Instant Familiarity
Built on the 5e Engine
Keep the d20 roll-high structure, Advantage/Disadvantage, and standard modifiers your players already know. Zero onboarding friction means your group starts rolling within ten minutes.
5e Skeleton.
Old-School Grit.
Five Torches Deep strips modern fantasy to its bones and refits it with the unforgiving peril of classic dungeoncrawling. Easy for 5e veterans to run; dangerous enough to make every doorway terrifying.
What is Five Torches Deep?
A “5e skeleton with OSR meat.”
Five Torches Deep bridges the modern mechanics of the world's most popular fantasy RPG with the lethal, resource-driven dungeoncrawling ethos of the Old School Renaissance. Your players already know how to roll. They just don't know how to survive yet.
- Default DC
- 11
- Level cap
- 9
- Classes · Archetypes
- 4 · 12
- Landscape pages
- 48
Why it works
Familiar rules. Unfamiliar danger.
Real Survival Mechanics
Resource Management That Matters
Light fades, armor breaks, and dungeon air is toxic. Manage inventory load and expend generic “Supply” to replenish ammo, torches, and tools without spreadsheet micromanagement.
High Stakes, High Reward
Capped Levels, Lethal Dungeons
Progression caps at level 9. Hit points stay low, monsters hit hard, and magical mishaps can warp reality. Clever out-of-character tactics beat button-pushing character abilities every single time.
Every doorway is a decision.
Every torch is a countdown.
Core Mechanics
Under the hood
The 48-page rulebook is laid out in landscape, built so the GM rarely has to flip pages mid-session.
Universal Default DC
Most tests default to DC 11, moving the focus away from arbitrarily shifting targets and onto situational modifiers, positioning, and player ingenuity.
Every Stat Counts
No more dumping Intelligence or Charisma. Your INT determines how efficiently your party pre-plans supplies, while your CHA dictates the retainers willing to follow you into the dark.
Four Classes, Twelve Paths
Play the Warrior, Thief, Zealot, or Mage, then spec into archetypes like the Ranger, Bard, Paladin, or Warlock — deep customization within a tight, one-page class footprint.
Unpredictable Sorcery
Magic isn't a safe, free button press. Casting requires a check — and casting in heavy armor, while wounded, or past your limits invites mishaps, mutation, and catastrophic feedback.
No Dump Stats
Every ability score governs a survival constraint.
- STR
- How much you can carry
- CON
- Hours of travel and stamina
- INT
- How much Supply you can carry
- CHA
- Magic items you can tune and hirelings you can retain
Streamlined Classes
Four classes. Three paths each.
Every progression table fits on a single-page spread.
Warrior
Martial powerhouses focused on physical durability, weapon mastery, and battlefield control.
- Barbarian
- Resilience, sheer brute force, and damage absorption: taking hits and raging through lethal danger.
- Fighter
- The tactical combat specialist, gaining superior weapon proficiency, combat maneuvers, and extra attacks.
- Ranger
- The wilderness and dungeon scout, specializing in ranged weaponry, tracking, navigation, and survival utility.
Thief
Agile specialists built around stealth, reflexes, precision strikes, and utility.
- Assassin
- Ambush tactics, lethal critical strikes from hidden positions, and quick execution.
- Bard
- A jack-of-all-trades blending stealth with social manipulation, performance, inspiration, and dabbled magical tricks.
- Rogue
- The quintessential dungeon specialist: picking locks, disarming traps, sleight of hand, and unmatched mobility.
Zealot
Divine conduits who channel faith, conviction, and cosmic balance to protect allies and smite foes.
- Cleric
- The traditional holy healer and protector: turning and banishing the undead, warding, and restorative divine magic.
- Druid
- Keeper of nature and ancient rites, wielding environmental control, elemental power, and animal traits and forms.
- Paladin
- The heavily armored holy warrior, blending front-line martial prowess with divine smites and protective auras.
Mage
Scholars and channels of unpredictable, volatile arcane power.
- Sorcerer
- Manifests innate arcane energy from bloodline or raw willpower, often pushing magical bounds through metamagic-like strain.
- Warlock
- Bound to strange entities and otherworldly patrons, gaining weird esoteric boons and focused, potent magical effects.
- Wizard
- The methodical student of the arcane, mastering broad spell repertoires through research, ritual casting, and spellbook transcription.
Who is this for?
Find your way into the dark
The 5e GM Wanting Grit
If you love 5e's core dice mechanics but hate balancing against overpowered superhero characters and endless rest-spamming, FTD gives you the grim, grounded tone you've been looking for.
The OSR Curious
Run classic B/X modules and lethal megadungeons without teaching your group an entirely alien, retro-clone rule system.
The One-Shot / Campaign Bridge
Ideal for quick pick-up games, gauntlet runs, or as a transitional campaign ruleset to break “video game habits” at the table.
Light the torch.
Step into the dark.
Available in premium landscape hardcover and digital PDF.
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