This is the best rpg system for narrative focused fantasy gaming with OSR sensibilities. I prefer the 1e over the 2e only because I like the random character generator over the backgrounds in 2e. But it’s a minor thing, and both editions are excellent. I have played it with many different types of players, both new to the hobby and experienced. With my young children and adults. They learn it quick and are always anxious to get back to the game. It’s also free with great support from the community and creator. There is no reason to ignore this title.

Great title. Full of mystery, inner magic and very original own mechanics.

You'll spend so much time figuring out how to rule certain mechanics & writing down your rulings to remember later that you won't really get to play the game itself. The game itself that consists of almost exclusively rolling tables, minimal options, & the flavor of a stale biscuit dipped in milk that's off by about 2 days.

There are other games that take the system Cairn is based on much better. Play those.

Great and simple game, perfect for beginners or if you want to jump into the game quickly

It just doesn't work really well at the table, in my experience.

An insane amount of worldbuilding and simplified processes to give away for free. Could be sold for 10 bucks and still be a steal.

Great product. Bare bones and straight to the point, makes for a fast start to a game.

Ótimas ferramentas para criação e desenvolvimento de regiões, masmorras e exploração através de point crawl!

Very well thought out and presented. Four our of five stars only because there is nothing on the intended setting, which would have been very nice.

Attack rolls are absent; instead, there are only damage rolls. Dodge and Block abilities have been combined into an "Armor" mechanism that directly reduces damage. PCs possess ten item slots, with injuries deducting these slots. When they run out of either HP or slots, they die. Only three abilities (STR/DEX/WIL) are present, solely used for checks (save), with no impact on HP or attack capabilities, among other abilities.

The rules are very light, which also means they are highly compatible. The game principles' intro is one of the finest OSR concept introductions I've found. Additionally, conversion materials are abundant for OSR adventures available on the official website.

The game rules are quite concise, so my praise will also be brief, but its merits extend far beyond that.

Attack rolls are absent; instead, there are only damage rolls. Dodge and Block abilities have been combined into an "Armor" mechanism that directly reduces damage. PCs possess ten item slots, with injuries deducting these slots. When they run out of either HP or slots, they die. Only three abilities (STR/DEX/WIL) are present, solely used for checks (save), with no impact on HP or attack capabilities, among other abilities.

The rules are very light, which also means they are highly compatible. The game principles' intro is one of the finest OSR concept introductions I've found. Additionally, conversion materials are abundant for OSR adventures available on the official website.

The game rules are quite concise, so my praise will also be brief, but its merits extend far beyond that.

Cairn is my go-to for a beginner-friendly D&D-like fantasy experience. It lends itself to solo, collaborative, or GM-driven gameplay. The core rules fit on just a few pages, and I found that players with a little bit of D&D knowledge picked it up no problem. It's easy to adapt scenarios for other systems to use Cairn.

It's very playable as is, with very little preparation, but it's also extremely adaptable as well.

I feel like it would also work well with a hex crawl adventure or a West Marches-style campaign with little effort, although I tend to run more focused scenarios.

If you like Cairn, you may like some of its descendants and relatives:

• Grave (a dark fantasy OSR with some Souls-like mechanics such as bonfires, an interesting alternative to permadeath while keeping a dark tone)
• Knave is very similar to Cairn but is classless, and is streamlined in someways and crunchier in others
• Monolith is, imo, the best science fiction OSR-like game out there. I am running the Gradient Descent campaign currently using Monolith, and my players are having a blast.

Cairn: 5 stars. Softcover: 1 star.

I highly recommended Cairn for those looking to rediscover the essence of RPGs. It's a classless system. You are what you can do. Simplicity is key. Adapting creatures, spells, and even combat mechanics is a seamless process. However, the magic system could benefit from further development.

The book cannot be open 180º on the table. I recommend buying the pdf, then print and staple it yourself. It'll be better.

I liked this game, it is very interesting, I recommend playing it.

Everything you need to run a Dungeon World one-shot - all the applicable rules focused in one place!