In those days, the Black Company was in service to the immortal sorceress-queen called the Lady. Her vast and expanding empire stretched a thousand miles from the mountainous ruins of the fallen west to the forests, steppes, and haunted deserts of the east.

After months of marching north to the one-time kingdom of Forsberg, the Company has garrisoned in the fortress at the crossroads village of Deal. They serve in the army of Soulcatcher, one of the Ten Who Were Taken, legendary wizard-generals enslaved by the Lady. Just southwest is territory occupied by the forces of Moonbiter, another of the Ten. North is the territory of the Limper, another of the Taken, whose blunders have brought Forsberg to the brink of defeat.

The champions of the Lady scheme and fight bitterly among themselves. 

The Rebel, armies and guerillas led by the sorcerers of the Circle of Eighteen, grows bold.

The Black Company, one battalion among armies, hopes only to fulfill its commission and survive.

Your Soldiers can put that hope to the test.

The Black Company Roleplaying Game is based on Glen Cook’s masterpiece novels of dark fantasy. It has entered a third phase of playtesting. Its rules for character creation, overcoming challenges and hazards, and surviving combat have been refined and streamlined. Its rules for sorcery add layers of power and consequence for ambitious players.

• Download the current draft of the rules here.
• Instantly find a new Soldier’s nickname and background here.
• Join your lost brethren on Reddit and Discord.

Updates

• 8 Nov 2026: Version 3.0 released. Now deprecated. Please discard.
• 9 Nov 2026: Version 3.1 released. Corrections listed on page 1.

Join the Playtest

Time to step up, Soldier. Help us find any lingering elements that don’t quite hold together. To volunteer yourself and a few players, email chris@arcdream.com with the subject “Black Company Stage 3.” We’ll send detailed instructions. And a new scenario, The Temple of the Unseen, which sends the Soldiers to investigate a mysterious source of power found by a Rebel wizard. A sequel scenario, The Red Thorns, will follow in a couple of months.