The campaign book is 470-odd pages of well-structured, easy-to-parse information.
The 200-page player’s handbook gently ushers in newbies with short preambles and examples where necessary.
The PDF hyperlinks are well utilized, too, with each map hex linking out to its full description.
And my god the artwork is gorgeous.
As for Kindreds you have your average Mortal Humans, and goat-like Breggle with horn-related psychic powers.
There are Fairy Kindreds including the immortal Elves and catlike, shapeshifting Grimalkin.
It’s a bit more strat-heavy and much less reactive than something like D&D 5e.
Gameplay
Dolmenwood character creation is made easy thanks to the simple, two-page walkthrough and roll tables.
They make the process super speedy for when you gotta quickly roll up a new character mid-battle.
And you most certainly will if you’re not careful, because this is not a forgiving system.
Once your character’s HP hits zero, they die; no Death Saving Throws.
It’s rare, but stripping players of their hard earned XP is a sure way to upset them.
This reliance on randomness also makes initial party balancing really hard.
Dolmenwood is a fascinating campaign setting, though.
As a GM, you’re never strapped for lexical garnishings or substantial narrative fuel to fire a campaign.
Should you buy Dolmenwood?
Theyll need to use their other skills to avoid combat.
How we tested Dolmenwood
Our review copy of Dolmenwood was provided by the publisher.
A few sessions of play, leading up to and working through the starter campaign.