Kickstarter - SimpleQuest (d100 Fantasy Rules)

A small complete D100 Fantasy Roleplaying Game.

I'm a huge fan of Newt Newport and his D101 Games company. Crypts & Things is one of the best OSR rulesets, and OpenQuest is a convenient entry to the Basic RPG Engine (CoC, RuneQuest, and the like).

SimpleQuest is a streamlined version of OpenQuest, focused on the fantasy genre. I personally find D100 games work best with small parties of players (or at least better than D20-style games) as they are skill-based and not level-based. For a party of 2 to 3 players, SimpleQuest may be a perfect choice.

13 bucks for the SimpleQuest PDF with the at-cost POD is a sweet deal. It's already written, so January 2023 is pretty sweet.

SimpleQuest is a short fantasy adventure roleplaying game. Within its 150 pages, it contains everything you need to play.  

SimpleQuest is ideal if you want a short yet comprehensive D100 fantasy ruleset. 

A Bit More about the Game

Last year I released OpenQuest, a simple, straightforward D100 Table Top Game, as an all-in-one book. SimpleQuest is a concise and compact version of that game, with a few extra rules to make it more pickup and play.

Compact for travelling and viewing on phones/tablets

Concise for straightforward fantasy games, one-shots and short campaigns.

The book weighs in at just over 150 pages, in 6x9 inch format, with full-colour illustrations by Jeshields and a gorgeous wrap round cover by Jon Hodgson.

It will come in three formats.

A Digital Pdf - fully bookmarked with hyperlinked page references.

A Print on Demand version, fulfilled by DriveThruRpg.com

A Printed version, with sewn pages, endpapers and a ribbon. Sent directly from me in the UK to you, postage payable after the campaign via my website.

This book contains the following chapters:

Characters. Use a points allocation or random system to generate motivated characters capable of going on fantastic and thrilling adventures.

Equipment. This chapter deals with the tools of the adventuring trade. Things like weapons, armour and general gear such as rope, backpacks and transport costs.

Rules. In this chapter, the system's workhorse, the D100 Skill Test, is explained in its basic and opposed versions. There is also a section of Spot Rules for common adventuring situations.

Combat. This subset of the rules looks at what happens when blades are drawn and used in anger.

Magic. This chapter details a single magic system that every player character uses.

Creatures. Monsters and animals to populate your adventures.

Gods and Goddesses. To use either as patrons for the characters or religions for them to join.

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DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar  

Free RPG - The Lost Outpost, The OpenQuest Quick-Start Rules and Adventure

I'm a huge fan of OpenQuest. Were I to run my classic boxed sets of Pavis & Big Rubble again, I'd use OpenQuest for the ruleset. It's, IMHO, the best presentation of the RQ/BRPG d100 system that I've encountered.

The Lost Outpost, The OpenQuest Quick-Start Rules, and Adventure is a free taste of the new edition of the OpenQuest rules. 75 pages, hyperlinked and ready to roll ;)

This pdf is designed to get players and Referees up and playing OpenQuest, with the minimum of preparation.

It contains the following sections.

• Characters. A rundown of what an OpenQuest character is made up of, both in terms of numbers and concepts.
• Quick Rules. A concise version of the OpenQuest rules, enough to play the adventure.
• Combat. The rules for physical combat.
• Magic. The basic approach to magic, known as Personal Magic.
• The Lost Outpost. An introductory adventure set in OpenQuest’s example setting, the Empire of Gatan.
• A set of six pre-made characters. Players should pick one and get ready to play.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection.  

Kickstarter - OpenQuest 3e (d100 System)

I'm a huge fan of OpenQuest. I jumped on the earlier editions when they released, and its one of the few non-old school D&D derived rulesets I feel comfortable with.  Needless to say, I'm backing for the latest edition, but this time I want a signed copy ;)

OpenQuest is a straightforward, easy to play D100 role-playing game.

