Few tabletop roleplaying games carry a history quite as legendary as HackMaster. What began in the late 1990s as a fictional running joke in Jolly Blackburn’s Knights of the Dinner Table comic strip quickly evolved into a real-world, award-winning fantasy tabletop roleplaying game. Kenzer and Company has since modernised the system into a serious, highly detailed, and uncompromising old-school experience in which characters start as humble peasants and must earn every scrap of glory through grit, smart tactics, and raw survival instinct.
With a brand-new 25th Anniversary Edition crowdfunding campaign launching soon on Kickstarter, Bundle of Holding has resurrected its classic 2016 offer. This revived collection presents the complete HackMaster Fifth Edition system, including all three core rulebooks, detailed setting guides, and introductory adventures, giving you everything needed to run a full campaign at a fraction of the original price.
Player Collection – $12.95
Paying the entry price of US$12.95 grants you five DRM-free digital titles valued at US$57 total, establishing all the foundational rules and options required to start playing.
- HackMaster Player’s Handbook (The complete 405-page core rulebook containing all ten races, 24 classes, skill systems, spells, and character options)
- Zealot’s Guide: Books 1-2 (Expands clerical options with six new faiths, 94 divine spells, and specialised weapons)
- In the Realm of the Elm King (An introductory adventure designed for 1st- to 2nd-level characters)
- Legacy of the Elm King (The direct follow-up scenario for 3rd- to 4th-level adventuring parties)
- HackMaster Player Resources (A comprehensive 103-page collection of quick-start rules, character creation guides, flowcharts, and interactive character sheets)
Gamemaster Collection
Beating the weighted threshold price (currently US$28.68) unlocks an additional three supplements valued at US$95, bringing the entire bundle total value to US$152.
- HackMaster GameMaster’s Guide (The 368-page referee manual packed with magic items, campaign advice, critical hit tables, non-player character rules, and encounter guidelines)
- Hacklopedia of Beasts (A 387-page creature catalogue complete with tactical advice, visual size comparisons, habitat maps, and yield stats)
- Frandor’s Keep (A detailed 160-page borderland outpost campaign setting featuring urban, wilderness, and dungeon adventure hooks for levels 1–5)
- HackMaster GM Resources (A 189-page digital toolkit featuring extra adventure modules, an interactive critical hit manual, and combat count-tracking software)
At its heart, HackMaster strips away modern superheroic power fantasies in favour of tactical depth and tangible consequences. The core mechanics abandon traditional turn-based initiative in place of a fluid, real-time count-up system where every action takes a specific number of seconds. Combat feels tense and physical; attacks involve opposed rolls, shields shatter under blow-force, dynamic knockbacks alter spacing, and wounds take actual weeks of in-game time to heal.
The world itself is grounded in the grit of medieval reality, set primarily within Kenzer’s well-established Kingdom of Kalamar setting. Magic demands precise control through spell points and levels, while character creation relies on building points, quirks, and flaws to ensure no two adventurers ever feel identical. It is an ideal ruleset for groups who love granular combat mechanics, detailed simulation, and the rewarding challenge of overcoming lethal odds through strategy rather than sheer character sheet stats.
This revived offer runs until midnight Pacific time on Thursday, 30 July. All files included in the offer are provided completely free of DRM, allowing you to transfer and read them across any device in your collection.
