MERGER

A SINGLE-PLAYER MACROCOSMIC CORPORATE HORROR RPG

 MERGER
Version 1.2

Written & Designed by Michael Elliott

Cover Art by Leah Mitchell

Interior Art by Michael Elliott

Produced by my Patrons

Ashley Turner

Cindy Chamberlain

Michael Bain

Michael Gillaspy

Naviverse

Support my work:

https://www.patreon.com/notwriting

https://ko-fi.com/notwriting

This work is based on Blades in the Dark (found at http://

www.bladesinthedark.com/), product of One Seven Design, developed and
authored by John Harper, and licensed for our use under the Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/3.0/).

Gore and Kusanagi fonts by Tugcu Design Co

Dicier, by Speak the Sky, licensed under CC BY 4.0

3
Welcome to the
corporate body
Everyone thinks you are a headhunter, a fixer, an employee of a
vast law firm, KANE & WEAVING. You solve difficult problems, and
attend to your company's various needs across different time
zones and countries. Nothing on Earth is more powerful than the
corporation. There is nothing they cannot know, no hidden thing
they cannot see, and not a single piece of this world that they
cannot buy.

And then one day you saw your company for what it really was.

You are not an employee. You are the cell of an immense being. A
superior form of life made up of millions of people. These
unintentionally constructed predators are the only form of life
that can live across spans of time and space all at once, and there
is nothing on this planet like them.

It is not your job to solve problems, it is your assigned function

within the corporate body to steal and kill and spy to make your
host more powerful than all the others. You feed it. You defend it.
You break barriers so it can grow. It’s schemes are so complex no
one can make sense of them unless they fail catastrophically.

What you have seen cannot be unseen. You cannot leave and you
cannot stay. If the work doesn’t kill you, the corporate body will. It
will stare back at you, eat you up, and shit you out.

Now get back to work.

5
THE GAME
MERGER is a single-player role playing game about working for a
living corporation. It is about the terror of knowing you are part of
a massive gestalt monster, and bearing witness to the awful
things it does to perpetuate itself. There are themes of horror,
dread, existential uncertainty, and corporate greed.

You will create a character, a single cell of a much larger monster

of impossible scope. This character will be given certain tasks by
their corporate body and you will imagine how they overcome
these challenges. You will roll dice to determine how difficult
these encounters will be. Then you will roll a different pool of dice
to see if your character succeeded or failed. As the game
progresses your character will start to succumb to the various
stresses placed upon them and will eventually perish in the course
of their job. You cannot save them. You are a witness to how the
corporate body destroys human life.

WHAT YOU NEED

D4) 6 six-sided dice (6_ON_
▶ 6 four-sided dice (4_ON_ D6) 6 eight-sided
D8) 6 ten-sided dice (10_ON_
dice (8_ON_ D10) 6 twelve-sided dice (12_ON_
D12)

D20)
▶ 1 twenty-sided die (20_ON_

▶ A copy of these rules

▶ A character sheet (available for free where digital versions

of MERGER are sold)

▶ Writing tools (pen and paper, a digital document, etc.)

▶ An hour or two
6
TASTE MENU

To ensure your game only contains themes and content that you
are comfortable with, create a taste menu of things that you do
or do not want to see in the course of the game.

To create a taste menu take a piece of paper or some sort of

document and create two columns labelled “Yes” and “No” or
“Okay” and “Not Okay.” Write down whatever you definitely want
to see in the game, “Yes,” or something you definitely do not want
to see in the game, “No.” The two columns don’t need to be even,
they just need to include anything you feel strongly about. Add or
remove topics as the game progresses as you like.

These could be particular themes or subjects likely to come up in

MERGER, like corporate malfeasance, rich and extravagant
lifestyles, or anti-corporate demonstrations, or more general
content you are interested in including or excluding, like excessive
violence, bigotry, or magic.

MERGER already includes content that some may find

uncomfortable like body horror, existential dread, destructive
vices, and immorally extravagant wealth. Read through the rules
and feel free to ignore or alter content that you would rather not
experience in the course of your game. Just because this is a
single-player game doesn’t mean the story will always go
according to your plan. Random dice rolls may bring up topics you’d
rather not interact with.

If you start to feel uncomfortable, stop playing and revisit your

taste menu and reflect on how you can change the content to
better suit your needs.

