I was really impressed with the author's minimalist philoshopy of running RPGs. This led me to check out some of her adventures - like this one - which, in turn, made me finally pay more attention to the whole OSR way(s) of running D&D games.

What I'm saying is that Watcher in the Dark was a bit of a GM journey for me.

It's a neat little adventure combining horror and sci-fi elements with a small dungeon crawl. It can be played in a single afternoon/evening. But more importantly, it demonstrates the author's elegant, practical and minimalist approach. Every page is clearly dedicated to a single subject matter: a synopsis, an encounter, or a new area in a dungeon. It is all very readable and easy to use. While higher-production adventures always come with more bells and whistles, they tend to feel a bit... intimidating for GMing, especially if you lack patience or time to read them thoroughly. Not Watchers in the Sky, though! The adventure is clear, focused, short and sweet.

This led me to check out Kelsey Dionne's own Shadowdark RPG - currently in beta, but there are quickstart rules - that try to combine the elegant modern-day D&D mechanics with a more utilitarian old school rulesets. Again, for a GM pressed for time who nevertheless wants to run a game for his friends, this kind of approach feels like a revelation, especially since I started playing with D&D 3.0 that really tried to come up with rules for everything. Knowing that I am free to improvise the rules and use simpler game systems for same type of games I've been running for decades now feel amazing.

So, yeah, thank you for introducing me to an easier way of running things! :-)

In the Shadow of Tower Silveraxe is a great little hexcrawl adventure for the Old School Essentials system. It presents players with a relatively small, well laid out wilderness area with enough small and not-so-small dungeons to pique their curiosity and greed. There are also several small settlements with conflicting agendas, which could be used by a resourcefull GM to create conflicts and plotlines.

The layout is fantastic: very clear and readable, even on an iPad. Furthermore, illustrations by the adventure's author Jacob Fleming are downright fantastic. They're done in black & white style reminiscent of the old comic books I used to read as a kid. They're atmospheric and evocative.

Another great element of this adventure are its dungeons. They vary in size and difficulty, but are all easy to use. Planning dungeons and combat encounters is something I'm struggling with usually. These dungeons are a priceless resource I can easilly use either with this adventure or as a part of my own campaign.

Rackham Vale is a mini-sandbox setting for Old School Essentials RPG inspired by fairy tale illustrations of the victorian artist Arthur Rackham. It is chokfull of informations about the titular valley as well as its denizens and creatures. There are new monsters with some fun abilities as well as plenty of random tables that will help spice up your game. I loved the art style and a whimsical yet occasionally dark tone. But what I enjoyed even more as a Game Master is the way most of the elements within this setting tie together. Some monsters and groups work together, while others hate each othert. No matter what your adventurers decide to do, they will inevitably stir up trouble, creating fun and adventure in the process.

My only complain about Rackham Vale is the lack of a printer-friendly version. Since the pages have background colors (mostly grays), printing them out is a bit more expensive. Which is a shame, because I would have loved to print the PDF for my own use as a A5 booklet.

Elder Oak is a great little adventure consisting out of a mystery, a small dungeon, a witches' curse and goblin shennanigans. It fits perfectly in a more fairy tale type OSR settings like Gavin Norman's Dolmenwood. I already printed the adventure out and can't wait to run it for my players!

Created by The Games Collective, Awaken is a role-playing game featuring horror, intrigue and good old-fashioned adventure. Awaken uses a farily elegant and intuitive system that is easy to learn and simple to use in play. This system is used to tell dark, swashbuckling tales about individuals gifted (and cursed) with powers that allow them to fight various threats. In a setting that freely mixes influences from Slavic history and mythology with Japanese anime, great houses fight and scheme among each other to gain ever more power. However, grotesque threats emerge from the dark corners of the world and endanger the whole of mankind. Only the player charactes can stop them but the more they use their powers, the more they risk turning into monsters themselves. Finally, its worth mentioning that the book's artwork is lavishly illustrated. Beautiful artwork helps bring the world of Awaken to life to both the players and game masters alike.