# Outcast Silver Raiders

An occult medieval TTRPG by Isaac VanDuyn in which outcasts explore a dangerous sandbox, negotiate with factions, and risk their vitality for forbidden magic. Compact class rules accompany the substantial Mythic North campaign.

## At a Glance

Occult medieval sandbox | Referee-led; best with 3–4 players | Light class rules and costly blood magic | Campaign focus | Paid PDF and print

## Why It Fits

Choose Outcast Silver Raiders when you want light character rules backed by a substantial campaign setting. It offers a clear path into occult hexcrawl play for groups willing to choose their own goals and accept consequential danger.

## Fit Facts

- Players: 1+ players + Referee
- Prep: Medium
- Price: Paid

## Facets

- Genres: Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Historical
- Systems: Old-School Renaissance (OSR)
- Mechanics: Campaign, Class-Based, Exploration-Driven, Hexcrawl, Low Magic, Rules Lite, Sandbox
- Themes: Mature Themes
- Decision tags: Beginner-Friendly

## Scores

- Complexity: 2/5
- New GM Fit: 3/5
- Roleplay Focus: 3/5
- Combat Focus: 3/5
- Tactical Depth: 3/5
- Campaign Depth: 4/5

## Best For

- Groups seeking player-directed occult expeditions and a detailed medieval sandbox
- Players who enjoy solving problems through observation, negotiation, and calculated risks
- Referees who prefer prepared places and factions to a scripted plot

## Avoid If

- You want protected protagonists or a guaranteed story arc
- You need numerous combat builds and a dense tactical rules engine
- Your group does not want graphic occult horror, blood magic, or religious oppression

## Explorer Notes

Outcast Silver Raiders is a strong choice for a group that wants an occult medieval campaign built around dangerous journeys, uncertain alliances, and decisions about how much a discovery is worth. Its appeal comes from the relationship between compact rules and a substantial setting: you can learn the characters fairly quickly, then spend a campaign testing what those characters will risk.

Choose it for player-directed expeditions and disturbing magic. Approach it more cautiously if your group expects protected protagonists, a plotted story, or a long menu of combat powers. The referee needs to make fair rulings and the players need to investigate the world, rather than rely on their sheets to enumerate every possible action.

## What the game is

[Outcast Silver Raiders](https://www.osr-rpg.com/) is a standalone TTRPG written and designed by Isaac VanDuyn, published by Esoteric Ludology LLC and distributed in print through Exalted Funeral. Kim Diaz Holm provides the illustrations and Lex Rocket the cartography and calligraphy. Its old-school identity is explicit, rather than inferred from its artwork.

Characters are outsiders navigating a medieval world in which forbidden magic and worldly authority are dangerous in different ways. The accompanying Mythic North campaign uses a fantastical counterpart to medieval Scotland. Treat that as an imaginative setting, not a historical simulation: the official [player handout](https://www.osr-rpg.com/s/Roleplaying-in-the-Mythic-North.pdf) makes that distinction and explains how religion and social hierarchy shape encounters.

## Publication history and editions

The project was crowdfunding in November 2022, when VanDuyn discussed its design in a [designer interview](https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/2022/11/21/qa-isaac-vanduyn-outcast-silver-raiders/). The game carries a 2023 copyright. The current [Exalted Funeral slipcase edition](https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/outcast-silver-raiders) follows the Kickstarter version. The retailer describes the text as lightly edited for clarity and typographical corrections, with its content otherwise identical. It is therefore more useful to distinguish the physical packages than to treat the slipcase as a separate rules edition.

## What you need to play

The full set combines a 64-page Player's Guide, a 144-page Referee's Compendium, and the 320-page Mythic North, together with a regional map. The slipcase listing includes PDFs. Digital buyers can find the [Player's Guide](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/436961/outcast-silver-raiders-player-s-guide?affiliate_id=1659151), [Referee's Compendium](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/436962/outcast-silver-raiders-referee-s-compendium?affiliate_id=1659151), and [Mythic North](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/436957/outcast-silver-raiders-the-mythic-north?affiliate_id=1659151) separately on DriveThruRPG.

The books have different jobs: the player volume teaches the rules and characters, the referee volume develops adjudication and magic, and the setting supplies places and people for a campaign. The setting alone is not the complete game. For a first campaign, the complete package provides a more coherent starting point than collecting isolated supplements.

