Dungeonbright
Dungeonbright is a fantasy rpg toolkit built to accommodate modern osr or "adventure game" play. It's structured to facilitate fast GM adjudication and diegetic mechanics.
Dungeonbright is written by Ben and Jessica Dutter¸ with art by Lorc¸ Delapouite¸ DarkZaitzev¸ Cathelineau¸ and Skoll (from game-icons.net).
PRIMERShort game even shorter:
- Three abilities (Body¸ Mind¸ Spirit)
- Three "fields" (Combat¸ Expertise¸ Magic)
- Skill system allows you to skip related tasks
- Mechanics to minimize the amount of rolling
- Everything is treated as either a check or a save (including combat)
- Dungeons are corrupted by mythological¸ wholly capital-E evil darkness
- Any PC can cast spells¸ which significantly differ from TSR-era magic (including in-fiction rules for "recharging" failed spells¸ and all spells being directly related to dungeoneering)
Dungeonbright's design goals are:
- Mechanized GM fiat
- Completely in-fiction or diegetic
- Unified and coherent mechanics
- Rewarding player ingenuity
- Evocative¸ flexible characters
- Content and dungeon compatibility
First of all¸ the game is totally free. Download it¸ share it¸ print it out¸ use it however you'd like (just don't sell it or remove the artist credits). Dungeonbright¸ first and foremost¸ is what we want in a "pure" osr game: it's fast¸ grounded¸ and easy to play even for beginners. The core systems are all familiar¸ but there are ways we've mechanized GM fiat and PC competency that we feel are a breath of fresh air.
If you're into games like Maze Rats¸ Into the Odd¸ Tunnel Goons¸ or GLOG¸ then absolutely check out Dungeonbright (even just to steal ideas from!).