Pirouette: A Solo Horror Ballet TTRPG

Description

• The show must go on, even if it kills you!

  It started as any normal day, you prepared for your performance, you’ve done it a hundred times before. You’ve trained for years to get to dance on this stage, you get yourself in position, nervous but ready for your first performance but as the curtains open you know it very well might be your last.

  Pirouette is a solo horror TTRPG about a ballet dancer performing for an amorphous eldritch horror. Each move in your routine brings you closer to exhaustion, closer to that vital mistake which might just be the last you'll ever make. 

  Played with a tarot deck and a block tower, Pirouette balances emotional prompts, rising, unforgiving tension; and the art of ballet. Dancers train for years to pirouette professionally, to gain the skill and grace you need to perform ballet, to land a Grand Jete en Tournant without incident. One wrong move can lead to severe injury - The show must go on but how long can you last?

  Pirouette reached a phenomenal 422% funding whilst crowdfunding and now you can own it for yourself!

  Sweat drips down your cheeks, your foot starts to ache. This routine is finite but the moment has been stretched to the infinite. The silence of this moment is deafening, drowning out the backing music. You just about make the first leap, this is where the dance becomes difficult, where you struggle the most. As you pirouette you feel a cold aching sensation in your face, any minute now your nose will start bleeding.

  If you want to see Pirouette being played, you can watch Kat The Lore Mistress play it here:

  Dreading what you're about to do, you launch yourself for the second leap but you land wrong, pain shoots up to your ankle. The Audience crick their heads to the side in uniform, the shadowy silhouettes showing only their hungry maws of yellow rotted teeth bent into crooked smiles. Deep inside you know if you make one more mistake you will be devoured, absorbed into their distorted mass. You push past the pain, forcing yourself to ignore the burning in your ankle as blood drips past your lips. You feel exhausted, like you’ve been dancing for hours, your knees beginning to buckle.

  Michael Sweeney (InnocentGoblin) - Writer & Designer

  Michael Sweeney is a TTRPG designer that has worked on other TTRPGs under the name InnocentGoblin such as Grotty Gobbo’s Tea Grotto, Everyone Deserves Shelter and the Crafted in a Shell SRD as well as lesser known games such as The Kaiju Love You and Down To Our Skeletons Again. He is very happy to be the least exciting member of the Pirouette team!

  Seb Pines - Layout Editor

  Seb Pines is a writer and game designer making curiosities into roleplaying games and games into a collection of curiosities. They are also a co-founder of Good Luck Press where they publish experimental roleplaying games. You can find them online most places as @smolghost or their published work with Good Luck at goodluckpress.co .

  The routine is close to finished, one more leap and the rest is easy. You jump but your form is off, as you land you hear a hideous snap from your ankle. The Audience stands up, ready for the final ovation, their hungry eyes waiting for you to collapse. Tears pour down your face, mixing with the blood on your cheek as you fall onto the ground. You drift into unconsciousness, hearing the last sound you will ever experience, the warped applause of the malformed Audience.

Release Date

The original date that this game was published.

• May 5, 2025

Languages

A listing of all languages that this game is available in.

• English

Age Rating

The Tiny Table Index uses the standard ESRB ratings to indicate a game's appropriateness for various age groups.

• Teen (13+)

Formats

The types of form factor the game is available in.

• PDF

Campaign Types

Different games offer playstyles that might last one or more sessions.

• Single Session