My print copy of Cairn by Yochai Gal came today.

For the low, low price of $3.00 I couldn’t pass this one up. I heard a couple of YouTubers talking about this thing and thought I’d give it a shot. Your mileage may vary. The link to the PDF and ridiculously low priced print version are here.

It’s an okay game weighing in at 24 pages. I get the impression Yochai Gal must be fairly new to the business, but no stranger to TTRPGs. Cairn has a lot of promise and I really enjoyed reading through it. I think it will be great for one-shots and filler pick up games at conventions because of its utter simplicity.

There’s a lot packed into these 24 pages.

The first thing I noticed is that character creation is rapid and random. There are three stats, STRength, DEXterity, and WILlpower. From there roll a name, a profession and traits. Get geared up and ready to go. Character creation is very random. There are no classes, skills, or feats to fiddle with.

This game is built similarly to the World’s Most Popular TTRPG. It uses many of the same D20 mechanics we’re used to from other games. Hit Protection is different than Hit Points, however. HP in Cairn represents fatigue and exhaustion rather than physical health. Armor subtracts from the damage roll in combat. When HP runs out, damage goes to STR. Run out of that and return to character creation.

In terms of rules the game is very light. Combat is similar to most fantasy TTRPGs. Spellcasting is ridiculously simple. Saves are a simple roll under mechanic. This game is almost perfect for beginners and pick up games.

Being a Warden (Game Master) in Cairn is entertainment in and of itself.

My one lone criticism of this game is the part of the Warden section that diverts them off onto other games/sourcebooks. Cairn actually discourages Wardens to keep it random and fluid. I’m not sure I like basically being told to use random tables instead of my own. My take on this is that there should probably be more tables included in the game. Still, what do you do?

I call into question any game that refers the reader to other TTRPG rulebooks. Why don’t I just play one of those? I have Cairn in hand, so why would I want to pick up my copy of OSE or Knave to help guide me along? I think if Cairn was a little longer and more detailed, it might save the trouble of sending the Warden or players to another set of tables out of game. While I don’t think there’s anything terribly wrong with it, but I don’t think it’ll be everyone’s cup of tea.

I guess I need to start writing more d12 charts for stuff like this. I did like the OSR recommended conversions in the bestiary. I think the bestiary could have been a little longer to encompass a few more monster types. They could have included more random loot, but I tend to generate my own anyway.

Cairn does an excellent job of defining the Players and Warden’s responsibilities at the table. I think the game is intended to be dramatically flexible and largely built or even run without a lot of interference from the Warden. It’s interesting, but defies a lot of conventional logic.

In the end, I think this is just a good and fast beer-n-pretzels ttrpg where one’s character can charge through the door with axe in hand or cast a spell or two. It’s about what the players want to do to make the best of the situation. It’s more than a One Page RPG, but it’s no Pathfinder 2E. If you want deep, long lasting, meaningful, gritty character interactions, then you might get it from Cairn, but I think other games might be better suited.

Thank you for stopping by. Lots more to come. Happy #indiettrpgmonth.