Daniel (@dungeondive) previews a prototype of Slay the Dragon, an OSR-flavoured fantasy RPG from a Polish designer — with the practical complication that much of the box is still in Polish, so his read is based on the English basic rules he printed himself.
He learns the system by rolling a character on camera: attributes on d3s, ancestry, then an archetype that determines where on a single d20 skill table you roll. Low results give weapon proficiencies, the middle band roguish skills, the top magical ones — a random skill table he rates highly. His rogue ends up with no weapon proficiency at all, prompting a house rule he’d use solo.
Two systems get his attention. Combat is player-facing and works as an exchange of blows: you can deal damage while defending as well as attacking, which he thinks will keep it quick and convert well to solo. And treasure is drawn blind as tokens from a bag, too dangerous to sort mid-dungeon, then cashed in against charts once you’re out.
Supplies, tools and components are abstracted into ticks, with components spendable for advantage on spellcasting. Spells have no levels; each can be cast at three, costing more.
His main criticism is the absence of random tables and a proper bestiary — the things a low-prep GM or a soloist leans on. The standee expansions get an enthusiastic look.
Does abstracting rope, torches and rations into ticks improve dungeon crawling or hollow it out?