My Favorite FREE Role Playing Game. Why I Think Basic Fantasy is Amazing

There isn't much that's more fun for me than sitting down with my friends and escape reality for a few hours by playing Table Top RPGs.
But unfortunately most are pretty pricey so today I will introduce you to an TTRPG that you can play right now for free!
Basic Fantasy is an OSR System that I personally really love and so I wanted to make this small Video to pay respect to it and hopefully interest new people in giving it a Try!
Do you play TTRPGs? What is your favorite? Let me know in the commends!
Also feel free to tell me Stories about your Adventures.
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Download all Basic Fantasy Books as PDFs for free right here!
www.basicfantasy.org/
If you prefer a physical copy you can buy one on Amazon
Have fun questing!

[@matthewdancz9152]

The advantage of free rpg's is that the company has no incentive to create fluff and huge numbers of books.

[@aerothelich2023]

Absolutely! They don't need to fill some arbitrary quota and every book they publish was made because they wanted to make it

[@commandercaptain4664]

And the simple system allows easier creation of challenges without worrying about balancing so many superpowers together.

[@ddis29]

i recommend anyone interested in osr games to check out basic fantasy. its a great place to start and may be all you ever need.

[@dragonchr15]

i like the idea of quick and brutal combat...medieval weaponry was brutal so it makes sense that your battle axe will be able to slay most enemies fairly quickly, often with just one well-placed strike....

[@Andre-cx4ul]

I've been wanting to get into DND for a long time but all the rules, books, and everything confused me, but now I think I'll give it a shot to this, thanks a lot!

[@aerothelich2023]

go ahead! It's super fun once you get into it :D I am so happy to hear that!

[@commandercaptain4664]

Part of D&D’s problem is that 5E is the fifth edition of ADVANCED D&D, yet it’s sold as if it’s so easy for anyone new to play. They see Stranger Things with kids playing it, then think “oh I can do that”, then $150 later, most end up quitting, which is no problem for Wizards (except now 6E means to turn D&D into a subscription). That’s why OSR is gaining ground.

[@Motavian]

It's weird that the OSR has a "gatekeeping" reputation considering that the barrier to entry is so low compared to 5e, both financially and also in comfort/understanding gaming culture. I can have a bunch of newbies rolling stats as Crom intended, rolling on fast pack tables and spell & language lists if applicable and then they're ready for adventures in 10 minutes. Turn on some weird black metal ambient record and see where the night takes you.

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

They call gatekeeping what they can't change. They want to change how we play those games. When people create refugees like basic fantasy, people leave the main stream culture and create their on subculture based on how things where done. They don't want that, because it goes against the subversion of the culture they want. And subcultures are harder to subvert, because usually they are decentralized free market of ideas, there are as many creators as consumers, everyone does what they want and the good ideas are kept alive by popular preferences. While in the corporate world every decision is centralized and can be influenced by people inside or journalists. I abandoned almost every hobby I liked and replaced for community projects like basic fantasy, and I was called a gatekeeper innumerous times, just because I don't want to change my hobbies to accommodate people that didn't even like it in the first place.

[@Painocus]

@@itsasecrettoeverybody Who are "they"?

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

@@Painocus I was responding to another person so I was clearly referring to the op. It's called context, if you could use your braincells you would've figure out that I was referring to anyone that pushes this gatekeeping reputation on OSR games, said in the op. If something has a reputation it only can be because some people assign this reputation to it.

[@Painocus]

@@itsasecrettoeverybody Well I assumed so ...until I got to the point where you started talking about people thinking the OSR community is gatekeepy is a move in "their" plan of culture-subversion.

[@commandercaptain4664]

@it's a secret to everbody There’s no grand master plan. It’s just the usual 10/90 whiners from either side trying to become dorklords of everyone’s attention and fealty. They never mattered. Just enjoy playing what you want.

[@vidgrip8622]

Great summary. I find OSR gaming to be highly engaging.

[@aerothelich2023]

it certainly has a charm that only this genre can capture. Like feeling nostalgic for something that you just discovered

[@RexyRonin]

Appreciate you bringing awareness to this awesome D&D alternative, especially post OGL-crisis!

