Meme-Free Zone

This is an offer of material from multiple publishers compatible with the RPG Shadowdark, a modernized "old school" game of dungeons, monsters, etc.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/ShadowCompat

  

This doesn't include the Shadowdark rules, but you can get a free Shadowdark Quickstart Set from Drivethru RPG.

I'm not really into dungeon-bashing games any more, but Shadowdark is apparently state of the art for the genre, and this bundle adds a lot of adventures at a reasonable price. If you're into the system it's probably worth a look.

This is an offer of the Sleepy Hollow RPG from Kids in the Attic, an early 19th-Century folk horror system based on the Year Zero rules for Tales of the Loop etc. The source for it is Washington Irving's original novel, not the Tim Burton film or the TV series.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/SleepyHollow

  

Unlike Call of Cthulhu this system limits itself to a relatively small area and era, which may add more depth to games - characters will be protecting their home town, friends, and families, not the entire future of the universe. I'm probably not going to be taking on another horror system, but it looks like an interesting game and isn't incredibly expensive, if it's the sort of thing you might like it's probably worth a look.

This is a new bundle of material by  Christian Eichhorn for Mörk Borg RPG

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/EichhornMork

  

Unfortunately I'm really not the intended audience for this game - I don't do grimdark, and I usually find that the layout and typography of Mörk Borg material gives me eyestrain and headaches. This one is slightly better than others I've seen in that respect, but unfortunately that isn't saying a lot. If you like this material the price isn't unreasonable, it just isn't for me.

Two bundles for the Champions superhero game - one a repeat, the other new:

Champions 6E (repeat from 2021) - the 2009 6th edition of the game with a lot of campaign and support material:

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/2026Champs6E

  

Champions Strike Force (new) - A revised and expanded collection of material based on designer Aaron Allston's long-running campaign

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/StrikeForce

  

Re Champions, in 2021 I said "very good value if you're a long-time Hero System or Champions fan who has been thinking about going over to the new rules,  or adapting new material to the old rules, or a newcomer who wants to dive in with the latest revisions.

The down side to all this is that the Hero System has never been the simplest of games - the rules can get complicated and reward optimaxing. Some activities, most notably combat, play fairly slowly. In short, there are alternatives that may be more suitable for a newcomer or someone who prefers a faster style of play.

I'll be honest, I'm not enough of an enthusiast to want to dive in and learn it all over again, since I don't think I've actually played any of these games any time this century! If you're already using another multi-genre system you might do better to look at its superhero rules first, but if you're already using the Hero System this could be a very good buy."

Strike Force is new to me, and seems to have been a massively complex campaign which covered a couple of decades in playing time and game time, involving dozens of players and thousands of hours of play. The big problem, for me, is that I suspect that a lot of this was initially shaped by the personalities of a core group of players and the capabilities of their characters - while it may have broadened out considerably, some of the decisions that shaped the campaign would probably have been very different with other participants. Having said that, it's reasonably priced and you get a lot for your money including more than 7000 player handouts. Some of it has undoubtedly influenced other material published for Champions, so if you've ever wanted to see get an idea of the background that lead to the current incarnation of the game this may be very useful. However, unless you have a printer that runs VERY cheaply I'd recommend using tablets or other digital media for as many of the handouts as possible, this stuff gets SERIOUSLY expensive!

This is an offer of material for the RPG The Burning Wheel by Luke Crane. It's described as "the landmark indie RPG of dynamic characters and searing choice-driven stories."

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/BurningWheel

  

While I have no problems with indie rules systems, I'm not very keen on games that ask all of the players and referee to be familiar with the rules and avoid using "house rules" or simplifying things. I'm not playing pure fantasy games any more, so haven't gone into this one in any detail, but the general consensus I have on it from friends who have played it is that it's rules heavy and fairly complex, which really isn't my style of play. The price seems reasonable for the amount of material you get, more than 1000 pages, beyond that I recommend looking at reviews before making a decision about this one. There's a reasonable video review here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj30rzCgO5o

This is a "meta-fantasy RPG by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans of real-world people trapped inside a magical game." In other words, a bundle of material for an RPG based on a comic about people trapped in a computer RPG and forced to play through various archetypal situations.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/DIEtheRPG


  

I'm probably not the audience this is aimed at - it feels a bit too metaphorical for me, and I'm not a huge fan of games that pit characters against each other to this extent (with the exception of Paranoia, which makes it work by being extremely silly.) On the other hand it's fairly cheap and nicely presented, and might be just what some of you are looking for.

This is an offer of two bundles for Mongoose Traveller - one is a repeat, the other new (though based on a fairly old adventure).

MONGOOSE TRAVELLER EXPLORATIONS (from Nov 2022)
   https://bundleofholding.com/presents/2025Explorations

 

TRAVELLER ANCIENTS CAMPAIGN (new)
   https://bundleofholding.com/presents/TravAncients

  

The last time Traveller Explorations was on offer I said "OK - Traveller is probably the best-loved SF system out there, and the Mongoose version is VERY popular. You're getting a ton of stuff for your money. Need I say more? Unless you really dislike SF or the setting, or already have everything here, I'd recommend buying them."

I'm less sure about the Ancients Campaign - I was never a huge fan of the original Secrets of the Ancients, the plot was a bit linear and the eventual secret really wasn't incredibly exciting, and while it looks like there are some more plot threads to keep players busy they are definitely still going to need some nudges to keep them on the right track. Not all players LIKE long campaigns, and although this is relatively cheap it might be a good idea to sound people out before buying.

This is a new bundle of independently-produced material for the popular Forged in the Dark rules-set, also including Blades in the Dark, the game that originated the system. Blades... has been in several previous bundles, the others are new.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Forge3rd

  

The mood of these ranges from zany comic-book comedy to gritty crime realism, heroic and not so heroic fantasy, and far-futures cyberpunks and transhumans. If you like more than one of the genres it's worth buying the whole bundle, you'll save money.

This is the annual Bundle of Holding mixed bag of games from an assortment of companies to celebrate the USA's Thanksgiving Day.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Cornucopia2025

    

For some reason a lot of this year's choices deal with apocalypses, giant sea monsters, and various sorts of prejudice.

I'm never quite sure what to say about these mixed bundles since they don't fit into neat categories. Basically, you've got seven different RPGs ranging from horror to extreme silliness - I'm looking at you, Sentai and Sensibility - and if only one or two appeal to you, or you already have some of them, it may be a good idea to look at cherrypicking the ones you want. If you want more buying the bundle will probably be cheaper. 

This is an all-new bundle of Salvage Union, a game about post-apocalytic mech warriors trying to keep their machines running, from Leyline Press

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/SalvageUnion

  

This is a genre I'm not incredibly fond of, but it's made more interesting by there not being apparently limitless supplies of shiny new guns, missiles and mechs. Instead everything is collapsing, and a good set of tools and the knowledge of how to use them is probably worth more than any weapon. It might be good as a change of pace for mech fans, a "this is what's really going on as a background to the battles" dystopia. It's reasonably priced and I think it's worth a look.