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Through the Hedgerow: A Roleplaying Game of Rustic Fantasy
A fantasy roleplaying game of hope and heroism in which gifted mortals and fay creatures fight across time in an eternal battle for the soul of the countryside.
Through the Hedgerow is a fantasy roleplaying game of time travel and supernatural adventure set in the hidden world of the countryside. As Knights of the Briar Company, you are Champions of the Light, charged with protecting the soul and magic of the land against the agents of the Dark, who seek only destruction and chaos. This eternal battle is fought throughout history, from the war-torn Dark Ages and 17th Century to the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution and World War Two. As one of the Fay – sorcerous birds, animated scarecrows, intelligent spiders, and other beings – you may be sworn to defend humanity. Or, as a mortal marked by destiny and plucked from your own time, you might be caught up in this struggle. One way or another, you must step through the hedgerow to face the Darkness…
Through the Hedgerow uses an innovative Checks & Challenges system that encourages players to contribute to the unfolding narrative, and which makes wits, imagination, charm, and mysticism as important to overcoming problems as combat. Seek out powerful magical treasures, safeguard legendary locations, and outwit and outfight the servants of the Dark – wicked Fay lords, fanatical witch hunters, scheming hags, and the brooding Raven Margrave whose undead hordes bring death to the land…
Through the Hedgerow is a fantasy roleplaying game of time travel and supernatural adventure set in the hidden world of the countryside. As Knights of the Briar Company, you are Champions of the Light, charged with protecting the soul and magic of the land against the agents of the Dark, who seek only destruction and chaos. This eternal battle is fought throughout history, from the war-torn Dark Ages and 17th Century to the upheaval of the Industrial Revolution and World War Two. As one of the Fay – sorcerous birds, animated scarecrows, intelligent spiders, and other beings – you may be sworn to defend humanity. Or, as a mortal marked by destiny and plucked from your own time, you might be caught up in this struggle. One way or another, you must step through the hedgerow to face the Darkness…
Through the Hedgerow uses an innovative Checks & Challenges system that encourages players to contribute to the unfolding narrative, and which makes wits, imagination, charm, and mysticism as important to overcoming problems as combat. Seek out powerful magical treasures, safeguard legendary locations, and outwit and outfight the servants of the Dark – wicked Fay lords, fanatical witch hunters, scheming hags, and the brooding Raven Margrave whose undead hordes bring death to the land…
272 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2024
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April 9, 2026How? My Osprey collection and read project. (Also did this so I could rank all the games they made, which I might as well repeat here.)
What? In this game, you play warriors chosen by the light to fight the dark across 4 different periods of British history: Danish invasion, English civil war, 1840s industrialization, and the Blitz. And you can be a child, a wizard, some fairy folk, a bugbear, an animated scarecrow, etc. And each era of history has some particular big bad to work against: the crow goddess, the witches and the witchfinders, the evil gentry ("feral squires"). There's mythic sites, old gods, Elder Lore, different patrons and different spells for the four suits of a card/tarot deck. Oh, and all the random tables are d20 but also for 20 Tarot cards (a Taroc deck).
That's all the setting and it's really flavorful and interesting. Rowe (author) gives his inspiration, but if you know Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, and Doctor Who, you can't unsee it.
And then there's the system, which I'll say right off the bat is so inscrutable to me that I watched an actual play GM'ed by the author. Here's the basic system: you have traits (and also a doom die) that you can roll against a challenge die, and if you don't meet it, you take that damage against your resolve points. Oh, but also if one of you comes up with a scheme, you can use your scheme die. Oh, but also there's a Nemesis die that tracks how close the Nemesis of the age is to coming out to stop you (which would be bad). And then to regain points, there's a respite, and some types of characters or ages provide free respites, but otherwise the nemesis die increases. (So: don't take too many naps.) Oh, but other dice can also increase or decrease, either for a single roll or for a whole adventure.
Oh, and the start of the adventure -- reminding me of the Whispering Vault -- is a very structured affair where you get lost in a hedgerow (or similar maze) and see visions of the adventure to come.
Oh, and there's oaths that some characters take and the light imposes another oath or Ban on you when it calls, so you can't break that or the nemesis die advances (I think).
The book is hefty and comes with an intro adventure (generated through random rolls): in the age of swords, an old warrior regrets helping his dead friend's soft kid from becoming mayor and using money to pay off the Danes; the old warrior is excavating a Roman ruin that holds treasure and an undead monster. How can you stop him?
Yeah, so? As might be obvious, I'm really into the setting. In a way, this is the book I wanted Romance of the Perilous Lands to be, since it's so steeped in some British folkways. But at the same time, the system is both inscrutable to me and inextricable from the setting. This is a game where sneaking through the tavern or convincing a child that you're. safe might be as dangerous as fighting some undead skeletons.
I think I just have to play it.
