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Over the past few years, the Cairn RPG has quietly become one of the most popular rules light fantasy games within the OSR community. Praised for its flexibility, style and streamlined mechanics, the game has found a wide audience among players looking for something fast, lethal and atmospheric.
As Cairn heads into 2026, its creator, Yochai Gal, has outlined an ambitious slate of new releases that signal not just growth, but a major evolution for the game as a whole. Below, we take a closer look at all the details.
What is the Cairn RPG?
Cairn is a rules light fantasy tabletop RPG inspired by the Old School Renaissance (OSR) and games like Into the Odd and Knave. Core features of gameplay include:
- Player ingenuity over mechanics, with the Gamemaster (known as a Warden) being a neutral arbiter of play rather than a strict rule-enforcer.
- No classes with character creation largely randomized, and players choosing (or rolling) for a Background, inventory, character traits, Bonds (items or events of importance to the characters) and Omens (potentially story hooks to drive the campaign).
- Story driven progression, with characters advancing through key story events rather than levels or XP.
- Three core attributes: Strength, Dexterity and Willpower, with a d20 roll-under mechanic for saves and actions.
- Streamlined combat: Atacks automatically hit, with damage reduced by armor.
- High lethality: Characters have relatively few hit points (known as Hit Protection) and when reduced to 0 take on Scars which have permanent effects on the game.
- Resource management: Players are required to carefully track resources such as food and torches (making it somewhat similar to the popular Shadowdark RPG).
- Accessible but deadly magic: Spells, scrolls and relics can be used by any character, but there are harmful side effects if they fail.
Notably, while Cairn is flexible enough to be used in just about any fantasy setting, it does have a base world known as Vald, which is a rough folk fantasy kingdom of scattered villages, dark woods and haunted ruins.
Cairn was created by Yochai Gal, wth the first edition published in 2020 as a completely free, Creative Commons–licensed project. In late 2024 Gal published a Cairn 2nd edition, which added more detail to character creation, in addition to new color art, new rules for exploration and downtime, as well as including a Warden’s Guide. A successful Kickstarter was also launched in 2024 that included a new boxed set version of the game. Gal has also released three adventures: Trouble in Twin Lakes (which is an introductory adventure) Rise of the Blood Olms (which is an introductory dungeon) and The Feast of Tegny Wood (which is a forest exploration adventure).
What New Cairn Books Are Coming in 2026?
In a recent blog post, Cairn creator Yochai Gal announced a number of new projects for the coming year, including:
The Book of Vald: This a new setting guide focused on the base folk fantasy setting of Cairn. Planned as the first in a trilogy, the book is expected to be roughly 100+ pages and will explore Vald’s locations, factions, peoples and histories, while also providing dungeons, forests, monsters, relics, character backgrounds and guidance on adapting other adventures to fit the setting.
Cairn Adventure Series (CAS) Omnibus: This will collect the first three existing adventures in the CAS line into a single volume. Gal has also written nine other adventures (which have yet to be published) and some or all of these will be included in the new Omnibus, making it a solid option for both new and experienced Cairn players.
Cairn Barebones Edition: This is a new streamlined 40-page version of Cairn 2e aimed at players who prefer highly randomized, setting-agnostic character creation. While mechanically identical to Cairn 2e, Barebones strips away explicit backgrounds, Bonds, and implied worldbuilding in favor of simpler, more generic starting characters and gear.
Final Thoughts
Beyond the new books themselves, 2026 marks a major turning point for Cairn as a whole. Yochai Gal has also announced plans to work full-time on the game and launch Cairn Press, a new publishing venture that will support both first-party Cairn releases and work from third-party creators, potentially opening the door for even more game content. All of which suggest that 2026 may well be the year Cairn fully cements its place as a cornerstone of the modern rules-light RPG scene.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on these new books in the months ahead and will update this page with new information as it’s made available. In the meantime you can learn more on Yochai Gal’s official blog New School Revolution.