My kids are 4 and 2. I decided I wanted to try playing a game with them.

I based it off the games I remembered playing as a kid, where we drew mazes and littered them with drawings of monsters or obstacles requiring specific items elsewhere in the maze.

The rules for this are very simple. Mostly, rule 0: whatever daddy says is how it happens. But then I typically resolve things by making them roll a d3 or d6 and get a number, or do opposed rolls. On opposed rolls, I use step dice: usually a d6, but maybe a d8 or d10 if someone is very strong.

To make the dungeon.

I wanted it to feel like the dungeons I played as a kid, like it came out of a maze book. So I came up with this process for making the dungeon. 1. I went to this maze generator, and made a maze. I used 10x10 for this simple dungeon, for the little ones. 2. I went through the maze, and circled all of the junctions (shown above, after my 4yo solved it in crayon). Make sure you can see the lines through the other side of the paper. I was trying to do this one the map until I realized... 3. Turn the paper over. Trace out in pencil the outer wall. At each junction (seen through the other side) put a 3x3 box. These are the seeds of rooms. If any overlap, let them connect. 4. Fill in all of the wall of the maze that are not in a room. 5. Draw the rest of the owl. Put doors to connect rooms, add walls where it seems right, drop walls where it makes more paths, and make sure there is a way to the end. 6. The real fun. Add the obstacles and encounters. Keys work, but don't overdo keys. Other ways to block off forward progress and require back-tracking: - things covering a door or hall that require an items to clear away (vines: sword, rocks: shovel) - darkness (requires a light source) - monstrous obstacle (a troll sitting on a bridge refusing to let you pass)

You can see how mine ended up.

Dungeon Key:

• Start: at the "S". You are outside a big house in the woods. A nice path leads up to the door. There are pretty flower bushes beside the door. Do you knock? (If they do, they can distantly hear Nutters telling them to come in)
• Foyer: You enter and there is a hatrack, with a Hat and an Umbrella. The Umbrella can be used like a wooden sword, or it can protect you from the bees in the Tree Room.
• Nutter's Room: a friendly squirrel, who invites you in and asks you to stay and chat. He can give some information about the dungeon, but demurs a lot, saying he's just a squirrel and doesn't like his room mates. He regrets that he can't offer you anything to eat, but notes there is a Tree in the house with delicious acorns. He gives the unclear directions to go down the windy hall, then open the door, then go down the other windy hall, then open the door at the end. Nutters tells you there is a delicious Birthday Cake in the kitchen, which is in the top left corner. If the players bring him enough giant acorns from the Tree for everyone to share, he will invite them to have some with him, and after eating, will give the players his Flashlight.
• Snake's Room: the door to the Snake's room is locked. It needs the Red Key. The Snake greets you, "Hello, Lunch!", then immediately attacks.
• Tree Room: from outside the door, you can hear buzzing bees. Inside the room is a giant Oak Tree. You can see in its branches exactly enough acorns for the whole party and Nutters. An additional acorn is on the floor. There is a hole in the oak. The bees will ignore the players, so long as they don't try to climb the tree. Inside the hollow of the Tree is... not sure, you decide.
• Dark Hallway: you can't see, so you can't find your way. To walk down the hallway, you have to roll a d6. On a 5 or 6, you move forward to the next circle. On a lower, you accidentally stumble back to the beginning. If you find the Flashlight you can walk down the hall without rolling. With the Flashlight, players notice the Light Switch on a 5 or 6 just passing by; if the Frog has told players where it is, they find it automatically; but without the Flashlight, it is impossible to find.
• Spider Webs: the hallway here is so covered in spider webs, players can't move forward. If they have the Sword, they can cut through the webs. Maybe there's another way through the webs?
• Toadstool Room: The lights are also out in this room, which is dominated by a giant glowing toadstool. It gives off a faint blue light. Underneath it is a friendly Frog. He came here after the Spider turned the lights off, because the toadstool provides light. He's too scared to leave the room, but tells players how to find the Light Switch. If you turn on the lights, he hops out happily, and lets players know there is a Sword in the corner of the room (or players can now see it with the lights on).
• Spider Room: The Spider lives here. He will be very mad if the players have turned the lights back on. If they give him the Hat (from the Foyer), he can cover his eyes and feel better. Or, the players can fight him. Either way, he gives the Red Key.
• Troll Bridge: Players opening the door see a wooden Bridge on the other side, over a river flowing through the room. If they walk across the Bridge, the Troll will immediately shout, "Who's That Trip-Trapping Over My Bridge!", jumping out from underneath. They can fight the Troll, or try to find some way to placate it to let them pass.
• Snake Hallway: There is nothing special about this hallway, except that players walking to the dead end can find the Whistle. Blowing the Whistle forces the Dragon to cover its ears, dropping the Blue Key around its neck.
• Dragon Room: In this room, there's a dragon. The door behind it is locked with a blue lock and needs the Blue Key The key is around the Dragon's neck.
• Kitchen: This is where the Cake is. It was originally a treasure chest (as in the drawing), but my kids are more motivated by birthday cake. So I changed it to a birthday cake. The F is the exit.

