First funded in 2020, Barrow Keep is a romantic fantasy setting that brings together the intrigue of Game of Thrones with the magic of authors like Robin Hobb or Mercedes Lackey.The first volume, Barrow Keep: Den of Spies, was nominated for an IGDN Groundbreaker Award for Best Setting in 2021.Print copies of the 2020 Barrow Keep: Den of Spies are available from Spear Witch, Exalted Funeral, and The Twenty Sided Store. PDF copies are available from Itch and DriveThruRPG.Coming in 2024: Barrow Keep will get its own system, built from The Black Sword Hack, keeping its classic B/X D&D vibes with a more modular rules system.
Download Handouts & Adventures
For Players. There are short lifepath playbooks for eight characters who live in Barrow Keep and know its intrigues and factions: Old School Essentials and Labyrinth Lord (D&D BX), Sharp Swrods & Sinister Spells, and Troika!
For GMs. There are two Barrow Keep set in Barrow Keep: Den of Spies setting: Treacherous Kin and The Wildwoods Ambassador. Both include stats for Old School Essentials (Dungeons & Dragons BX), Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, and Troika!
Standalone Game: Now in Beta
In 2022, I released sample playbooks as free playtest inspired by Pretendo Games 2400 and the 24XX SRD, and have gotten to test these at Pax East 2022, Dreamation 2024, and with a home group with some incredible players. In 2024, R. Rook Studio shifted to using The Black Sword Hack.
R. Rook Studio
Founded in 2019 by Richard Ruane, R. Rook Studio publishes Barrow Keep, Sherwood | A Game of Outlaws & Arcana, My Chivalric Bromance (in collaboration with Exalted Funeral), and Moonlight on Roseville Beach.
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About Barrow Keep
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