{"id":679,"date":"2026-06-13T15:17:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:17:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/?p=679"},"modified":"2026-06-13T15:17:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:17:45","slug":"ttrpg-review-knave-2e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/?p=679","title":{"rendered":"TTRPG Review: Knave 2e"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Game system reviews are a new series I\u2019d like to post when time allows. The goal is to be direct and concise: just what I liked and didn\u2019t, with no fluff. Let\u2019s start with Knave 2e<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Name:<\/strong> Knave 2e
System Type \/ Culture:<\/strong> OSR
(see: The Retired Adventurer: Six Cultures of Play<\/a>)
Genre: <\/strong>Fantasy
No. of Players:<\/strong> 2\u20136
Release Date:<\/strong> 2024 Publisher & Author: Questing Beast Games, Ben Milton
Link:<\/strong> https:\/\/questingblog.com\/knave-2e\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Knave 2e<\/em> is a rules-light (and page-light) OSR d20 system by Ben Milton. The terse 80-page book (half-letter format) emphasizes player creativity and accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Review<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

1. How accessible is the system?<\/strong><\/em>
One of Knave 2e<\/em>\u2019s core strengths is accessibility. A huge portion of the book consists of rollable tables, and most people could read the full rules in a single evening. In practice, I taught players the basics and had them create characters in under an hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. What is the system strong at? <\/strong><\/em>
Travel, delving, and tables. Travel uses 4-hour watches for movement, searching, foraging, or resting, followed by a roll on the travel hazard table. This makes long journeys feel risky and adventurous rather than a chore between locations.\u00a0 Travelling is part of the adventure rather than a system you use to get to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delving works similarly with 10-minute turns and hazard rolls. There are no perception checks for traps. If you move carefully, you automatically spot them (though you still must deal with them adventurers). Searching a room simply costs a turn provided you have adequate light. The hazard tables create an unpredictable, dangerous atmosphere. The longer you stay, the riskier it gets. This builds real urgency and immersion, a race-against-the-clock feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the tables are a joy for DMs. Each d100 table offers short, evocative prompts that spark creativity. I use the book not just for Knave<\/em> prep, but for inspiration in nearly any fantasy TTRPG I’m getting ready for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. What is the system weak at?<\/em><\/strong>
Combat in Knave is feast or famine. The system uses an advantage mechanic that grants a static +5 to attacks, and advantages can stack. Advantages are awarded based on the DM\u2019s discretion and player creativity. Any roll that reaches 21 or higher after modifiers grants a free maneuver, which lets a player take a plausible action to improve their situation in combat. Put together, it\u2019s easy to see how quickly advantages can accumulate if the DM isn\u2019t being adversarial. In play, this often meant combat felt either very hard or very easy for the players, with little middle ground. I felt like I was missing some dials to tune encounters for more varied challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Character progression is another weak point. With no classes, races, or feats, leveling mainly adds attribute points and hit points (except Intelligence, which grants a random spellbook). Several players at my tables found this unrewarding for longer play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. How much preparation is required to run a session? <\/em><\/strong>
I usually run with a 1:1 prep-to-session ratio (3 hours of prep for a 3 hour session for example), and Knave<\/em> 2e <\/em>didn\u2019t change that much across about 40 sessions. If you struggle with improv, you may need extra time to flesh out hazard table results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Is the system worth owning, even if you never play or run it? <\/em><\/strong>
Yes, a resounding yes. The tables alone make it a fantastic resource for any fantasy TTRPG. Really, the tables are just that good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating – 8\/10<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Knave 2e<\/em>\u2019s accessibility makes it an excellent entry point for new players. Its tables are an outstanding tool for any Dungeon Master. Overall, it shines for one-shots and short OSR adventures but may feel less engaging for long campaigns. If your players like rules light systems, and love creative freedom, they’ll enjoy Knave 2e.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Game system reviews are a new series I\u2019d like to post when time allows. The goal is to be direct and concise: just what I liked and didn\u2019t, with no fluff. Let\u2019s start with Knave 2e. Name: Knave 2eSystem Type \/ Culture: OSR(see: The Retired Adventurer: Six Cultures of Play)Genre: FantasyNo. of Players: 2\u20136Release Date: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-dms","category-for-players","category-osr"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=679"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":680,"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679\/revisions\/680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magicandmayhem.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}