Some details about the game:

We play on a big white board. They each have a token, which they have to move to show where they are. I draw things with dry erase markers as we go. Sometimes, it's more fun to let them draw things, like adding their own rooms or their own paths. They enjoy the drawing aspect a lot, mixed with the pretend aspect. They also enjoy talking to the friendly animals, so don't downplay the NPC interactions.

Each player has three Hearts. If they lose all of their Hearts, they are out of the game. Next to their hearts, I also draw whatever item they have. It's important to track who actually has which item (like the Flashlight) in case the party splits.

My wife played with them, because otherwise they do lose focus too much. It's enough like their usual pretend that they aren't totally lost, but also enough like it that they easily forget there are actual rules and an objective. They are probably too young to strictly play this kind of game, but they do have fun playing it, and keep asking for it.

This looks really small, but it took them hours just to get the flashlight. They kept wanting to talk to Nutters, and kept wandering in the darkness instead of facing either the bees or the troll.

As I'm sure everyone knows, just because the key says "this is how you solve it," doesn't mean that's the only way to solve it, or what the players are going to do. Reward and work with whatever they try to do, letting them play it out and roll if necessary.

My recommendation for really little kids:

I like this method for making maps, and I think the rules and Zelda-like maze logic is good for younger kids. The rules are simple enough (listen to what daddy says to roll and what number you need).

But my kids are really little. I think they have more fun with a more free-wheeling fantasy kind of game I tried earlier, where we just ad-lib things. I start a room, they draw something, then I finish it. Then I draw unexpected monsters leaping out, or animals. We played one where my son drew stairs going "up ad up and up and up," and i finished them at a bell tower with a giant bell. He rang the bell. I made sure to make a loud "BONG!" sound, and bats flew all around him. He rang it three times, and it woke a giant, who smashed the tower then picked up the dungeon, ready to eat the players. Dice rolls are mostly about reading the numbers and working out which is bigger.

Anyway, happy gaming!

Hey folks!
My name is Ian (28, Canada).
I’m a huge fan of the OSR, I've been running Old-School Essentials (OSE) games for my friends and wife on and off for a few years now, and I’d love to find a penpal within the OSR community to exchange actual physical letters/postcards with.
Whether it's talking bout our game, prep as a referee, campaign experiences as a player, or just chatting about life and hobbies, I think sending real snail mail would be a fun, analog way to connect with other folks in the scene.

A quick bit about me:
TTRPGs & Hobbying: Big OSE DM, 3D print my own minis (FDM), and dabble in Warhammer (Ultramarines). Big lover of analog/classic stuff in general. I shoot film photography (35mm & 120film), collect retro video games (NES, Atari, Game Boy, N64), spin 1950s/60s vinyl, and read classic comics and books. Also love fishing.

Day Job: Animator! I work from home making cartoons and recently had a Kickstarter funded for my own sci-fi pilot.

How to connect: If you’d be down to swap physical letters, send me a brief DM! Ask for my mailing address in your message/send me yours and I’ll gladly get back to you!

Does anyone know when the rest of the islands will be written about since they've only published about two in their books but there are 8 islands left?

I have to admit it: I am a sucker for science fiction/fantasy crossovers, and very little makes me as happy as seeing something awesomely stupid and/or stupidly awesome like a moss-covered robot in a dungeon that used to be a flying saucer.

There was a trend of crashed spaceships in early D&D. Has this ever benn picked up by any OSR authors for newer modules? I think QeLong and the True Relation of the Virginia Disastrum (two excellent modules, by the way) have some elements of this, but surely, there are also modules like this outside of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess catalogue? Or did the last spaceship actually crashed in 1982?

EDIT: Thank you all for the many reading recommendations. Or not – you're going to do terrible things to my savings.