7
Character
creation
In MERGER your character is made up of skills, items, a bond, and
a vice. These are your character’s traits which are represented by
dice of various sizes, either a d4, d6, d8, or d10.

Follow the steps on the following pages to make your character.

You’ll need one six-sided dice (d6). For each trait, roll 1d6 to
determine the type of trait (common, uncommon, or rare) then roll
again to get a trait within that type.

For example, when rolling for one of your character’s skills if you
roll a 5 and then a 3, your skill would be Finesse and the die size
would be d6. If you ever roll and get a trait you have already
recorded, increase the die size of that trait. For example if you got
Finesse again you would increase the d6 to a d8.

NAMES
What do people call your character? Select an option below or roll
1d6 twice to get a random name. Record the result on your sheet.

COMMON UNCOMMON RARE

1-3 4/5 6

1 Malia 1 Jacqueline 1 Lux

2 Imran 2 Royce 2 Silver

3 Richard 3 Dior 3 Lira

4 Charlie 4 Laurent 4 Copper

5 Otis 5 Chanel 5 Banks

6 Dhana 6 Renny 6 Mercedes

9
SKILLS
Skills reflect what your character is good at. These could come
from their life before they became a corporate fixer, formal
education, or your character’s hard won experience.

Roll a d6 twice to get a skill, record it on your character sheet and

circle the related die. Do this three times so your character starts
with a total of 3 skills.
COMMON SKILLS
1-3
1 DELEGATION 4_ON_
D4
2 CUSTOMER SERVICE D4
4_ON_
3 STRATEGY D4
4_ON_
4 PRAYER D4
4_ON_
5 LEADERSHIP D4
4_ON_
6 SIXTH SENSE D6
6_ON_
UNCOMMON SKILLS
4/5
1 FINANCES 6_ON_
D6
2 RESEARCH D6
6_ON_
3 FINESSE D6
6_ON_
4 NETWORKING D6
6_ON_
5 INVENTIVE D6
6_ON_
6 LAW D8
8_ON_
RARE SKILLS
6
1 SALES 8_ON_
D8
2 ATHLETICS D8
8_ON_
3 MANAGEMENT D8
8_ON_
4 EMPATHY D8
8_ON_
5 RHETORIC D8
8_ON_
6 RITUALS D10
10_ON_
10
SKILL DESCRIPTIONS
Delegation: There's always people who earn less than you and
therefore have to do what you say.
Customer Service: You know how to lie, how to act subservient,
and how to hide from people who make more money than you.
Strategy: You know how to solve a problem from multiple angles.
Prayer: Your wishes might not manifest, but that’s not the point.
The point is that you can’t go through all this by yourself, and there
has to be something bigger that can help, right?
Leadership: This should mean that you own up to your mistakes.
But for you maybe it just means you always know who to blame.
Sixth Sense: It’s the feeling that crept across your skin like dry
teeth when you first entered the offices of the corporate body.
You should’ve listened.
Finances: Accounting, budgets, and the absolute minimum wage.
Research: Finding buried bodies, searching archives, blackmail.
Finesse: Picking locks, pockets, and more.
Networking: One of the most terrifying things imaginable: talking
to strangers. Not just talking to them, but getting them to like you.
Inventive: Thinking outside the soggy blood-soaked box.
Law: How to cultivate and conceal your corporate body.
Sales: Convincing people to buy things they don’t need, often with
money that they do not have.
Athletics: Fleeing, jumping, scrambling, kicking, fighting.
Management: Not to be confused with leadership. You answer a
lot of emails and claim other people can’t do what you do.
Empathy: Less a skill and more of a curse. You hear everything.
Rhetoric: Convincing people to believe anything you want.
Rituals: Runes, blood, timing, sacrifices, the hidden causalities
around us. A person’s will enacted upon the world in novel ways.
11
ITEMS
These are the things your character typically has with them or has
access to. Do they help your character do their job? Are they big
status items, or familiar tools of their trade?

