The OSR RPG Isle of Dragons by C.K. Ipson has a free to download Player’s Guide.
The PDF is 32 pages long, uses a single column of large and easy-to-read text, is sparsely illustrated and offers the occasional table. It’s a retro visual style that’s entirely practical but also a world apart from the slick productions we’ve become used to. It is, as a reminder, free.
Isle of the Dragons is a fantasy RPG suited for two to five players and needs only 2d6 to play. It’s designed as an easy-to-learn, low-prep game, and those familiar with systems like B/X are already halfway there.
GMs (known as directors) will need a $9.99 extra book to get access to combat rules, skill checks, magic and monsters. The Player’s Guide introduces the concept and character generation.
It all begins in 980 AD, about 100 years before the First Crusade. It is a time remembered through ancient sagas and stories retold. A time whose events are a blend of facts and legends: The Roman Empire has fallen. Vikings raid from the north. King Arthur and his knights quest for the Holy Grail and Saint George slays a wicked dragon to save a princess.
Myths are real and dark evils lurking in the shadows are not just stories.
Formatted like a TV series. Each game begins with a “teaser” scene that gives the players a glimpse into what awaits them.
After the teaser, the Director (Game Master) plays the opening theme music. Each episode is composed of 3 major scenes featuring a combat or role-playing encounter. Players create the story together. Each player is a character on the show. Episodes are divided into seasons with the first episode available for free. Each game session
should take about 2 hours and ends with a closing scene called the Fireside.An extra scene, or “Stinger” is included if you have more time to play!
Waiting for you is a large collection of terrible monsters drawing on the myths and legends from the dark side of history: epic sagas, cryptids, old wives tales and the mythical island of Hy-brasil, the Isle of Dragons.
Isle of Dragons sample
The Player’s Guide is not the only freebie provided by C.K. Ipson for the series. Helping to bring the TV episode structure to life, the designer has already offered two more modules.
Isle of Dragons: The Wyrd Sisters is a two-hour adventure for 1 to 5 players and suggests YouTube content for multimedia like music. This download offers a further 33 pages of content.
There’s also Isle of Dragons: The Fog. This episode is a 15-page adventure that can be played in about 30 minutes and also links out to sites like Wikipedia and YouTube for additional content.
Quick Links
- Player’s Guide (free)
- Isle of Dragons: The Wyrd Sisters (free)
- Isle of Dragons: The Fog (free)
- Director’s Guide ($9.99)
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