[@aerothelich2023]

Thank you! I am really happy that I found Basic Fantasy when I did haha

[@michaelernst3731]

was just looking through the 3.0 rules and they seam to be a moded 2e/OG Basic D&D rule set. thanks for bring this out.

[@aerothelich2023]

Thank you! I always find it interesting to see where everything has its roots. It's something that already made me curious back when I found out that Pathfinder 1st Edition was based on D&D 3.5e

[@ChrisGonnerman]

BX, 1981, with ascending AC and separated race and class, actually. Glad you like it!

[@stillmattwest]

Basic Fantasy is such a great game and an insane value. It’s so easy to mod, too. I’m working with it to make the game that I always wanted AD&D to be.

[@midnightgreen8319]

Basic Fantasy RPG is a great game!

[@OverBlackSands]

I highly recommend The Redcaps podcast episodes where he interviews Chris Gonnerman and talks about BFRPG and his other hand Iron Falcon. Gonnerman talks about how the purpose of BFRPG was to create a community, and how that comnunity thrives on the official forums, which is fantastic.

[@someguy403]

B/X and Basic Fantasy are probably my favorite systems. I like the simplicity of the rules which allows me to homebrew stuff really easily and it's also really easy to teach other people how to play which is great since I think a lot of people can get intimidated by big rule books and manuals that they end up not wanting to play.

[@MrSteveK1138]

Basic Fantasy rpg is my go to OSR game. I feel it is very hackable because it is Rules Light, adding different abilities and other houserules without overcomplicating the game.

[@kyrnsword72]

I have BF RPG book. Thank goodness for GMless ttrpg that I love called D100 Dungeon by MK Games from Martin Knight that to me does the best OSR. Its like someone took the best rules from lots of other ttrpgs' and blended them together in one awesome system.

[@The482075]

I enjoy D&D5e for its simplicity. Basic Fantasy seems tempting.

[@Painocus]

5E is only really simple compared to 3E/Pathfinder and 4E. It's pretty middle-of-the-range in simplicity as far as RPGs in general go. Most OSR and OSR-adjacant (Black Hack, Mörk Borg, Troika!, etc.) stuff is significantly simpler.

[@NiownEd]

I've looked at it. It is really old, or rather basic dungeon and dragons from waaaaay back when. It's what I started out with.

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

You are my kind of nerd. I love BFRPG too, my group uses more C&C just because it has more player options and more support material as we play very long campaigns it's nice to have more player options, since they we be playing with those characters for years. But when we want a more old-school feel for a more deadly game section or small campaign we use BFRPG.

[@ChrisGonnerman]

More player options? Nothing against C&C (it's great) but have you SEEN our website Downloads page? Or our Showcase?

[@rudolphunleashed6106]

Heyyyy, Skeleton Man. Nice review, very helpful, definetely gonna check it out. Thanks!

[@aerothelich2023]

Hey Thank you very much

[@bobbisbeticobislacco1731]

I started playing with my father GMming redbox dnd when i was 6 So i think this will be a fun read Thanks for the suggestion mate

[@aerothelich2023]

you're welcome I hope you'll find it interesting :D

[@sh36]

Good review. I think I'll check this out when I run out of Mork Borg modules to run for my group

[@aerothelich2023]

Mork Borg is so cool! I definitively want to play it with my group as well.

[@blahblahblahdeeblah]

Subscribed! Keep up the vids, would love to hear more about your tabletop experiences.

[@victormai5182]

My group started playing this. We had a character die before even any combat because he opened a door away from the party and poison spores killed him. Its refreshingly challenging and simple. The module we play is about a giant dwarven city (dungeon) that you just explore, sell loot, rinse repeat. Much less roleplay heavy than D&D

[@GoddessCynthia]

If you want some more rules light systems, you should check out Cypher System!

[@aerothelich2023]

Thanks for the tip! I am adding it to the list :D

[@kelvinsantiago7061]

I recommend Sword and Wizardry it’s also free.

