Tainted Grail and the Arthurian legends

Tainted Grail: Song of a Dying World is the tabletop RPG adaptation of the acclaimed board game Tainted Grail.

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This article is the first in a series designed to introduce you to the game and its specifics.

Read previous articles: 

• Introduction to Tainted Grail by Studio Agate
• The evolution of the background
• The Tainted Grail rules system
• Board game links

How the legends were adapted for a fantasy world

The Tainted Grail board game, published by Awaken Realms and written by Krzysztof Piskorski and Marcin Świerkot, invites players to explore the mysterious island of Avalon, at different points in its history. The universe depicted through the various incarnations of the board game and two video games, is based on Arthurian legends and offers a reinterpretation of the Round Table cycle, influenced by Celtic myths and folklore.

The world of Tainted Grail thus offers a reinterpretation of these founding myths, as well as developing a pitiless and desperate dark fantasy universe. The colorful heroes of medieval gestures trade in their flamboyant finery for a tortured vision of human existence and the human condition, confronted with its contradictions and impasses. In Avalon, the valiant and the brave are rare, where monsters and the damned are legion. Here, life is conquered by blood and steel, and always at the expense of others. This concept of existence does, however, offer its guests the prospect of improvement and elevation, but such undertakings are akin to the way of the cross, and impose heavy and constant sacrifices on the traveler. Absolution and freedom, like the right to exist on the island, is hard-won.

Although it draws on representations and references we all know, Tainted Grail sets out to propose its own vision - and a radical one at that - of the Arthurian myth, which it reintegrates into a broader framework of dark fantasy, blending the supernatural, mysticism and personal quest. These are the questions that Studio Agate, in close collaboration with Awaken Realms, set out to transcribe in this new story, which completes the official chronology of the games. In addition to the existing material, the author has taken care to draw on Arthurian legends and Celtic myths to develop the Avalon universe, while preserving the coherence and singular identity of this saga. New knights, doomed heroes, and mischievous deities - from the legends of the Round Table and lesser-known myths - will join the island's pantheon and inhabit your games, in this new chapter in the history of Avalon.