Birbla

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Hacker News

I have the books and while I haven't played it, they're well made and structured. Well worth the price.

by DickieStarshine

I'm just working up the courage (and the people) to run it. I might have the face of a grognard, but I've only run a handful of sessions as a gamemaster / dungeonmaster. Between relative inexperience and the demands of my career in autism research career, I have not yet taken the plunge.

On the plus side for prep, the Dolmenwood books and pdfs are wonderfully organized...bringing the same expertise that Gavin Norman brought to Old School Essentials that had won him (and his team) wide acclaim.

by SubiculumCode

I have run several campaigns in Dolmenwood - from early Wormskin and OSE Patreon days through the current open game license free format.

I’m consistently amazed at the depth this setting offers a sandbox-curious referee and a creative table. It is well worth exploring. It is also a masterpiece of information design and the easiest tool I’ve used at the table.

My session notes for my current campaign are here if you are interested in what is achievable.

https://publish.obsidian.md/generallyobservable/Dolmenwood+S...

by sklargh

There's also a very new, innovative revival of the RPG format where players take on multiple characters, some of them faction leaders, called a Braunstein, played in Dolmenwood (search "Dolmenstein"): https://mythicmountainsrpg.substack.com/p/so-you-want-to-try...

Fair warning that there's a lot of contentious personalities in this scene, so be advised. However, the freshness of the new gameplay speaks for itself.

by t_gamer_kle

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

by zbikowski

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  • Hacker News
  • I have the books and while I haven't played it, they're well made and structured. Well worth the price.
    by DickieStarshine
  • If you're curious drivethrurpg is currently[1] offering a quick start adventure of this for free: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/575501/dolmenwood-qu... .

    [1] - I found it in their "Free Title of the Week" from their newsletter. Not sure if it will go away 07-30 or so when the next newsletter comes out.

    by er4hn
  • I'm just working up the courage (and the people) to run it. I might have the face of a grognard, but I've only run a handful of sessions as a gamemaster / dungeonmaster. Between relative inexperience and the demands of my career in autism research career, I have not yet taken the plunge.

    On the plus side for prep, the Dolmenwood books and pdfs are wonderfully organized...bringing the same expertise that Gavin Norman brought to Old School Essentials that had won him (and his team) wide acclaim.

    by SubiculumCode
  • 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

    [1] https://ennie-awards.com/2026-nominees/

    by teroshan
  • I have run several campaigns in Dolmenwood - from early Wormskin and OSE Patreon days through the current open game license free format.

    I’m consistently amazed at the depth this setting offers a sandbox-curious referee and a creative table. It is well worth exploring. It is also a masterpiece of information design and the easiest tool I’ve used at the table.

    My session notes for my current campaign are here if you are interested in what is achievable.

    https://publish.obsidian.md/generallyobservable/Dolmenwood+S...

    by sklargh
  • There's also a very new, innovative revival of the RPG format where players take on multiple characters, some of them faction leaders, called a Braunstein, played in Dolmenwood (search "Dolmenstein"): https://mythicmountainsrpg.substack.com/p/so-you-want-to-try...

    Fair warning that there's a lot of contentious personalities in this scene, so be advised. However, the freshness of the new gameplay speaks for itself.

    by t_gamer_kle
  • 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. https://youtu.be/xNWg_IcbHl8?is=54oqh6TbY5g6DP-B

    by SubiculumCode
  • 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

    by zbikowski