The Graven System [Free]

The Graven System [Free]:

The Graven System is an OSR tabletop rpg about a group of adventurers who are trying to escape a dungeon. It was designed to contain all tricks I learned by playing and writing tabletop rpgs, with an attention on minimalism.

A System Reference

The idea for the game came through a Reddit discussion & months of thoughts about OSR ttrpg design. I also read & play a lot of OSR games, such as "URK", "The Black Hack", and "Knave" lately — that inspired me a lot. Last, but not least, the works of James V. West (which I discovered thanks to "The Pool" ttrpg) & the work of my friend Giacomo Bellucci with Dungeon 6.

Graven works as a System Reference Document for any purpose of hacking/designing new games. Feel free to use it and based your own works on it — a mention of Graven in the inspirations of your game is highly appreciated, but not needed.

The Rules

Graven works with a d20. It is a roll-under-stat system with a twist in the middle. The main goal is get out of the Dungeon, with one character or another — the game is heavily punishing, so be careful.

The actual rules are an ashcan release. If the system works & people are interested in it, I will surely update and upgrade the ruleset.

The Setting

There is no strict setting in Graven, just a long, endless, dark fantasy dungeon in which you lost yourself, plus the marks that may lead you to the exit.

The only main element of the world of Graven is the supernatural who persecutes mortals heroes as the one in the Dungeon. Feel free to build upon this little prompt