Translating the punishing, trial-and-error gameplay of video games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring to the tabletop is notoriously difficult. Independent publisher By Odin’s Beard has managed to capture that exact magic with Runecairn, a tabletop roleplaying game designed specifically for one-on-one (one Warden and one Adventurer) or solo play.
Now, Bundle of Holding has launched the Runecairn Bundle, offering the complete post-Ragnarok Norse fantasy line alongside We Deal in Lead, a weird-West RPG dripping with Stephen King’s Dark Tower vibes. Both games are built on a streamlined, classless system inspired by Yochai Gal’s Cairn rules and lean heavily into the OSR spirit.
Runecairn Collection – $9.95
There are no levelling thresholds for this bundle. A single payment of $9.95 (retail value $52) grants you all five titles in the collection as DRM-free ebooks:
- Runecairn Wardensaga (The complete core rulebook, including a built-in delve generator and solo oracle)
- Runecairn Bestiary (A massive supplement adding 100 new monsters inspired by Norse mythology)
- Into the Nine Realms (A collection of 16 self-contained one-page dungeons)
- We Deal in Lead (A party-based weird-West gunslinging RPG, including a custom 6-track soundtrack)
- Midnight of the Century Primer (An introductory quickstart for an upcoming 1990s occult serial killer investigation game)
Runecairn Wardensaga places you in the ruins of the Nine Realms long after the gods destroyed each other in Ragnarok. The game brilliantly adapts the “Soulslike” formula for the tabletop: if your character falls in combat, they do not stay dead. Instead, they respawn at the last Bonfire they rested at, though at the expense of their Vigour. Monsters also respawn, and the game even features mechanics for other realms “invading” your world. Because there are no character classes, your combat tactics are defined entirely by the weapons and equipment you carry.
If Norse fantasy is not your preferred genre, the bundle also includes We Deal in Lead. This game takes the core mechanics of Runecairn and adapts them for group play in “The Drifted World.” You play as an Order of Gunslingers defending the wasteland against bandits, monstrous machines, and horrors bubbling up from slip doors to other worlds.
Between the solo tools, the one-on-one focus of Runecairn, and the group dynamics of We Deal in Lead, this bundle offers a highly versatile OSR toolkit for any table size.
This offer fades back into the mist at midnight at the International Date Line on Tuesday, 28 April. Rest at the bonfire and secure your DRM-free ebooks before the bundle vanishes.