Got my Appendix N Jam entry finished and published last night! It's a Cairn-compatible Sci-fi forestcrawl inspired by Star Trek, Samuel Delany (the shuttlecraft is actually an homage to and old cover for Delany's Nova), and Ursula K. Le Guin.

Jam page is here, and Community Copies are available for the duration of the Jam :)

This would also slot pretty decently into Mothership if you're so inclined.

Spider Champion

An ancient warrior undefeated for over 500 years. A half-spider human with immense strength. It has 4 tentacles that secrete deadly venom to easily wound foes.

Weakness:

One must drink a secret potion beforehand to reduce the effects of its venom.

In this issue of the Elven Tower - Beast Almanac, three new bird-themed monsters join the TTRPG scene: The Dire Cassowary (this one is quite a piece of work), the Protosaurus Mount, and the Raven of the Lost.

You can read more about them Here.

Hi, I ordered Knave 2nd edition, but meanwhile would like to download some preferably low cost or free rule set and adventure to give a try with my new group

If You experienced guys here could guide me to some web, or link for few usd or free would prefer before my books come, it would take a good week I ordered also some horror RPG Veasen, so if there's something similar to try for free, would be awesome or really anything to run meanwhile waiting for books delivery

Thanks!

Hey all,

I am part of indie publisher named Goof and Grump that has just released this level 1-3 OSR adventure site made for use with Shadowdark. Featuring art by Yuri Perkowski Domingos, available from links below - Check it out!

A dead village. A guild of thieves. An assassin who paid too high a price for power.

Beneath a forgotten frontier village lies a secret chapter house. Once a wizard’s alchemical laboratory, now home to a guild of ettercap thieves. Their leader, the Iron Spider, has sacrificed his humanity for power he now sells to the highest bidder.

• An OSR-styled adventure location, organized for use at the table
• Context for quick integration into your game
• Complete area key with random encounters, stat blocks, traps, and treasures
• Alchemical reaction table for experimentation
• Hand-drawn custom maps and art - 100% Human made

Links:

goofandgrump.com

DriveThruRPG

ITCH.IO

I have written quite a lot on diferences between OSR games and modern 5e, the difference in playstyle, relation with mortality, various mechanics such as gold for xp, reaction roles, dungeon turns and so on.

For quite a long time after I started to play OSR games, I was enamored, for I always wanted my 5e games to be more gritty, harder, yet still fair and with OSR I felt like I got that.

Now, with this piece, I wanted to look at something related to one of the criticisms I often saw levied against old school D&D and OSR games, mainly that they are unbalanced, too many save or sucks and difficulty just for the sake of it. Compared to nowdays, where even if CR could use some improvements (although it is quite a bit better with the 2024 iteration) it can still produce balanced encounters if followed properly.

And there is truth in both of this statements, but it ommits something - not maliciously necessarily - that balanced was not required for pre Dragonlance D&D and OSR games. The game did not make a promise of balance, but rather one of fairness, the DM, or as it was first known, the referee would be impartial. It is important to point out that you were not heroes, but anti-heroes at best, who might've offered some help only if you got something out of it. This stemming of course from how the game was emulating Conan style pulp fantasy, rather than the heroic epic fantasy later adopted following the success of Dragonlance.

So to cut it short, fairness and balance are not the same. One is about impartiality, while the others is about making sure that the danger the players are facing is winnable, without the requirement of underhanded tactics to tip the scales. One is pulp, the other epic. Both can be good, but we have to be aware of the distinction and not judge them against the same standards. Hope you will enjoy the piece!

The March of Evindel (also known as the Wild March, the Mist, the Mire, and Thrangol by the dwarves), has been settled by men from the west for nearly three hundred years. The land is not terribly fertile and suitable only for oats, rye, potatoes, and turnips. The ground often tugs at the boots of those who stand too long in one place, and the open moors and heaths are covered in course, rough vegetation.

Travelers note the mists that grow thick on the moors and drift down to the low-lying riverlands and scrubby plains. Though the mist predominates during the spring and fall, it can gather at all times of the year, having been known even during midsummer. Though the locals have learned to deal with the mist, it is still something associated in their folktales with witches, foul creatures, and bad luck. To walk abroad when the mists are thick is a sign of a strange mind.

