Rickard's Raiders aren't heroes. They're not even adventurers. They're meat shields, 0-level mercenaries who follow adventurers into the dungeon for gold and glory. Well... for gold, at least.When a routine job goes wrong, the Raiders get trapped on the dungeon's lowest level. Isolated, outnumbered, and left for dead, they face the most grueling journey of their lives if they ever want to see the sun again.Most men would give up and die.But most men aren't Rickard's Raiders.

The Meat Shields is a story with both Isekai and light GameLit elements. The game system is inspired by Old School D&D, mostly a hodgepodge of what I grew up playing: 1e, 2e, and the BECMI Rules Cyclopedia. There's a dash of Final Fantasy in there, too.Stat blocks and numbers only appear in the "Interlude" chapters. The same goes for overt references to things like XP and HP.These things DO govern the world, but the main viewpoint protagonist is unaware of them. For now.