Eldritch Gambit FAQ

This is the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Eldritch Gambit. Asking a question somewhere (i.e. Twitter, Discord, or Facebook) practically ensures it will end up here as well.

Where are the adventures?

• There is a sample adventure and guidelines for conversions in the actual book. I am currently working on an adventure called Boned, where you play as amnesic Skeletons seeking their way out of an extradimensional Oubliette.
• If you make your own adventures I will list and review them on this site. Eldritch Gambit is CC-by licensed so you don’t even need to ask me first.

Is this an Old-School-Renaissance (OSR) game?

• It is better described as how I like to play D&D style games, evolving since my first DM stints in the mid 80s. Eventually there were enough departures that it became its own thing. It’s development predates OSR principles and was never designed with them in mind, but they are the closest match.
• If you go by the Principia Apocrypha, it reflects some OSR-linked principles but not others. The Principia largely refers to how a game is run and played rather than the rules themselves, so judging a set of rules by it seems like an oblique comparison at best. That said;

• Your Table is Yours is a gimme, but very few games insist otherwise.
• Be an Impartial Arbiter: easily fits the spirit of the game and the advice in the Imp Guide section. The adherence to the “Rulings over Rules” subprinciple is mixed as the given Actions and Montages cover many common situations that would otherwise be left to fiat. On the other hand, they are just standing examples of such fiat rulings and not meant to be restrictive.
• Get Them Thinking: an easy yes overall. “XP for discovery and adversity” is mixed, as players could give their characters XP for just about anything. As a result there is no strict XP-for-treasure. Just the lack of XP-for-Treasure is enough for many to discount this from being an OSR entirely.
• Player Ingenuity over Character Ability: also fits the spirit of the game. Materia, Ephemera, and Artifacts make for unique and interesting tools to aid clever solutions to problems, and are not a fixed part of the character.
• Build Rocks and Hard Places while mostly a feature of the adventure, tough choices are coded in with the idea of Gambits, Staggers, the timing of actions such as Rallies, etc. On the other hand, it is much looser on keeping track of time, ammo, and distance than some tables like.
• Dice with Death: Eldritch Gambit is a low-HP game, moreso than many strict OSRs and combat can easily be deadly. There are no resurrection spells aside from plot events or powerful free-form Artifacts.
• Be Their World: Eldritch Gambit avoids perception/notice Checks like the plague, in favor of just generously describing what is there. It also supports the idea of collaborative worldbuilding and a world that moves on its own.

So yes on most points, mixed on others.

## If I put armor on, do I get the AP as HP right away?

• No, AP just goes towards your max HP, not current. You have to “grow into it” by Rallying. You do get to use your new armor’s Rally dice to do this however.