Roll a d6 twice to get an item, record it on your character sheet

and circle the related die. Do this three times so your character
starts with a total of 3 items.
COMMON ITEMS
1-3
1 LUCKY TOKEN 4_ON_
D4
2 PERSONAL ASSISTANT D4
4_ON_
3 ENCRYPTED PHONE D4
4_ON_
4 WAD OF CASH D4
4_ON_
5 ENERGY DRINKS D4
4_ON_
6 POISON D6
6_ON_
UNCOMMON ITEMS
4/5
1 BODYGUARD 6_ON_
D6
2 PRIVATE BUSINESS D6
6_ON_
3 PERSONAL LAWYER D6
6_ON_
4 GUN D6
6_ON_
5 FAMILY NAME D6
6_ON_
6 FIXER FRIEND D8
8_ON_
RARE ITEMS
6
1 TAILORED SUIT 8_ON_
D8
2 LUXURY VEHICLE D8
8_ON_
3 EXPENSIVE DRUGS D8
8_ON_
4 OBSIDIAN CREDIT CARD D8
8_ON_
5 ANCIENT TOME D8
8_ON_
6 RITUAL DAGGER D10
10_ON_
12
ITEM DESCRIPTIONS
Lucky Token: A totem, carving, coin, something small that has
never done you wrong and has no capacity to betray.
Personal Assistant: Someone paid to do what you tell them to.
They aren’t great at this job, but they could be.
Encrypted Phone: The latest and greatest.
Wad of Cash: They say money talks, but they can’t really hear it.
Not like you can. You hear it every moment of every day.
Energy Drinks: Maybe from a personal sponsor or the leftovers
from a failed business venture.
Poison: This may not be something intentionally lethal. You can
get all sorts of drugs and medications that could kill.
Bodyguard: They are paid enough to hurt and get hurt for you.
Private Business: A side gig that has remained profitable. Who
runs it for you? What do they do? Is it a front, a tax dodge?
Personal Lawyer: The corporate body will not protect you. It does
not need to, so you had best protect yourself.
Gun: It’s a murder weapon.
Family Name: An old name, as old as your family’s money.
Fixer Friend: They’re like you, they are paid to solve problems.
Tailored Suit: It grants respect from your peers, and fear from
anyone making less money than you.
Luxury Vehicle: Gets you where you need to go in style.
Expensive Drugs: Nothing says I belong here like medicating
yourself to deal with the body count hidden behind the numbers.
Obsidian Credit Card: There is an upper limit, somewhere.
Ancient Tome: Written in several languages. Some of the words
you can read, others ebb and flow on the page like water.
Ritual Dagger: When you touch it you can see the veins and bones
of the corporate body straining against concrete and carpet.
13
BONDS
A bond is your character’s personal connection to the corporate
body who employs them. This is why they can’t just leave or ignore
what is happening, and may even give them an edge.

Roll a d6 twice to get a bond, record it on your character sheet and

circle the related die. Do this once so your character starts with a
total of 1 bond.
COMMON BONDS
1-3
1 MEDICATION 4_ON_
D4
2 MONEY D4
4_ON_
3 DEBT D4
4_ON_
4 SECURITY D4
4_ON_
5 TREATMENT D4
4_ON_
6 FRIENDS D6
6_ON_
UNCOMMON BONDS
4-6
1 FAMILY 6_ON_
D6
2 SECRET D6
6_ON_
3 WORKAHOLIC D6
6_ON_
4 PROTECTED D6
6_ON_
5 VICE D6
6_ON_
6 FAVOUR D8
8_ON_
BOND DESCRIPTIONS
Medication: They provide medicine you need to live. How regularly
do you need to take it? What does it look like?
Money: Your lifestyle has made you reliant on the salary you
receive from the corporate body. What do you spend it on?
Debt: You owe money, a lot of money.
Security: The corporate body is protecting you from someone or
something. What is it? What does the protection look like?
Treatment: The corporate body provides someone close to you
with medication. What is it? How long will they last without it?
Friends: For good or ill, nearly everyone in your social circle is part
of the corporate body. You spend a lot of time in there.
Family: You work with beloved relatives. Your family created this
corporate body. They’ll help you out, right?
Secret: Someone in the corporate body knows your dirty secret.
Workaholic: You’ve never had a life outside the corporate body.
You grew up here. This is home. You need this.
Protected: Another corporate body is after you, and this company
is protecting you from them. What happened?
Vice: They provide an experience you can’t find anywhere else.
This doesn’t have to be the same as your vice, but it could be.
Favour: The corporate body helped you out of a terrible mess and
now you owe them forever. What happened?
VICES
Your character’s vice is how they cope with their day to day job,
and the revelation that their company is a insatiable globe-
spanning monster.

