Forgotten Lands, An OSR GLOGhack Made By J.N. Sinombre

22 Aug, 2025

Introduction

This is a GLOGhack, or a TTRPG system inspired by The GLOG and every other GLOGhack ever made. And UVG. And Wolves Upon The Coast. I am making it because I want to have one of my own.

Base Mechanics

Most rolls are d20+Stat Modifier+Diff Modifier+[any other modifiers]. The Difficulty modifier is higher, the easier the action is. They range from 10 (easy) through 7 (average) and 4 (Hard) all the way up to 0 (almost impossible). You want to roll 20 or higher to succeed.

If your result is 18 or 19, you may succeed at a cost - in the case of an attack it is exposing yourself, giving advantage on attacks aimed at you until the start of your next round. In other cases, it's usually some sort of an injury or humiliation. It should not be lethal, but the degree of consequences should be higher the harder the action is. Use your discernment.

When a roll has advantage, you roll two dice and pick the higher result. When a roll has disadvantage, you roll two dice and pick the lower result. Both can stack, adding one more dice. They also cancel out.

Statistics

You have 6 statistics. They are generated by rolling 3d6 for each one, in order, just like Gygax intended. Each provides a modifier, derived with the following formula: (Stat/2)-5, rounding towards 0.

You add your STRength modifier to the number of physical items you may carry, as well as to hitting with your melee weapons. If it is 2 or more, add 1 to the damage you deal with your melee weapons.

You add your DEXterity modifier to your to-hit with ranged weapons, as well as to the fleeing throws. If it is 2 or more, add 1 to the damage you deal with your ranged weapons.

You add your CONstitution modifier to your max HP, as well as to saving throws against poisons and other exertions.

You add your WISdom modifier to saving throws against magical attacks, as well as to the initiative checks.

You add your INTelligence modifier to the number of mental items you may carry, as well as to rolls for gathering rumours.

You add your XHArisma modifier to reaction rolls towards you (or rather the GM does, behind their screen, make sure that they have it written down) as well as to any roll of your choice, once per session, to represent a moment of luck.

You also have Armour Class (AC) - it is 9 if you are unarmored, 7 if you are lightly armoured, 5 if you are in medium armour and 3 if you are in heavy armour. Try to keep armour time-period-appropriate, please. Also, substract 1 from your AC if you have a shield.

You also have HP - set it to 4+CON on the first level. It's a thing that helps you stay alive, further explained later.

Level

The basis of your character's power. Raised by earning experience. Each level up to 4 gives you a Hope Dice (HD). Those are 1d6 unless stated otherwise.

Each time you level, roll your HD and set your Hope Points (HP) to the value if it is larger, or if the value rolled is smaller than your current max HP, then instead add 1 to your max HP. You may raise a statistic of your choice by 2 on each level up.

Each level up to 4 also gives you another template of your class, which is chosen at character creation. If you want more abilities/powers than that, go and find them in the world. You may get more HD, but not while remaining fully human.

You level up at every 480 XP gained. You gain 1 XP per every Silver Shilling (SS) taken out of a dungeon. You also gain 160 XP every time you get married, gain land or train under a different master. If you try to abuse these, the GM will get very mad.

Equipment Slots And Encumbrance

You gain 10+STR equipment slots. Each slot can hold a thing. Some things are small and may be bundles, but bundles are usually harder to access than individual items. For each of the following descriptors, an item takes up an additional slot: heavy, cumbersome, fragile, alive. A human is usually all of these. For each item over the limit, take a -1 penalty to all actions. If it reaches -5, you can not move. Exhaustion is an item, which may be discarded only after lunch (1), short rest (1d6) and a long rest (all).

You also gain 10+INT memory slots. Each can hold a mental item: those may be emotional states, languages, skills, curses, spells, traumas or other weird abilities. If you are overburdened. For each item over the limit, take a -1 penalty to all actions. If it reaches -5, you go stark raving mad.

Money

1 Golden Crown (GC) = 2 Halfcrowns (HC) = 2.5 Electrum Florins (FL) = 5 Silver Shillings (SS) = 20 Threepences (3P) = 30 Twopences (2P) = 60 pences ℗ = 120 Halfpences (HP) = 240 Quarterpences (QP). 1 Occultum Emperor (OC) = 49 Golden Crowns

9 pences is a labourer's average daily wage. 1 Florin is a skilled person's average daily wage. You can carry 100 coins in one inventory slot.

The value of money is based on the metal they are made out of. If you want to get a Halfcrown you may just break a Crown in half. There are faces of long-dead emperors on the coins, but no one cares about them anymore. Sometimes, a local lord makes their own new money - they usually enforce its usage then, buying up other coins at a horribly low price, forcing you to use their own in their land.

Violence

In the beginning of murdering, divide the combatants into "teams". Each team rolls 1d10+WIS of the WISest member. The one with the higher value goes first. If they tie, the group with the higher modifier goes first. If they have the same WIS modifier, toss a coin or something.