[@Bogrin]

I just picked up the 4th edition book to use as a basis for some solo gaming I want to do! :)

[@aerothelich2023]

Awesome! I hope you'll have a great time :D I think you can find some pre-written solo adventures on the Basic Fantasy website.

[@scharmuetzelmax8573]

Hopefully it's okay for you that I write in German... Hallo! Endlich mal ein Landsmann, der nicht gleich irritiert die Augenbrauen hochzieht, wenn man "Basic Fantasy" in den Mund nimmt. ;-.) Bin in dem Hobby ein ziemlicher Neuling, bin aber schon 2018 auf das Spiel gestoßen. Bislang konnte ich es aber noch nie ausprobieren. Aber schön, dass es noch andere Leute hierzulande gibt, die es kennen. Habe vor, der DnD-Gruppe, in der ich bin, irgendwann mal "Basic Fantasy" zumindest als One Shot zu präsentieren. Dachte da an "Die Wintertochter" (eigentlich für OSE, müsste aber trotzdem klappen). Mal sehen, wann ich dazu komme. Unsere Gruppe ist übrigens (inzwischen) sehr offen dafür, mal andere Sachen außerhalb von DnD auszuprobieren - im Ggs. zu einer DSA-Runde, in der ich mal zu Gast sein durfte. Falls für dich von Interesse, hier mal so kostengünstige bzw. kostenlose Alternativen zu großen RPG-Systemen: - DnD => Basic Fantasy (kennste ;-)) - Cthulhu => FHTAGN - Alien RPG => Mothership (geht auch ein wenig Richtung OSR)

[@aerothelich2023]

sehr cool ich freue mich immer darüber Leute kennen zu lernen die sich ebenso für TTRPGs interessieren :D Ich hoffe du kommst bald dazu BF mit deiner Gruppe zu spielen

[@ChrisGonnerman]

So I have to ask... why are Germans irritated when you say "Basic Fantasy?"

[@scharmuetzelmax8573]

@@ChrisGonnerman Nearly no one has even heard of it. That is the simple reason... But I try to change that a little bit. 🙂🙃

[@fuseblower8128]

​@@ChrisGonnerman Don't know if the Germans get irritated when hearing "Basic Fantasy" but they do have their own popular version of DnD called "Das schwarze Auge" ("The Dark Eye", wiki has an article about it). Perhaps they don't wanna bother with that English stuff while they have their own game 😁

[@ChrisGonnerman]

@@fuseblower8128 Several German people have worked on a translation for Basic Fantasy RPG, but the layout phase has stalled getting it into print.

[@mrmaxwell346]

Dude I love osr dont get me started on dungeon crawl classics. I even bought the yoon-suin setting book imagine it like a dnd china written by doctor suess. Im also thinking of getting midderlands which is lovecraftian not england.

[@aerothelich2023]

that sounds amazing I gotta check it out :D

[@mrmaxwell346]

@@aerothelich2023 trust me man yoon-suin has all sorts of stuf from magic tattoos to yoon-suin itself a city built on the backs of enslaved crab men ruled over by opium addled slug men.

[@aerothelich2023]

@@mrmaxwell346 that sounds absolutely insane and very fun

[@mrmaxwell346]

@@aerothelich2023 it is, midderlands has a murderous humanoid abomination as the queen Elizabeth stand in.

[@drandorinelelfoespacial.8717]

One of the best rpgs out there to be honest.

[@TransoceanicOutreach]

If you're going to flash text images on the screen then give us at least enough time to pause the video. A quarter of a second is not enough.

[@aerothelich2023]

Noted my friend. Thank you

[@davidcauley9400]

Would you chose BF over OSE in terms of playing experience? (ignoring the cost factor, just play experience). Really good video, thank you!

[@aerothelich2023]

I am afraid I can't answer that since I haven't played Old School Essentials yet :( But I really want to give it a shot in the future :D From what I read about it so far it sounds really exciting and a lot of work has gone into the creation of that system. But yes as I said I can't quite compare the in-game experiences yet. also thank you for your nice words!

[@davidcauley9400]

@@aerothelich2023 thank you for replying! I'm going to start with BFrpg I think, OSE is a lovely presentation but BF being open source just scratches my inner anarchist!