Roll a d6 twice to get a vice, record it on your character sheet and

circle the related die. Do this once so your character starts with a
total of 1 vice.
COMMON VICES
1-3
1 GAMBLING 4_ON_
D4
2 SEX D4
4_ON_
3 DRUGS D4
4_ON_
4 VIOLENCE D4
4_ON_
5 ALCOHOL D4
4_ON_
6 LUXURY ITEMS D6
6_ON_
UNCOMMON VICES
4-6
1 CHARITY 6_ON_
D6
2 FAITH D6
6_ON_
3 CORPORATE CULTURE D6
6_ON_
4 ADRENALINE D6
6_ON_
5 ANNIHILATION D6
6_ON_
6 THE OCCULT D8
8_ON_
VICE DESCRIPTIONS
Gambling: Card games, fights, sports, casinos, etc.
Sex: Professionals, friends, or the occasional old flame. A good
way to have fun and maybe even discover some helpful gossip.
Drugs: Uppers, downers, anything that helps you forget.
Violence: Boxing, shooting, martial arts, fights in alleyways.
Alcohol: Expensive and rare spirits or just the cheap stuff.
Luxury Items: Designer watches, fountain pens, antiques, etc.
Charity: You actually give some of your money to people who
need it more than you do. Will they help you in return?
Faith: Moralizing, conviction, trying to remind yourself that the
world doesn’t have to be like this. How long will it help?
Corporate Culture: Group think, team building exercises,
corporate training, you drink it all up and ask for seconds.
Adrenaline: Extreme sports and other stunts that make you take
your life in your hands. What connections has this gotten you?
Annihilation: You black out and stop existing for a while. This
could be getting beaten to a pulp, drinking to excess, or worse.
The Occult: The secret language of all things can quickly turn into
an obsession, and why not? If these monsters that surround you
are real, why not turn your blood into pure will? Why not cover
yourself in runes? It won’t matter in the end.
ENCOUNTERS
MERGER is fuelled by encounters. These are challenges and tasks
presented by corporate bodies across the world. Each encounter
describes a challenge and provides a few prompting questions to
help you imagine how your character will act.

You start the game with the first encounter of the first corporate
body. When you finish the encounter, you move on to the next
until you finish the last encounter for that corporate body. Then
you move on to the next corporate body. There are five corporate
bodies each with five encounters. The last encounters of the
game will be against your character’s employer, KANE & WEAVING.

Each encounter is made up of a corporate roll and an action roll.

CORPORATE ROLL
Each corporate body has an associated die (d8, d10, or d12) and
each encounter has an associated die (d8, d10, or d12). To start
an encounter, read the prompt and imagine what happens. Then
grab the corporation die and the encounter die.

If you have marked corruption on your character sheet, add one

copy of the corporation die to the pool for each corruption. For
example if you are facing SHROUD (d10) and have 2 corruption on
your character sheet, you would add two more d10’s to the pool.
You’ll read more about corruption soon.

Roll all the dice in the pool and sum the two highest results
together. The resulting number represents how difficult the
encounter will be for your character. A high number is a difficult or
seemingly impossible challenge, a low number means luck might
finally be on your side.

18
ACTION ROLL

Your character has traits they can use to overcome these

corporate encounters. After you make the corporate roll, look at
the details of the encounter and the corporate body and decide
which of your traits you can use to overcome this encounter. Add
the die associated with each trait to your pool. If you have any
corporate secrets unlocked for that corporate body, add that die
to your pool. You’ll read more about corporate secrets soon.

Before you roll you can push yourself to get more or larger dice.
When you push yourself mark 2 stress on your character sheet
and either add an additional copy of a die in the pool, or upgrade a
die by one size (so a d4 becomes a d6, becomes a d8, etc.) You can
do one or the other when you push yourself. You can only push
yourself once per action roll. A die cannot get higher than a d12
this way.

You may also sacrifice a trait. When you sacrifice a trait your
character breaks a bond, destroys or expends an item, etc. When
you sacrifice you mark 2 stress, strike out a trait, and add 1d20 to
your pool. If you already had that trait die in your pool, remove it.
You cannot use that trait again for the rest of the game, so
choose wisely. You can only make one sacrifice per action roll.

