Emotional Gambit: A Chess RPG

In this setting, chess pieces are living beings that come together to form vibrant communities. However, as you might know, a chess board hosts two kingdoms, divided by a broad banded, four by eight squares big,  border. Most of the time, little interaction occurs between these kingdoms, but sometimes the two sides are forced to war by the hands of the gods. We are familiar with how these battles turn out on a grand scale, but what about the stories untold, the stories of the Pieces stuck in the middle of it all?

You are a Piece on such a chessboard. Lately there have been disconcerting rumors from the opposing side of the board, across the border. Its authoritarian leader, the “Grand Master'', has denounced your attempts at peaceful cohabitation. On a fateful evening you smell the sulfur and metallic stink of war. You hug your lover, then grab your weapons and leave the house to defend your country one last time.

This game was submitted to
the Jam D1000 et D100 #3, for the keywords borders and animism, and
the One-Page RPG Jam 2023

Illustrations from ‘Through the Looking Glass' by John Tenniel