Catch-up: No one needs it, no one asked for it, no one can use it, but
My Rankings of Osprey RPGs (missing the last two they just put out, hint, hint)
GREAT
Untamed Worlds -- system looks solid and just the right heaviness, laser focus on the story it wants to tell is ++
Through the Hedgerow — I’m watching the author GM an actual play and I just about get the system, so take this with a grain of salt, but time traveling battles against the Dark just sings -- and I’ve never even read Susan Cooper
GOOD
Gran Meccanismo -- clockpunk renaissance Italy city-state subterfuge setting, system might be too loosey-goosey
Heirs to Heresy -- play knights on the run! Solid premise, though I found material about running adventures to be a little thin. (Faith & Fear, the supplement, is a little slight -- a few more knightly orders and magicks, a few adventure/seeds)
Urban Decay -- the premise of this game is so ridiculously narrow -- it's 70s exploitation + side-scrolling beat-em-up arcade games -- but it hits that premise so hard it almost makes me want to play.
ALMOST THERE
Tomorrow city -- a weird post-war dieselpunk city noir -- which is promising but might be too much, too many tropes
The Terror Beneath -- Machen is a fine idea for horror, but this game ends up a little light on setting (and the focus on folk horror makes it seem more general)
Jackals -- Bronze age fantasy roleplaying in a sorta Levant with a monster empire that was just beaten back. (Author has an MA in theology with a focus on Biblical languages, so.) The fight system feels too heavy for me for this. (It's the same as in Urban Decay, but there that's all the game is! I even watched the author GM an actual play to make sure I got it.) (Supplements: Travellers on the War Road adds more character options and info — skip. Fall of the Children of Bronze is a big campaign — or is it really a bunch of adventures that are pretending to be a campaign?)
Paleomythic — stone & sorcery game, with beast people still living in the ruins. I like a lot of this — traits are both your dice pool and your HP — but I’m not sure I’m sold on this particular version of fantasy Stone Age.
THERE’S BETTER GAMES OUT THERE FOR THIS
Those Dark Places / Pressure -- author mentions Outland / Alien many times, so you know what this "death in space" game is about. Is it the best "death in space" game out there? i don't think so. (That's probably Mothership right now.)
Hard city -- hilariously, by the same guy who did Tomorrow City, but now it's just a straight 40s noir. That's fine! I don't see this being an easy sell to most gamers
Sigil & Shadow -- a toolbox for creating a modern occult game, which is fine if you need a toolbox
SKIP
Righteous Blood, Ruthless Blades — I love the idea of a Wuxia game, but the setting has that Elminster problem of too many and too powerful NPCs
Romance of the Perilous Land — it’s King Arthur, but in pre-Christian Britain (+ Robin Hood) — but it doesn’t really feel like much beyond a d20 fantasy game.
Crescendo of Violence — There’s (sorta) 3 different types of meta-currency for action resolution and so much ungameable background here about how we got this future that’s the 1940s again -- good notes in the game about how PCs can only die in Act 3 of this intentionally movie-paced game
What? In this game, you play warriors chosen by the light to fight the dark across 4 different periods of British history: Danish invasion, English civil war, 1840s industrialization, and the Blitz. And you can be a child, a wizard, some fairy folk, a bugbear, an animated scarecrow, etc. And each era of history has some particular big bad to work against: the crow goddess, the witches and the witchfinders, the evil gentry ("feral squires"). There's mythic sites, old gods, Elder Lore, different patrons and different spells for the four suits of a card/tarot deck. Oh, and all the random tables are d20 but also for 20 Tarot cards (a Taroc deck).
That's all the setting and it's really flavorful and interesting. Rowe (author) gives his inspiration, but if you know Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, and Doctor Who, you can't unsee it.
And then there's the system, which I'll say right off the bat is so inscrutable to me that I watched an actual play GM'ed by the author. Here's the basic system: you have traits (and also a doom die) that you can roll against a challenge die, and if you don't meet it, you take that damage against your resolve points. Oh, but also if one of you comes up with a scheme, you can use your scheme die. Oh, but also there's a Nemesis die that tracks how close the Nemesis of the age is to coming out to stop you (which would be bad). And then to regain points, there's a respite, and some types of characters or ages provide free respites, but otherwise the nemesis die increases. (So: don't take too many naps.) Oh, but other dice can also increase or decrease, either for a single roll or for a whole adventure.
Oh, and the start of the adventure -- reminding me of the Whispering Vault -- is a very structured affair where you get lost in a hedgerow (or similar maze) and see visions of the adventure to come.
Oh, and there's oaths that some characters take and the light imposes another oath or Ban on you when it calls, so you can't break that or the nemesis die advances (I think).
The book is hefty and comes with an intro adventure (generated through random rolls): in the age of swords, an old warrior regrets helping his dead friend's soft kid from becoming mayor and using money to pay off the Danes; the old warrior is excavating a Roman ruin that holds treasure and an undead monster. How can you stop him?
