You are a failure.

You have no home.

You have no job.

You have no friends.

You have no family.

You have no prospects.

What you do have are a handful of pennies, a blithe disregard for your own life, and a particular set of skills. The kind of skills that make respectable folks avoid you. 

Out there, beyond civilization, lies danger: monsters and magic and  ancient ruins pregnant with treasure. Death is likely, but what did you  have to live for anyway? At least out there is the chance to make  something of yourself, and maybe even get back at those who wronged you. This is no life for decent folk, but you’re not decent folk. You are an Errant.

What is Errant?

Errant is a classic fantasy role-playing game in the vein of the first few editions of that role-playing game and its many imitators and descendants such as Knave, Into the Odd, and The Black Hack. It is freely compatible with material for all those games as well as the newest edition of that role-playing game, with conversion guides provided within.

Errant is designed with the following principles in mind.

• Keep it Simple, Stupid – No math above a 2nd grade level necessary.
• Cut to the Chase – The procedures in Errant are designed to create a gameplay experience in which the smallest possible time between meaningful decisions is maintained.
• Active, not Passive – To that end, player abilities are designed around the player making active choices, not receiving passive bonuses. Even using armour to defend is a choice!
• Options, not Proscriptions – All rules and procedures in Errant are intended as guidance, to provide a toolbox for play. Rules are written to be open-ended, extendable, and use natural language wherever possible. We trust you to make good decisions.

What makes Errant unique?

Errant is rules light, procedure heavy.

What does that mean? Well, it means that the rules you need to play Errant are simple to understand and minimal. At its core, the basic mechanic is to simply roll a twenty-sided die and try to get a result that’s in between two numbers (“roll high under” or “blackjack”) to resolve tasks.

However, Errant has a number of procedures that are designed to help you navigate different play situations in fair and interesting ways. Want to know how to run an exciting chase scene, or establish a fried cockatrice restaurant, or sue a demon for emotional negligence? Errant has procedures that can help you do that!

Procedures are not rules, but neither are they vague, general guidance. They provide a framework to structure the game, and can be adjusted, ignored, hacked, mangled, broken, stolen, or seasoned to taste.

While designed to be more comprehensive than the lightweight rulesets of many newer old-school role-playing games, all the rules and procedures of Errant are streamlined for ease of use and understanding. They have been hammered into shape by five years of rigorous playtesting. Every rule or procedure within the book has come into contact with a live player, and has changed as a result.

Third Party License

Errant is offered under the Waylaid by Errant license for any creators who wish to create their own works compatible with or built off the system.

Physical Copies

Physical copies of Errant are available on the Kill Jester store and elsewhere.

Files

Your download of Errant comes with a variety of files.

• The full-art PDF, which is bookmarked, hyperlinked, and tested with screen readers, available in both pages and spread formats
• A simplified layout PDF, optimised for screen readers, with alt-text in place of images
• A no-art version of the PDF
• A two-page character sheet, designed by emmy verte.

The simplified layout and no-art versions of the PDF are also available for free.