Old Oak Games, founded by award-winning writer and designer Emmet Byrne will be bringing an awesome new project to tabletops next year. Beyond The Woods is going to be a tabletop roleplaying game inspired by Irish folklore, myth and legend.

Beyond The Woods // Old Oak Games

Beyond The Woods is a game of exploration and survival set in a Dark Fantasy world that is inspired by Irish folklore. The aim is to bring that old-school feel to the 5th Edition rules with classic hex-crawl exploration or "West Marches" style campaigns. You will be tasked with exploring Tír Nascath hex-by-hex, tracking your progress across a stunningly illustrated map.

"Discover the shadowed lands of Tír Nascath, an unforgiving dark fantasy setting inspired by ancient Irish myth and legend. You and a band of unlikely allies must leave the safety of Céad Darach, the last great city, to explore ancient ruins, uncover long-forgotten magic, and face the terrifying Sluagh — a spectral legion of the accursed dead who devour anything in their path."

If that doesn't get you interested then I don't know what will! The upcoming Kickstarter campaign will focus on producing two books. The first of these is the Core Book which teaches you how to do those old-school hexcrawl adventures as well as design your character and explore rules for survival and adventuring during your map-based campaigns. The second book, the Setting Guide, details the history of Tír Nascath and features GM advice and tools for running Dark Fantasy adventures with an Irish twist.

Ancient Ruins // Beyond The Woods

Old Oak Games will also be working on maps and stickers for you to play out those hexcrawls. You'll get a full map of Tír Nascath which will include a sticker sheet for noting your conquests and also marking important events.

Inside the Core Book, you'll find four new Lineages which are drawn from Irish myth. You can take on the role of Púca, Aos Sí, Changeling, or Baloran. This then links into six new Classes that you can play as, the Channeller, Draoi, Hunter, Mage, Warrior, or Storyteller. The Storyteller in particular has been designed to match the seanchaí and the tradition of oral storytelling.

The White Stag // Beyond The Woods

You'll also find full rules for exploration plus a reworked inventory and encumbrance system that has been designed to work a bit more like survival horror videogames. Nifty. Survival is also a key part of Beyond The Woods so you'll also be tracking hunger throughout your adventures as well as diving into new rules for healing and dying. Death is not just an inconvenience anymore!

Pilgrimage // Beyond The Woods

There will also be over a dozen new creatures for you to battle included in the rules inspired by Irish folklore "including the keening Bean Sí, the bloodthirsty Avartach, and the terrifying Sluagh — a spectral legion of the accursed dead who harvest the souls of anyone they cross."

Puca Characters // Beyond The Woods

Last but not least, you will also get to play through three complete adventures which have been designed to get you started in Beyond The Woods. There are going to be more as the campaign heads to funding next year alongside much more.

Sluagh Foe // Beyond The Woods

If you've been looking for a love letter to Irish mythology then Beyond The Woods might be for you. Beyond The Woods might also end up being a great pick for those who may enjoy 5th Edition but want to try something new using familiar rules. The hexcrawl nature of the game sounds fascinating and should be fun to dive into!

Make sure to keep an eye out for more on Beyond The Woods ahead of the Kickstarter launch next year!