An OSR Community List of Settings
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone put together a list of dope OSR/OSR-adjacent settings? There have been ongoing conversations about increasing the availability of useful resources for the rainbow/purple OSR discord server, both to help onboard people and to act as repositories of knowledge. A recent question in the server about favorite OSR settings spurred some discussion and a nice little starting list. At a suggestion from another community member, I collated the settings and added some of my own ideas (if you just want the list and don’t want to be subjected to my ramblings about the formation of it, head to the bottom of the post).
Of course nothing is ever simple with TTRPGs - just ask someone to define OSR, whether systems matter, or whether variable weapon damage is the true way (it’s not). Predictably, curating the list sent me down a rabbit hole of questions and categorization. I started with asking myself: what is enough to qualify as a setting for this list? How much detail should the materials have? How big is big enough and when does something cross the line from a single location to a full-throated setting?
There are also plenty of really neat settings that are mostly implied or anti-canon or created via rolling on tables, but those materials usually ask a lot more of a GM to make the setting usable at the table. I’ve included some of these and set them aside as a secondary list. Similarly, there are plenty of settings that are heavy on flavor and history, but lighter on gameable content like hexes or adventures. These are less likely to be included, but some of the items on the list are server suggestions that I’ve only skimmed.
I landed on skewing the list toward settings that have immediately gameable content built in, perhaps the secondary list aside. I intentionally shied away from including megadungeons, as they’re kind of a separate beast with a zoomed in focus even though many have an included setting (Anomalous Subsurface Environment comes to mind) or are large enough to be considered a setting in their own right. I also tried to stay away from settings that are solely implied by singular location-based adventures, even as I include other implied settings (such is my right as the List Creator :P).
Given that I’m trying to keep the focus on settings born from the OSR or adjacent scenes, old school settings that may see a lot of play in the scene are largely absent. Don’t come for me, Gloranthaphiles - it’s too old! Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll do an update with a list of popular settings that are older than I am.
Some of the settings may also be tied to systems that some don’t consider to be “true” OSR systems (i.e. not one of the infinite tweaks of b/x floating in the void), though I did not go so far as to include settings like Doskvol from Blades in the Dark even though I think it’s neat. Enough blood and ink has been spilled over what exactly OSR is and how tied to systems it might be, but I consider it to be a playstyle/play culture more than anything. So, if there’s an urge to message me with “X system isn’t OSR, so the related setting shouldn’t be on this list,” push that impulse down deep.
It should also be noted that I very purposefully aimed to exclude work from any creators/publishers who are known bigots/fascists/sex pests/general shitheads. If a really well known setting is missing, it very well may be purposeful (or perhaps an oversight). That being said, I don’t personally know any of the creators whose work is listed here and some of them might suck as people or have questionable views but are wise enough to keep their mouths shut about it.
Organizational Notes
While there is undoubtedly crossover as the lines are fuzzy as hell in many cases, I’ve broken the list down into two parts to keep it simple:
Implied/anti-canon/lightly sketched/random table settings - this includes settings where details about the wider world are mostly or completely contained in things like bestiaries or procedures, settings that are built by the GM with the aid of thematically appropriate spark tables, settings that are vague or loosely defined, and settings that are lightly sketched connective tissue between modules. The line is pretty fuzzy here, but I’ve done my best. For those who know, these probably require more Legwork.
Everything else.
I reserve the right to be wrong in my classifications and have reversed the order of the two sections below.
I’ve also included short descriptions, though I lack detailed knowledge about many of the settings listed here. If a system is not noted, it’s probably system neutral or geared toward some form of B/X or OD&D. I’ve also included links, erring toward linking to the creator’s website when possible. Note that some settings are scattered across multiple documents while others are collected in one place, and some aren’t even readily available anymore (notably The Majestic Wilderlands and A Thousand Thousand Islands).
Finally, I’ve indicated where materials are free and have shifted those toward the top of each respective list. While the paid materials on the list are worth it, free is great!
Now…The List(s)!
General List
Blackmarsh: Swamp hexcrawl. Free.
Land of Nod: Series of zines with a large collection of setting materials (including hexcrawls) and other resources. Issues 1 and 6 are free.
Veinscrawl. Underground hexcrawl using Veins of the Earth materials. Free.
The Rosewood Highlands): Fantasy setting from Rosethorne Publishing. Includes a Free hexcrawl, The Northern Tier, as well as other modules such as A Shadow Over the Greatwood.
Only Monsters Here: Hexcrawl and bestiary for The Nightmares Underneath - a (free) system set in a horror-tinged fantasy Middle East where dungeons are manifestations of nightmares.
Latter Earth: The “so far-future it’s basically the past” setting of Worlds Without Number, with setting information located in the WWN sourcebook (free version linked) and the Atlas of the Latter Earth.
Dolmenwood: Weird, dark fairytale forest setting. Hexcrawl.
Wolves Upon the Coast: Luke Gearing’s massive iron age Not-Europe setting. Includes an OD&D hack with really cool advancement to boot. The demo on the itch page has a free region, Ruislip (aka Not-Ireland), which has enough content on its own for quite a bit of play. Hexcrawl.
Ghosts of the Sierra Verde: Wild west hexcrawl. Still in progress, but lots of material is already available. There is also a free demo region.
Absalom: Populated Hexes Monthly fantasy setting. Includes Basilisk Hills and Lake of Abominations, among others. Tons of material, as can be seen from this somewhat out of date (according to Todd at the time of posting) wiki. Hexcrawl.
