Dolmenwood: A Fantasy RPG Built on Old-School Essentials Rules
Dolmenwood: Fantasy RPG built around the acclaimed Old-School Essentials rules
Dolmenwood is a fantasy roleplaying game built around the acclaimed Old-School Essentials rules, set in a world inspired by British Isles folklore. It offers streamlined rules and introductory materials for new players while providing veteran gamers with fresh character options, magic, monsters, and treasures to explore.
Veteran players experience a fresh sense of the unknown, with new character options, magic, monsters, and treasures.
- zbikowski
I appreciate all that Gavin Norman and Necrotic Gnome have done for the OSR TTRPG scene over the past few years, but I have to say each time I see a D&D-derivative system it makes me wish that other systems of the time—like Runequest, Tunnels & Trolls, or West End Games' d6 system beneath Ghostbusters (1985) and Star Wars (1987)—got even half the attention. Tom Moldvay and Dave Cook's Basic/Expert (1981) has been done to death at this point. For a nice historical lesson, look to Moldvay's later work on the Challenges Game System[0], which pares down the AD&D 1E Players Handbook (1978) into 8 pages suitable for running the game at the table.
I could rant for hours about the sacred cows of D&D deserving slaughter, but I'll refrain.
All this is to say, the Dolmenwood campaign book is great and I own it. It was originally a setting for Old-School Essentials published through a zine[1], and I think they could have stopped at just a campaign book, the one that the OP links to. I just don't think we need any more flavors of B/X!
[0] https://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=14165
[1] https://necroticgnome.com/blogs/news/the-end-of-wormskin
- SubiculumCode
I was a backer and the books are lovely, and the setting is awesome.
Also this is my favorite t-shirt:
https://necroticgnome.com/products/dolmenwood-goatlord-t-shi...
Also check out 3d6 Down the Line, an actual play worth listening to.
- teroshan
The Dolmenwood Campaign Book [0] has been nominated in the both the "Best Setting" and "Product of the Year" category of the 2026 ENNIE award [1]
[0] https://necroticgnome.com/products/dolmenwood-campaign-book