Introduction

Errant is a fantasy role playing game about playing outcasts from the fringes of society who go on adventures in a world of danger and intrigue. To play, you’ll need some stuff to write on, a way to simulate random numbers (traditionally, dice), and a group of friends.

One of these friends will take on the role of the Guide [1], while the rest take on the role of a Company of Errants. The game is a conversation between the Guide, the Errants, and the rules. The Guide describes the world, the Errants describe what they wish to do within that world, and the Guide describes the outcomes of those actions; the rules are there to help make judgements about what happens easier.

By playing, you and your friends will create unique stories of adventure that are sure to shock and delight. No one person is in charge of the story. We play to find out what the story will be.

Why Errant?

Errant is similar to many other old-school role playing games, so why should you play this over any other game? What makes Errant unique?

Errant is rules light, procedure heavy.

What does that mean? It means that the rules you need to play Errant are minimal and simple to understand. At its core, the basic rule is simply roll a twenty-sided die and try to get a result that is between two numbers.

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 create 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, deviated from, ignored, hacked, mangled, stolen, or seasoned to taste.

[1] This simplified presentation of Errant’s text does not include the small caps and italicized formatting of the stylized document. Instead, wherever a game mechanic or procedure is named, its first letter is capitalized. Related terms are not formatted in any special way in this edition. A full glossary and index of all these terms can be found at p. XXX.