An attack roll is a roll like any other, treating the AC as a Difficulty Modifier. If you succeed, you deal the damage defined by your weapon: light weapons deal 2d6 (take lowest), medium weapons deal 1d6, heavy weapons deal 2d6 (take highest). Most weapons also have other special effects defined in the equipment section.

In combat, distance between people is measured in the following increments: breath (fists, daggers), arm (other melee weapons), throw (throwing weapons, bows and pistols), shot (bows, rifles and pistols), eye (rifles and similiar long-range weapons). Eyeball it. Generally, you can move 1 of these closer or further away from someone each round for free, or 2 if it's all your doing in this action. Eye is the exception, getting there or out of there taking up a whole round. Using a weapon in closer range than it is intended is done at disadvantage. Using a weapon further than it is intended is impossible without magic.

Getting Hurt

Hope Points are the measure of your character's endurance, luck, determination and anything else that keeps them from getting seriously hurt. They are depleted by things that hurt you, or steal your Hope. Once you're out of them, you're getting really hurt. Roll 1d10+[Damage Left After Reducing your HP Below 0]+[Injuries Present] and consult the table below that fits the type/location of damage the most. Injuries are items held in your inventory until cured (scars stay forever, however they may only take up 1 slot per limb). Gaining any injury also gives you a point of exhaustion.

Arm (1-2)

Leg (3-4)

Torso (5-7)

Noggin (8)

Psychic (instead of injuries it causes traumas that remain in your mental inventory)

Burn (roll for location as with normal wounds)

Explosion

Magic (for spells that do not have another type of damage, these injuries do not cause infections and curses go into your mental inventory)

Infection

("strongly inspired" by Alex, The Magnificent Doctor After risking infection (recieving an injury from a weapon that breaks the skin, or having such a wound exposed to various nasty shit) roll 1d6. If it rolls 5-6, increase your infection's nastiness by 1. Add 1d6 per any of the following(these are examples, more are possible):

• Already suffering from an illness (includes another infection) or exhaustion (3 or more points)
• In an unsanitary environment (jungle, sewer, stuff like that)
• From a particularly filthy attack (arrows covered in shit and dead meat, the jaws of a beast that eats men)
• The wound is left unbandaged
• Something is lodged in the wound

Remove 1d6 per any of the following(again, non-exhaustive):

• The wound is quickly dressed with a clean bandage
• An antiseptic is applied early
• Healing magic is used early

Wound infection has 4 stages:

1. Localised Infection.
2. Established Infection.
3. Gangrene.
4. Sepsis.

The rate of progression depends on the strength of your infection: every 7-[Nastiness] days roll the number of dice equal to the Nastiness of your infection. If there is a 5-6 result increase the stage by 1. If there are none, and there is a 1, decrease the stage by 1.

Localized infection

The affected part of the body is inflammed, as the body attempts to fight off the invaders. No penalties, for now.

Established Infection

Pus flows through bandages, the pain is horrible, your body shakes in fever. Leg: your speed is halved. Arm: any activities with the affected limb have disadvantage due to pain and swelling. Torso: temporarily lose one hit die. Head: automatically go last in initiative order.

Gangrene

The limb affected becomes useless, your body losing the fight. The limb needs to be amputated, and it will never work - if it's head or the torso, you instead lose 4 points in a random physical (torso) or mental (head) statistic.

Sepsis

Lethal in 1 day without miracles or antibiotics (they're also miracles). Possibly lethal even with them. Pass an Average CON test to do anything until death.

Fighting The Infection

• Clean Bandages (prevent the wound getting dirty, especially if regularly changed). 1 bandage per wound per day.
• Antiseptic-soaked Bandages (soaked in honey and wine, allow you to ignore 5 on dice when rolling against infection). 1 bandage per wound per day.
• Scraping: Removal of infected tissue - decreases the stage of a localized or established infection by 1, lowers your Max HP by 1 permanently (double if done using improvised tools, double again if done by a person who is not experienced with medicine. After it is done, roll for infection again. Requires a sharp knife.
• Amputation: Removal of the infected limb. Obviously only possible in case of limbs, not head or torso. If performed by a layperson has 1-in-6 chance of lethality - a trained surgeon lowers it to 1-in-12. After it is done, roll for infection again. Requires a bonesaw.

Getting Better

A lunch recovers 1d6+CON HP, taking up 1 dungeon turn(requires a ration of food and remaining unmolested for 1 turn). You may have 1 lunch per short rest. A short rest recovers full HP (and probably your class resources, unless they require more effort in which case they're probably a thing for a long rest), taking up 8 hours (requires a ration of food and remaining unmolested for 1 turn). You may have a number of short rests equal to your HD+1 before needing a long rest (which requires a week in a relatively safe place - you may work during it, but can't be in any dangerous situations).

Items

Weapons

If a weapon's name is in italics, it is light (taking up 1/3 of a slot when bundled and dealing the lower die of 2d6 in damage). If it is bold it is heavy, taking up 2 slots and dealing the higher of 2d6 in damage.

Armour

Armour provides you the stated AC, taking up 1 fewer slot than stated when worn. It causes issues when it makes sense in the fiction - while a person in full plate may still easily run around, it is going to be much harder to squeeze through tight spaces or swim through a river.

