Rank #1
Knave RPG
Knave RPG earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. Knave is a classless OSR fantasy RPG by Ben Milton that uses fast character creation, slot-based inventory, and old-school problem solving.
Best Exploration-Driven TTRPGs
Exploration-driven games put discovery, travel, mapping, strange places, and unknown risks at the center. The category fits when moving through the world and learning what is there matters as much as any plot.
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Rank #7
ShadowDark
ShadowDark belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. Shadowdark RPG rejuvenates traditional tabletop RPGs by blending old-school elements with modern mechanics for a fast-paced and intuitive gameplay experience.
Rank #8
Old-School Essentials
Choose Old-School Essentials for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. It features a modular design that is fully compatible with decades of old-school content, supporting a wide array of adventures and settings.
Rank #11
Traveller
Choose Traveller for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. Traveller RPG is a science fiction tabletop role-playing game known for its detailed universe and deep system mechanics that support a wide range of sci-fi adventures.
Rank #19
Cairn
Choose Cairn for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. Cairn RPG is an exploration-focused tabletop RPG set in a mysterious, dark forest filled with strange creatures and hidden treasures.
Rank #41
Star Trek Adventures
Choose Star Trek Adventures for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. Boldly go where no one has gone before in Star Trek Adventures, a tabletop RPG that puts players in the shoes of Starfleet officers exploring the final frontier.
Rank #42
Coriolis
Choose Coriolis for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. Embark on a spacefaring adventure in Coriolis, a sci-fi tabletop RPG set in a universe of ancient mysteries and interstellar conflict.
Rank #44
Eclipse Phase
Eclipse Phase belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. In Eclipse Phase, players explore a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has splintered across the solar system, facing existential threats from rogue AI, alien...
Rank #45
Blue Planet: Recontact
Blue Planet: Recontact earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. Dive into the depths of a water-covered world in Blue Planet: Recontact, a tabletop RPG where players explore the mysteries of an alien planet while facing environmental...
Rank #46
Quest
Quest fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A cooperative tabletop RPG where players embark on epic adventures in a fantastical world filled with magic, monsters, and mystery.
Rank #100
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. Dungeons and Dragons is a foundational fantasy role-playing game where players create characters to embark on epic quests and combat various creatures in a richly...
Rank #877
Mythic
Mythic belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A tabletop RPG that stands out for its versatility and support for solo and cooperative play.
Rank #1000
GURPS
GURPS fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System) is renowned for its flexibility and depth, allowing players to create characters and adventures in any setting imaginable.
Rank #1001
Dragonbane
Dragonbane fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. Dragonbane invites players to embark on epic quests in a mystical world filled with dragons, magic, and treacherous landscapes.
Rank #1002
Mothership
Mothership fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. Step aboard the desolate, dark confines of space in Mothership, a sci-fi horror RPG where players navigate treacherous alien worlds and face off against cosmic terrors.
Rank #1003
Stars Without Number RPG
Stars Without Number RPG fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. Stars Without Number is a sandbox science-fiction RPG built for sector exploration, faction play, and player-driven campaigns.
Rank #1004
Starfinder
Starfinder belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. Starfinder takes players on a thrilling space opera adventure set in a futuristic universe filled with aliens, starships, and ancient mysteries.
Rank #1006
Into the Odd
Into the Odd fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. Into the Odd immerses players in a gritty, industrial world filled with strange technology and eldritch horrors, where they must explore dangerous ruins in search of...
Rank #1010
Symbaroum
Symbaroum belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. Symbaroum immerses players in a dark and sinister world where ancient forests hide ancient secrets and corrupting powers.
Rank #1012
Four Against Darkness
Four Against Darkness earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A thrilling tabletop roleplaying game that takes players on perilous dungeon-crawling adventures with a focus on exploration and strategic decision-making.
Rank #1015
Mausritter
Mausritter earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A charming tabletop RPG where players take on the roles of intelligent mice adventuring through a medieval world filled with danger and intrigue.
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After the Blast
After the Blast earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A rules-lite post-apocalyptic survival RPG using 2d6 + stat resolution.
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Against the Wind
Against the Wind belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. Against the Wind invites players into a richly woven tapestry of survival and adventure in a world perpetually buffeted by furious storms and relentless currents.
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Alone in the Ancient City
Alone in the Ancient City fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A rules-lite solo journaling RPG about exploring the districts of a vast forgotten metropolis.
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Best Left Buried
Choose Best Left Buried for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A rules‑lite fantasy horror about desperate cryptdiggers braving lethal, resource‑starved dungeons.
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Broken Shores
Broken Shores belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A rules-lite dark fantasy survival RPG using d100 resolution.
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Cain RPG
Cain RPG fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. Cain is a dark action-horror tabletop RPG about exorcists hunting SINS, supernatural manifestations of human trauma.
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Cairn 2e
Cairn 2e earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A classless fantasy adventure RPG in the Into the Odd and Knave lineage.