Yeah, so? As might be obvious, I'm really into the setting. In a way, this is the book I wanted Romance of the Perilous Lands to be, since it's so steeped in some British folkways. But at the same time, the system is both inscrutable to me and inextricable from the setting. This is a game where sneaking through the tavern or convincing a child that you're. safe might be as dangerous as fighting some undead skeletons.
I think I just have to play it.
Catch-up: No one needs it, no one asked for it, no one can use it, but
My Rankings of Osprey RPGs (missing the last two they just put out, hint, hint)
GREAT
Untamed Worlds -- system looks solid and just the right heaviness, laser focus on the story it wants to tell is ++
Through the Hedgerow — I’m watching the author GM an actual play and I just about get the system, so take this with a grain of salt, but time traveling battles against the Dark just sings -- and I’ve never even read Susan Cooper
GOOD
Gran Meccanismo -- clockpunk renaissance Italy city-state subterfuge setting, system might be too loosey-goosey
Heirs to Heresy -- play knights on the run! Solid premise, though I found material about running adventures to be a little thin. (Faith & Fear, the supplement, is a little slight -- a few more knightly orders and magicks, a few adventure/seeds)
Urban Decay -- the premise of this game is so ridiculously narrow -- it's 70s exploitation + side-scrolling beat-em-up arcade games -- but it hits that premise so hard it almost makes me want to play.
ALMOST THERE
Tomorrow city -- a weird post-war dieselpunk city noir -- which is promising but might be too much, too many tropes
The Terror Beneath -- Machen is a fine idea for horror, but this game ends up a little light on setting (and the focus on folk horror makes it seem more general)
Jackals -- Bronze age fantasy roleplaying in a sorta Levant with a monster empire that was just beaten back. (Author has an MA in theology with a focus on Biblical languages, so.) The fight system feels too heavy for me for this. (It's the same as in Urban Decay, but there that's all the game is! I even watched the author GM an actual play to make sure I got it.) (Supplements: Travellers on the War Road adds more character options and info — skip. Fall of the Children of Bronze is a big campaign — or is it really a bunch of adventures that are pretending to be a campaign?)
Paleomythic — stone & sorcery game, with beast people still living in the ruins. I like a lot of this — traits are both your dice pool and your HP — but I’m not sure I’m sold on this particular version of fantasy Stone Age.
THERE’S BETTER GAMES OUT THERE FOR THIS
Those Dark Places / Pressure -- author mentions Outland / Alien many times, so you know what this "death in space" game is about. Is it the best "death in space" game out there? i don't think so. (That's probably Mothership right now.)
Hard city -- hilariously, by the same guy who did Tomorrow City, but now it's just a straight 40s noir. That's fine! I don't see this being an easy sell to most gamers
Sigil & Shadow -- a toolbox for creating a modern occult game, which is fine if you need a toolbox
SKIP
Righteous Blood, Ruthless Blades — I love the idea of a Wuxia game, but the setting has that Elminster problem of too many and too powerful NPCs
Romance of the Perilous Land — it’s King Arthur, but in pre-Christian Britain (+ Robin Hood) — but it doesn’t really feel like much beyond a d20 fantasy game.
Crescendo of Violence — There’s (sorta) 3 different types of meta-currency for action resolution and so much ungameable background here about how we got this future that’s the 1940s again -- good notes in the game about how PCs can only die in Act 3 of this intentionally movie-paced game
April 10, 2026
In a time of fantasy and modern days…when you wander too far into the hedges and find yourself changed forever and drafted into a war you knew nothing about…
Through the Hedgerow: A Roleplaying Game of Rustic Fantasy by Jonathan Rowe is a weird game where you are just as likely to be familiar with dragon fire as spitfires…depending on the time you hail from…
The characters in this game are drawn from English historical periods and folklore.
This is very similar to the themes of Changeling the Lost and similar games.
You are a new soldier (or at least active participate adjacent) in the battles against the dark. Also, you may no longer be human…if you were ever human to begin with. You may not even be a person…but something else entirely that simply exists because of the magic in this realm…
Various backgrounds and classes exist…along with some curious magic inspired by the tarot…
This game theme is not for the casuals…and you may need to properly brief potential players that aren’t used to such a bold concept…
Through the Hedgerow: A Roleplaying Game of Rustic Fantasy by Jonathan Rowe is a weird game where you are just as likely to be familiar with dragon fire as spitfires…depending on the time you hail from…
The characters in this game are drawn from English historical periods and folklore.
This is very similar to the themes of Changeling the Lost and similar games.
You are a new soldier (or at least active participate adjacent) in the battles against the dark. Also, you may no longer be human…if you were ever human to begin with. You may not even be a person…but something else entirely that simply exists because of the magic in this realm…
Various backgrounds and classes exist…along with some curious magic inspired by the tarot…
This game theme is not for the casuals…and you may need to properly brief potential players that aren’t used to such a bold concept…
October 9, 2025
Beautiful artwork, a very elegant system, and overall excellent vibe.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews