CRESCENT MOON ☾ feelings-delving role-playing
A downloadable daydream
⚡️ A dark fantasy sequel + second edition of Crescent Moon is on the way. Sign up here ! ⚡️
Go on a strange journey into the patchwork world of the daydream in Crescent Moon ☾, a feelings-delving role-playing game of brave children and bold adventures.
Rules for crafting your own whimsical tale full of breathtaking landscapes and unlikely friends await inside. Delve in to uncover stories of daring deeds and fantastical creatures—of calm afternoon naps and of promises whispered under starlight.
Will you find a way to travel out of the daydream?
What dangers will your shadows seed in your path?
How will you grow and change from your journey?
Take my hand and close your eyes. Let’s find out together.
The game
- A world shaped by dreams. Play in the daydream, a vibrant land carved out of patchwork dreams and full of whimsical, grim creatures.
- Collect memories. Capture significant moments as memories, and use them later to uncover the daydream’s past, learn more about your friends, and unleash new powers and magic.
- Non-violent play. Solve problems by making smart use of your tools and coming up with cunning plans, not by slashing your way in and out of adventures
- An ever-shifting journey. Shape your playthrough by choosing a link type, each with its own themes to explore, worlds to craft, and special abilities to master. Will you traverse the daydream as a kind family, stranded survivors, radiant dreamers, or star-touched exiles?
- Hand-drawn inventory. The objects you carry matter. Items, spells, and even conditions (like exhausted, or frightened) come in the form of physical, colorful cards for you to write on and make your own.
What will I find inside?
- A fully illustrated, 60-page PDF with the core ruleset.
- Guidance, tables, and tools for playing and running the game over a full campaign.
- 3 playsets, each giving its own spin to the game and aiding you in creating a different kind of story. A fourth one is on the way as a free update!
- 4 seasonal playbooks for The Moon, each characterizing a different side of the daydream as it cycles through its lunar year.
- A handouts set containing rule reference sheets, campaign and safety trackers, and character sheets. A printer-friendly version is included.
- Item cards, both in printable and web format.
Useful links
- How to play Crescent Moon online.
- Want to keep up with future news about the game? Sign up to my newsletter for sporadic updates, release dates, and other fun happenings.
- Want to keep up with me? The disembodied entity behind this game? That's so kind of you. You can find my website here, my Bluesky here, and my Patreon here.
Press
A press kit for Crescent Moon is available over here. If you'd like to feature the game in your podcast, actual play show, review site, or stream, contact Em at spookymeal at gmail dot com.
Physical copies
While this first edition is out of print, you may still be able to get it from Iglootree (UK) and on some FLGS across Europe.
Official Supplements
Purchase
In order to download this daydream you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of 12.35€ EUR. You will get access to the following files:
Exclusive content
Support this daydream at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Community Copies ★
If you're a member of a disadvantaged community, a student, or someone struggling with low-income or financial hardship, you're welcome to grab a free community copy by claiming one below.
New copies will be added periodically as I'm able to afford them.
If you can't afford the full price of the game but would still like to support me somehow, consider sending me a ko-fi as you grab a copy, and leaving a review of the game here on itch.
Alternatively, feel free to grab a copy by matching the game's price to a charity donation. Consider supporting ILGA Portugal, or another cause of your choice.
Download demo
Development log
- Merch Drop + 2e Coming Soon!Apr 22, 2024
- The Exiles Expansion ✴️ Last 24 hours!Mar 31, 2022
- THE EXILES — Crowdfunding now!Mar 11, 2022
- Miro play templates + THE EXILES announcement!Feb 20, 2022
- 1.3 release! Shop open and physical copies available!Dec 20, 2021
- version 1.2 is here ~!Oct 14, 2021
- full game is out!Sep 30, 2021
- summer's end update + patreon announcement!Sep 01, 2021
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Is there trait advancement in the game? 0, 0, 1 seems like not very good stats to keep for the whole thing, but I couldn't find anything talking about it. The game looks super neat and I'd love to be able to run it sometime if I can!
Hey Chocobloc! There is no Trait advancement in the game (although as part of kid creation you pick a Spark, which grants you an additional +1, and you can swap Sparks during the game). That said, if you're okay with waiting a couple of months, the second edition of the game is about to release during the fall, and it includes all-new rules that incorporate character progression more thoughtfully (much more akin to Exile's ruleset).
Let me know if you have any other question, and I hope you get to run the game! :-)
hi ema!
i wanted to ask, for the sake of fair compensation to you and because im not super sure about what the etiquette is, how you would feel about one party sharing the purchased pdfs amongst each other. Is it okay if only one of the party has bought the pdfs or would you prefer that everyone involved does?
Thanks in advance!
Hey Ellis! You are more than welcome to share around the game amongst friends, especially if you're planning to play—it's no big deal. As an alternative to a purchase, anyone is welcome to make a one-time donation. Happy gaming!
