My old school gaming group has adopted Basic Fantasy as its game of choice. As noted, in addition to this book, there is a TON of additional information and resources to be had on the BF website.
I love BFRPG. It was what got me back into Gaming after many years. It was easy enough to get my head around the rules and get right into playing. It was the first RPG I taught my daughter and she loved it.
I think the real reason clerics have 0 spells at first level is that once they have access to spells, they can cast ANY spell of a level they know, unlike magic-users who have to spend time and money to learn new spells. It's a balancing thing.
@@DMTalesTTRPG was going to make a comment, but will add to this. Turn undead in OSR is hudge. It's not once per encounter or rest (like that other game). You can just keep throwing it out there, a cleric can turn the tide of the battle vs large numbers of undead.
Good overview! I have the books downloaded and have purchased about ten of the printed ones. I've studied them for a couple months but haven't played it yet so I can just give my initial impressions. First off, there are some things "baked into the cake" so to speak. Younger folks raised on new games like 5e are in for a shock when their PC gets crushed in her first fight!😂 I started playing D&D in the late 70s, and BFRPG really is old school in the sense that low level characters are pretty fragile. Personally I will probably use the optional material to give specialization to fighters and Arcane Bolt to mages. Characters are not superheroes like in modern games so I don't think it will be unbalancing. I'm also likely to allow characters max HP for the first two or three levels, and I don't mind allowing characters to start at 2nd level. Old school is more dangerous but I don't want to have to run 10 PCs to get 3 of 'em to 3rd level!😲😂 There's a lot to like about BFRPG! A total nOOb can pick it up easily and experienced gamers will be able to hit the ground running as the rules will seem quite familiar. Chris Gonnerman and the other artists, writers and editors did a great job! ⚔️🏹🧙
It is a very good system, and a terrific hybrid of several iterations of old school D&D. I did allow my players max HP at first level (with Constitution modifiers added, positive or negative).
Thanks, it's a fun game with little or no buy in. I borrow some stuff from OSE, and may pull in the heritage/culture split in a game some time in the future to give the classic races more room to differentiate and maybe open some different role playing avenues. But my table really enjoys it, and I'm running a mini-campaign for folks dealing with cancer come this February.
I ended up solving the table problem by getting a GM screen with slots for sliding in whatever papers you need. Then I just printed the tables I needed.
I was always curious as to what flavor of D&D it is. I just had more focus on expanding into none D&D type TTRPGs. Examples cyberpunk , traveller & etc.
@@DMTalesTTRPG Lots! Looking for a good system to start soloing--the fact that this is free you can print everything out and put in binders and only pull out relevant monsters, etc. makes this very appealing.
I started with the wood box. We rolled 3D6 in order, but we’d roll up a dozen characters and pick the most interesting. It was fun todo between sessions and during down time.
I use to be the dm of my group back in the 80s and 90s, up to and including 2nd edition. We use to roll 4d6 drop the lower dice, assign the numbers as you see fit. Darksun use to have a house rules suggestion and that is to go ahead and roll up 3 chars, each setting the player can decide which char he wanted to play. In a sandbox type campaign this can easily work as long as each session ends with the group back in their home base...town, fort, or their own stronghold. If i were to dm today in a osr game...i would probably still practice those two things as house rules.I also like to give clerics a innate ability from their god once a day. Here in a OSR game where the clerics get nothing at level 1 ...you could just give good or lawful clerics a innate cure light wound spell useable up to their wisdom bonus per day. This would overcome them not having spells their first level and establish them as a healer. Chaotic Clerics would get cause light wounds obviously.
Someone pointed out to me that clerics also get turn undead at first level. It’s a trade off. My BFRPG rolled straight down the line; though it did allow them to switch to scores to play the characters they wanted. And full HP at first level. It’s worked well, and having a cleric with terrible charisma has been so much fun for the group.
If you’re going to play one of these old-school clones, you need to start characters at 3rd level, which is what Gary Gygax did. However, i really don’t understand the OSR games that keep attack matrixes or THAC0. We figured out better ways to do that decades ago. (Turn the matrix or THAC0 progression into attack bonuses and use ascending armor class; then, the number they need to hit an armor class IS the armor class.)
I am a big fan of ascending AC, and it’s a big selling point for BFRPG for me. As for “…you need to start…” No. I do not. I HAVE started players beyond 1st level, mostly for shorter campaigns, but for long term things I start at level 1.
Yup. They are getting field guide 2 ready for print at the moment. There’s a lot of work going on with Iron Falcon as well. It;s a community-driven project so it moves at the pace the volunteers move.