When your pool is ready roll your dice and sum the two highest
results together.

If the result of the action roll doubles the result of the corporate
roll or more, that’s a success. Your character overcomes the
encounter, and gets several benefits. If the result of the action
roll is higher than or equal to the corporate roll, that’s a mixed
success. Your character overcomes the encounter but they get
only one benefit and suffer a consequence. If the result of the
action roll is less than the result of the corporate roll, that’s a
failure and your character suffers several consequences.
19
CONSEQUENCES

When you get a mixed success during an encounter, select one of

the following consequences. When your character fails an
encounter, you must pick all four.

Mark 2 Stress: This is the mental, physical, and spiritual toll on

your character. When your character’s stress track fills, clear the
track and mark 1 corruption and 1 insight. Excess stress carries
over, so if your character has space to mark 1 stress on their track
and you need to mark 2 stress, clear the stress track and mark 1
stress. If your stress track fills and you cannot mark more
corruption, your character dies or is lost forever.

Mark a Complication: This is harm, promises, legal proceedings,

etc. When your character suffers a complication write it on one of
the free spaces on your character sheet. These can augment how
your character behaves and approaches encounters. Your
character can suffer five complications. If you would mark a sixth
complication, your character dies.

Examples: Broken bones, being sued, bruised, cynical, paranoid,

depressed, anxious, shot, exhausted, visions, violent, reckless

Decrease a Trait: This represents your character’s traits breaking

down. This could be an item degrading or being expended,
atrophying skills, or relationships under pressure. When you
decrease a trait, downgrade a trait’s die size. For example a d8
becomes a d6, a d6 becomes a d4, etc. A trait cannot decrease
lower than a d4.

Repeat the Encounter: Sometimes your character will fall, and

fall hard. They’ll need to regroup and attempt the same thing
again. When you select this consequence you must repeat the
same encounter again before attempting the next encounter. You
may repeat an encounter multiple times.
20
BENEFITS

When you get a mixed success during an encounter, select one of

the following benefits. When you get a success, you pick all four.

When you get a mixed success, you cannot pick a consequence

and benefit that affect the same part of your character. For
example, if you cleared stress as a benefit, you cannot then mark
2 stress as a consequence.

Clear all Stress: With this benefit your character has time to relax
and recover from their previous encounter. When you take this
benefit, clear all marked stress on your character sheet.

Clear a Complication: Your character has time to recover from

their wounds or address other conditions they are enduring. When
you take this benefit, erase one complication on your character
sheet. You can erase any marked condition.

Increase a Trait: This represents your character’s traits

developing through practice and experience. When you increase a
trait, upgrade a trait’s die size. For example a d4 becomes a d6, a
d6 becomes a d8, etc. A trait cannot increase higher than a d10.

Corporate Secrets: Each corporate body has four secrets that

can help your character get an edge against them. These are
represented by a d4, d6, d8, and d10. When you first take this
benefit, circle the d4 under corporate secrets on your character
sheet. Each time you pick this benefit, increase the die size of the
corporate secret. You add this die to your action rolls against that
specific corporate body.

The corporate secret die cannot be higher than d10. When you
face a new corporate body, clear your corporate secrets. You’ll
have to start discovering new secrets after you beat each
corporate body.
21
ENCOUNTER SUMMARY

1. Read the encounter. Imagine the scene.

2. Make the corporate die pool.
▶ +1d for the encounter
▶ +1d for the corporate body
▶ +1 additional corporate body die for each corruption
3. Make the corporate roll. Roll the dice and sum the two highest
results together. This determines the difficulty of the encounter.
4. Imagine your character’s approach.
▶ +1d for each relevant trait
▶ +1d for corporate secrets, if you have discovered any
▶ You may push yourself by marking 2 stress and adding a
copy of any die in your pool, or increasing the size of a die
▶ You may sacrifice by marking 2 stress, crossing out a trait,
and adding 1d20 to your pool
3. Make the action roll. Roll the dice and sum the two highest
results together.
▶ If the sum of the action roll is less than the sum of the
corporate roll, you fail the encounter and suffer all 4
consequences.
▶ If the sum of the action roll is equal to or greater than the
sum of the corporate roll, you get a mixed success and
pick 1 benefit and 1 consequence.
▶ If the sum of the action roll is at least twice than the sum of
the corporate roll, you succeed and get all 4 benefits.

