Ronin's Basic Fantasy ramblings

Basic fantasy is a 164page old school style RPG written by Chris Gonnerman. The page layouts and black and white art is reminiscent of old school role-playing games. With four races Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, and Humans. Classes include Cleric, Fighter, Magic-user, and Thief. I've seen time and again  fans of the game try to compare it to a particular version of older editions of D&D. Since I didn't play those older editions I really can't attest to how close it is, but I have played enough retro clones and OSR games to get a sence of its old school vibe. Basic fantasy is an OGL based game using the same core (although very scaled back) system as the 3rd edition of dungeons and dragons. Basic fantasy uses the core six ability scores, scaling combat bonuses, and abilities like it's roots. While keeping a simple feel and style that very much exemplifies older editions of the game. This to me is the best of both worlds. Basic fantasy is simple and elegant while taking a...

I thought I would kick off this new blog with a review/overview of the Basic fantasy core book. Of course I'm a fan, or this blog would not exist. Basic fantasy is in it's 3rd edition. A game by Chris Gornnerman with contribution from a bunch of talented folks. It's 166 pages with very nice black and white art that feels right at home in an old school role playing game. Right out of the gate I can say Basic fantasy is great because it is a complete role-playing game in a single volume. Sure there is a lot of additional classes and options online, but you can get a lot of gaming, years worth of gaming with just this book. Nothing shows that more than a quick breakdown of different sections of the core book. Pages 1-2 is an introduction to the game. Pages 3-9 cover character creation. Pages 10-14 cover equipment. Pages 15-35 covers magic and spells. Pages 36-53 covers rules for Adventuring. Pages 54-128 covers monsters. Pages 129-143 covers treasure and magic items. ...