I like the idea of returning to OSR and I started reading several games and they all fail in the same regard for me. Sadly, I find OSR having too much focus on the "old". I would gladly play something that is brutally simple and evokes the old school but there is one thing I really would like to have included: Skills. Not rolling versus your stats or classical "rogue-skill-tables", but skills - for everybody. Ideally similar to D&D 3+, but with more variety for all classes. Now that I am at it, another pet-peeve is the number of skillpoints available to classes in D&D 3+. In my opinion a fighter should have as many points as a rogue - but pay double for most of them. The fighter is the most common class, from Mercenary to noble to townguard. Why cant they have the skills to match this? Why cant a dex-fighter not be pretty stealthy, a knight be pretty diplomatic etc? It seems "those OSR people" are a bit to entrenched in the evocation of old, even discarding some very useful changes.
Skills are really a new school concept that many OSR players find get in the way. Before skills you just said, “I want to do this,” and the GM would make a ruling on it. I don’t mind skills, but I do experience a lot of “I roll for perception” at my 5e channel that gets in the way when I was already just going to tell them what they see. it doesn’t sound like an OSR style game is what you’re looking for. But you might want to look at The White Hack, Five Torches Deep, or 5e Hard Mode ti see if it’ll give you what you are looking for. The latter two are hacks of 5e.
People who don't read entire books shouldn't run any games. Rules are for GMs, not players. Players will do fine knowing how to make a simple test and how combat works. Everything else should be handled by GM. Game session is entertainment for players.
![Basic Fantasy RPG 4e [First Look]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/iiJX6HM8Kxk/mqdefault.jpg)
Huh, not sure how I missed this one. Thanks for the kind words, I really appreciate it!
Thanks for stopping by, sir. And thanks also for subscribing.
He made Basic Fantasy! You're the goat
Chris is a great guy.
Thanks guys!
Love the game two thumbs up! 👍👍
My old school gaming group has adopted Basic Fantasy as its game of choice. As noted, in addition to this book, there is a TON of additional information and resources to be had on the BF website.
It’s a good game, and I love introducing new players because of its simplicity and inexpensive buy in.
I love BFRPG. It was what got me back into Gaming after many years. It was easy enough to get my head around the rules and get right into playing. It was the first RPG I taught my daughter and she loved it.
That’s awesome!
I think the real reason clerics have 0 spells at first level is that once they have access to spells, they can cast ANY spell of a level they know, unlike magic-users who have to spend time and money to learn new spells. It's a balancing thing.
Very good point. Sorry your comment got caught in moderation. Not sure how I missed it.
They also do technically have Turn Undead at Lvl 1 which some say counts as a spell
Good insight!
@@bizzy5439 Yep... it's a magical ability.
@@DMTalesTTRPG was going to make a comment, but will add to this. Turn undead in OSR is hudge. It's not once per encounter or rest (like that other game). You can just keep throwing it out there, a cleric can turn the tide of the battle vs large numbers of undead.
Good overview, as Bob says below. Thnx! OSR goodness is all baked within BFRPG, with easier math as icing. 😁
Hey, thanks! The easier math is a HUGE selling point.
Also, it’s nice to see you posting to your channel!
@@DMTalesTTRPG Thnx!
Good overview! I have the books downloaded and have purchased about ten of the printed ones. I've studied them for a couple months but haven't played it yet so I can just give my initial impressions. First off, there are some things "baked into the cake" so to speak. Younger folks raised on new games like 5e are in for a shock when their PC gets crushed in her first fight!😂 I started playing D&D in the late 70s, and BFRPG really is old school in the sense that low level characters are pretty fragile. Personally I will probably use the optional material to give specialization to fighters and Arcane Bolt to mages. Characters are not superheroes like in modern games so I don't think it will be unbalancing. I'm also likely to allow characters max HP for the first two or three levels, and I don't mind allowing characters to start at 2nd level. Old school is more dangerous but I don't want to have to run 10 PCs to get 3 of 'em to 3rd level!😲😂
There's a lot to like about BFRPG! A total nOOb can pick it up easily and experienced gamers will be able to hit the ground running as the rules will seem quite familiar. Chris Gonnerman and the other artists, writers and editors did a great job! ⚔️🏹🧙
It is a very good system, and a terrific hybrid of several iterations of old school D&D. I did allow my players max HP at first level (with Constitution modifiers added, positive or negative).
The only change I make to this is I give Fighters 3/2 attacks at 5th level and 2/1 attacks a round at 9th. Gives them some benefits at higher levels.
Not a bad idea.
Not sure why this is showing up as a new comment! Did you ever play?
Yeah it worked out well!
Excellent analysis! I really enjoy this system and pretty much agree with all of your comments.
Thanks, it's a fun game with little or no buy in. I borrow some stuff from OSE, and may pull in the heritage/culture split in a game some time in the future to give the classic races more room to differentiate and maybe open some different role playing avenues. But my table really enjoys it, and I'm running a mini-campaign for folks dealing with cancer come this February.
Great video, and very informative. Going to give BFRPG a try!
Check out my 4th edition video! And I’ve been playing it for over 2 years now and love running it.
I ended up solving the table problem by getting a GM screen with slots for sliding in whatever papers you need. Then I just printed the tables I needed.
Not a bad solution.
I was always curious as to what flavor of D&D it is.
