So, you’re looking for an adventure! Well, you’ve come to the right place. Everything you and your friends need to travel to distant lands filled with magic, dragons, and wonder is here in this book. You’ll traverse Dangerous dungeons, climb wizards’ towers, explore the ruins of Long forgotten temples, and stalk the streets of ancient cities crawling with pirates and thieves. AS you overcome the challenges placed before you, you will be rewarded with magically enchanted artifacts, powerful allies, invaluable experience, and more than a little bit of gold!
About this Book #
The Open Adventure: Fantasy Core Rules set you up to play roleplaying games in fantasy worlds like those described in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar books, Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories, or N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy. Everything you need, aside from some dice, pencils and paper, and a friend or two to play with, is included in this book.
What is a Roleplaying Game? #
Open Adventure: Fantasy (or simply Open Adventure) is a roleplaying game. In a roleplaying game, you and your friends take part in an adventure like the ones in your favorite fantasy books, movies, comics, and shows. The key difference is that in Open Adventure, you decide who the heroes are, what they do, and how the story unfolds. You don’t just watch or read the story—you live it! This is what sets tabletop roleplaying games apart from any other type of game or entertainment.
Player Roles #
In Open Adventure, you take on one of two roles: a Player Character or the Adventure Guide (sometimes referred to AS the AG). Characters in Open Adventure are down-to-earth heroes with a handful of exceptional abilities. They have roughly the same level of power AS your favorite artifact-hunting archaeologists, wandering barbarian swordsmen, English super spies, or renegade starship crew members. The players decide what the characters do and how they react to the challenges they face. The Adventure Guide takes the players through the story, providing descriptions of the setting, playing the supporting cast, and devising the challenges the characters must overcome.
Player Characters vs Non-Player Characters vs Adversaries #
Characters controlled by the players are called Player Characters or PCs. Characters controlled by the Adventure Guide, including monsters, villagers, bandits, or any other sentient being, are called Non-Player Characters or NPCs. NPCs actively obstructing the Player Characters or attempting to harm them are sometimes referred to AS Adversaries.
Your Goal in the Game #
Your goal in an Open Adventure game is to work together to create the coolest, most interesting, Action-packed fantasy adventure possible by defeating villainous adversaries, discovering ancient secrets, and saving innocent lives from the forces of evil. The rules in this book help you determine what happens when the outcome of your characters’ heroic actions is not clear. For example, if the characters ask a local priest for directions to the castle, you won’t need rules. Just play out the conversation between the players and the Adventure Guide like it is a scene in a movie. On the other hand, if the characters want to convince the priest to loan them a powerful holy artifact to use in an upcoming adventure, well, things might not be quite so clear. In cases like this, the rules help you resolve the Challenge to determine what happens next.
What You Need to Play #
To play adventures using the Open Adventure: Fantasy Core Rules, you need:
- At least one copy of this book
- A group of friends to play with
- Pencils and paper
- A set of polyhedral dice
The Book #
The Adventure Guide needs a copy of these rules, although it is helpful if everyone at the table has a copy. The digital version of Open Adventure: Fantasy is available free wherever you get your digital books, or you can download a copy from openadventurerpg.com.
Group #
You need at least two people to play an Open Adventure game: one to play a character and one to act AS the Adventure Guide. Roleplaying games work especially well when you have three to five people playing characters and one person acting AS the Adventure Guide, but you can have fun with a group of any size.
Pencils and Paper #
You need a pencil and paper to keep track of the equipment your character carries, the numbers which represent their skills and abilities, and any notes about the story. Although it’s not strictly necessary, it is helpful to print off some blank character sheets like the one found in the back of this book. You can also download blank character sheets from openadventurerpg.com.
Polyhedral Dice #
Open Adventure uses standard roleplaying game dice. At minimum you need a 12-sided die, a 10-sided die, an 8-sided die, and three or four 6-sided dice. Alternatively, there are a variety of free digital dice apps available for mobile devices that simulate role-playing game dice. When the rules talk about dice, the following abbreviations are used for the different die types: d12, d10, d8, and d6. If multiple dice of the same type are called for, the abbreviation is preceded by the number of dice required. For example, if the game directs you to roll three six-sided dice, it is written like this: 3d6.
Campaign Setting #
The world where your adventures take place is called the campaign setting. It is the stage upon which your characters’ stories are told, and it will grow and evolve AS you play the game. The Adventure Guide will typically select the setting, either making use of a published setting, like the World of Aetaltis, or creating something from scratch. Some groups like to create their setting AS they go, jointly building out the world over the course of their adventures.
This book does not include a campaign setting, but for the purposes of teaching the game, it includes rules for the common elements of classic fantasy worlds. From dwarves to dragons, it has everything you need to go on adventures in your favorite fantasy world.
The History of Open Adventure #
Open Adventure is the result of a successful crowdfunding campaign completed in 2023. The goal of the campaign was to create a new roleplaying game system and then give it to the world. This book is the product of that effort. Open Adventure belongs to the roleplaying community. Anyone can play, copy, publish, or leverage this system for anything they wish (commercial or personal) without getting special permission, paying a licensing fee, facing the interference of a Self-interested third party, or even providing attribution. For complete details about Open Adventure’s open content, visit openadventurerpg.com.
Writing and Game Design
Marc Tassin
Layout and Design
Shawn T. King
Illustrations
Russell M. Marks
Editing
Melanie R. Meadors
Copyediting
John Boyless
Design Editing
Matthew Eberle
Consulting Designers
DBJ • Toiya Kristen Finley • Matt Forbeck • Kenneth Hite • Eloy Lasanta • Robin D. Laws • Steven S. Long • Andrew Marlowe • Monica Marlowe • Crystal Mazur • Owen K.C. Stephens
Special Thanks To
Chris Anderson • Eric Brace • Elizabeth Vaughan • The Kickstarter Backers • The Backerkit Backers • The Discord Playtesters • The Facebook Playtesters