• Number of slots does not decrease when worn, takes up 1 arm when used to raise AC, but it can be tied to your arm so you can use both hands, you just lose its benefits while you do so.

Other gear

There is also other equipment (this list is not exhaustive and stated uses are just examples - prices are approximations and people will probably try to haggle, if something is rare in an area it will get even more expensive):

Hirelings are people willing to take risks in return for money. The wages depend on their skills and how much is expected of them: in general, people want 1 SS (and their needs provided for) per day for travelling with you, adding 1 SS per:

• Risk of death or injury
• Useful Skill held by them
• Uncomfortable condition

Some hirelings may work for other things than money.

Thoughts

Otherwise called mental equipment, they are held in your mind. They may be used just like other equipment: you start with a language (add an extra one if your INT modifier is positive) and a skill that fits your class (most classes give one). The language lets you communicate, the skill lets you do things related to it without rolling if you are safe and have time, and gives you a +2 bonus to rolls if you are not safe and it fits. It doesn't work in combat.

You may gain a skill/language after a month of training with someone who knows it well.

Other thoughts that may be held in your brain are spells (with spell slots given by classes serving as special slots that can hold only them), curses (laid by various foul magics, causing you issues), traumas (like exhaustion, but long-term) and Feelings.

Feelings are gained in situations of strong feelings: moments of love or hatred, moments of great success or failure. Write them down as short, one-sentence descriptions of what happened. When in a reasonably similiar situation, you may spend one to gain advantage on one check in it.

Miscellaneous Procedures

Reaction Rolls

When you are not sure of how a creature will react to the players, their behavior or propositions, roll 2d6. You may modify it based on looks, reputation and behavior. You should modify it based on the XHA modifier of the person on the front of the party. The results are:

In cases where a reaction would be obvious, do not roll. If a creature has its own reaction roll provided, use it instead.

Morale

Both enemies and allies of the player characters may falter when faced with overwhelming odds, such as ambush, loss of a leader, or facing an enemy that seems to overpower them. In those cases, they must roll their morale value or less on 2d6. The default morale value is 8, and assume such when not stated.

Overworld Travel

The height of each hex is assumed to be 10 km, or 6.2137 miles.

Moving on foot without a path in rough terrain lets you move ~10 km per day.

Moving on foot without a path lets you move ~20 km per day.

Moving on foot with a path lets you move ~30 km per day.

You may increase them by forcing yourself (giving you a penalty of -2 to all checks for the next day).

Having a mount doesn’t really speed you up as they get tired, and wagons are actually slower than just walking (but they let you carry more stuff, go to the Equipment section).

Every day and every night an encounter check should be made with a 1d6. 1 means an encounter, rolled from the local encounter table, or made up by the GM. 2 means an omen of an encounter, meaning tracks and clues that may be used to know that a certain kind of creature is nearby, and that lead to it when followed.

When encountered, creatures have a 2-in-6 chance of being surprised or surprising the players (roll these separately, groups may bump into each other by accident), unless it is stated otherwise.

The encounter begins at a distance of shot if in conditions of lowered visibility, or at a distance of eye if at high visibility. If both parts are surprised, it instead begins at a distance of throw.

In dungeons, the encounter begins at a distance of throw. If both parts are surprised, it instead begins at a distance of arm.

Timekeeping in Dungeons

Each Dungeon Turn (or just Turn) is 10 minutes. Each turn, roll a 1d6. On 1, roll for encounters according to the dungeon’s tables. On a 2, roll for an omen.

Darkness

It is all encompassing underground. Without a source of light, you hit only on a 20 on a 1d20 roll. On a 1 you instead hit one of your comrades. With two weeks of intense practice with your eyes tied, you may learn to instead make normal attacks while in darkness, even so you'll still roll them at disadvantage.

Dungeon Actions

1 Turn of searching a room is enough to find anything a cursory search may find. 1d6 Turns of searching let you completely ransack a room, making sure that there are no hidden passages or treasures left.

1 Turn of Movement is enough to move ~80 m while checking for traps and avoiding leaving trails that could lead your enemies to you. You do not want to move faster, but if you do, you can move at a pace of ~500 m. This makes a lot of noise.

Class List

Trapper, who can lead the party through wilderness and keep them alive even after rations run out.

Firebearer, who carries the flame of hope through the dark places of the world, supporting their party and setting foes aflame.

Mithraditist, who uses various poisons on themself for protection, on friends for healing, and on foes for their usual use.

Warlord, who is a fighter that leads other warriors towards victory

Counselor, who prevents violence with their words and gives good advice

Spirit-Talker, who calls up the spirits of the surrounding world, using them to do their bidding

Sage, who knows too much for their own good, having travelled the world and learned a bit of it all.

Cleric, who worships The Authority and recieves miracles in return. Can also crack non-believer's skulls.

Specialist, cause we all need a good burglar sometimes.

Giant Pretender, who becomes a giant through hard work and perseverence.

Post Scriptum

Great thanks to Effendi An-TiTime, for his great help with this hack.

#GLOG #System