2025 Gift Guide For Gamers: ‘The White Horse Of Lowvale’

Welcome to the table,

It’s one of my favorite times of the year! Those brilliant dark days of winter when the world gets a little quieter, the nights get a little longer, and I can lurk about my library like some holiday lich remembering all the fun TTRPG things I am thankful have brought me comfort and joy over the dark days of this past year.

This is also an opportunity for me to call out some of the coolest stuff I have found for you, my dear readers, so you can possibly add these offerings to your gift lists, allowing you to serve as the true lords of yule in raw defiance of the holly jolly crimson-clad elven king whom I hate with a burning passion!

Next up this holiday season is a favorite of mine known as The White Horse of Lowvale. Created by The Bread Wyrm, also known as the wildly talented Tania Herrero, The White Horse of Lowvale is a system-agnostic* folk-horror adventure and setting that dives into some really creepy and unique spaces and serves as one of the coolest TTRPG books I had the privilege of reading in 2025.

The book is a moody folklore romp through a witch-haunted wood where goblins and ghosts shamble through the brambles and provide a really solid open-ended adventure that gives a Storyteller the ability to dial in or open up the setting as much as they want to really capture the moody haunting feel of a classic folk tale at the table.

Lowvale itself is a brilliantly designed starting point where players learn that there are witches and the good-folk who wander the landscape around the small, unassuming town. Additionally, there are stories of a hauntingly unnerving white horse with a large hound-like jaw that carries away those who would fall under its charms.

Bits of lore come from the brilliantly crafted narrative, but there is so much room to expand on these stories to fit an ongoing adventure in most fantasy settings or serve as a starting point for new characters finding their place in the world. Everything feels slightly storied and dream-like, and that magic that Herrero is able to supply by striking a balance between the tools she provides and the creative freedom that makes Storytelling so much fun harkens back to her work in Crown of Salt.

The village and woods around Lowvale also feel full of possibility as the creatures who call it home are multifaceted and can be played as toothsome terrors or cunning and keen entities that your players will need to strike deals with. The balance gives plenty of opportunities for a variety of player types to shine when they encounter them.

Even if you are not interested in exploring Lowvale and the haunting horse like Nykur’s ghost-filled lake, there are some really solid seeds within these pages you can pull from to craft some memorable encounters in most of the fantasy TTRPG settings that are out there. I really enjoy the Redcaps and a practically charming NPC known as The Grand Arch Commodore Archimedes Van Der Braggenwold, and think they have a ton of life both within the boundaries of this adventure and in the larger landscape of the gaming table.

The White Horse of Lowvale is one of those books that is perfect for all types of tabletop gamers. It can serve as inspiration for all sorts of games, and the beautiful art, evocative narrative, and lore are perfect for experienced storytellers and those who are trying to pull together the threads to weave their first game.

It also really helps that you can grab it in both digital and print form, so however you want to collect and explore your games, this offering can serve you.

All of these reasons, in addition to the immaculate vibes around this game and honestly everything The Bread Wyrm does, are the reason this has made my 2025 Gift Guide For Gamers.

Until next time, I have made it a point to collect everything Tania Herrero has made available to buy online, and I can assure you not a single one of those offerings, TTRPG or otherwise, has been disappointing in any way.

*System Agnostic is when a game does not adhere to or need a specific system to operate. In the case of The White Horse of Lowvale it’s up to your Storyteller to decide what rules system they want to use. For me, Pathfinder 1 and D&D work pretty well, but this can play on anything from MÖRK BORG to Blades In The Dark.