OSR New Edition of HackMaster!!!

Jahydin · 2026-03-16T08:32:37+0000

Looks like Kenzer and Company is releasing a new edition of HackMaster in celebration of it's 25th anniversary!

WE HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO HACK - Kenzer & Company

HackMaster 25th Anniversary Edition by Kenzer and Company First released in 2001, HackMaster won Game of the Year and single-handedly created the old school RPG revival movement. However, KenzerCo wasn’t through! We painstakingly honed the mechanisms and strategy of HackMaster to continually...

kenzerco.com

I love 4th and 5th dearly, but understand how the crunch is just too much for most. Hoping this new edition is more inline with OSR sensibilities with a HackMaster twist, if that makes sense. No matter what though, I'm on board. I can't wait to see what they've been up to.

From David Kenzer on Discord:

The newest edition of HackMaster (HM XXV) seeks to improve on several areas of gameplay from past editions:

Better balancing of core abilities (Con, Int, Cha improved and better aligned), species and classes

Skills revamped (all rolls are now competing, high is always the target, streamlined list)

Tons of new talents and modifications to the originals

Proficiencies expanded (many skills have become proficiencies, new specializations available such as shield and weapon types)

Unarmed Combat and Fatigue both overhauled

Combat has certain modified rules (e.g., ties go to the attacker half of the time, armor coverage makes it more difficult to be stung and bitten)

New spells and spell lists as well as tweaks to, and re-leveling of, some of the classics in addition to a retooling of spell mishaps

Completely new social engagement rules

Revamped Quirks and Flaws and a new category called "Idiosyncrasies" for improved roleplaying opps -- even Paladins can have them!