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A look Back: The Hermit’s Sanctuary

As part of the production of BEOWULF Age of Heroes, we wanted to both test out our ideas of how single player 5e could work, as well as giving everyone a chance to play it for themselves. And so we made The Hermit’s Sanctuary.

It’s a full-length adventure and at the last count it’s been downloaded 8000 times! It was nominated for two ENnie Awards on release (Best Electronic Book and Best Free Book), and you can grab your copy completely free exclusively at DrivethruRPG. It comes complete with pre-generated characters, battle maps and VTT tokens.


The best way to learn more is to grab the PDF for yourself. And why not treat yourself to the print book?


Get The Hermit’s Sanctuary here, FREE!
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A look back at: Bang and Twang

We’re taking a look back through the games and accessories we make in (roughly) chronological order! Today it’s Bang & Twang. 

This card game was the follow up to The Forest Dragon and is a much faster-paced game, with more competition between players. While it’s still wholesome stuff for folk of all ages, there’s a lot more “game” content in Bang & Twang. 

In the game, you take the role of folk musicians in the world of The Forest Dragon, duelling to keep up with the tune. 

At the heart of the game are 3 “riff cards” which on your turn can be individually flipped to show “Bang” or “Twang”. If you can match a sequence card from your 2 or 3 card hand, you can “bank it” for points at the end of the game. Other special tune cards allow you to make sneaky moves like stealing cards from your opponent’s banks. 

The game comes with 6 different sets of tune cards that change up gameplay. You can even play with more than one set of special cards for a longer more intense game once you get the hang of it.

You can download the rules and learn more about the game here. Or pick up a copy right now here.

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A look back 1: The Forest Dragon

We’ve had a bit of a rest from social media and blogging, but let’s get back into it with a wander through the things we make at Handiwork games! Beginning where we began with The Forest Dragon.


If you’d like to learn more about who we are, head on over to https://handiwork.games/about-us

There’s loads to see here on our website, so feel free to have a wander around. And be sure to sign up to our newsletter to get the latest news! https://handiwork.games/newsletter


While we’re now better known for our roleplaying games we started our journey with The Forest Dragon games – The Forest Dragon by Rory Age 9 and The Forest Dragon Bang and Twang. Let’s look at The Forest Dragon first.

The Forest Dragon’s page

The Forest Dragon is a game of exploring the forest, pushing your luck to find more forest treasure while trying to avoid the monsters who will take your stuff. The current edition also comes with the Quest givers Expansion – complete the Quest Givers quests and you’ll win more points at the end of the game!

Designed by Rory who was 9 when the game came out – although he was even younger when he designed it! – The Forest Dragon has been an enduring classic for us, and is enjoyed around the world!

• Will you meet the Forest Dragon? 

• Will you have a sword in your hand when you do? 

• Will you find a Golden Coins, a Witch Bottle, or just some Acorns? 

• Will you encounter an Adder Crow, the Bandit King, or a Hungry Ghost? 

• How far into the forest dare you go? And what even is Ghost Milk? (honestly I don’t know, and I’ve asked)

In The Forest Dragon you will create a fantasy world from cards, and then explore it.

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Maskwitches Hardcovers and Pine Pitch Black arrive!

The hardcovers of Maskwitches and Pine Pitch Black are here! We have *almost* everything to start dispatch for a bunch of backers/pre-order customers. That’ll kick off next month!

Find out more about Maskwitches, the storytelling game of the psychedelic Mesolithic here.

“A game that feels like a conjuring – a curious and compelling artefact. It is strange in the best possible way, a genuine work of art from the prose to the mechanics to art.” -Gareth Hanrahan, author of THE BLACK IRON LEGACY SERIES, THE LANDS OF THE FIRSTBORN TRILOGY, THE EYES OF THE STONE THIEF, THE DARKENING OF MIRKWOOD.

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Maskwitches Softcover Print Run Arrives

We were excited this weekend to take delivery of a ton of boxes containing the softcover print run of Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland Redux Edition. We were less excited to move them from the spot the massive load of books were dropped off to the office, but them’s the breaks! We’re delighted to have them here. Next up: we’re awaiting the hardcovers and Pine Pitch Black!

There’s still time to pre-order your copy, and get the PDF free.

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Malcolm and the Burn

You may have seen that we recently released The Burn, a charmingly unique setting for The Silver Road.

Penned by Scottish RPG design legend Malcolm Craig (a|state, Cold City, Hot War), The Burn is all about childhood memory and folklore, specifically local to Malcom as he was growing up in Polmont, Scotland. It just so happens that the Handiwork HQ is in the very same district of Falkirk, so Jon was able to shoot all the photographs that illustrate the game in the very same locations that “Wee Malcolm” haunted as a child.

Not so long ago Malcolm was in the area, and we took a tour of some of those sites, book in hand, and here we present the photo story of heading back to The Burn.

We also discussed The Burn as part of our latest History in Games, Games in History podcast:

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Out Now in PDF: The Meat Spoiler for Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland!

If you’re looking for a scenario for Maskwitches Redux you can now get The Meat Spoiler Redux in PDF!

GET IT


Disharmony in a lake-side community has caused the appearance of a meat-spoiling spirit. With winter approaching, and food stores dwindling, can the Maskwitches drive off this malevolent presence and heal the divisions within the community? 

Featuring the same unique combination of props, sets, in camera effects and digital painting, The Meat Spoiler builds on the unique look of Maskwitches.


The PDF is also available for free when you pre-order the print edition here:

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Maskwitches is out now in PDF!

Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland is out now in PDF!

The even more discerning reader can also now get the black and white coffee table book version, Pine Pitch Black which also released today.


Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland is a unique experiment in graphic approach and unique mechanics. Find out more at the dedicated Maskwitches page.

“Maskwitches was one of the most immersive, emotional and dramatic games I ever ran.” 
– Royston Harwood, Maskwitches playtester

“A game that feels like a conjuring – a curious and compelling artefact. It is strange in the best possible way, a genuine work of art from the prose to the mechanics to art.”
– Gareth Hanrahan, author of The Black Iron Legacy Series, The Lands Of The Firstborn Trilogy, The Eyes Of The Stone Thief, The Darkening Of Mirkwood.

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Maskwitches PDFs releasing June 11th!

This Tuesday, June the 11th, we will release the PDF version of Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland, along with the Pine Pitch Black version!

You can get the PDF right now for free with a pre-order of a print book at our web store, but if you want just the PDF the wait will soon be over!

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