The Basic Fantasy RPG, a standout open-source RPG project, offers free PDFs and books printed at cost, making it accessible to players worldwide. Its simplicity, far from being underwhelming, is a comforting feature that makes it a hacker's game, the Linux of pen-and-paper gaming. This democratization of roleplaying, with no profit motive and a spirit of sharing, sets it apart.
For a mere eight dollars, you can access the core rulebook of the Basic Fantasy RPG on Amazon, a stark contrast to the typical eighty-dollar price tag of other games' core rulebooks.
But don't be misled by the low cost; the Basic Fantasy RPG is anything but ordinary. The community's unwavering dedication is palpable in the 4th Edition, a testament to their unity and the power of a shared passion for roleplaying.
Basic Fantasy RPG offers a wealth of adventures published, surpassing many other games. With rules, class, race, equipment, and other expansions available, the game is a canvas for your imagination. Want special conditions, rules, abilities, or anything else to apply to a PC? Just say it happens and make a ruling. This level of customization is what makes this game truly unique.
Did a PC touch a magic statue and gain a 2-in-6 chance to speak to animals? Just say it happened, add it to the character sheet, and keep playing. It is a one-off, a magic effect that will never happen again, unique to your game, and only affects balance in your game (but so what?). I can hear 5E players screaming; make it use a feat slot! Replace a subclass ability! This must be balanced, or it will break all of 5E for the community! One of the huge problems in 5E is people feel like the game needs to be constantly balanced, like developing a computer program.
In the old days, we didn't care. If a unique character had a special ability, they had it.
What I love about this game is the community, that spirit of sharing for the love of the game, and keeping the game accessible for everybody. You can play this by the rules or hack it to do anything.
The adventures keep me coming back. Other campaign settings and adventure series feel too big, ambitious, and unusable due to the size and amount of information presented, while these keep things simple. They are that ideal "town plus dungeon" in many cases, the perfect starting point for any campaign, and they let you take things in any direction you can dream of. I love these "micro settings" very much, and you often don't need a campaign world to start in.
In fact, starting with a campaign world book can be very intimidating and cause you to never begin playing since every choice on where to start is wrong. Each one of these adventures is a perfect start to an entire world.
Why not Old School Essentials? OSE has a lot in it, many more options and choices, but the game is more expensive and more challenging to get your hands on. BFRPG works on the lowest level; it is the most accessible, has the least cost to entry, and has free PDFs for everyone. OSE is still on OGL (last I checked), while the BFRPG community pulled together and eliminated that license dependency.
BFRPG has more, all PDFs are free, there are low-cost physical copies, and everyone can play and create to their heart's delight.
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