The rules preview recommends a Referee and three or four outcast players, while allowing a smaller group. Bring a normal set of polyhedral dice, pencils, and paper; the text also recommends maps and counters for tracking movement and time. Free [official downloads](https://www.osr-rpg.com/downloads) include general and class-specific character sheets, a campaign sheet, and the setting handout. These aids are useful preparation, but should not be mistaken for a complete free edition.

## The Mythic North and additional books

The Mythic North is the main campaign resource. A keyed hex map, settlements, factions, and encounter material create opportunities to choose routes and make allies rather than follow a single adventure sequence. The campaign becomes more interesting when the group returns to a place with a changed reputation or discovers that an earlier bargain has consequences elsewhere.

[Hexen Volume 1: The Antiquarian's Anthology](https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/hexen-volume-1-the-antiquarian-anthology-for-outcast-silver-raiders) adds an Antiquarian class, forbidden knowledge, artifacts, and optional stress and horror material. Thomas Vaughan-Johnston wrote its text and concept, with development and additional writing by VanDuyn. It is a useful expansion for a group that wants scholarship and psychological horror to become more explicit parts of play.

[Hexen Volume 2: The Syzygist's Stellarium](https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/hexen-volume-2) turns toward wilderness threats. Its contents include a sun-and-moon magician, folklore creatures with lairs, and the mapped Llanerch's Cabin adventure site. Neither Hexen volume is required to start. Learn how the core campaign plays before adding extra character options and subsystems.

## Community support and digital aids

The official [third-party license](https://www.osr-rpg.com/license) permits independent creators to publish compatible material, including commercial releases. That makes the game more extensible than a closed three-book set. Compatibility does not by itself make an adventure official, and a supplement written for the system may still need review for tone and difficulty.

The verified official digital support consists of PDFs and downloadable table aids. This profile does not assume a supported virtual-tabletop implementation. Online groups can use the PDFs, shared maps, and ordinary dice tools, but should check their chosen platform separately before expecting automation or a ready-made campaign module.

## Core rules and session structure

Different dice handle three common uncertainties. Attacks use a d20 against Armor Class. Saving throws use a d10 and aim for 10 or more after modifiers. Ability and skill checks use a d6 and aim for 6 or more. All favor higher rolls. The [official character-sheet pack](https://www.osr-rpg.com/s/OSR-Character-Sheet-Pack.pdf) keeps these procedures visible alongside equipment and abilities.

That simple outline does not mean every problem should become a roll. A useful approach is to ask what the characters can learn, change, or avoid before taking a risk. Finding another entrance, negotiating passage, or deciding that a treasure is not worth pursuing can all be successful play. Combat remains available, but treating every encounter as a fight will narrow the game considerably.

A practical campaign rhythm is to gather information in a settlement, choose a destination, travel, deal with what is discovered, and return with the consequences. Open routes create opportunities for the players to surprise the referee; they also require players willing to choose a direction when there is no mission marker.

## Characters, advancement, and magic

The core classes are Warrior, Rogue, and Sorcerer. Warriors handle direct confrontation, Rogues specialize in skills and surprise, and Sorcerers turn their own vitality into magic. The referee book provides additional options, but the three-class starting set makes party roles easy to understand.

Blood magic is the clearest example of a rule changing the group's decisions. The Sorcerer sheet presents effects for damage, healing, and assistance, paid for through the character's own hit points. Helping the expedition can therefore make the helper more vulnerable. This is an in-fiction resource exchange; a table should discuss its self-harm imagery before choosing the class.

The player preview includes level advancement and a Rogue progression in which skills and luck develop over time. These give survivors continuity without replacing the need for judgment. A stronger sheet is useful, but it cannot guarantee that the next person met on the road is trustworthy.

The referee book also contains elaborate rituals with requirements and possible mishaps. Unlike a routine combat option, a ritual can become a reason to travel, bargain, or seek something forbidden. For the referee, the important distinction is between describing an enticing possibility and ensuring that the characters will use it. Leaving that choice open protects the campaign's central promise.

## Running the game

In his design interview, VanDuyn describes a setting-first approach in which tables can be used during preparation or in response to player decisions. He also reports testing with newcomers and first-time referees. This supports an accessible entry point, although the referee still has to learn the setting and communicate danger clearly.

For an initial session, prepare one settlement, a small number of nearby leads, and the locations most likely to matter. Read the relevant encounters before play if stopping to interpret a table entry would interrupt your group. There is no need to decide the ending in advance. Preparation should make people and places easier to portray, not make the players choose the planned route.

