Shadowdark

Shadowdark starts with one simple rule: your torch lasts exactly one hour. Real time. When the light dies, so does your visibility - because no character can see in the dark, but every monster can.

This is old-school fantasy adventure as it was always meant to feel, rebuilt with everything game design has learned in fifty years. Kelsey Dionne of The Arcane Library has crafted a system that d20 players pick up immediately, while losing none of the danger and tension that makes OSR so compelling. Classes, ancestry, magic, monsters: everything fits inside one 330-page book in a compact A5 format, sewn hardcover with ribbon bookmark.

Magic is risky. Combat is fast and lethal. Character growth is partly randomized - which makes it surprising, and memorable. Treasure earns XP. The rules ask players to make real decisions, every session.

In 2024, Shadowdark took home four gold ENNIEs, including Product of the Year and Best Game. That should tell you something.

Light your torch. The rest is yours to find.