Old School Essentials series inspired by British mythology and Hammer Horror
From sea monsters to bastard kings.
Explore the hills and valleys of ancient Britain with Albion Tales, a series of adventures designed to be used with the Old School Essentials game system.
A trio of three storylines intended for the OSE tabletop roleplaying game system, Albion Tales is inspired by the history and mythology of the UK, offering players a selection of adventures to play through as part of a complete campaign or separate one-shots. Presented via foldable, riso-printed pages, each of the Albion Tales is set in the same ‘world’ but take inspiration from different areas and aspects of Britain, with players travelling across mysterious islands, through dark castles and across sinister mines.
The first adventure is entitled The Glass Isle of Glaslyn and is inspired by Welsh mythology, challenging players to discover the secrets of a strange isle off the coast of the mainland. A hexcrawl adventure – meaning that players use a hexagonal map to track their travels – The Glass Isle of Glaslyn supposedly contains riches for any explorer brave enough to find them within its depths. The fantasy RPG storyline will have players crawling through dungeons, only to encounter a couple of surprises at the end.
Another adventure featured in the Albion Tales series is The Bastard King of Thraxford Castle, a chilling tale of feudal, medieval British history. Inspired by Hammer Horror and various old school D&D adventures such as The Lichway by Albie Fiore, The Bastard King of Thraxford Castle contains a map of the town and its dreaded castle, with player characters encountering various terrifying monsters and ironic secrets.
The last adventure included in the Albion Tales is called The God with no Name. Taking place in the underground salt mines populated by a society of dwarves, the storyline focuses on the horror of a primordial sea creature who is awakened by the busy work of the miners. Featuring some mature content and body horror that players should be aware of before starting, The God with no Name contains a dungeon that the player characters must traverse with caution.
Albion Tales was written and edited by Panayiotis Lines, with the series’ artwork and layout completed by Aled Lawlor, both of whom have already worked together on the post-Brexit tabletop roleplaying game Shadow of Mog. Lines and Lawlor also co-founded Leyline Press, the studio responsible for releasing Albion Tales.
The Kickstarter campaign for Albion Tales is live until May 11th, with a pledge of £15 ($18) getting backers a physical copy of the series in September. Alternatively, a PDF version is available for a pledge of £7 ($8).