Overview: Burning Fortress by Mundos Infinitos

Let's take a look at this narrative TTRPG with immortal samurai wandering the ruins of a once great empire.

Choosing my next game for a playthrough and write-up, I knew it was going to be something from Mundos Infinitos. Bejamín, the designer and publisher, is extremely prolific, and his taste is similar to mine.

I was torn between a few games, but I just couldn’t resist a narrative one about cursed samurai inspired by Sekiro and Blade of the Immortal.

Chanbara meets Dark Souls

Burning Fortress fuses chanbara (samurai cinema, sword-fighting Japanese films), epic fantasy, and a Souls-like atmosphere to give us a melancholic, character-driven TTRPG.

It can be played solo or up to 7 participants, one being Kami-sama (GM). It uses optional D6s for rolling on storytelling tables.

We play as ronin—masterless samurai—cursed with immortality and loneliness, wandering the ruins of a once great empire in search of purpose. We meet other warriors and share memories and reflections, deciding if the encounter will end in peace or violence.

There are no stats or numbers. The game has an introspective character creation process that unfolds through encounters, and a unique system for duels with zero crunch—results are decided based on storytelling.

Gameplay

Burning Fortress has a 3-point loop that forms the core of the gameplay. We meet other characters, engage in dialogue, exchanging memories, decide if we will duel, then meditate on what happened.

1. Wandering encounters

We establish how we met each other, then we share a moment together. This is all open to interpretation. There are two main guides for the conversations: Ambitions and Memories from the Old Days.

Ambition is what the cursed character seeks in this ruined world. It’s their drive and main motivation, in my understanding.

The Memories can be from a number of things: an era of peace and glory, an age of dragons and adventure, the time before the Burning Fortress fell, etc. It’s up to the players to decide.

There’s also a small oracle that reflects the game’s contemplative quality.

After sharing experiences, the characters decide if it’s necessary to draw swords.

2. Duel

If a character decides to fight, they duel. They have to answer one or more questions from a D6 table. Justifying the answer and creating a cohesive narrative earns you an IPPON. A character with two IPPON wins the combat. The winner decides how the confrontation is resolved.

If both characters get two IPPON, it’s a draw. They must agree on how the combat ends or is interrupted.

This mechanic makes fights personal, almost poetic. It’s not a simple blow by blow exchange, although it can be part of the narrative after the IPPON. It’s something intimate, that builds on the personality we’re creating for our ronin.

It’s drama and dialogue interwoven into action.

3. Reflect

Meditate on what happened after the encounter. Narrate a line of thought based on another table of questions.

Did the encounter affect your ambition? If you died, the Curse painfully restores your body and consumes your mind and soul. How did it change you?

You can also cease to exist. A Bearer of the Curse can permanently kill another. If it happened to you, was your character tormented by unfulfilled ambition? Or maybe set free?

Last notes

Burning Fortress is obviously not for the crunch-loving, sheet-filling, stat-obsessed player. It’s a narrative RPG that uses drama and storytelling as mechanics. I’d say it’s a journaling-lite game.

The setting, full of destroyed sites and hellish regions, complements its somber themes related to identity, purpose, and decay.

It’s not so much about the action as the emotions behind it. A clash of swords is also a duel of souls.

Before cutting down an opponent, we will reflect on the choice of unsheathing our weapon.

I’m wrapping up by thanking Benjamín for taking the time to answer all my questions about the game. He patiently responded to my email with detailed explanations that clarified a few concepts I was struggling with.

I’m looking forward to playing it. I’m going to use One Page Solo Engine and a few Mythic tables with it. Written sessions are coming!

Burning Fortress is available at itch.io. Support the creator.