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Dragonslayer RPG

v3.0
Classic old-school dungeon crawling from the creator of Barrowmaze: torches, rations, and descending AC
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Best For

OSR veterans who want a traditional dungeon-crawling experience with descending AC, strict resource management, and classic class-and-level gameplay: especially fans of Barrowmaze and megadungeon play.

Core Mechanic

Roll d20 + attack bonus against descending Armour Class to hit in combat. Saving throws are roll-over by category (Breath, Death, Stone, Wand, Spell). Initiative is d6 per side each round. The GM (Maze Controller) tracks time, light, encounters, and resources: torches burn out, rations deplete, and random encounters escalate with noise and delay.

Diced20
System FamilyOSR
PublisherGreg Gillespie
Year2024
ComplexityHow much there is to learn
Medium

It is classic d20-versus-descending-AC combat, with category saving throws and side-based d6 initiative. The depth is the familiar class-and-spell chassis, where ability scores gate races and classes and set most modifiers. Dungeon exploration and leveling carry the rest.

AvailabilityHow you get the rules
  • Free to tryQuickstartA free starter you can actually play
  • Get it nowSold newIn print or as a legal PDF
RunnabilityWhat the book gives you to run it
  • ✓IndexFind any rule by page number
  • ✓GM guidanceA chapter on how to run the game
  • ✓Examples of playRules shown in action at the table
  • ✓Quick referenceCheat sheet or summary tables
  • –Cross-referencesRules rarely point to each other by page

4 of 5 book tools found in the core book

Highlights

Comprehensive old-school toolkit with 11 classes and 8 races, heavy emphasis on dungeon exploration procedures (marching order, light, time), critical hit/miss tables add combat drama, designed by a megadungeon expert, extensive spell lists and equipment

Considerations

Descending AC and THAC0-adjacent math will alienate modern players, very large rulebook for an OSR game, tightly bound to classic dungeon fantasy, limited innovation beyond curating and polishing older mechanics

Rules license Proprietary

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