Reading

Other people's games, adventures and zines. What's in them, and whether I can actually run them.

Reading 8 March 2026

I'm Reading Every D&D Rulebook in Order. Starting From 1974.

I've had AD&D 1st Edition on my shelf for years. I've dipped into the Rules Cyclopedia more times than I can count. I've read chunks of the original books. But I've never read ever

dndosrad&dreading
Reading 29 January 2026

This FREE D&D Adventure Has Everything: The Blackapple Brugh Review

This is one of my favourite Basic Fantasy adventures. The Blackapple Brugh by Kyle Hettinger—and it's free.

basic fantasyosrfree adventurefairy tale
Reading 5 July 2025

CY_BORG Converted Me: A Fantasy GM's Cyberpunk Awakening

CY_BORG was the BORG game I was least enthusiastic to review. Nothing against cyberpunk - I've enjoyed cyberpunk games - but it always felt like a leap too far. Learning an entire

borgcyberpunkfree-leaguereviews
Reading 28 June 2025

No One Survives MÖRK BORG... And That's the Point

I bought Pirate Borg a while ago and absolutely fell in love with it. That put this idea in my head - why don't I cover all the Borgs? But if you're going to cover the Borgs, you n

borgosrfree-leaguereviews
Reading 26 October 2024

Vaesen RPG Review: Dark Folklore, Mystery, and Why You Should Play

I was unsure about this one at first. A Nordic horror RPG set in 19th century Scandinavia? Sounded niche. Now I can't wait to run it.

vaesenfree leagueyear zero enginenordic horror
Reading 5 October 2024

The Bruja, The Beast, and The Barrow: A One-Shot That Keeps Giving

Most one-shot modules are set and forget. You run them, have fun, move on. This one's different. The Bruja, The Beast, and The Barrow by Gásel gives you fodder for your entire camp

one-shotgáselcampaign hooksmodules
Reading 28 September 2024

Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition: The Sword & Sorcery RPG That Made Me Read Fafhrd

I can't normally read big PDFs on a tablet. Once you get over 100 pages, I need a physical copy. This thing is 365 pages. I read the entire thing in a weekend.

sword and sorcerycepheusstellagamarpg review
Reading 3 August 2024

Demon Driven to the Maw: A D&D One-Shot Full of Chaos

77p on DriveThruRPG. One night of gaming that's going to be an absolute blast for you AND your players. Brad Kerr does it again.

one-shotbrad kerrmoduleshorror
Reading 13 July 2024

Do Not Let Us Die: D&D Village Building in One Night

This is a bit weird. It's not a game, not an adventure, not a setting. If you took all three and mushed them together, the intersection in the middle - that's where this sits.

village buildingmini-gamecone of negative energyhexkit
Reading 6 July 2024

Imperial Vault 19: The Perfect One-Shot Adventure

A grieving widow begs you to save her baby. A hedge witch stole the infant and is using its tears to make alchemical potions. Your players will bite on that immediately.

one-shotadventuredungeon-ageosr
Reading 30 June 2024

No Artpunk Vol. 1: Free Classic D&D Adventures That Actually Work

No Artpunk is a set of competition adventures you can pick up for free. Eight modules ranging from above average to genuinely excellent. Let me show you why City of Bats is worth y

adventurefreeosrdnd
Reading 22 June 2024

Faster Than Light: Nomad - A Sci-Fi Toolkit That Gets It Right

Stella Gamma Publishing keeps impressing me. I covered Quantum Starfarer a while back and loved it. Now they've released Faster Than Light: Nomad, and it's a beast of a book - 277

sci-fistellagamarpg-reviewspace-opera
Reading 15 June 2024

Incandescent Grottoes: Why This Module Is Perfect for Your Campaign

This is an amazing module. Play it with B/X, Old School Essentials, Basic Fantasy, or even 5e if your players understand they might actually die. Let's get into it.

incandescent grottoesold school essentialsgavin normanosr
Reading 11 June 2024

Play D&D for Free: 4 Games Under a Tenner

I've wanted to do this series for a while. How to play D&D for free.

free-rpgsosr5eolde-swords-reign
Reading 10 June 2024

Knave 2e: The Most Value I've Ever Seen in an RPG Book

Knave Second Edition by Ben Milton. I'm a huge fan of Ben's stuff - Maze Rats is my go-to, and I've got a lot of mileage out of the original Knave.

knaveosrben-miltonreviews
Reading 6 June 2024

Interview: Merry Mushmen on Hounds of Hendenburg & The Obsidian Keep

A chat with the creators behind two adventures being Kickstarted by the Merry Mushmen: Horrendous Hounds of Hendenburg by Liam Pigeon-Quinlan and Raiding the Obsidian Keep by Josep

merry-mushmeninterviewskickstarterosr
Reading 5 June 2024

Interview: Robert Conley on Building Sandboxes and Blackmarsh

I got the author of Blackmarsh on the channel - my favourite ever setting. Robert Conley created the free setting that changed how I think about sandbox play.