Hey Ema,
I was wondering what your stance is on people hacking CM for their own games - I personally would love to use some of the games' rules for my fantasy heartbreaker. Is there a licence to use (some) rules from your work?
Regardless, thanks a bunch for your time working on this and your other games!
run free to your heart's content!
Is CM a FITD hack too or is it its own thing?
Hey, Crescent is loosely based on Blades and takes inspiration from it on certain mechanics (dice building, phases of play, etc.) If you're familiar with BiTD it'll be definitely be a smoother learning curve, but prior knowledge of that engine is not required.
OK thank you!
CM is really lovely! Just wanted to ask if the double 1 result is chosen for criticals because there are times that d4 and d8 are rolled (instead of d6)? Or is there perhaps another reason?
right on!
Ah okay! I'll probably houserule doubles to be double-highest instead, it's easier for me.
So excited to read/play Exiles! Even its current "hacky presentation" looks sleek and polished
My experience with Crescent Moon tugs on my heart like the memory of a lost friend. Its structure created a magic circle around play where moments of unbridled joy, dreamlike surreality, melancholy and fear all sat in harmony. This is a trait shared by masterworks of the genre.
I saw that the kickstarter for the Exiles ended recently, but the page mentions the Exiles as a playable Link already, what does this mean? I really like the idea of the Exiles, but I don't know if I should wait until the page is updated with the Exiles content, or if it's already there and the kickstarter was just for a revised version.
Hello SinRyder! I'm afraid the game page is outdated in that section, as the base game doesn't include any support for The Exiles and the expansion must be bought separately. That said, you can find a free demo for the expansion over at https://pocketcompass.itch.io/exiles
While the Exiles' playkit is just a rough preview of the final game, you can feasibly get a game of it started in combination with base CM in the meantime 🙂
Hope that helps!
Perfect! I'll plan to buy CM soon and give Exiles a try, thanks for responding. I'll be sure to leave whatever feedback I or other players give!
Are physical copies available somewhere, or have they been delayed? I'd like to put it on my Christmas list since it's first on my very short list of physical goods I want, but I don't see anywhere to buy it.
Hello! It depends a bit on where you're based. Copies to the US are unfortunately delayed until we sort out some customs paperwork, so at this point it might not be possible to have an order delivered before Christmas if you plan to get it from a North-American shop > <. That said, the good news are that European retailers (including myself!) are receiving the game now, which will pop up for sale in different storefronts over the remainder of the month. You can expect an update post on this page over the next 1-3 weeks with a list of all the stores where the game is available for purchase. Thanks for the patience!
I have never DM'd a game before, but something about this tickles me in such a way that I'm determined to overcome my anxiety and make this one my first DMing experience. I keep coming back to check if the physical copies are released yet. I'm so excited. <3
Best of luck with DMing this Breena! It was a big goal of mine to make the role of The Moon as easy to pick up as possible, so hopefully you won't find it overwhelming. Thanks for looking forward to the physical release, they are close ❤️️
It just pokes me right in whatever part of my brain first made me excited about gaming. Wondrous, fun, warm, and absolutely gorgeous.
Congrats to the new release. Is there a way we could get a single pages PDF instead of the spreads?
Sure! I'll add it right away. May I ask why you find the single pages version easier to use? I always read on spreads and am curious :o
I'm not the original commentor but in my case, I prefer single pages partly because the screen of my cheap tablet is too small to read in spreads without zooming in a lot. Another tiny reason is it's became a habit after reading e-books and research papers exclusively in single pages.
May I ask for single pages version of the handouts set as well, if it's possible?
Hey! That makes a lot of sense. In the case of the handouts, I'm afraid they're laid out in single A4 pages since they're meant to be printed out, so there's no way to divide them in half. Sorry!
Oh, I understand so no need to apologize! Thanks for replying!
Thank you very much!
I have not yet found a good way to print speads as a brochure. If I have single pages my printer allows me to make a nice A5 copy.
Ooo, "magical otherworld" is one of my favorite things in media, and I never did really like combat in TTRPGs, at least when it wasn't presented as a problem to solve. That's why I like casters, they get fun tools like "throw things quick" and "move dirt around" instead of just "hit with axe." I'm going to keep an eye on this.
Ooooooohhhh, I just saw the description of The Dreamers and... oof, that's a little... too accurate to me. I've got a bit of a problem with escapism, I think. I'm one of the people that sees "may you have an interesting life" as a blessing, not a curse.
I love your game. I'm the creator of Inspirisles. Question: How did you set up pre-orders? I can't find the way to do it anywhere.
hello,
just like that !
Thank you! Think it was because I had mixture of free downloads too. Didn’t realise you could isolate prices.
Reading the Quickstart makes me truly excited for the book.
Beyond the wonderful art and layout, Crescent Moon is also delightfully written. I truly appreciate its gentle voice, that clearly guides the reader on the principles and flow of play. It reminds me of Quest, Wanderhome, but Crescent Moon also impresses me with how it develops a unique, possibly deep system of play.
I'm following this project for sure.