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Survival Horror RPG

BREATHLESS

The first sign of the infection was memory loss. Then, for some, the change. They became the Breathless; ravenous dead who tore the world apart.

Read the Game Frightmare Edition

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CH-01 // About

Shoot. Loot. Survive.

Breathless is a survival horror role-playing game where you play as survivors trying to stay alive in a world plagued by the undead. The original game fits on two sides of a letter-sized sheet of paper, making it the perfect game to print at home and enjoy for a nice and cozy zombie survival one shot.

Survival HorrorRules-LightPrint & Play

CH-02 // New Edition

Frightmare Edition

Breathless is getting remastered as Breathless: Frightmare Edition, published by the amazing folks at Mythworks. Written by yours truly, with layout by Jack Panic of DNGN Club, art by Vil, adventures by M. Allen Hall.

01 Refreshed core rules

02 New mechanics for havens and journeying

03 Rolling tables to generate your apocalyptic world

04 A lineup of ready-to-play adventures

05 A 12-pamphlet collection packed with content

Follow on Kickstarter

CH-03 // Features

Breathless is...

Fast Rules-bright survival horror tuned for one-shots, with rules to keep pressure high and outcomes moving.

Open 100% open-licensed, free to use, modify, and publish, and already inspiring 300+ Breathless hacks.

Accessible Designed for quick setup and immediate play, with everything you need to loot, shoot, and survive.

Dangerous Every check adds pressure, every consequence escalates, and every scene can turn desperate in seconds.

Tense Skills and gear wear down as you use them, forcing hard choices between momentum and survival.

Replayable Built for repeated play with one-shots, campaigns, and a huge ecosystem of hacks and community content.

CH-04 // Get the Game

Play Now

01 PDF → 02 Print → 03 itch.io → 04 Creator Kit → 05 Press Kit → 06 Follow the Kickstarter →

CH-05 // Live Feed

Now Playing

Watch Breathless in action. Survivors face the horde in this actual play session.

Watch on YouTube

CH-06 // Transmissions Received

What People Are Saying

A survival horror RPG with condensed mechanics? Yes, please. Check out BREATHLESS.

John Harper

I'm a huge fan of 1 pager games, and Breathless is a fantastic game.

Matteo Sciutteri

This game looks amazing and I can't wait to try it out. The rules are so simple and easy to learn but have so much depth to them! I love usage dice!

Sofia

Played Breathless for five hours today and all I can say is WOW. Few games really nail the pickup-and-play functionality of TTRPGs, but Breathless absolutely crushes it.

xdeathcleric

An excellent take on the survival horror genre, the system does a fantastic job of driving player actions forward. And I LOVE a system that has baked-in support for solo players!

Graycastle Press

Breathless is a perfectly tuned survival horror game. The eroding skill dice perfectly capture the desperation, fatigue, wearing down of resources, and scrappy tone that these kinds of stories tell. At the same time, you are not so fragile as to feel powerless and ineffective. The dice swing big because your chances of making it, and the consequences for not, swing big. This is also, not surprisingly, one of the best entries into this game system overall, which has gone on to cover a lot of ground!

The Cargo Bay

CH-07 // Signal Log

Elsewhere

Review: Breathless Frightmare Edition A Dragon's Den Substack review of Breathless: Frightmare Edition, including early access impressions and a mechanics breakdown.

Read review

Breathless Actual Play An actual play of Breathless by the community.

Watch on YouTube

Shoot, Loot, and Survive in Mythworks' Zombie-Focused Breathless Nightmare Edition A TTRPG Insider article covering Mythworks' zombie-focused Breathless Nightmare Edition.

Read article

BREATHLESS: FRIGHTMARE EDITION launches April 7 A Rascal News announcement covering the April 7, 2026 Kickstarter launch for Breathless: Frightmare Edition.

Read the Rascal News announcement

Mythworks Announces two new games at Pax Unplugged | Ethernal Ruins & Breathless Frightmare Edition A YouTube video from The Advanced Age Roleplaying Gamers featuring Breathless: Frightmare Edition.