Forbidden Lands
Core Boxed SetBest For
Sandbox hexcrawl campaigns with stronghold building, resource management, and a dark fantasy tone. Great for groups who want to explore and carve out their own corner of the world.
Core Mechanic
Roll a pool of d6s (attribute + skill + gear dice). Each 6 is a success. You can push your roll for extra dice, but risk damaging gear and taking conditions. Gear dice degrade on 1s. Year Zero Engine.
The d6 pool counts 6s, with pushing for more dice at the cost of conditions and broken gear. The weight sits on the GM side: dense tables for stronghold events, adventure-site generation, and monster-specific combat. Players pick the core loop up at the table, but a GM studies those tables first.
- Free to tryQuickstartA free starter you can actually play
- Get it nowSold newIn print or as a legal PDF
- ✓IndexFind any rule by page number
- ✓GM guidanceA chapter on how to run the game
- –Examples of playNo worked examples of play
- ✓Quick referenceCheat sheet or summary tables
- ✓Cross-referencesRules point to each other by page
4 of 5 book tools found in the core book
Highlights
Detailed sandbox tools and hexcrawl structure, stronghold building adds long-term goals, push mechanic creates meaningful risk, low-prep with random encounter tables and legend handouts
Considerations
Tightly tied to its Ravenland setting, push mechanic can frustrate cautious players, stronghold rules require the full boxed set, hex encounters can feel repetitive without GM preparation
Rules license Year Zero Engine OGL
Similar systems
- Twilight: 2000 — Survive the aftermath of World War III as stranded soldiers in a shattered EuropeCompare Forbidden Lands vs Twilight: 2000
- Bunnies & Burrows — Play as rabbits surviving in a dangerous natural worldCompare Forbidden Lands vs Bunnies & Burrows
- Worlds Without Number — Gritty sandbox fantasy with deep campaign-building toolsCompare Forbidden Lands vs Worlds Without Number
- Old-School Essentials — Perilous dungeon expeditions and wilderness exploration in search of treasureCompare Forbidden Lands vs Old-School Essentials
- Mausritter — Sword-and-whiskers roleplaying as brave mice in a huge, dangerous worldCompare Forbidden Lands vs Mausritter
- Ashes Without Number — Post-apocalyptic survival in a world that's already ended: from the creator of Stars Without NumberCompare Forbidden Lands vs Ashes Without Number