of the Accursed Kickstarter but I am in no way affiliated with Melior Via nor have I received any compensation for this review.

The Accursed setting is one of those rare products where everything comes together in just the right way to create something new and exciting.

The creative team behind Accursed clearly cares about the setting and has taken the time to really give it a life all its own; much like one of the Crone’s lumbering creations!

In Accursed, players take on the role of a Witchmarked, a once-human monster whose sins include helping a group of archetypal Witches, however unwillingly, to defeat the Armies of Light. The Witchmarked (or Accursed) come in several varieties; one type for each Witch. The various types are mostly culled from classic monster movies and the Accursed design team has done a wonderful job at making each fit perfectly within the setting while still maintaining that classic feel.

Accursed has been compared to a combination of Van Helsing, Castlevania, and Ravenloft, with its own sense of flavor added to the mix. While I find this comparisons to be both accurate and informative, I believe it lacks one crucial piece of information. One of the most interesting elements of the Accursed setting is the current state of Morden (the collection of nations which make up the setting) and the heroes who rail against that state, despite being hated and persecuted from all sides. These two elements give Accursed its own life and feel; one which I believe to be both unique and haunting.

As I noted above, Morden’s Armies of Light no longer fight against the Witch’s Grand Coven, for that struggle is long over. Unlike most fairy tales, in Morden, the forces of Light lost the war and the Witches now rule the lands as all-powerful dictators. As fate would have it, the only remaining resistance to the Witches’ rule are the Witchmarked, cast off remnants of the Witches invasion force.

Which brings us to my favorite element of Accursed; the heroes! The only warriors left who possess the power to fight the Witches, even in secret, are the former human inhabitants of Morden who were cursed and pressed into service against their neighbors. Many of the Witchmarked were released at the conclusion of the Bane War (the war between the Grand Coven and Morden’s Army of Light) and left to their own devices. After finding they had no place left to call home, many of the Witchmarked took up the struggle against their former masters. They do this despite being feared and hated by the very humans they seek to protect. They do this despite having little hope of success. Mostly, they do this to save their lost souls, repent their unforgivable sins and because they are the only ones who can!