British folklore RPG Romance of the Perilous Land and prehistoric RPG Paleomythic get a physical release this November

Wildlands, Cryptid and The Lost Expedition publisher Osprey is moving into roleplaying with the launch of a new series of RPGs this winter.

The new Osprey Roleplaying label will debut with two games: Romance of the Perilous Land: A Roleplaying Game of British Folklore and Paleomythic: A Roleplaying Game of Stone and Sorcery.

Romance of the Perilous Land was originally released in 2016 as D&D-inspired OSR-compatible RPG set in the world of traditional British folklore, making it a spiritual successor of sorts to the likes of Greg Stafford’s seminal ‘80s epic King Arthur Pendragon.

Designer Scott Malthouse’s gameplay combines the classic questing of players’ knights, rangers, thiefs, cunning folk, barbarians and bards with a point-based magic system that allows characters to cast spells above their level, but with the risk of things going drastically wrong.

Creatures in the game are relatively uncommon compared to the monsters of Dungeons & Dragons, drawing directly from British myths and legends and remaining mythical in their rarely-seen status.

Osprey’s hardback version of Romance of the Perilous Land will be illustrated by John McCambridge, David Needham and Alan Lathwell, and will cost £20 when it’s released this November. As far as we can tell, it’ll be the first time the game’s been available in a physical edition.

The second RPG due for a re-release this November is Graham Rose’s Paleomythic, a blend of prehistoric survival and magical intrigue that Rose dubs ‘stone and sorcery’ set in the land of Ancient Mu. (An interesting bit of trivia that we didn’t know where else to put: as well as designing RPGs, Rose is apparently a cold case homicide investigator by day.)

Players are hunters, warriors and more dealing with the harsh environment of early humanity, including clashes with opposing tribes and beasts from the ancient world. They’ll also encounter more supernatural elements of the setting, from spirits to otherworldly beings.

The d6-based system allows for as much or as little of the more mystical aspects of the world as players care for, with the ability to play the RPG as a straight prehistoric adventure game free of magical elements.

Paleomythic will also be out this November in a hardback edition illustrated by McCambridge and Mars Oosterveld, costing £20. Like Romance of the Perilous Land, Paleomythic was previously published digitally online in 2013 – this will be its first physical version to be released.

Head of Osprey Games Philip Smith confirmed that Romance of the Perilous Land and Paleomythic would only be the first releases from Osprey Roleplaying, with “games from a range of genres” due to launch in the future.