Swordfish Islands / Hot Springs Island: Faction-heavy island hexcrawl.
Hill Cantons: Slavic acid fantasy pointcrawls and setting materials. Includes Slumbering Ursine Dunes, Fever Dreaming Marlinko, Misty Isles of the Eld, and What Ho, Frog Demons.
Wildendrum: Valley of the Flowers: Strange Arthurian pointcrawl in really big hexes. Statted for both Cairn and B/X.
Neverland: Neverland hexcrawl. Ostensibly statted for 5e, but very system neutral in presentation.
Oz: Pointcrawl in the city of Oz. As Neverland, statted for 5e, but system neutral in presentation.
Hyperborea: Sword and sorcery setting in the vein of Conan.
Aereth: The default fantasy setting for DCC adventures, which is expanded upon within specific adventures.
Midderlands: Dark fantasy middle England setting.
The Mythic North: A regional setting based loosely on middle ages Scotland.
Operation Unfathomable / Odious Uplands: Paired gonzo underworld and wilderness modules.
Red Tide / Sunset Isles: Sandbox setting focused on an island chain, the last refuge after the world was destroyed.
Wulfwald: Mythic Anglo-Saxon setting.
Lazy Litch’s Mini Settings: Willow, Woodfall, The Toxic Wood. These are a bit smaller than most of the others on the list, but could be woven together and are still large enough for a short campaign. Hexcrawls.
Wex’s Drift: A floating city setting, cobbled together from thousands of ships. Detailed districts, including an aquatic kaiju that circles the city.
Planet Eris: A sword and sorcery/science fantasy setting.
Zyan of Through Ultan’s Door: A bizarre flying city in the dreamlands, with setting information and adventure locations laid out in a series of zines.
The Estate: Mouse-sized hexcrawl for the Mausritter system. Series of location-based adventures centered around a country estate. Could easily be reflavored despite the focus on tiny PCs.
Kiwi Acres: Another Mausritter hexcrawl, set in and around a New Zealand farm.
Majestic Wilderlands: This is currently unavailable for purchase, but I am including it for posterity as it is well-regarded. Rob Conley’s take on the Judges Guild Wilderlands setting. It’s got some good stuff if you can find it somewhere!
Umerica: Gonzo DCC post-apocalypse setting.
Weird Adventures: Fantasy pulp adventure setting.
Times that Fry Men’s Souls: Weird colonial New York and New Jersey setting. Hexcrawl.
Implied / Anti-Canon / Lightly Sketched / Procedurally Generated
Fallen Empire / Crystal Frontier: Gus L.’s “off-vanilla” fantasy setting, as he puts it. See Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier, Broken Bastion, Star Spire, and the free adventures in purple here. I put this setting in this section mostly because the setting details are scattered between several disconnected adventures and Gus’ blog posts.
Glain and The Western Lands: The settings for Basic Fantasy RPG. BF1: Morgansfort has information about the Western Lands, and there is a website for Glain. Importantly, all of the BFRPG stuff is free.
Vaults of Vaarn: A post-apocalyptic science fantasy setting on a blue desert planet. The first three zines are pay what you want, and the SRD is freely accessible as well.
Seas of Sand: A toolbox setting guide for seas of sand, which ships sail across during the day. A good chunk of this is free (see the demo).
The Unfinished World: A GLOG campaign setting, with the materials freely available in blog posts. The easiest way to check them out is to follow the ‘Unfinished World’ tag at the bottom of the linked post.
Electrum Archive: Science fantasy setting with a baked in system.
The Smoke: The city setting from Swyvers, a crime sandbox. A dirty and sprawling riff on an early fantasy London, primarily generated by the GM.
Bastion: The loosely defined setting of Into the Odd (industrial era) and Electric Bastionland (electric era). EB has more setting details, though they are mostly scattered throughout the very fun Failed Careers for PCs. Both books also have generation materials. I’d also mention Mythic Bastionland as another procedurally generated setting tied to Bastion, though taking place in a prior mythic age.
The Ultraviolet Grasslands: Luka Rejec’s pointcrawl (I’ve also seen it referred to as a caravan crawl) through a psychedelic, bizarre land toward the Black City. Dying Earth vibes.
The Lastlands: Luka Rejec’s anti-canon meta setting. It’s probably best to just read through Luka’s post linked here. Also includes Longwinter, which is a setting in its own right.
A Thousand Thousand Islands + Reach of the Roach God: Evocative South-East Asian fantasy setting made up of a series of zines about different locations. Unfortunately largely unavailable due to a split between the creators, but some materials may still be found - including Reach of the Roach God.
Harth: A fantasy setting on the dying world of Harth, for Dungeon Age Adventures, which has standard fantasy fare and weirder stuff like vampires in space. The closest thing to a setting document seems to be Harthbreaker, which is also a ruleset for a PbtA-esque game, but there are lots of adventure modules which are statted for more typical OSR games (or are system agnostic).
Acid Death Fantasy: A post-apocalyptic setting for Troika!, where nearly all of the setting details exist in the character backgrounds (though there is also a map and a few generators).
Closing
While I’ve read or at least skimmed through many of these settings or modules that take place there, the only ones I’ve run are Dolmenwood and Wolves Upon the Coast (and I really enjoy both of them). As I noted early in this post, this is partly a community list. I envision this as being a living document and will happily remove works after the fact, so let me know if I included someone terrible. On a brighter note, if I missed a setting you think is worthy of inclusion let me know about that too and I may add it!