What is Reddit's opinion of Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game 3rd Edition?

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But if you like paper books, they sell those -- at cost. I'm talking about five bucks for the core rulebook and even less for everything else. I bought the whole damn collection. At those prices, why not?

Thanks! BFRPG is a pretty great OSR game too, and like I said, everything is 100% free and even the printed books are at-cost, so it is, without a doubt, the cheapest way to play a table-top RPG.

(The core rulebook is $5, shipped from Amazon.)

"Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game" is great for a simple, yet full flavored OSR clone. I bough all the books for 20ish dollars.

If you're into B/x or OSR in general I highly recommend them.

If you're looking for D&D lite that's free and very cheap, look no further than Basic Fantasy RPG. It's essentially old school D&D with a few modern conveniences such as ascending armor class.

• The pdf is <strong>free</strong>.
• Physical copies are $5 USD.

There's a ton of content, all of it is free in PDF form and physical copies are incredibly cheap. And while the core book does come with a rather comprehensive bestiary, there's a dedicated bestiary that expands on things called the Basic Fantasy Field Guide, also available in PDF for free.

Try Basic Fantasy, you can download everything for free as PDFs. You can get the rulebook at Amazon for $5. It's a great entry point to RPGs and your wallet will be happy.

Sure, I'm talking about Basic Fantasy RPG, which is the free B/X clone by Gonnerman. I think that's what OP is talking about too, since it costs 5.5 USD on Amazon :)

https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Fantasy-Role-Playing-Game-3rd/dp/1503334945

Yup! Plus you can get a copy of anything from the BFRPG library printed at-cost from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Fantasy-Role-Playing-Game-3rd/dp/1503334945

While there is a lot of good advice in here, let me throw out an alternative. DND 5e is fun but can be expensive. There are a lot of alternatives that are cheap or free, but still high quality.

For example, Basic Fantasy (BFRPG) is based on the 1980s versions of D&D. The digital stuff is 100% complete. Has enough content to last you a lifetime of gaming. If you do want physical copies, they are dirt cheap. The core book is $5.50 new. Plus, it's highly compatible with all the old school Renaissance (OSR) stuff. You could use it to run classics like Keep on the Borderlands, Castle Ravenloft, or Temple of Elemental Evil.

If you need a virtual tabletop you could use owbear.rodeo or the free version of Roll20.

Again, not trying to say don't play 5e, but wanted to give you an option to save money on cheaper alternatives.

In addition to BFRPG here are some other cheap or free fantasy alternatives:

• The Black Hack (one of my favorite games; tons of hacks for alternative rules and expanded content)
• Sharp Swords and Sinister Spells (same system as Solar Blades and Cosmic Spells if you want to expand into Science Fantasy)
• Worlds Without Number (the free edition is still super complete; compatible with Kevin Crawford's other systems if you want to switch up genres, like Stars Without Number)
• Beyond the Wall (cheap and has some other free content; most fun I've ever had as a table making characters; has an alternative Through Sunken Lands if you prefer a more Sword & Sorcery approach)
• Bundleofholding.com (not a game, but you can keep an eye on it to pick up a vast amount of content with very little cost; I've never seen D&D on there but they do occasionally have big name stuff on there)

All but the last have dice mechanics, but are for the adventure contained within. Not a typical RPG, you’re right.

Have you looked at Basic Fantasy?

Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game 3rd Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/1503334945/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_8EX2YATM3YZKD0QYBBCX

Or White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game?

White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game https://www.amazon.com/dp/1545516480/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_B1ND40TXC300TTPD40XA?_encoding=UTF8&amp;psc=1

Those are more traditional and self-contained to one book for everything.

/u/JaskoGomad suggested Maze Rats, and I think it's good advice.

Alternatively, look into Basic Fantasy RPG. The entire game line is free in PDF form. Additionally, if you want hard copies, they're very cheap at $5.50 on Amazon.

Basic Fantasy RPG is based on D&D and is essentially an amalgamation of some of the best ideas from 0th D&D, B/X D&D and AD&D. It's simple and easy to get into, far more so than 5E, IMO.

And while this is just my opinion, I've found Basic Fantasy significantly easier to run and improvise on the fly than 5E.

If you're looking to stay within the confines of D&D, but want something a lot more flexible and easily run than 5E, give Basic Fantasy a serious look.

