I just have to throw in my two cents here. Basic Fantasy RPG is flat-out awesome. It reads like a version of the old basic Dungeons and Dragons game but with the quirks ironed out, making it even easier to play. The whole system is very rules-light. If I was going to teach a group of kids how to play an RPG, Basic Fantasy would be my go-to game.
That's not to say it wouldn't be fun for adults. If players were to come to this game from something like 5e or Pathfinder they'd be struck by two things: the simplicity of the game and the lethality of low-level play.
They'd see the simplicity right away, in character creation. Making a character takes minutes. There are only four classes: Fighter, thief, magic-user, and cleric. There are the standard fantasy races of human, elf, dwarf, and halfling. More specialized classes, like the ranger or paladin, can be downloaded for free online, but they can also be left out entirely.
The lethality they'd see right away, as well. Characters in the BFRPG aren't the super-heroes from modern games. They can die really easily at low levels, and they don't get as god-like at high levels. This could be called a 'low-fantasy' game rather than a 'high-fantasy' one.
Have I mentioned the price? All you really need to play this game is the core rules book, which has information for players and game masters, monsters, treasure... basically everything you need except a setting. It's five dollars. Five. Dollars.
Want the setting, too? There's a basic one in the Morgansfort expansion. That costs another four dollars.It also includes some adventures.
You could buy every BFRPG book in print for the same price as a single 5e Player's Handbook. It's amazing.
Don't have five dollars? No problem. You can download all the BFRPG material in PDF form on their website for the price of zero. It's all available for free. They encourage you to try before you buy. The back of this book actually says "Don't buy this book."
BFRPG isn't a cash grab. It's a labor of love by some very talented people. Chris Gonnerman, foremost.
I do want to address one knock I've heard against the system from people used to more "modern" games. I put that in quotes because technically BFRPG is a modern game, it's just done in the style of older ones.
That knock is that there aren't enough options in character creation. There certainly are fewer choices to make. Character creation goes like this:
1. Roll stats. 3D6 for each of six stats, straight down the line.
2. Choose a race (Human, dwarf, elf, halfling.)
3. Choose a class (Fighter, cleric, thief, or magic-user. Elves can multi-class as fighter-mages or mage-thieves.)
4. Name your character.
5. Choose equipment
6. Done.
So, how are the characters differentiated? How are two fighters, say, different from one another?
1. Their stats will be different. One might have only a 14 strength, another a 17. Why? Maybe one is a smaller guy, or a woman. Maybe the other grew up lifting cows. Maybe the smaller guy has a charisma of 16. You'll rarely see THAT in Pathfinder. This might make him the group leader, maybe a king (or queen) someday. The stats probably won't be optimized, but they suggest characters.
2. The backstories and personalities the players create do the rest.
Isn't that awesome? No more point buy. No more having all the characters seem the same until tricked out in dozens of feats and options. All that stuff is great, in a way, but in my experience, they don't really make the game more fun.
BFRPG gets back to, well, the basics of the hobby. Getting together with friends, knocking some characters out, rolling some dice and going on adventures. Oh, and the corny pop-culture references, of course.
I really can't recommend this game highly enough. Pick up the core rules and the Adventure Anthology and have at. Heck, grab some dice while you're at it. You should have plenty of cash left over.
- Amazon Business: Make the most of your Amazon Business account with exclusive tools and savings. Login now
- Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account
