Hello! As a long-time CoC/Spire/Heart GM who's recently gotten into the OSR scene by way of Shadowdark, join me as I learn to run Dolmenwood! 5 of us will run a session 0, and a ~15 session mini-campaign starting from Level 1. We'll play
biweekly by way of Discord and Fantasy Grounds. This is a free-to-play, beginner-friendly game, and we're looking for 1-2 more players.
I want to run a player-driven game, where the plot beats primarily come from your character motivations that push you to explore the wild places, unravel the secrets of deep magic, and perhaps journey along fairy-roads.
The game will lean towards a LOtR Two-Towers vibe, with touches of The Wicker Man (1973) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Our game will focus on organic exploration through hexcrawl and faction interplay, as the secrets of the world and long-held grudges unfold around the players.
Session 0 will hopefully be Monday, Mar 16th, 17:00 to 21:00 GMT (12:00-4:00 PM EST). Send me a DM to discuss!
What's Dolmenwood?
A fantasy setting steeped in folklore and fae, built around the Old School Essentials rules, blending the dark and whimsical, the wonderous and weird. Dolmenwood is a system and a setting, both of which tend toward strong character relationships with the world, and the holy, arcane, or fae magics that pervade the layered histories there.
- The setting blends inspiration from Tolkien, Dunsany, Machen, folk-horror, and political intrigue of lords and ladies in high-courts.
- Play as proud, goat-headed Breggle, a starry-eyed elf stepped straight from Fairy, a tricksome grimalkin cat-fairy, a worldly or hapless human, a fungus-riddled Mossling, or a capricious, bat-faced Woodgrue.
- Choose from nine classes: the charming bard, ardent cleric, willful enchanter, dashing fighter, jolly friar, stealthy hunter, haughty knight, enigmatic magician, or wily thief.
- Dolmenwood offers us classic dungeon crawls powered by random encounters and flavorful puzzles, and if we progress, engaging hexcrawling and settlements.
Table Expectations
I love roleplay focused games, where character relationships unfold between PCs, NPCs, and the environment. For me, the roleplay environment works best when everyone has some commitment to the theme and tone. There's always room for above the table jokes and conversation, but I hope you'll feel comfortable embodying your character during gameplay as the story progresses.
The OSE system has many rule differences from games I and many players are used to, and as such, players need to be gracious as we all learn the system. Our table will be best suited for players interested in telling stories built on strong character motivation and a genuine curiosity about the setting of Dolmenwood as presented through gameplay. We will be an adult table, respectful, jovial, and LGBTQ+ friendly.