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Castaway
Castaway belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A rules-lite shipwreck survival horror RPG compatible with Mörk Borg.
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Castles & Crusades
Castles & Crusades fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. Castles & Crusades immerses players in a nostalgic world of high adventure, monsters, and magic inspired by classic fantasy literature.
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Curseborne
Curseborne earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. Curseborne, Onyx Path’s 2025 urban horror RPG, explores cursed lineages in a modern world.
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D100 Space
D100 Space belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A thrilling solo tabletop RPG set in a vast, uncharted galaxy teeming with alien civilizations, cosmic dangers, and ancient technologies waiting to be discovered.
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Dead Belt
Dead Belt fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A rules-lite solo/co-op survival RPG where you play as a Belter scavenging derelict starships on the Gasping Frontier.
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Death in Space
Choose Death in Space for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A rules‑lite sci‑fi survival game about scrappy crews trying to make it through a dying universe.
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Deathbringer
Deathbringer earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A grimdark fantasy RPG kit by Professor Dungeon Master that compresses character creation, combat, and spellcasting into a fast, lethal chassis compatible with 5e...
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Dolmenwood
Dolmenwood earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A fantasy RPG built on Old-School Essentials, set in a lavishly detailed world inspired by British folklore and fairy tales.
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Down We Go
Down We Go belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A rules‑lite OSR dungeon crawler using familiar d20 and d6 rolls.
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Dreams and Machines
Dreams and Machines fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A hopeful science-fantasy RPG about surviving the ruins of machine rule while rebuilding communities and futures worth living in.
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Dungeon Crawl Classics
Choose Dungeon Crawl Classics for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A throwback to old-school dungeon-crawling adventures, where players plunge into deadly dungeons filled with traps, monsters, and untold treasures.
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Electric Bastionland
Electric Bastionland fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A rules‑lite OSR game of dangerous expeditions in a strange industrial city and its depths.
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Escape from Dino Island
Choose Escape from Dino Island for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A rules-lite survival adventure using Powered by the Apocalypse mechanics.
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Everywhen
Everywhen earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. Everywhen invites players to embark on an imaginative journey across a multiverse where timelines intertwine and the past, present, and future coexist.
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Fallout
Fallout belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A post-apocalyptic tabletop RPG set in a world devastated by nuclear war, where players navigate a harsh, radioactive wasteland filled with mutated creatures, factions,...
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Five Torches Deep
Five Torches Deep fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A rules‑lite dungeon‑adventure game that marries 5e familiarity with OSR grit.
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Forbidden Lands
Choose Forbidden Lands for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A sandbox survival fantasy RPG where you play rogues and raiders exploring a cursed world.
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Gamma World
Choose Gamma World for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A classic science-fantasy RPG of mutant survivors, ancient tech, and gonzo post-apocalyptic exploration in a world where weirdness is the baseline.
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Green Dawn Mall
Green Dawn Mall belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A rules‑lite survival-horror about teens lost in an endless, uncanny shopping mall.
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Heart: The City Beneath
Heart is exploration-driven because every delve into the City Beneath is about dangerous routes, strange landmarks, and what the journey costs.
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Hyperborea
Choose Hyperborea for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. Hyperborea transports players to a mythical land inspired by pulp literature, blending elements of sword and sorcery with Lovecraftian horror.
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In the Light of a Ghost Star
In the Light of a Ghost Star earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A rules-lite sci-fi RPG set on a frozen, abandoned Earth lit by a dead white dwarf.
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Into the Odd (Remastered)
Into the Odd (Remastered) belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A rules‑lite OSR dungeon‑adventure in a grim industrial world.
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Ironsworn: Starforged
Choose Ironsworn: Starforged for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. Ironsworn: Starforged combines the epic scope of science fiction with the gritty, personal storytelling of Ironsworn.
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Knave Second Edition Review (2023): Is It Worth the Upgrade?
Knave Second Edition Review (2023): Is It Worth the Upgrade? belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. Classless, slot-based inventory creates meaningful gear decisions while 75+ generators produce dungeons, factions, cities, and monsters.
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Lamentations of the Flame Princess
Lamentations of the Flame Princess fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A weird fantasy horror RPG built on B/X D&D mechanics with streamlined rules and a unique Specialist class.
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Legend in the Mist
Legend in the Mist fits exploration-driven play because journeys, camps, ruins, remote villages, strange landscapes, and unknown dangers are core parts of how its rustic fantasy unfolds.
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Low Fantasy Gaming
Choose Low Fantasy Gaming for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. Low Fantasy Gaming immerses players in a gritty, realistic world filled with danger and intrigue, where survival is not guaranteed and every choice has consequences.
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Maze Rats
Maze Rats belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A rules‑lite OSR fantasy game using 2d6 tests and swingy, lethal outcomes.
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Mutant Crawl Classics
Choose Mutant Crawl Classics for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A post-apocalyptic, OSR-inspired game of deadly expeditions into ancient ruins.
