Design Philosophy Behind OSRS Solo Homebrew

Link to the PDF of the Homebrew

How And Why I Homebrew

When I first opened RuneScape Kingdoms, I wasn’t expecting it to play exactly like Old School RuneScape, but I did expect many of the game’s cornerstones. Instead, a lot of basic features that could improve the experience are missing. For example, even without enchanting the gems, why can’t you cut gems with a chisel and make jewelry? Also, to anyone who designed this game who is reading this for any reason, WHY DO I NEED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN PANTS AND SHOES? There are Boots and Platelegs in the game, but only one Leg slot. Why do I need to make this impossible choice that will certainly have social ramifications?

Besides fixing little issues like this that I found, I wanted to provide some structure for players. One big problem of Roleplay, especially as a Solo, is finding structure for a game without relying completely on improv or random chance. The more “clues” you have to work with, the richer the roleplay experience can become. I am simply taking the blueprint laid out by Old School RuneScape, and integrating it as best I can into the TTRPG ruleset.

When I am adding material in, I have a three-step system, based on these questions:

Is there already a hook for this in the book? e.g. Count Draynor Boss Stats for Vampyre Slayer
Is there something in the book that can be reskinned? e.g. Adding Wizards using Dark Wizard
Is there a piece of content I can attach this to? e.g. Dark Wizard Hat added to the drop table of Dark Wizards.

If something doesn’t fit any of these, but I still see a reason to add it, it makes it in anyway. This is why you see me selecting certain quests from Free-To-Play. I selected quests that best fit into the tiers that I selected, and were “iconic”, instead of putting in every Free-To-Play quest.

Let’s go over some of the changes I made.

Solo Play First Changes

Everything I designed here is “Solo Play First”. I do not have a group playing RuneScape Kingdoms, and I do not know when I will. Until then, I plan to continue playing solo, as you can see from this blog. I enjoy Oracle systems like Mythic Game Master Emulator, but they require you to feed them lists to really make their engines run. This homebrew is a massive sack of coal from me to you to feed into that engine and power it as far as it can take you. Use everything in this homebrew as a suggestion. At the end of the day, it is your table, not mine!

Quests

I decided to take 17 quests and make a path through the Free-To-Play Old School RuneScape experience. You start with the classic beginning quest Cook’s Assistant. By the end of Tier 1, you become the hero of Lumbridge, known for helping everyone. In Tier 2, you expand your name across the countryside, gaining favor and new resources. Tier 3 will test your skill, beginning with a Vampyre hunt, and ending with the iconic Dragon Slayer I. By completing this, you have proven you have mastered the game, and are ready for any content that comes next.

I also adapted a new quest, The Ides of Milk, released earlier in 2026. It introduced a beginner boss, Brutus, to the game. It’s also Free-To-Play, which made it a perfect candidate to let me test adapting game mechanics from OSRS to RuneScape Kingdoms!

Brutus, Repeatable Bosses, and Drop Rates

RuneScape Kingdoms has Boss monsters to kill, and they have a “drop system” using a ratio of x:6. However, there is no boss that is repeatable for drops. The book includes items like the Abyssal Whip, but no way to receive them. There is some flavor text about “Being created by the spine of a demon”, but the game doesn’t even have Abyssal Demons. This provides a rich design space that is virtually untapped. I plan to release more drops in a future “Members” update, as the Abyssal Whip/Demons teaser above shows.

This leads us to Brutus, the first “Repeatable” boss in RuneScape Kingdoms. He’s easier during the quest, and afterward he can be killed repeatedly. He has a more robust drop table than any other monster in the game, with three uniques: Endless Milk Bucket (4:6), Mooleta (2:6), Cow Slippers (1:6). It requires more rolling, but if you are fighting a boss, you should get better loot than your average monster drops!

Beginner Clues and Fashionscape

Beginner clues add a fun diversion for players during their downtime. At the end of it, they have the chance to get new items that do not provide skill or attribute bonuses, but provide roleplay value. Most of the clue items in OSRS have become “Fashionscape” items, where players sometimes spend millions of GP for a pair of pants that are flared. These pants have no other stat value, but the community values them.

These items allow the player to express themselves outside of the armor they wear. With this lane paved, there’s room for so many more items to come!

Skills Rework

I have a lot of problems with the base ruleset when it comes to Skills. Anyone can attempt any task at any skill. And if you fail, you still get 1 resource. This means a Player with Level 1 Mining can walk up to a rune rock, and get 1 rune ore regardless of their level. The only thing they are really rolling for is how much ore they get.

My first change was to add level requirements. They aren’t a perfect 1:1 with the skill thresholds from OSRS, but they’re close enough that if you’ve played before, they’ll make sense. Most skills got small changes, but two got major overhauls.

Magic

The biggest rework was to Magic. Besides the level changes, I added spells that seem like no-brainers. The base game focuses on combat spells, with very few utility spells. Why would you add Telekinetic Grab, but no Alchemy of some kind? Also, the teleport spell allows you to go anywhere you have been, and teleport everyone in your party. I split these into teleport to location, and “teleother”. You unlock locations as your Magic level rises. This gives you one more reason to train your Magic, even if you never plan to cast a spell at an opponent.

Lastly, I added enchantment spells for Jewelry, since I added Jewelry as well!

Crafting Jewelry and Enchanting

There were no gems or jewelry in the base RuneScape Kingdoms game. To accommodate this, I added a Ring and a Neck slot for Rings and Amulets respectively. You can buy gems, use a chisel to cut them, and use them with a gold bar at a smelter to make a ring or an amulet. You have to get a ball of wool to string an amulet after it is made. The base jewelry can be worn, sold, or enchanted. There are 20 new items with this update, with 4 gem types, 8 base jewelry types, and 8 enchanted versions!

Closing Thoughts

Making this homebrew has been an amazing creative exercise, adapting one of my hyperfixations since middle school (Old School RuneScape/RuneScape 2) into one of my other hyperfixations, Solo TTRPGs.

As of writing this article, I am putting the finishing touches on the document, adding Tier 3 quests. When I wrap this up and have it playtested, I am going to start working on the “Members” expansion.

If you want to see the homebrew in action, follow my campaign for the game on this very website! The adventures of Thad the Ratcatcher will be my personal playtest of the homebrew.