One of the singular features of this region are the great, jutting cliffs that break up the otherwise ordinary landscape here; the Titan’s Steps, as they are called in the Capital Lands, are hundred-foot-high plateau cliffs, that run the length of the region. Stretching for miles, these cliffs divide the March into three pieces. The first divides the Geistmire from the rest of the March, while the second cuts off the Old King hills from the southern portion. A third step cuts through at the foothills of Mount Arghan, and runs north, dividing the rest of the march from the broad Horned Plains that rise to the north and east.

 Scholars speculate as to the cause of the steps, but one thing is clear: they have been here since the region was first settled by men, and the oldest surviving halfen folk-tales reference them as well. They are ancient.

Equally strange, and perhaps more unnerving, is the huge expanse of swampland that stretches along the shore of the Shallow Sea in the western portion of the March. The Geistmire, as it is known locally, is a vast tangled bog, with countless and constantly changing streams and channels running throughout it. To find one’s way through the bog is a feat only a few Marchers can manage, though even fewer that could would dare to do so. Creatures inhabit the bog, both bestial and cunning, and a few locals swear that gillmen live within it, their villages hidden in the bog-pools.

Drowned ruins and old, colossal statues which poke out above the mire point to a past (long since vanished) when the mire was no mire at all. Some scholars believe that before the Titan’s Steps were raised, the Mire was just another part of the moor, but when they were raised, it was lowered to what it is now.

I just figured might as well share it! I like regional maps like this with lots of villages and towns - gives it a more authentic feel to me.

The scale of each hex is 1 mile.

Map made with worldographer: https://worldographer.com/

Preparing early for autumn and the spooky season.

What are your favourite horror one shots?

Looking to run a group through some AD&D content, but it will be difficult to get this group to jive with pure AD&D. Now before you just suggest OSRIC, there are a few more caveats:

• Game needs to be roll-over. This group will not play a roll-under game.

• Game needs to have the same level of CRUNCH as AD&D. IE needs to have at least some meaningful class and character building options (though obviously not as robust as 3E). Not looking for something in the B/X or OSE lineage. If we wanted that, we'd just play Shadowdark.

• Game needs to clean up a lot of the CRUFT of AD&D. IE rules should make sense and buttress one another so you don't need to be randomly looking stuff up all the time for weird edge cases.

Basically tl;dr I'm looking for something that would have the same relationship to AD&D that Shadowdark does to B/X.

ETA: NOTE: If I wanted to play OSRIC or a B/X lineage game (Shadowdark/Five Torches Deep) I wouldn't be asking.

This is my Appx N Jam 2026 submission!

It is a high level, time-sensitive point crawl set in a decaying cosmic palace, done in pocketfold format.

Virtually system neutral (though the creatures present were all selected from the 1e Monster Manuals and Fiend Folio).

It says its 5 dollars, but there are 1000 community copies, so feel free to check it out!

Hello all!
I just released a campaign setting for White Box Cyclopedia, but it can easily be converted to other OSR games. I had some terrific artists that did work for this little book. I hope you check it out and I would love to know if you decide to run a campaign in this world.

Here is the itch link, it is also on DriveThru.

https://graydeathdungeons.itch.io/silver-mage

Inside you'll find:

• An 70+ page sandbox campaign setting.
• A hand drawn fully detailed continent.
• Original history, mythology, and creation lore.
• A complete pantheon of gods and demigods.
• New playable heritages, cultures, and factions.
• Cities, castles, villages, forests, and wilderness regions filled with adventure opportunities.
• Regional encounter tables, rumors, and wilderness travel procedures.
• New monsters, NPCs, dragons, and villains.
• Original magical items and treasures.
• Designed for White Box Cyclopedia with straightforward conversion to Swords & Wizardry, Old-School Essentials, Shadowdark, and similar OSR systems.

This campaign setting took about one year to create, give or take. I have enjoyed White Box for many years and wanted to write something for it. So, this is what I came up with.

I am currently listening to the mothership campaign by 3d6 down the line and I am slowly getting in the mood to branch out from the usual fantasy games and try my hand at some scifi horror.

However, as cool as the modules and the setting look, I don't think the actual rules are for me. After listening to more than a dozen episodes and skimming the players manual I think I would much rather play with ItO/cairn rules.

Is there a hack already available for an into the odd like game? Not having looked into it too much it seems like a relatively straight forward conversion.

Anyways, I will be grateful for any pointers.

https://doogface.itch.io/the-lemurian-larder

THE LEMURIAN LARDER

Between the time when Cataclysm drowned Lemuria, and the rise of the conquering Cimmerian King, there was an age undreamed of.