interviewsblackmarshsandboxrobert-conley
Reading 3 June 2024

The Evils of Illmire: A Module That Does All the Heavy Lifting

The Evils of Illmire is one of the best modules out there. It's way more than a module - it's a setting you could run for months. It does every bit of heavy lifting you want, and y

osradventuresosereviews
Reading 30 May 2024

Whitehack: So Much More Than a Retro Clone

Whitehack is awesome. It's so much more than a retro clone. Classes work differently to anything you've probably played. It has cool mechanics. It doesn't even need to be fantasy -

whitehackosrrules-lightreviews
Reading 11 May 2024

Curse of the Ganshaggr: Free, Beautiful, and Weird as Hell

A beautiful module. Free. About a killer goose. One of the most fun things I've read in a long time.

osradventuresfree-adventuresgus-l
Reading
Reading 4 May 2024

Echoes from Fomalhaut #1: The Writing Is Just That Good

Echoes from Fomalhaut by Gabor Lux - the same person who did Castle Xyntillan and a bunch of other adventures. He's prolific. This is a zine from the First Hungarian D20 Society, a

osrzinesgabor-luxadventures
Reading
Reading 27 April 2024

Woodfall: The Micro-Setting That Changed How I See RPG Design

Woodfall by Lazy Lich is one of my favourite ever products. This micro-setting changed how I saw how things could be done. I came from 5e, read this, and just went "oh my God, this

osrsettingslazy-lichreviews
Reading
Reading 20 April 2024

Quantum Starfarer: Traveller Without The Headache

Ever wanted to try a space combat game like Traveller but can't be bothered with all the rules? Quantum Starfarer by Stellagama Publishing takes what's fun about Traveller and stri

sci-fistellagamacepheusreviews
Reading
Reading 13 April 2024

Hounds of Hendenburg: A Free Adventure For Your War Chest

We all have a war chest. Something you can reach into when you don't have much prepped, something really easy to run that you can pick up almost on the fly. This adventure is going

osradventuresknavefree-adventures
Reading 6 April 2024

The Hole in the Oak: A Masterclass in Adventure Design

The Hole in the Oak by Gavin Norman is one of my favourite adventures. It's absolutely fantastic - and it's an absolute masterclass in how to lay out modules. Anything Gavin Norman

oseosrreviewsgavin-norman
Reading
Reading 30 March 2024

Desert Angel Fiasco: A One-Shot Adventure I'd Run Again Tomorrow

Desert Angel Fiasco. I love this adventure. I've run it, I've had a blast, and it's designed brilliantly for a one-shot.

osradventuresone-shotsdungeon-age
Reading
Reading 9 March 2024

The Aether Sea: Spelljammer Meets Firefly

I read this setting and fell in love with it immediately. It's tiny - written for the Fate system - but you can lift this and run it in literally any game you want.

fate rpgspace fantasysettingsfirefly
Reading
Reading 2 March 2024

Prison of the Hated Pretender: The Module That Teaches You to GM

I adore this module. It's amazing for running - players will have a bunch of fun in it. But what it has which I really like, and isn't done enough, is GM commentary. It doesn't jus

osradventuresgus-lreviews
Reading
Reading 24 February 2024

Fate RPG Essentials: Fiction-First Gaming in 10 Minutes

Fate has been rattling around my head lately. It's so different from what I usually run, but something about it keeps pulling me back. Let me break down what makes it tick.

faterpg-reviewnarrativestory-games
Reading
Reading 3 February 2024

The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford: The Perfect Starter Adventure

This adventure is an example of how to do it right. You don't notice how good it is until you start paying attention.

brandonsfordosrstarter adventuredungeons
Reading
Reading 26 November 2023

Fourtower Bridge: The Perfect Free D&D Homebase

You can spend your time making a starting town. Or you can get this for free and be done in minutes.

free adventuresstarter townhomebaseosr
Reading
Reading 26 November 2023

Tomb of the Serpent King: The Best Free Starter Dungeon

The best starter dungeon. Maybe the best ever for introducing players to old school style games. It teaches your players how to be better players. It teaches you as a GM how to be

osradventuresfree-adventuresstarter-dungeons
Reading
Reading 21 October 2023

Maze Rats 101: The GM Tool I Can't Live Without

This is my number one go-to GM resource. Always the first thing in my bag. I've had it close to me ever since I found it. And it's dirt cheap.

maze ratsben miltonrandom tablesgm tools
Reading
Reading 8 October 2023

Free D&D Starter Adventures and How to Drop Them Into Blackmarsh

This is me grabbing stuff off my shelf and showing you how to throw it into Blackmarsh without overthinking anything. Three different campaign styles. Mostly free. Years of play.

blackmarshfree adventuresbasic fantasystarter adventures
Reading
Reading 1 October 2023

Discover Blackmarsh: The Best Free D&D Setting

This is my favourite setting ever. It's free. And it's all you need to run a game for years.

blackmarshrobert conleyfree settingssandbox