Today, we have the pleasure of presenting the review of Raiders of the Forlorn God, an adventure for Old-School Essentials. The game module is illustrated by Veronica Wu and written by Andrea Tupac Mollica, whom we thank for sending us a digital copy.
Those who found this review interesting can purchase the manual on DriveThruRPG on the page of Hellwinter Forge of Wonders, Andrea’s independent label. The PDF costs $2.99, just over €2.50, and includes both a colour and a printer-friendly version, as well as a dedicated soundtrack created by the author. It is worth noting when purchasing that, even though it is an Italian product, it is written in English.
Raiders of the Forlorn God: Review of an OSR Module
Raiders of the Forlorn God is an OSR module designed for Old-School Essentials but compatible with almost all systems based on B/X and BECMI. This once again confirms Andrea as one of the most prolific and talented authors on the Italian scene. The adventure is conceived for mid-level characters (4–6) and represents a claustrophobic and ritualistic expedition into the depths of a lost cenotaph, built around the chained corpse of a primordial god.
The tone is typical of Hellwinter Forge of Wonders’ works: metaphysical darkness, cosmic horror, and Andrea’s meticulous game design. There is no room for narrative comfort or classical heroism: every element of the module is risky, ambiguous, and somehow deviant. As in Sword of the Dragonslayer or Tales of the Wolfguard, the author places the group before moral and religious dilemmas rather than a series of classic challenges. Veronica Wu’s contribution on pencils is precious — she excels at transforming the typically OSR atmospheres of this module into images.
A Bit of Context
The world surrounding Raiders of the Forlorn God is only hinted at, yet sufficient to evoke a larger, more desperate universe. The village of Greyven, the starting point of the adventure, is a crossroads of superstitions, ex-missionaries, and deserters living in the shadow of the mountain that conceals the tomb. Here, the name of the forgotten god is forbidden, but his cult survives in small, haunting traces.
As usual, our reviews are spoiler-free, but there is still much to say about the gameplay experience offered by Raiders of the Forlorn God. We find an atmosphere dense with mysticism: relics, inscriptions, ancient artefacts. The cenotaph itself, the Prison of the Forgotten God, is a microcosm of ruin and corrupted faith. The dungeon is alive: it breathes, folds upon itself, and punishes those who linger too long. It is not just a place: it is a dying deity that continues to dream, and every explorer is an infection in its sacred body.
The aesthetic tone is that of weird fantasy contaminated by ritual gothic. Broken icons, temples filled with moss and rust, sentient relics, and walls that ooze sacred oil. Veronica Wu illustrates all this with rough lines, the seemingly simple stroke typical of OSR works. The colour choices — based on the contrast between the neutral, delicate background and the red of maps and bold text — are particularly functional, as well as serving as a unifying trait common to all works by Hellwinter Forge of Wonders.
Raiders of the Forlorn God: Review of the Adventure
The adventure is divided into three main sections.
The village of Greyven serves as an introduction and logistical base. Here the PCs can obtain information, alliances, and the first signs of the god’s power.
The Wilderness, a short stretch of exploration including rival cults, corrupted pilgrims, and omens.
The Cenotaph of the Forgotten God, a multi-level dungeon combining puzzles, horror, and religion in a crescendo of paranoia. This is obviously the main environment, given the strong emphasis the OSR school places on dungeons.
Each environment is described with surgical clarity: a few lines, but precise, accompanied by icons and connection schemes. Andrea constructs the dungeon as a logical organism, where every element serves a purpose — including the characters’ mistakes. Of particular significance are the Godchains; but on that, we shall give no further hints.
Rules and Design
The module uses the rules of Old-School Essentials, so it is based on all the classic elements of the d20 system, including puzzles and the need to analyse every single element of every single room. Exploration is essential if one hopes to survive the dungeon. Every challenge is not conceived as “a monster to defeat,” but as a riddle to understand or avoid.
The manual offers seven pre-generated characters to choose from to face the adventure: a ranger, an elf, a dwarf, a halfling, a magic-user, a cleric, and a thief. These are classic elements of the game and the fantasy genre, yet they are characterised broadly enough to allow each player to personalise their chosen character based on a minimal background.
Conclusions of the Review of Raiders of the Forlorn God
Raiders of the Forlorn God is a small gem of OSR design: coherent, cruel, and meticulous. In Andrea Tupac Mollica’s classic style, everything is carefully calibrated, requiring immersion and attention from the players — and a certain predisposition to tragedy. The reward is a classic adventure with a modern and compelling sensitivity.
Andrea confirms himself as one of the most solid and self-aware OSR designers around, capable of merging mechanical simplicity with symbolic depth. Veronica Wu elevates it all with illustrations that resemble lithographs from an impure dream.
Raiders of the Forlorn God can be enjoyed by everyone, but for fans of the OSR genre, it is simply unmissable.
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