[@Wibstozbin]

I am looking for a group to play this game...remotely

[@aerothelich2023]

You can join the official Basic Fantasy Discord Server. They are very friendly people and the DMs on the Server often host Online gaming sessions. You find the Link to join on the Basic Fantasy website. Hope this helped you out

[@hadeseye2297]

2:58 This isn't D&D, but different game with D&D brand on it.

[@DoctorTopper]

Is it just a bad idea to hack this system for a superhero genre game? I don't mean making it easier, I just mean I like X-Men Legends more than Diablo.

[@aerothelich2023]

Ohh I don't know. Making classes and Spells for Basic Fantasy is not as hard as for say Pathfinder but you'd have to be careful with balancing. It sounds like a fun idea though. Maybe you can get some tips on the BF Discord Server or check out the Supplements: Additional Classes on www.basicfantasy.org/downloads.html There you can also find bonus rules for stuff like secondary abilities, extra combat options and many other things that may help you hack the game. Thank you for your comment!

[@vodamiinurl1337]

I just found my new DnD replacement.

[@chaotic__9097]

Bought the books and haven't touched 5e since tbh your losing money the longer ya don't play it

[@aerothelich2023]

Amen

[@Keemera]

I tried one of these games. I had a character, first trap killed me in 1 hit. I don't really get the fun of having your character weak as a real person, but to each his own i guess

[@aerothelich2023]

I understand what you mean it can be frustrating but the fun lies in overcoming things. And yeah its not fun to die to a trap but the next character will know to be more careful. Also if the DM allows it you can tweak the rules and make it less deadly. But I agree with you to each his own

[@colbyboucher6391]

The key is that you can't just autopilot your way through things. It's not "gee I sure love dying", it's "fuck I want this character to stay alive, I better be very, very careful". You start thinking of dungeoneering solutions to survive, monsters are less "oh boy let's fight it" and more "how do we sneak past this?" (Of course you can also roll characters up incredibly quickly so there's that, too). But yeah, old D&D, even compared to other older TRRPGs, is hilariously deadly at low levels.

[@aerothelich2023]

@@colbyboucher6391 I couldn't agree more. I think that's also the reason why people play super deadly survival games like Cataclysm. It's not because they like dying but because overcoming something that seems utterly impossible makes you, the player, feel really powerful more than any Godlike spells ever could.

[@ultimategabriel]

It's a common house rule back in the day to start PCs at level 3. This makes them able to take more punishment. These days though, I start them at level 2 with max HP but 0 XP. This lets them be stronger than level 1 but will still need to earn all the same XP to reach level 3.

[@stevenfoster5217]

I get the feeling you have never played Aliens or Call of Cthulhu?

[@dwi2921]

As a forever DM/GM, I rather like OSR books. Rules light or just plain and simple just make my life easier, especially since I often have multiple things of the brain. I have more than one world, how many villains do I have, what about these henchmen? Etc. Rules light systems like BF, or even White Box, allow me to put forth my best as DM/GM. As an almost never player? Yeah I'll take 5e. I don't think I'd enjoy being a player in an OSR game. I'm here to relax and have a fun time, not bend my mind or scratch my head to the umpteenth degree. Just give me beer and pretzels dude. Death at the first trap? Yeah, I'll just head home. Unless I just roll up 12 or so characters of course and just human wave the problem. I understand that coming up with clever solutions and thinking outside the box is all part of the fun, as is challenging yourself. But I already do that as a DM/GM. I need to power down my brain, not rev it up more.

[@aerothelich2023]

completely understandable I think you really have to be in the right mindset to play OSRs and it's super fine that some people aren't down for that and want some relaxing role playing instead

[@hadeseye2297]

"I will introduce you to an TTRPG" It's RPG, not TTRPG. There are RPGs and cRPG. Latter are video games. Period. A short rant from Grognard. I hate that term, which means "I bow down and let my arse be raaaped by video gamers." A name for this genre was already established in 1970's. No need to create a new one. Especially when crpgs are not rpg in any sense. There's no role playing element in them.