22
Corruption

When you fill your character’s stress track, erase the track and
mark 1 corruption and 1 insight. Whenever you make a corporate
roll, you add another copy of the corporate die to the roll for each
corruption marked on your character sheet.

Corruption is the deterioration of your character. This is your

character abandoning their principles and falling into nihilism. This
is eyes growing on your character, and their skin becoming scaly.
As your character becomes more and more like the corporate
bodies, they are less able to resist or fight against them.

INSIGHT
Insights are revelations your character has received as a result of
their experiences. You can pick any insight that your character
does not currently have, and the insight takes effect immediately.

▶ Lucky: When you have this insight, if you get the same
result on any dice during an action roll, you may re-roll one
of your dice and add it to your action roll result. For example,
if you get a 1 on a d6 and a 1 on a d4, you may reroll the d6
or d4 and add that result to the sum of your action roll.

▶ Saboteur: You get an additional copy of the corporate

secret die in your action roll pool. For example, if your
corporate secrets die is d8, you would add 2d8 to your pool
rather than 1d8.

▶ Tough: It costs only 1 stress to push yourself.

▶ Cold: It costs only 1 stress to sacrifice a trait.

23
CORPORATE
BODIES
M.E.A.T. 8_ON_
D8
Pioneers in patented medicines, unethical experimentation, and
drug price fixing. M.E.A.T. has a history of buying smaller
pharmacies, drug companies, and other minor corporate bodies
and merging them into their esoteric schemes. Several essential,
life saving medications are provided exclusively through their
various subsidiaries. M.E.A.T. has hired KANE & WEAVING and your
character to cover up some controversial business decisions.
Little do they know, KANE & WEAVING will use these secrets to
secure their own merger with M.E.A.T.

CORPORATE SECRETS
D4
4_ON_ Employees are fired to cover up unethical behaviour

D6
6_ON_ Human beings are used as unknowing test subjects

D8
8_ON_ Managers sell drugs and medicine under the table

D10
10_ON_ Some managers know they serve a corporate body

ENCOUNTERS
Employees are planning to unionize. Will you help
D8
8_ON_ organize the workers, or destabilize their efforts?
The corporate body is being sued by a government. Will
D8
8_ON_ you help defend them, or leak their secrets?
A corporate officer has been embezzling funds. Will you
D10
10_ON_ make them disappear, or take advantage of the scam?
A secret group of researchers are trying to extract
D10
10_ON_ fluids from the company’s monstrous body.
Your employer wishes to merge with this company.
D12
12_ON_ Does your character help or stay out of the way?
25
BADGER 8_ON_
D8
This corporate body owns several television channels, streaming
services, film production companies, and family entertainment
venues like cruise ships and theme parks. They have grown by
leaps and bounds in the modern information age, despite their
various news channels often spewing untrue statements, fear
mongering, and sharing bigoted opinions and coverage. KANE &
WEAVING wishes to acquire this conglomerate to expand its own
influence across the globe. Your character will have several
problems to solve in order to get there, or hinder their progress.

CORPORATE SECRETS
D4
4_ON_ Their cruise ships and theme parks are safety hazards

D6
6_ON_ One family manages this company, from the shadows

D8
8_ON_ Corporate officers use symbols to pass secrets
People often go missing within the company’s
D10
10_ON_ headquarters. They are never seen again.

ENCOUNTERS
An employee is attempting to blackmail the company.
D8
8_ON_ Will you hunt them down or help them?
Several government bodies are opposed to your
D8
8_ON_ merger. Will you find legal loopholes, or leak plans?
The company is secretly in massive debt. Will you
D10
10_ON_ eliminate those responsible, or expose this secret?
Corporate officers gather in ritual spaces once a week.
D10
10_ON_ Will you infiltrate this inner circle, or expose them?
Your employer wishes to merge with this company.
D12
12_ON_ Does your character help or stay out of the way?
26
OMNI 10_ON_
D10
OMNI manages social media platforms, produces a variety of
middle man tech solutions for other corporate bodies, as well as
designing and producing everyday software and hardware. A
younger but nevertheless powerful corporate body that has used
it’s services and products to wriggle it’s way into the business and
personal lives of almost every person on the planet. They trade in
secrets and blackmail just as often as they sell products. Your
corporate body hungers for this merger. You can feel tendrils all
around you, twitching in anticipation.

