OSR Review & Commentary On White Box Quarterly, Issue #4 by Barrel Rider Games (designed by James M. Spahn) For the White Box Cyclopedia, other Swords, & Wizardry White Box / Old-School Renaissance (OSR) systems

 White Box Quarterly, Issue #4 is a digital tabletop RPG zine published by Barrel Rider Games (designed by James M. Spahn). Released with a focus on death, macabre themes, and the undead, the issue expands the White Box Cyclopedia and other Swords & Wizardry White Box / Old-School Renaissance (OSR) systems

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Key Contents & Features

• New Heritage: Wraith-Ghul — A playable lineage depicting character concepts that are reborn, vengeful, and bound to the lingering taint of death.

• New Class: The Avenger — A holy blade operating in the darkness, built around retribution and anti-undead themes.

• New Optional Mechanics: Cheating Death — Alternative rules and systems that allow characters reaching zero Hit Points to survive or strike pacts rather than facing immediate permanent death.

• New Macabre Magic Items: Gifts from Beyond the Grave — Unique and sinister magical gear, including:

  • Black Bouquet of Roses

  • Barber-Surgeon’s Bonesaw (focused on limb-severing mechanics)

  • Liquid Death (a potent, risky potion/dram)

• Monsters & Adventure: Includes brand-new undead/horror creatures alongside a complete short adventure module designed for easy drop-in play.

Publication Specifications

Attribute	Details
Publisher	Barrel Rider Games
Lead Author	James M. Spahn
System Compatibility	Swords & Wizardry White Box, White Box Cyclopedia, and OSR d20 systems
Format	PDF (Printer-friendly layout with classic line art)
Contributing Artists	Luigi Castellani, Gabe Fua, Rick Hershey, Jeff Koch, William McAusland, Don Semora, Dean Spencer

Is White Box Quarterly, Issue #4 worth the price of admission?! Yes if you like me were a reader of Dragon magazine and look forward to those iconic Halloween Dragon issues! This issue channels those issues of Dragon for the White Box series of OSR games. This issue hits all of the undead high notes and themes for Swords & Wizardry! This fanzine hits the notes for Halloween and then some especially for those S&W necromancers and other villainous NPC's! This issue is perfect for those holiday OSR games!