The Painted Wasteland Bundle from Bundle of Holding is really interesting to me. I hadn’t heard of the game at all. It seems to be a quirky OSR hexcrawl with a strong visual identity. There are no grand metaphors needed; this seems simply to be a well‑assembled collection built around a distinctive, surreal desert setting for Old‑School Essentials. If you’ve been curious about the line or just want a self‑contained campaign environment with personality, this bundle makes it straightforward to jump in.
This is a single-tier bundle that is priced at $17.95. For your money, you’re getting five items:
- The Painted Wastelands (Core Book): A 361‑page campaign setting full of hexes, factions, creatures, and the off‑kilter tone that defines the world.
- Player’s Guide: A concise onboarding document that gives players the essentials without overwhelming them.
- Referee Screen: Quick‑reference tables and tools to keep sessions running smoothly.
- Strange Tales of the Painted Wastelands: A gazetteer and equipment guide packed with oddities, rumours, and setting‑specific flavour.
- The Quest Unpronounceable: A full adventure that leans into the setting’s surreal logic and wandering‑pilgrimage structure.
What I like about this bundle is its cohesion. Everything included seems to exude the same unique tone, resulting in a slightly uncanny hexcrawl where the world is strange but not random, colourful but not whimsical. It’s a complete toolkit for running a campaign that feels different from the usual fantasy fare without requiring existing fans of Old-School Essentials to learn a new system.
If you like OSR games that commit to a strong aesthetic and give you plenty of material to riff on, the Painted Wasteland Bundle is a solid pick. It’s practical, distinctive, and generous in scope; exactly the kind of focused, self‑contained line that benefits from being bundled together.
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