I just had more focus on expanding into none D&D type TTRPGs.
Examples cyberpunk , traveller & etc.
It’s a mix of several.
Great summary, very informative. Thank you!
Thanks! what games do you play?
@@DMTalesTTRPG Lots! Looking for a good system to start soloing--the fact that this is free you can print everything out and put in binders and only pull out relevant monsters, etc. makes this very appealing.
It is a huge selling point.
I started with the wood box. We rolled 3D6 in order, but we’d roll up a dozen characters and pick the most interesting. It was fun todo between sessions and during down time.
Rolling was so fast back then you could do that!
I use to be the dm of my group back in the 80s and 90s, up to and including 2nd edition. We use to roll 4d6 drop the lower dice, assign the numbers as you see fit. Darksun use to have a house rules suggestion and that is to go ahead and roll up 3 chars, each setting the player can decide which char he wanted to play. In a sandbox type campaign this can easily work as long as each session ends with the group back in their home base...town, fort, or their own stronghold. If i were to dm today in a osr game...i would probably still practice those two things as house rules.I also like to give clerics a innate ability from their god once a day. Here in a OSR game where the clerics get nothing at level 1 ...you could just give good or lawful clerics a innate cure light wound spell useable up to their wisdom bonus per day. This would overcome them not having spells their first level and establish them as a healer. Chaotic Clerics would get cause light wounds obviously.
Someone pointed out to me that clerics also get turn undead at first level. It’s a trade off.
My BFRPG rolled straight down the line; though it did allow them to switch to scores to play the characters they wanted. And full HP at first level. It’s worked well, and having a cleric with terrible charisma has been so much fun for the group.
If you’re going to play one of these old-school clones, you need to start characters at 3rd level, which is what Gary Gygax did.
However, i really don’t understand the OSR games that keep attack matrixes or THAC0. We figured out better ways to do that decades ago. (Turn the matrix or THAC0 progression into attack bonuses and use ascending armor class; then, the number they need to hit an armor class IS the armor class.)
I am a big fan of ascending AC, and it’s a big selling point for BFRPG for me.
As for “…you need to start…”
No. I do not. I HAVE started players beyond 1st level, mostly for shorter campaigns, but for long term things I start at level 1.
BFRPG still uses a hit-chart with ascending AC instead of making AC the target number?
No…it’s just straight ascending AC.
Is Basic Fantasy still being developed? Much of the material on the download page seems to stop at 2020.
Yup. They are getting field guide 2 ready for print at the moment. There’s a lot of work going on with Iron Falcon as well.
It;s a community-driven project so it moves at the pace the volunteers move.
I like the idea of returning to OSR and I started reading several games and they all fail in the same regard for me. Sadly, I find OSR having too much focus on the "old". I would gladly play something that is brutally simple and evokes the old school but there is one thing I really would like to have included: Skills. Not rolling versus your stats or classical "rogue-skill-tables", but skills - for everybody. Ideally similar to D&D 3+, but with more variety for all classes. Now that I am at it, another pet-peeve is the number of skillpoints available to classes in D&D 3+. In my opinion a fighter should have as many points as a rogue - but pay double for most of them. The fighter is the most common class, from Mercenary to noble to townguard. Why cant they have the skills to match this? Why cant a dex-fighter not be pretty stealthy, a knight be pretty diplomatic etc? It seems "those OSR people" are a bit to entrenched in the evocation of old, even discarding some very useful changes.
Skills are really a new school concept that many OSR players find get in the way. Before skills you just said, “I want to do this,” and the GM would make a ruling on it.
I don’t mind skills, but I do experience a lot of “I roll for perception” at my 5e channel that gets in the way when I was already just going to tell them what they see.
it doesn’t sound like an OSR style game is what you’re looking for. But you might want to look at The White Hack, Five Torches Deep, or 5e Hard Mode ti see if it’ll give you what you are looking for. The latter two are hacks of 5e.
Try Worlds Without Number and Stars Without Number Kevin Crawford. It’s old school and has skills with a really integrated progression system
Lol Whenever I hear "Rule of thumb" all I csn think of is Boondock saints... "....Perhaps it should have been rule of wrist"
I never saw that. Also… I just rewatched it and missed where I said “rule of thumb,” so that’s going to be nagging me all day!
Thanks for watching.
ua-cam.com/video/J0BjpUhPg9g/v-deo.html
Well that escalated quickly.
3:37 :)
THANK YOU
Awesome alternitive that absorbs good rules from other RPG's is called D100 Dungeon by Martin Knight! D100 Dungeon is a game system I love!
I have not heard of that. Thank you!
People who don't read entire books shouldn't run any games. Rules are for GMs, not players.
Players will do fine knowing how to make a simple test and how combat works. Everything else should be handled by GM. Game session is entertainment for players.
ooooooo….kkkkkkk?
GM's are allowed to have fun as well. It's a joined venture of the entire group.
Nooooo. Nope. That's not the reason people play games.