Rules weight and preparation are separate considerations here. The core rules are light, but learning the regional relationships and handling unexpected action calls for moderate initial preparation. This profile rates the default campaign accordingly rather than promising effortless improvisation.

## Campaign fit

The strongest starting commitment is a short arc with room to continue. Several expeditions let the group discover which locations, factions, and personal concerns it actually cares about. Longer play can then follow those interests. A single-session excursion is possible, but the complete game's particular advantage is a world worth revisiting, rather than a tightly timed one-shot format.

Discuss character mortality before players write elaborate futures for their outcasts. It helps to agree how a replacement character will enter the expedition and how the group will maintain continuity after a loss. Players who need every protagonist's story to reach a planned conclusion may find the campaign assumptions frustrating.

## Reception and awards

The box set was nominated for Best Setting, Best Production Values, and Product of the Year in the [2024 ENNIE Awards](https://ennie-awards.com/2024-nominees/). The official results identify other gold and silver winners in those categories; these are nominations, not wins.

Exalted Funeral's listing displayed 28 customer reviews when checked. The visible comments praised the physical presentation, rules, and sandbox material. [Community play reports](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/1rgpxgi/outcast_silver_raiders/) add useful qualifications: enthusiasm for blood magic and encounters appears alongside criticism of dungeon variety and locations that benefit from further referee development. Those reports are a small, self-selected sample rather than a representative survey. DriveThruRPG ratings could not be verified during this check.

## Where it is strongest

- A group that wants a concrete campaign world but freedom to choose its own priorities.

- Players interested in dangerous magic with immediate costs and consequences.

- A referee who enjoys factions, encounters, and locations more than scripting scenes.

- Readers who want substantial campaign material alongside a compact character ruleset.

## Where it can frustrate groups

- The campaign will lose momentum if everyone waits for a single prescribed objective.

- Groups seeking many combat builds may find the core character options too narrow.

- The amount of setting material can obscure the lightness of the underlying rules.

- Some published locations may need extra detail or alteration for a particular table's preferred style of exploration.

## Content and safety

The rules preview explicitly warns about graphic fictional self-harm, sacrifice, and demonic dealings, and discusses ways to respect participants' limits. The setting adds oppressive religion and social hierarchy. The Hexen wilderness volume also flags captivity, abuse, torture, and violence toward people and animals. Check the specific books being used; agreeing to fantasy horror in general is not the same as agreeing to every depiction.

Before play, name the subjects the group wants excluded or kept off-screen. Give everyone a straightforward way to interrupt a scene without having to defend the request. Removing a particular image or encounter need not remove danger, uncertainty, or meaningful choices from the campaign.

## Best starting path

Read the official player handout and inspect the Player's Guide preview first. If the premise suits the group, begin with the core books and The Mythic North, using the standard three classes. Ask players to choose one nearby lead at the end of the first session so the referee can prepare what they actually intend to explore. Add Hexen material when the campaign creates a reason for it.

## Research notes

Last checked October 12, 2026. The rules-weight and preparation judgments are editorial assessments. This profile draws on published rules material, official product information, and attributed reception; it is not presented as a hands-on play review.

- [Official game overview and credits](https://www.osr-rpg.com/)

- [Current slipcase contents, edition notes, and customer reviews](https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/outcast-silver-raiders)

- [Player's Guide preview](https://d1vzi28wh99zvq.cloudfront.net/pdf_previews/436961-sample.pdf)

- [Official sheets and player setting handout](https://www.osr-rpg.com/downloads)

- [November 2022 designer interview](https://gmshoe.wordpress.com/2022/11/21/qa-isaac-vanduyn-outcast-silver-raiders/)

- [Third-party license](https://www.osr-rpg.com/license)

- [Hexen Volume 1](https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/hexen-volume-1-the-antiquarian-anthology-for-outcast-silver-raiders) and [Volume 2](https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/hexen-volume-2)

- [2024 ENNIE nominees and winners](https://ennie-awards.com/2024-nominees/)

- [Community discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/1rgpxgi/outcast_silver_raiders/) and [campaign-running reports](https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/1twxtw4/outcast_silver_raiders_tips_modules/)

## Links

- Explorer page: https://www.ttrpg-games.com/item/outcast-silver-raiders
- Agent JSON: https://www.ttrpg-games.com/api/games/outcast-silver-raiders.json
- Publisher or official site: https://www.osr-rpg.com/
- Reviews or retailer page: https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/outcast-silver-raiders