Knave Second Edition

by Ben Milton (Writing), Peter Mullen (Art), Kyle Latino (Maps)

Knave 2e is an exploration-driven fantasy RPG and worldbuilding toolkit, inspired by the best elements of the Old-School DnD movement.

This edition expands on the intuitive core of the original game, featuring elegant, modular subsystems for hexcrawling, dungeon delving, potion making and downtime activities, all in a 80-page digest-sized hardcover lavishly illustrated by Peter Mullen.

Genres: Role Playing Games, Fantasy, Gaming, Games, Reference

74 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly easy to pick up with lots of fun tables to generate monsters, locations, and even what potions can smell/taste like. It's much more collaborative than D&D and allows for better player involvement. Definitely worth a look!

[Paul Baldowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ben Milton's original Knave ran to a double-sided A4 sheet - as did Maze Rats, another heavily simplified game of old-school fantasy. Both benefited from a terse style that boiled the concepts of the fantasy gaming experience down to absolute essentials and supported that piquant gaming sauce with a liberal sprinkling of tables, rammed full of exciting flavour for your tabletop sessions.

The Second Edition takes that same approach in an 80-page A5 format. Of that page count, tables make up just under half (38 pages), and the core rules appear comfortably presented on the front and endpapers of the hardback. It's undeniable that Ben has had an influence through Knave and Maze Rats, but I came away from reading this slim volume knowing that I would never run the game.

I will use the tables. Knave is a worthy pick-up for anyone seeking a great collection of tables for fantasy games, just as I would recommend Paul Gallagher's "Augmented Reality" for cyberpunk and post-human games (and it gets a reference in the Designer's Commentary at the end of the book).

I also think anyone looking to write their own game should get a copy of Knave to see how to focus on communicating concepts and presenting a particular set of values. Into The Odd does a similar job—though I think Chris McDowall has a better approach, if only because I came away from ITO knowing I had to run it, whereas Knave has not had the same effect on me.

I think it's a 4-star for content but a 3-star for use—3.5 stars overall, which Goodreads won't allow me! I got to the end of the book and didn't want to dash it to a tabletop. It's good, and I will reference the tables, but I don't see myself ever running it—though I have run Maze Rats in the past.

I loved the presentation and the art. Peter Mullens kicks ass with fantastic imagery throughout. I like the design decision to confine concepts/rules within spreads for ease of reference.

[Pádraic]

I'll never use this as-is, because I think it's a little too workmanlike and uninspired, too bitty and detail-focused for me. I also don't think the way it handles encounters (a core part of this genre of game) is at all interesting. But I'm still glad I have it, because its selection of random tables is top-tier. If you combined them with the ones in Worlds Without Number you'd have everything you need to make a world for your players to adventure in.

[Lumipate · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the game itself is very simple and the resolution system is not exactly my favorite, the wealth of advice and, most of all, the amount of random tables, are worth their weight in gold.

Ever since I got the book, it accompanies me to any fantasy game I run, no matter the system.

[Billy Kid · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ruleset for my next OSR campaign, Ben Milton strikes again. The tables in this book are a goldmine, so I implemented them on this page here with my own composite rolls for ease-of-use, whether during session prep or at the table.

[Jeremy Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is currently on my desk and in my bag constantly. A great tool kit of wonder.

[James Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among the best. Truly elegant system. I'd like to see an advanced Knave.

[Ben Gutteridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably 4.5
I question some of the choices here (Charisma for initiative? Wisdom for ranged attacks? DCs starting at 16? 'Coin'?) but I massively respect the commitment to a lightweight OSR system. There are a lot of great ideas here to steal (maneuvers and power attacks, item slot wounds, getting rid of ability scores, falling rules, hazards), great art, a nice section discussing design choices at the back, *really great tables* applicable to any system. I'd probably still recommend the Shadowdark Quickstart set over this for brand new players, but I would /probably/ recommend this over 5e. 80 pages! This guy respects my time!

[Ethan Knierim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whilst I have yet to test-out the system, the tables are a wonderfully practical resource which receive plenty of use in my games. (I own both hardcover variants of this book.)