Malkin

About this game

Malkin is a hand-drawn, atmospheric, story-rich RPG. A quest to find the blood of a murderer leads a witch into ever deeper mysteries. Expect intricate storylines with multiple endings and combat that poses a balanced challenge. An OGL game.

GAMEPLAY

Character Creation
Distribute points, choose from 10 unique witch classes, and learn your first spell. Individualize your character further by answering seven questions about their background. All choices in character creation have consequences in exploration and combat.

Exploration
A quest to find the blood of a murderer leads you and two companions into woods, field, and fen. You must survive -- and find what you need -- before time runs out.

Tactical Combat
Use spells, items, and tactical ingenuity to repel the forces hunting you. Exploit synergies between you and your companions. Combat poses balanced challenge for different builds. Uses a modified form of the SRD 3.5 ruleset.

STORYTELLING

Writing
Novelistic dialogue and narration tell the story of the witch’s unconventional quest. Plot, subplot, and side quests are thematically coherent. There is no worldbuilding for its own sake. The world emerges from the story, not vice versa.

Multiple Endings
What will you do with your knowledge and power? Several endings are possible. Replay the game to get new endings and fresh revelations.

Atmosphere
Hand-drawn graphics and mellow-to-melancholy banjo, synth, and vocal tracks complement the storytelling. All writing, music, and art in the game are made by one person.

Latest news

• Announcements·18 Nov 2024Official

  Malkin's One-Year Anniversary

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44596527/e10dc278c1a9ada6b63353c33e4da5af8f09c79b.png Malkin was released a year ago today. Since then, I've added DLC, more music and character options, and some important fixes and revisions. Thank you for playing.
  Read full article on Community Announcements (Zach Holbrook)

• Community & Events·30 Sept 2024Official

  Malkin 40% Off During Turn-Based RPG Fest

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44596527/07de4738632f002bbb2c92600cc9a6259c6e497d.png Taking turns is fundamental. "Wait your turn" is one of the first things you learn as a kid -- along with the importance of sharing, a related concept. The best conversations are turn-based. The best experiences standing in line at the airport or grocery store are also turn-based. Love! -- Love itself is turn-based, if you think about it a certain way. Turns break indifferent, infinitely running time into human units. Pet the cat. Sip the coffee. Look out the window at the world passing by, where good things are always in the process of going away; then look back into that magical game world where good things just wait for you. When you are ready -- and only when you are ready -- take your turn and say to time, "Now you may pass." Malkin is waiting. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44596527/7903ff4e8d952e3bb010780681570dc415dd1739.png
  Read full article on Community Announcements (Zach Holbrook)

• Patch Notes·28 Aug 2024Official

  Patch 1.03b

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44596527/b3d513939d833b1173ebcb790f1f678f85411899.png Malkin is getting a free demo. Spread the word. In token of the demo, I've added a minor magical item (pictured above) to the game. Look for it in Sieben's shop on day three. I've also tweaked the following things: Cleaned up several animations that include visuals from the wrong frames Made further revisions to Middle One's pendant dialog to make it more straightforward Added missing girdle book art to the base game Malkin Lock of Hare Shirt A hare shirt, not a hair shirt. The title of the game appears above the enigmatic art from the spell Lock of Hare. Drop me a line if you're interested. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44596527/c44f4bdff6bf2ddc2dddc7b94b02f2f3825dba74.png
  Read full article on Community Announcements (Zach Holbrook)

• Announcements·2 Jul 2024Official

  Malkin 30% Off Until July 11

  Woods>Beach. Get Malkin and its DLC at a 30% discount during Steam's Summer Sale. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44596527/99116c178358a82bdcb685c51f75831d08d115e0.png
  Read full article on Community Announcements (Zach Holbrook)

• Patch Notes·4 Jun 2024Official

  Hotfix 1.03a

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44596527/0f3c889ca35431df24c1a196ae28be15f652b658.png Thanks to JarlFrank for alerting me to this bug. Certain characters (multitalented young witches with 13 or higher in multiple stats) would be unable to take a pendant from Middle One because the option to take one got pushed off the menu by all the pendant options. This halted progress. I've adjusted the dialog so that pendant options are broken up across three different menus. Please let me know if you encounter any further issues with pendant selection.
  Read full article on Community Announcements (Zach Holbrook)