Development Diary Drop! Here’s What’s Coming Soon from Necrotic Gnome and Friends

Necrotic Gnome Development Diary

Come and smell what the gnome is cooking! We have updates on ongoing projects to share, plus a raft of exciting new projects to announce.

Update: Ongoing OSE Projects

Quick updates on three of our larger OSE books that have been in development for a while:

• Dungeons of the Undermoon OSE Starter Set: In post-playtest editing.
• Beneath the Radiant Dome: Illustration by Andrew Walter is coming along nicely.
• Demonic Grimoire: In final editing. Illustration almost finished. The book will be 100% complete and ready to go to print following the crowdfunding campaign in May. We can't wait to introduce you to Ghursag, Lord of Beasts (pictured below, art by Lucas Korte) and other fabulous fiends!

New Project: The Necrotic Tome

Following the Demonic Grimoire, we are excited to announce that the next major OSE rules supplement will be this definitive guide to undead, necromancy, and the mysteries of the afterlife. Expect new lore, character options, monsters, magic, and other rules tied to death deities and the shadowy Land of the Dead.

New Project: OSE Rogue’s Gallery II

Work has also begun on Rogue’s Gallery II, a new collection of ready-to-play characters for quick campaigns, one-shots, and convention games. This volume will include 21 characters (seven of each alignment) featuring a lineup of classes such as the acrobat, assassin, barbarian, bard, druid, knight, illusionist, paladin, and ranger, alongside demihuman classes and familiar race-and-class combinations. Perfect for an ‘advanced’ game or to add more spice to the original set of rogues.

New Project: Quick Delves 4-6

Our popular series of bite-sized adventures continues with 3 new scenarios featuring 1-2-session jaunts into perilous locales. The next Quick Delves in development are:

Quick Delve #4: Shadows and Flesh by Noah Green

Raid the ruins of a wizard's tower haunted by the twisted remains of his dark experiments.

Planned release: June/July

Quick Delve #5: Golden Lies by Michael A. Curtis

Take up arms against the cult of a reptilian demon in an adventure from Michael Curtis (this one) that leverages the dark secrets of the Demonic Grimoire.

Planned release: Late 2026

Quick Delve #6: Red Veins by Nicholas Montegriffo

Explore the depths of a fallen mine consumed by an ancient corruption in the bones of the earth.

Planned release: Early 2027

Update: Dolmenwood Book of Lairs 

We have some exciting updates on this hefty adventure anthology for Dolmenwood! Firstly, we’ve decided to publish the Dolmenwood Book of Lairs in two volumes, each containing around 12 short adventures. By publishing two volumes, we’ll be able to get these great adventures to your table sooner.

We can also now reveal the book’s cover! Feast your eyes on the fantastic piece by Ulla Thynell below:

OSE Month Lineup Finalised!

As we approach OSE Month this May, we can confirm that our cabal of collaborators is complete! Our own Demonic Grimoire will be joined by a total of 16 sister projects, including:

Hellcrawl, Skullboy's Illustrated Guide to Demons, Emporium of the Damned, The Black Spire Pact, Codex Qliphothica, Dinner With the Damned, Bekir's Battlers, Abattoir Hymnal, Master of Puppets, A Ritual Most Foul and A Delving Most Dark, Out of the Iron Labyrinth, Hellblaster, Dimension Delver's Guide to Demons & Devils, The Ooze, The Tiger Princess of Treacherous Tripura, Mildew and Silver.

We’ll continue to spotlight collaborators in this newsletter. This week, meet:

Bloodstar Productions

Bloodstar Productions is a collaboration between writer Nicholas Montegriffo and artist Raymond De Jesus. Nicholas was present in the early days of Necrotic Gnome, having a hand in developing what would become Winter's Daughter before the OSE and Dolmenwood game lines were formalised. He’s also the author of the upcoming Quick Delve #6: Red Veins.

Raymond De Jesus is an illustrator with a love of old-school gaming, pulp science-fantasy action, and the OSR's rebel spirit.

Their offering for OSE Month is an homage to science-fantasy mash-up modules of the hobby’s golden age and the radness of early ‘90s occult-industrial video games. Think DOOM meets Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. HELLBLASTER is a crashed spaceship dungeon overrun with fiendish factions that have merged with alien technology to become even deadlier. Adventurers must contend with cyborg demons, devious devices, and unlikely allies. Will they quake in fear, or avert this doom from beyond the stars?

RPG Ramblings

No stranger to collaborations, RPG Ramblings is the publisher behind the most excellent Gary’s Appendix zine, oft-featured in these pages, along with other creations by authors Zac Goins (Denizens of the Blood Sands) and Jeffrey Jones (Journey into the Madlands), whose works span OSE and other OSR systems.

Zac, Jeffrey, and other writers from RPG Ramblings are bringing forth a demonic double feature this May, in the form of two ‘adventure-path’ style linked scenarios. A Ritual Most Foul contains 3 adventures themed around demonic cult domains in a variety of locales, whereas A Delving Most Dark combines 4 scenarios in a mini-campaign fully compatible with the dark forces of the Demonic Grimoire.

Here’s a look at the newest adventures, videos, and other creations from the Old-School Essentials and Dolmenwood community:

• Hood, the Legend of Sherwood, a toolkit for OSE campaigns based on the tales of Robin Hood, including adventures, locations, characters, and more!
• DWIGAS (Don’t Worry, I’ve Got a Sword) takes a stab at classic domain play for OSE with Strongholds & Domains and Mercenaries & Mass Battles.
• Hunt on the Borderlands, a solo OSE gamebook where YOU are the hero!
• Quartermaster reports to help track party supplies for OSE or Dolmenwood.
• Corpse Husbandry, a Dolmenwood adventure for character levels 4-6, set in Mulchgrove.
• The Lonely Home of Thin-and-Bone, a 4-page Dolmenwood adventure in a frost elf’s abandoned house.

Working on something of your own? Our third-party licenses offer helpful guidance and resources for publishing compatible material.

If you’d like your work considered for a future newsletter spotlight, send the details (and a copy, if possible) to 3pp@necroticgnome.com