Erstwhile

Erstwhile is a rules-light roleplaying game set in an abridged early middle ages. Players take on the roles of ordinary folk living through an ignorant, savage, and superstitious period of history.

The setting resembles an abridged medieval "dark ages" (476 AD - 1000 AD). While based on the early middle ages, the game is an interpretation of history, therefore real places, names, and events needn't be known. Historical accuracy isn't paramount.

The game uses OSR inspired mechanics with a medieval spin.

• Determine when to make saves using the set guidelines; support, expertise, and time.
• Make important saves using temperaments, the four types of human behaviour determined by the balance of bodily fluids, called humours.
• Live with or seek to remove hindering ordeals, negative effects suffered as a consequence of failure.
• Narratively determine your character's mood or behaviour using the imbalances of their temperaments.
• Improve your character over time as they make difficult actions.
• Easy item use with inventory slots.

This game is the foundation upon which all other future modules of Erstwhile are built on. While modules can be added, removed, or ignored completely, this is required for them all to plug into.

This is an A4 tri-fold pamphlet and should be printed on double-side (short-end) A4 paper.

Included with the game is the SRD, character sheet, and printer-friendly version.

The Erstwhile SRD is 100% free and released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. You are free to share and adapt this material for any purpose as long as you credit Jason Christopher Burrows as the original creator of Erstwhile.

This game was originally created by Jason Christopher Burrows for the one-page RPG jam 2022