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Mutant: Year Zero
Mutant: Year Zero earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A post-apocalyptic survival RPG using the Year Zero Engine.
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Numenera
Numenera earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A science-fantasy RPG of discovery, strange civilizations, and impossible technologies so old and powerful they read as magic.
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Offworlders
Offworlders fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A rules-lite sci-fi game using 2d6 tests in the World of Dungeons/PbtA vein.
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Orbital Blues
Orbital Blues earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. Orbital Blues takes players on a spacefaring adventure where they navigate the vast expanse of the galaxy as interstellar musicians seeking fame and fortune.
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OSE Advanced Fantasy
OSE Advanced Fantasy belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A rules-lite OSR retroclone expanding Classic Fantasy with Advanced D&D options.
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Paleomythic
Paleomythic fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A rules‑lite stone‑and‑sorcery survival game using opposed dice pools and conditions.
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Pirate Borg
Pirate Borg belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A dark fantasy pirate RPG about cursed seas, undead threats, and fast, filthy adventure on a doomed black ocean.
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Polaris RPG
Choose Polaris RPG for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A post-apocalyptic underwater survival game where humanity fled to the seas after the surface became uninhabitable.
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Posthuman Saga
Posthuman Saga earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. Posthuman Saga invites players into a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has transcended its biological limits, blending mind and machine in a quest for survival and...
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Primal Quest - Essentials
Primal Quest - Essentials belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. Primal Quest – Essentials is a rules‑lite stone‑and‑sorcery RPG.
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Runecairn
Choose Runecairn for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. Runecairn immerses players in a rich world inspired by Norse mythology, where they must navigate treacherous lands filled with ancient magic and powerful beings.
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Ryuutama
Ryuutama earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A cozy, Japanese-inspired RPG where village folk—bakers, healers, farmers—embark on a grand journey across a world born from seasonal dragons.
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
Shadow of the Weird Wizard fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A streamlined fantasy RPG refining Shadow of the Demon Lord’s mechanics, Shadow of the Weird Wizard swaps horror for heroic adventure.
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Silent Titans
Choose Silent Titans for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A surreal OSR campaign setting where players explore the dreaming minds of sleeping Titans to steal their Golden Thoughts.
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Solo Gamemaster's Guide
Solo Gamemaster's Guide earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A comprehensive resource for players who want to experience the thrills of tabletop roleplaying games on their own.
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Stoneburner
Stoneburner earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A rules‑lite sci‑fantasy survival game using the Breathless step‑die engine.
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Tales from the Loop
Tales from the Loop fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. Tales from the Loop invites players into a nostalgia-soaked 1980s world, where they step into the shoes of kids navigating the wonders and mysteries of a science...
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Tales of Argosa
Tales of Argosa fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A low-fantasy adventure RPG built for dangerous exploration, rough-edged heroism, and sandbox play with old-school pressure and modern usability.
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The Beast
Choose The Beast for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A rules-lite one-page RPG about low-rent monster hunters in 18th-century Eastern Europe.
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The Black Sword Hack
The Black Sword Hack fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. The Black Sword Hack offers players a gritty and visceral experience set in a dark and dangerous world where ancient evils lurk.
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The Deep Forest
Choose The Deep Forest for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. Groups that want collaborative play without a traditional GM.
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The One Ring (Second Edition)
The One Ring (Second Edition) belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A Tolkien fantasy RPG built around journeys, weariness, and hope in the twilight of the Third Age.
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The One Ring RPG
The One Ring RPG earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. The One Ring is a survival-focused fantasy RPG set in Middle-earth between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
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The Wildsea
The Wildsea belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. A narrative survival-fantasy RPG set on an endless treetop ocean.
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Troika!
Troika! earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. Is a fantastical tabletop RPG set in a bizarre and surreal world where players travel through the mystical Catlands in search of their destinies.
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Trophy
Trophy belongs here when the table wants sessions driven by what the characters find, not just the label on the cover. Trophy transports players to a dark and eerie world where they must navigate through perilous forests in search of treasures while facing mysterious horrors.
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Twilight: 2000
Twilight: 2000 fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. A post-apocalyptic military survival RPG from Free League.
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Ultraviolet Grasslands
Choose Ultraviolet Grasslands for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. A psychedelic metal RPG of heroes on a strange trip through mythic steppes.
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Vaults of Vaarn
Choose Vaults of Vaarn for exploration-driven play when you want sessions driven by what the characters find. An NSR science-fantasy RPG of crystalline deserts, ancient vaults, and strange civilizations surviving in the shadow of forgotten technologies.
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Veins of the Earth
Veins of the Earth earns this tag by making exploration matter during play. A rules-lite OSR setting sourcebook for Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
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Wolves of God: Adventures in Dark Ages England
Wolves of God: Adventures in Dark Ages England fits exploration-driven because it makes discovery, travel, and unknown places central to play. Wolves of God is a rules-lite OSR RPG set in 710 AD Dark Ages England.