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The Drowned Isles is a DIY fantasy RPG about exploring a far-future haunted archipelago. One player takes on the role of the referee. The rest create characters known as Wardens, sea-faring investigators and adventurers who serve no authority other than their own. Think of them like the Hunter Assocation or the Steerswomen. See Creating a Character for more.

From here, you may want an introduction to the game setting or the core rules, which are derived from Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts, the GLOG, Cinco, Trophy Dark, and others. The game is intended to marry the dress-up character creation, challenge-based play, module compatibility, and high player agency. It features a flexible system for using unique character powers on the fly, and for players to shape and develop their characters’ abilities as they advance.

It also serves as the answer to a thought experiment I had: can I take my idiosyncratic aesthetic inspirations and mechanical focuses and end up with something that feels like an OSR/NSR game? I guess the answer is in the eye of the reader or player.

There’s a Google Sheets template for character sheets and the crew sheet. Nothing really print-compatible because I haven’t played this game in-person yet.