SagaBorn Starter Kit

Welcome to Sagaborn 1.5, an indie d20 system built with an old school vibe, in-depth roleplaying, and streamlined tactical combat. This Starter Kit comes with everything you need to jump into the world of SagaBorn.

SagaBorn Starter Kit Cover

The starter kit contains the following:

Information about the Game and the World

Get a brief overview of what makes this d20 system work and explore a bit of the world the game exists in.

StoryGuide’s Section

Learn the basics of running your SagaBorn game. Weave a tale that brings the characters into the world while making your players excited.

Craven’s Hollow: The Inheritance

This is an intro adventure to the Sagaborn Roleplaying Game. It is meant to demonstrate how to play games with the new 1.5 system and set up further adventures with our Strongholds, Allies, and Factions rules. The adventure is built loosely, giving you and the players an open sandbox to play in. We give a goal, a secret, and information on the area it takes place. How the players deal with this is up to them. 

Table of Contents

  • What Is SagaBorn?
    • How to play
    • Goals of the game
    • What makes it different (Heroic actions, mana, “old school” feel, strongholds, allies, crafting)
  • The World
    • The Lands
    • Dark Return, In-Between, Navirim
    • SagaBorn
    • Magic
    • The Crisis (Adventure Hooks)
    • Species
  • System Overview
    • Classes and paths
    • Abilities
    • Skills and Saves
    • Talents (only include ones based on pregens)
    • Combat
  • Magic
    • Mana
    • Focusing and Ravaging
  • Legacy Items
  • 6 Pregens
  • Running the game
    • How to Use Heroic Actions, Saga Points
    • Rewards
  • Adventure – Craven’s Hollow The Inheritance

SagaBorn Unique Mechanics:

SagaBorn’s mechanics, rooted in the 3.5 Open Gaming System, offer a fresh twist on old-school gameplay:

  • Legacy Items: Treasured items gain powers to aid adventurers in their sagas.
  • Magic: Magic is rare, and spellcasters use mana—a mystical force drawn from the Universe. When mana is depleted, mages can tap into their life energy or that of others to cast spells.
  • Heroic Actions: Resolve opposed actions and heroic gestures with a Heroic Action Roll—an Ability-based roll versus opponents or the environment.
  • Saga Points: Players receive Saga Points, enabling them to reroll dice or force others to reroll. Every player starts with at least one Saga Point per session and can earn more through gameplay.

What’s Next for SagaBorn:

As SagaBorn continues to evolve, expect new rules for Strongholds, Allies, Horror, and more to become integral parts of the game. The universe of SagaBorn is ever-expanding, and the journey has just begun.

The SagaBorn 1.5 RPG System Starter Kit is now available, inviting you to unleash your imagination and embark on an unforgettable adventure. Grab your friends, the SagaBorn Core Rulebook, and let the stories unfold!


Character Creation Resources


SagaBorn / Dark Return Setting Resources


Watch the Game being run by the creator:


  • Notes on Craven’s Hollow
    An in-character guide to the settlement of Craven’s Hollow. A Player’s Guide to Craven’s Hollow. While we have an online version over at DarkReturn.com, this … Read more
  • SagaBorn Starter Kit
    Welcome to Sagaborn 1.5, an indie d20 system built with an old school vibe, in-depth roleplaying, and streamlined tactical combat. This Starter Kit comes with … Read more
  • SagaBorn Character Gallery
    The SagaBorn Character Gallery is an easy reference for adding NPC’s to your game.  This book contains all of the base classes of characters, from … Read more
  • Free Adventure: Insatiable Habits
    An adventure for the Sagaborn Roleplaying System and other old-school RPGs. A SagaBorn RPG compatible Adventure  The Wanderers have delegated the task of investigating the most recent … Read more
  • SagaBorn 1.5 Errata
    Hello all! Well, I am so sorry to say that we have found a few mistakes in the SagaBorn 1.5 Core rulebook. The PDF books … Read more
  • The Cryptid from the River
    About the Adventure The Setting Pacov is a small village along the Weron River, northeast of the large city of Kowal and southeast of the … Read more
  • More Than a Gamble (Adventure)
    About the Adventure: A recently successful merchant in Kowal, Gregor Eliuska, has hired you to be his right-hand guards. This has been a very well-compensated … Read more
  • StoryGuide’s Screen
    The SagaBorn StoryGuide’s Screen is everything a game master needs to reference during a SagaBorn game session. Four 8.5×11 panels with all the core information (and 1 … Read more
  • Horror
    A rewrite of the 2018 SagaBorn Sanity book, Horror modernizes the wording and streamlines the mechanics for the SagaBorn 1.5 game system. If you want … Read more
  • Codex Dominum
    The Codex Dominum, Master Book of Stories, contains all the knowledge needed for a StoryGuide to run the best game of SagaBorn for their players. … Read more
  • Crafting
    A set of very simple crafting rules for D20 systems. Crafting is used to repair or make new items. Crafting is tied to skills from the Core … Read more
  • Strongholds
    Build your home, become part of your world. Strongholds is a system for helping the players build a home for the SagaBorn Roleplaying System. Wizard’s … Read more
  • Haunting of Eliuska Manor – A haunted house adventure
    Can you survive the horrors of the mysterious Eliuska Manor? The haunted house: a setting that has fascinated us since we first moved from the … Read more
  • The Pact
    A SagaBorn 1.5 Adventure ADVENTURE BACKGROUND A merchant in Kowal, Gregor Eliuska, has been extremely successful lately. Not only in his business dealings, but also … Read more
  • Creature Compendium
    Monsters have invaded our lands. People are scared. And it is our job to help them. I have compiled many notes throughout my years of … Read more