CORPORATE SECRETS
D4
4_ON_ Managers routinely spy on customers and employees

D6
6_ON_ The company sells the private information it gathers

D8
8_ON_ Investors regularly die in the company’s headquarters

D10
10_ON_ Corporate officers occasionally go missing

ENCOUNTERS
Employees are planning to unionize. Will you help
D8
8_ON_ organize the workers, or destabilize their efforts?
There is an internal battle for leadership. Will you play
D8
8_ON_ both parties against each other, or pick a side?
The company has started a new crypto currency. Will
D10
10_ON_ you help this dangerous tech flourish, or try to get rich?
Corporate leaders do business in parties of incredible
D10
10_ON_ debauchery. Will you sneak in, or expose them?
Your employer wishes to merge with this company.
D12
12_ON_ Does your character help or stay out of the way?
27
SHROUD 10_ON_
D10
This corporate body is a hedge fund, well-versed in the secret
language of wealth, of trading stocks, of betting against other
corporate body’s failures and successes. The movement of their
money and their attention has killed more corporate bodies and
their employees than any other. This will not be an easy merger.
Such an acquisition will make your vile master one of the most
powerful entities on the planet. The few hours of sleep you
manage are full of visions: tentacles, eyes, and money. Failure
here will not be tolerated.

CORPORATE SECRETS
D4
4_ON_ Managers place inappropriate bets on employees

D6
6_ON_ Employees regularly bribe governments

D8
8_ON_ Corporate officers hide wealth in art and tax havens

D10
10_ON_ Some officers can see the corporate body, like you

ENCOUNTERS
All employees must master rituals to join the company.
D8
8_ON_ Will you decipher them to get in, or warn others?
Their records are a maze of bureaucracy. Will you find
D8
8_ON_ useful information, or stonewall your employer?
They have vast stores of wealth to defend themselves.
D10
10_ON_ Will you steal some for yourself, or expose weakness?
Corporate officers routinely gather for rituals where
D10
10_ON_ they consume the blood of their corporate body.
Your employer wishes to merge with this company.
D12
12_ON_ Does your character help or stay out of the way?
28
KANE & WEAVING 12_ON_
D12
Your corporate body has become one of the most powerful
organisms on the planet. It has assisted other larger more
powerful organisms to cover up their crimes and hoard more
wealth, but now it dominates everyday life. Its eyes see
everything. Its limbs touch everyone. It looks at you and knows. It
knows you can see it for what it is. It is going to kill you.

Special Rule: You start with corporate secrets. Circle the d4

corporate secret before you begin your first encounter.

CORPORATE SECRETS
D4
4_ON_ You know this corporate body’s weaknesses

D6
6_ON_ You find secret caches of money, secrets, etc.

D8
8_ON_ At least one other manager can see the corporate body

D10
10_ON_ You know where the heart of the corporate body is

ENCOUNTERS
Someone has been hired to kill you. Who are they, and
D8
8_ON_ how will you confront them?
You are framed for a crime you didn’t commit. Will you
D8
8_ON_ fight it, deflect blame, or try to accept your fate?
The company is suing you and you have been fired.
D10
10_ON_ What do you lose? Do you fight the lawsuit or hide?
The corporate body is surrounding you. Do you fight,
D10
10_ON_ hide, or take advantage of it trying to engulf you?
The corporate body’s heart is revealed to you. What
D12
12_ON_ does it look like? What do you do?
29
ENDING THE GAME
There are 3 ways MERGER can end.

If you must mark a complication and there is no room left to do

so, your character dies. What kills them? What is the last thing
they see? What does your corporate body do with your
character’s remaining assets?

If you must mark a corruption and there is no room left to do

so, your character dies or is lost forever. How does the
corporate body engulf them? Who remembers your character?

If you successfully pass the final encounter of KANE &

WEAVING, your character lives. What do they do? What personal
connections do they have left? Who are they now?
MERGER is a single player role-playing game about trying to
survive in a world of living predatory corporations. Your character
can see these corporate bodies for what they really are. They
glimpse flesh in the cracks of the cement. Are they alone in this
revelation? Will they attempt to leave the corporate body, or
assist their mergers? Play to find out what happens!