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Basic Fantasy $5.50 prime https://www.amazon.com/dp/1503334945

Source: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503334945/ref=as_li_ss_tl?&amp;tag=crazydeals02-20&amp;camp=rpg_games_1

Source: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503334945/ref=as_li_ss_tl?&amp;tag=crazydeals02-20&amp;camp=rpg_games_1

Source: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503334945/ref=as_li_ss_tl?&amp;tag=crazydeals02-20&amp;camp=rpg_games_1

Old School Essentials (B/X clone, very well done, mine showed up the other day and it is really nicely made.)

And to go with those rules...

B1-9 In Search of Adventure (reprint) Paperback $19.99

Amazon has been tempting me with this: (great starter combo)

Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game 3rd Edition Paperback $5.00

The Basic Fantasy Field Guide Paperback $3.80

Adventure Anthology 1 Paperback $3.75

Some cheaper gifts I purchased this season...

$4.29 White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game

OSR / Modern / Different / Also well done...

Skyscrapers &amp; Sorcery White Box Rules Paperback $5.36

Basic Fantasy is the cheapest physical rpg that I know:

https://www.amazon.com/Basic-Fantasy-Role-Playing-Game-3rd/dp/1503334945/

You can even buy Basic Fantasy (https://smile.amazon.com/Basic-Fantasy-Role-Playing-Game-3rd/dp/1503334945) on Amazon for cost of printing alone (3 bucks or something)

You can always adapt the games to suit your needs. Just let the players know your world is bleak and low or minimum magic. Basic Fantasy is a good one to try out it's cheap on Amazon and free at Website

Don't forget about Basic Fantasy.

I know you're asking for 5E, but I'd like to submit for your consideration Basic Fantasy RPG. It's a polished up clone of an older edition of D&D. It's well designed, it's fun and it's very cheap. So cheap in fact that the PDF's are free. On the other hand, you mentioned that physical copies are a must. If that's the case, BFRPG is $5 for a hard copy! For the cost of a single copy of the D&D 5E Player's Handbook you can pick up six full copies of BFRPG. Of course the bestiary is a thing too and it's only $3.64.

5E is great, there's nothing wrong with it. But I understand cost is an issue. BFRPG is arguably as good and it's significantly cheaper. Give it a look!

If you're trying to break into the hobby on the cheap...congrats, you have a lot of really good options! Here are some excellent cheap and free options. They're all based on earlier versions of D&D.

• Swords &amp; Wizardry - This is a bit more old school than the latest D&D or Pathfinder, but it's really damn good. It's a throwback to earlier versions of D&D but is very well polished and incredibly well supported. The physical book itself is ~$30 USD. However, click that link and choose the PDF format and it's free. If I want to play old school D&D, this is my goto game.
• Basic Fantasy RPG - This is an open source RPG that is very similar to Swords & Wizardry in most ways. It's well supported. The mechanics are sound. All in all, it's a great RPG. Click the link and the PDF's are free. Want hard copies? Click here. They sell hard copies at cost. You can pick up the core book, the bestiary and all of it's published modules for ~$30 USD. It's worth noting that the adventures for this work under most systems. So still a great resource, no matter what game you pick up.
• Lamentations of the Flame Princess - Also similar to Swords & Wizardry and Basic Fantasy RPG. While not my personal favorite game of it's type, I still recommend it. Mechanically it's very sound. It's a throwback to early D&D RPG's...just twisted...demented even. The game is lethal and from everything I've seen, a lot of the published adventures really push for a sort of demented shock value. Click the link and the PDF is free. The physical book is ~$20 USD and can be found here.

In all cases you'll still need dice, but those can be found for very cheap or you can use dice roller apps on your phone.

Have fun!

Fun, fast, easily modified and has skill checks? The two that immediately come to mind are Swords and Wizardry and Basic Fantasy RPG. Both are free.

• Swords and Wizardry - Doesn't look like it's free, but it is. Choose the PDF format and the price will change to $0.00. Of the old school games, it's my favorite.
• Basic Fantasy RPG - This one gets recommended on here a lot, and for good reason. Absolutely free. Hell, on Amazon you can get a physical copy of the core book for $5. A substantial number of modules for the system are also on amazon for less than $5. All of them are free n PDF form on the Basic Fantasy RPG website.

I'd recommend taking a look at Basic Fantasy Roleplay. The rules are based on D&D. They're free and complete (and very cheap if you just really want a paper copy) but more importantly for your players - they're short.

There are free adventures to download and you can also use the system to play older D&D modules from the DM's Guild.

As for extras - a nice luxury item I use all the time is a sleeved GM screen. I can pop in screens from PDFs of whatever system I want to run. If you do individual initiative, I'd grab a pack of index cards you can chop in half and tent them over your screen in order with each character's name, AC, class, perception score, that sort of thing.