Fantasy World

The core rulebook text is 100% free as a Creative Commons licensed community SRD @ fantasyworldrpg.com. If you "buy" it here on itch you are simply tipping me directly, which is both very kind of you and greatly appreciated ❤️

Or you can buy the commercial version of the game that, thanks to a successful Kickstarter, has become a gorgeous PDF/Book published by MS Edizioni. The text is exactly the same as in the free SRD, but enriched by a professional layout and more than 60 lavish illustrations by artist Luca Maiorani. Here are the links to go get it: 

• Commercial game, PDF and Printed, in ITALIAN
• Commercial game, PDF only, in ENGLISH
  
• Commercial game, Printed only, in ENGLISH
  • UPDATE!
    After purchasing a printed copy (ITA or ENG)  you can write an email to info@msedizioni.it with a photo of you and the book to get the PDF for free! It's a clunky solution, but at least they are kind enough to offer it 😅
    

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Here's an excerpt from the wiki-rulebook linked above:

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Dramatic Fantasy

Fantasy World is a game that focuses on dramatic fantasy adventuring.

Dramatic fantasy is not about soap opera melodrama among teen wizards, although this could be a lot of fun- please someone make this game!

Dramatic fantasy is about the very personal conflicts, internal and external, that turn a bunch of drifting murderers into a group of heroes. It's about the consequences of their actions, and how they affect both the Protagonists and the world around them. It's about the tough choices and personal sacrifices and joys and sorrows and scars and hopes driving the Protagonists through their adventures. It's about the things that make you care about what happens.

When you don't care, something as epic as saving a kingdom could feel like a trivial and bothersome chore. When you do care, something as trivial as keeping a promise to a random village kid can feel epic and fulfilling. What this game's rules do is help you and your friends inject this level of meaning and engagement into whatever kind of adventure you end up playing.

TL:DR

At the heart of Dramatic fantasy adventuring are these elements:

• Social ties are important.
• Accountability for one’s own choices and actions is central.
• Morality is not something trite and pre-packaged, but an ongoing critical conversation with oneself.

On top of all this, Fantasy World adds particular attention to three key points:

• The Fellowship is at the center of the game and expresses how and why the Protagonists stay together.
• Violence always has costs and consequences for everyone involved, whether physical, emotional or social.
• Player characters are the Protagonists of the emerging story revolving around their personal Issues and Doubts.

No matter how you personalize the setting, these things will always be true:

• Magic is real.
• Gods are silent.
• Cities are rare.
• Travel is perilous.

The Common Moves (rules about PC actions) that everyone can perform are split like so:

• Action moves = Take a Risk / Intervene / Sway
• Info moves = Look Around / Read Someone / Recall Lore
• Violence moves = Brawl / Threaten
• Adventuring moves = Journey / Long Rest / Restock
• Special moves = Epilogue / End of Session

The playable Fellowships are:

• Shields - Local defenders and agents of the law.
• Knives - Local scoundrels and rogues.
• Hearts - Traveling heroes on a great quest.
• Coins - Traveling mercenaries and treasure hunters.

The playable Classes are:

• Captain - A capable leader at the head of a resourceful crew, facing dangers and voyages together as one.
• Knight - A bastion of virtue, bestowing guidance, judgment, and retribution upon an imperfect world.
• Maker - A creative mind that thinks outside of the box, taking on the world armed with curiosity, knowledge, and technology.
• Occultist - A practitioner of arcane arts, keeper of forgotten knowledge, and wielder of sorcerous powers.
• Priest - A worker of miracles, wielding the power of religious faith and fervor.
• Scoundrel - A criminal by trade and an adventurer by vocation: resourceful, connected, dangerous.
• Troubadour - A wAnderer and a wOnderer, shaping the world with their art and wiles.
• Veteran - A battle seasoned fighter, bearing the wisdom earned in the face of Death and adversity.
• Wayfarer - A true explorer, using their expertise of plant and beast to journey through wilderness and cities alike.
• Wildcaller - A child of the land, linked inextricably to its elements and spirits.

Is This For You? Yes!

Fantasy World is a tabletop roleplaying game in the PbtA family.

If you're wondering what an RPG even is, worry not! I will explain all you need to know to go from zero to expert in the easiest way possible.

If you are a veteran roleplayer but are new to the ways of PbtA games, you're going to be fine too. I'll show you the lay of the land, the whys and hows, and all the juicy bits this kind of system has to offer.

And if you are well-versed in many different PbtA systems, I hope to pique your interest too. Fantasy World tosses out the window a few things that are considered standard (or even trending) in many PbtA games, turns unspoken guidelines into explicit procedures, and adds some original mechanics into the mix.

But, Why Fantasy World?

Most Powered by the Apocalypse games shine because of some amazing idea that sits at their core. But too often they also end up prioritizing style and novelty over clarity and practicality.

A common result is that the rule book alone is not enough to learn how to properly play, requiring previous expertise in PbtA systems to fully understand the game's inner workings.

Another common problem is the lack of clarity in how some mechanics work, leading to the need for on-the-fly negotiation and interpretation of things that should instead be unequivocal and straightforward. Moves are very susceptible to this.

This state of affairs prompted me to write a game that starts from a simple and familiar idea, ye olde fantasy adventure, and then focuses on being as user-friendly and pragmatic as possible.

My hope is to help people better understand other PbtA games too, how they are different, how they are similar, how they are brilliant and, sometimes, how they bump into problems. And to present a few ideas of my own, to try and push the envelope a bit further.

It might not be a veritable PbtA Next... but that's the general direction I'm aiming for.

Enjoy!