In that time, the seas spat forth a piece of the ancient world into the light of day. For a single bloody day before it sank, brave heroes confronted foul Stygian jackals feasting on the dark delights of the Lemurian Larder.

Now, let me tell you of the days of high adventure!

-The Scrolls of Skelos

An island raised from the depths of the ocean! A dead Atlantean King! Lemurian Serpent Men! Treacherous Stygian jackals! Slithering Children of Set! Only those with iron thews, panther-like reflexes and cold steel will survive this challenge!

The Lemurian Larder is an adventure for Black Sword Hack that comprises a small island hex crawl of 7 hexes and a deadly 7 room dungeon in the bowels of a Temple of Set. It has new magic items, a bestiary of foes and all the Hyborian adventure that could conceivably be packed into 4 pages. It is also my submission to the Appendix N 2026 Jam!

I have never asked for your vote before, I have no tongue for it. No-one will remember if you downloaded this adventure or why, all that matters that you did, and judged this one against many. Grant me your vote in the 2026 Appendix N Jam, and if you vote for another adventure, then Crom take you!

it used to be one of my favorite blogs, but there's been no new posts since 2022. does anyone know any info about what went down with the blogger and if they're ok or if the have a new blog under a new name? i miss those custom classes dude...

Preamble

I am not a fan of the modern "more" philosophy in rpgs. That is why I wanted to study and now run an OSR table. I don't like that a paragraph of text is only the sum of its parts with an item, or railroading so hard you see it as invisible. I think everyone should try the OSR style of play to understand these games.

Question

What mechanics add such vast amounts of depth such as the monster reaction table?

This one mechanic explains why so many people don't realize why modern combat is a slog. It's a symptom not a diagnosis. It's there because they removed such a deep mechanic.

And the less is more philosophy is good to me. It's not more that is additional gameplay. It's the depth that is additional gameplay. So the simpler the better for anyone that knows any gripping mechanics you really like. I'm a sucker for reading systems I won't play.

The first issue (of what I hope to be many) of my zine for OSE will be kickstarting on August 3rd!

Olig-Vald is a fantasy micro-hexcrawl for OSE designed for characters of level 4 or higher.

Firstly let me say this: the writing is done! Currently we are editing, playtesting, and doing some minor layout shifts. The kickstarter will only be to cover the cost of the interior art.

What’s inside?
Tightly packed into 32, letter-sized pages:
A 7 hex overland map with weather, travel, and encounter rules.
A unique town on the brink of civil unrest.
15 detailed NPCs with personalities, secrets, and job opportunities.
3 new automaton monsters in the bestiary.
5 new Druid spells.
4 unique magic items.
And 2 dungeons:
One, an open pit mine staffed with prisoners and guarded by man and machine alike. It is pouring its oily waste into the river, poisoning the surrounding lands.
The second, a long buried and forgotten mechanical man, over 100’ tall and made of reddened brass. A single minded artificer threatens to awaken it. Who knows what havoc its ancient programming may reek?
4 other minor points of interest.

Inspired by adventures like The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford, video games like Dishonored, and literature like Frankenstein.

Cover art is by Maxim Lowe

After the campaign, interior art will be done by HodagRPG

AMA in the comments and check out my other stuff (all of which is currently PWYW) on rpgtrader https://rpg-trader.com/creator/1396/demi-elgato

Hey all

Looking to vote with my wallet to support companies that I align more with. What are some OSR companies that are progressive?

Note: If you don’t care about this or are here to declare your “anti-wokeness”. Cool. You do you.

Less well known than (and often compared to) it’s much more famous predecessor, 1983’s B5: Horror on the Hill does take a page out of the KotB playbook: Players start in a poorly developed pocket of civilization before sallying forth over yonder hill to beat back the forces of chaos.

Unlike KotB, however, B5 sets itself apart with several unique monsters (flesh eating birds, anyone?), a pair of Pratchett-esque witches looking for a bargain, a ton of sweet loot, and a surprise final boss that’s not really a surprise if you’re paying attention.

Horror on the Hill might not get the same kind of love as KotB, but we had a blast exploring Guido's Fort (yes, that is its real name), the evil monastery, and the surprise dungeon beneath it in the latest episode of The Analog Dungeon podcast, where we crack open old modules and see what's inside… with jokes!

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy, we'd love it if you checked us out at AnalogDungeon.com, on YouTube, or on your podcast platform of choice. We're still a new show finding an audience, so every like, sub, rating, and comment goes a long way. Thank you!