MIR: An Interview with the Creators of the Dark Fantasy TTRPG on Trauma, Healing, Art and Black Metal
MIR, a dark fantasy TTRPG by Little Dusha, is currently live on Kickstarter. With its haunting narrative set in a world struggling against the encroaching Ruin, MIR offers players a unique journey through moral dilemmas, trauma, and dark intrigue—where every decision carries a weight that can shape reality itself.
The game, which is pronounced as “MIR” (MИP in Cyrillic), places players in the roles of agents fighting to protect reality from monstrous entities known as the Echoes of the Ruin. The agents, members of the MIR organization, wield the dangerous Arts—powers that enable them to alter reality while risking corruption. Their struggle is to fight off the manifestations of suffering, protect the world from the Ruin, and contend with the distrust of the very people they strive to protect.
In a recent talk with TGN, Adrien Dumonchau and Valentin Reverdy, the creators of MIR provided insight into the driving inspirations behind MIR’s concept, visual design, and the meaningful touches they’ve added, like an exclusive soundtrack.
The Inspiration Behind MIR
When asked about the inspiration for MIR, the creators shared that the game was born out of a desire to bring real dilemmas into the TTRPG space. The creators wanted to avoid simply depicting gore and action, which they consider to be more epic rather than dark. Instead, MIR’s focus is on the psychological aspect—forcing players into moral decisions that have emotional resonance.
“Having to tell someone close to you that your loved one has died, having to confess betrayal to someone, having to condemn the innocent: that’s dark.
In a word: the psychology of the characters is too often skipped in favor of action scenes that are too unrealistic to elicit emotion. That’s not to say I don’t like epic action, quite the contrary, but like salt in a dish, you have to know how to dose it.
MIR’s universe places players in the position of judge and executioner. They’re not the victims, or the weak ones.
The dark side of the game comes from having to take responsibility for one’s decisions and their consequences on the universe. I wanted to create a universe that would help game masters to easily create dilemmas, both through the themes and the game system.”
The game draws inspiration from several iconic RPGs, including World of Darkness, Warhammer, Call of Cthulhu, and Game of Thrones RPG. Works like George Orwell’s 1984 and movies such as Perfect Blue, Seven, and The Witch have also been instrumental in shaping MIR’s thematic direction.
A Visual and Artistic Experience – From Alphonse Mucha to Black Metal
One of the standout elements of MIR is its art direction. The creators emphasized that every visual component of the game has been crafted without the use of AI—a conscious decision in the face of growing debates within the role-playing community. The art draws on several influences, from Romantic engravings to Art Nouveau, and incorporates stylistic choices meant to evoke feelings of the sacred, dangerous, or magical.
“Valentin and I have always tried to ensure that form meets content. Having a collector’s edition with an imitation leather cover that costs twice as much doesn’t say anything.
The physical object is the extension of the universe, inspiring the game master as much as the words. And our job is to inspire people to tell memorable stories.”
The pair explained that they wanted to make it clear that this is a sacred book, and chose a sacred script for the graphical work: Vyaz, an ancient decorative Cyrillic lettering which the duo describes as gothic for the Slavic Orthodox.
“We imagined our book as an initiatory rite to help players enter the universe more easily,” they explained. Each book in the range corresponds to a different grade within the MIR organization, and no illustrations are reused. Everything is tailored to convey the unique atmosphere of the game.
Illustrations in MIR come in three styles. Black and white engravings in reference to the Romantic movement and Gustave Doré, Illustrations in chiaroscuro inspired by the Flamand painters, and Art nouveau illustrations inspired by Alphonse Mucha.
The game also comes with an accompanying music album, composed by Guillaume Galaup, a musician known for his work in the black metal scene. The art and design for MIR also draws inspiration from Black Metal and the music is designed to be an extension of the game, enhancing the mood and immersing players deeper into MIR’s dark setting. “Like a film, a role-playing game can leave a lasting impression with the help of music,” they said, noting that the album is included as a physical object within the collector’s edition.
While writing the compendium scenario “At Shadow’s Glory”, we met Guillaume Galaup, a musician known for LIMBES, a Black Metal one-man band. He’s a role-player at heart, and has thrown himself into the project heart and soul. Before composing the album, he played and read the scenario compendium to create a musical universe designed for it.
Guillaume wanted to avoid the “dedicated track” effect where you have one track for the fight scene, another for the plot scene etc. His philosophy is to create a long, thematically rich musical layer to adapt to situations without asking the game master to become a DJ.
What Sets MIR Apart
MIR isn’t just a game of dark fantasy—it’s a game of emotional weight and consequence. The creators wanted to design a setting where dilemmas arise intuitively from the world itself. This approach helps players face decisions that feel more nuanced than the simplistic “good vs. bad” choices.
With MIR I tried to offer a universe where each level of description offered the possibility of creating a dilemma intuitively. Even though this is still only the discovery book, it offers enough information to enable you to create your own scenarios in the MIR universe. The French community has already produced plenty of them, and we’ve bought two of them – which are stretch goals, by the way, and one of them has already been unlocked!
Finally, I’d like to conclude on the subject: I don’t know of any role-playing game – with the possible exception of Degenesis – where content meets form. We want to bring our work to life on a different medium, to allow all its themes to express themselves.
Dark Ambience: Therapy with Monsters
MIR embraces its dark ambiance wholeheartedly, and the creators hope that players will not only feel immersed in its sinister atmosphere but also find catharsis through play.
The first thing we want MIR players to do is to have fun and feel free to express their fear, shame and anger. In a playful and controlled way, but to be able to express them nonetheless. Censorship is never the solution, however, even if other means of expression do exist.
The game has even attracted the attention of mental health professionals. One psychologist, Dr. Wayne Guillaume, has contributed an upcoming scenario, highlighting how the themes of MIR resonate with real-world experiences of trauma and healing.
Final Weeks of the Campaign
As the Kickstarter campaign for MIR enters its final stretch, backers can look forward to more unlockable content, including new scenarios, music tracks, and civilization cards. The creators have confirmed that backers will receive a PDF of the discovery book as soon as the campaign concludes, allowing them to dive into the world of MIR right away.