CAIN — Psychic exorcists hunt trauma-born sins

"Wipe out the stain. Don't think too much."

Diced6 pool + risk die

Players2–5

Prep~45 min

Foundry VTTCommunity

Complexity

What is this system

CAIN (2024) is a narrative horror RPG by Tom Bloom, creator of Lancer and Maleghast, published under his CHASM imprint. You play exorcists: psychic soldiers serving a supranational shadow organisation called CAIN, hunting and executing 'sins' — monsters born of human trauma. The stronger you get, the closer you come to becoming a sin yourself. The look is 'stickercore': manga screentone, collage, memos and ID cards in place of sidebars.

Is it for your table?

Pick it if

you want anime-flavoured horror like Chainsaw Man or Evangelion
your group likes missions that move from investigation to a brutal execution
players enjoy growing stronger while edging closer to becoming monsters

Skip it if

your table wants low-stakes fun without trauma themes
you want a cozy or heroic tone instead of grim psychic horror
your GM wants nearly zero prep; hunts need preparation

Setting

Humanity is cursed with a roiling psychic sea born from the darkest parts of the soul. When a sensitive host's power bursts free through trauma and suffering, a sin appears. CAIN houses its exorcists on company land and pays them in scrip: a week of supervised absence costs 15, executing a sin earns 5. Think Chainsaw Man, Evangelion and the SCP Foundation.

What it looks like at the table

Day three of the hunt is going badly: the Admin has already killed a witness and sent minions after the team. The exorcist finally corners the sin in its lair, an abandoned school. She tears through a wall of hair: a 3d6 pool comes up 5, 2, 4 — two dice at 4+, and she gets through. But the Admin rolls the separate risk die and the backlash lands: two slashes on her execution talisman. The talisman is full — the next hit becomes an injury. And her sin is near its limit: if it overflows at the end of the scene, she must resist — or become a sin herself.

Playstyle

Horror Mystery Combat Modern Weird

Key mechanics

Hunts: investigation, then execution

Every mission is a hunt: enter the crisis zone, piece together the sin's host and their trauma, then go into the lair for the execution. What you learn about the host's past can weaken the sin in the final confrontation.

The risk die

Your d6 pool grows with your skill, and 4+ is a success. But consequences are governed by a separate risk die rolled by the Admin, so no matter how much an exorcist improves, a roll is never safe. The longer a hunt drags on, the harder the Admin escalates: dead NPCs, minions, a mutating sin.

Stress and injuries

Exorcists take harm as slashes on their execution talisman. When the talisman is full, further harm becomes an injury instead: stress clears, but your maximum stress drops while the injury lasts. Stack up enough injuries and you are on the brink of death.

Sin overflow and the Imago

Psychic powers (Blasphemies) build up sin. Exceed your limit and you go into sin overflow at the end of the scene: resist with a roll and keep control at the cost of a sin mark, or give up — and your character becomes an Imago, a new sin run by the Admin.

What people say

The end result is that with just a handful of photobashed illustrations and some creative typesetting, Cain has an unmatched visual identity.— Hal Hewlett, Polygon

Proud-worn inspirations, inspired visual choices, and a dice system that refuses to let up the pressure — all of this compounds into the amazing feeling that Cain is a game that actually has quite a lot to say.— Hal Hewlett, Polygon

Art & materials