This entire WOIN Rules Reference Document and the Bestiary is designated open gaming content except for:

• Artwork and logos.
• The names WOIN, OLD, NEW, NOW, What's OLD is NEW, EN Publishing, EN World, and any product names.
• Any trademarks or names of real world items, brands, or entities.

You may freely use this material in your own publications, fan creations, tools, or websites.

This page is the introduction to the WRRD, and is a developer tool. If you are looking for an introduction to the game as a potential player, click here instead.

This rules reference document provides you with the basic (core) rules of the What's O.L.D. is N.E.W. roleplaying game system.  You can access the different sections of the document using the menu dropdown at the top right of every page.

This document contains the rules in their basic form.  It does not include explanations, descriptions, examples, guidelines, and all the other material that makes up the core rulebooks.

What This Is And What It Isn't

This document is a tool for third party developers. It can also be used as a reference tool for people playing WOIN games. However, it is not a subsitute for the actual rulebooks, and lacks much of the descripitve or contextual text which accompanies the rules. For this reason, it may be difficult to learn the rules only using this document.

System

What's O.L.D. is N.E.W. uses a dice pool system vs. a difficulty benchmark.  The game only uses d6s.

Characters are created using a life-path system.  After choosing a race, players choose an origin career, followed by four further careers.  Each adds to attributes and skills, and grants specific exploits.

The free starter kit introduces a very basic expression of the rules.  This online reference document can be used to expand on the starter set for those wishing to continue with their own adventures. It does not include everything from the rulebooks, but it includes the core of the system.

Which Game?

The rules in this rules reference document are compatible with medieval fantasy, contemporary action, and future sci-fi, but may not be thematically suitable for all settings and campaigns.  A game using only medieval fantasy rules will not use the Warp Maneuver exploit.

This rules reference document, however, presents rules from all three genres.  The skills list, therefore, includes skills from herbalism to astrophysics, and the exploits list contains exploits from Counterspelling to Wingovers. Similarly, the race sections contain all options from all three genres, from mountain dwarves to mutants to androids.