Inspired by the tremendous D100 rulesets put out in the late 1970s and 1980s,  OpenQuest uses the Legend SRD as a base and includes innovations from more recent indie RPGs to give it a modern edge.

The first edition of OpenQuest came out in Summer 2009. This version of the game refines and updates the text of the game, making it more straightforward to use than ever before. 

You can back for as little as 13 bucks for the year PDF & POD.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are the affiliate programs that support The Tavern.

Deal of the Day - OpenQuest 2 Deluxe

OpenQuest reminds me very much of Chaosium's RuneQuest 2. Not sure why. Maybe it's the lack of endless tables that RQ6 brought into the mix.

In any case, OpenQuest 2 is the Deal of the Day. $7.50 in PDF, but that's not the sweet spot.

$14.50 in color Softcover, $22.50 in color Hardcover. Both options come with the PDF.

A complete and easy to play Fantasy Roleplaying game, with monsters, magic and exotic locales. 

OpenQuest uses the classic D100 rules mechanic, which uses percentages to express the chance of success or failure. 

This is the 2nd Edition of the game in full colour with 80 new pages of content. The Deluxe version of the game aims to be a self contained game with rules and advice on how to run a full campaign where the adventurers progress from their poor and ill experienced beginnings to the lofty heights of Godhood! 

Open Quest is based on the Mongoose RuneQuest SRD (MRQ SRD), with ideas from previous editions of Chaosium's RuneQuest and Stormbringer 5th, mixed in with some common sense house rulings from the author's twenty years of experience with the D100 system.

Bundle of Holding - OpenQuest 2

I'm a huge fan of OpenQuest and have been since I first found the first edition of the rules. Clean, concise with much of the feel of the classic RuneQuest Chaosium rules of old.

I'd be all over this Bundle if I didn't already own it al in PDF (and most of it in print)

The Bonus Collection is just under 20 bucks.

RPGNow Deal of the Day - OpenQuest 2 Deluxe

Ask me my favorite flavor of D&D and without hesitation I'll tell you "Swords & Wizardry." I like them all up to 2e as well as the various clones (and 5e is certainly playable) but S&W is the version that plays the smoothest for me.

Ask me my favorite flavor of Basic Roleplaying, the system that powers everything from CoC, RuneQuest, Legend, Elric and so much more and I'll tell you "OpenQuest." It doesn't overwhelm and works pretty well will adventures and settings from the various other flavors of Basic Roleplaying.

Until 11am tomorrow morning, you can get the OpenQuest 2 Deluxe rules in PDF for $7.50 (normally $15.) Not sure? Grab the OpenQuest 2 Basic Edition in PDF for free.

River of Heaven (OpenQuest / D100 SciFi) Giveaway - PDF - Awarding the Prize Bundle

Strange how time off from work doesn't automatically convert into free time. Anyhow, it is time to award the River of Heaven PDF Prize Bundle to a lucky reader.

+Jon Hershberger - woot!

Jon, you get a PDF copy of River of Heaven (and it's companion PDF, the adventure Reunion)

Thanks to +Newt Newport for generously offering this bundle. I look forward to hearing Jon's feedback ;)

edit - Jon, email me at tenkatsDOTtavernAT that gmail thing :)

River of Heaven (OpenQuest / D100 SciFi) Giveaway - PDF

+Newt Newport recently emailed me and asked if I would be interested in giving away a PDF copy of River of Heaven (and it's companion PDF, the adventure Reunion) to one of the readers of The Tavern. I'm no fool - of course i said yes!

This is not part of OSR Christmas (that should pick up again this weekend.) This is a total separate generous giveaway.

River of Heaven takes the OpenQuest rules and ports them to SciFi. OpenQuest is the current version of the d100 / OGL RuneQuest rules that I feel comfortable with. They remind me of the classic Chaosium RuneQuest 2 rules, and those were my go to rules back in the day when I wasn't running AD&D.

I'm damn tempted to take River of Heaven for a spin when life reaches a speed that's manageable. In the meantime I'll brainstorm the campaign that will drive my players happily crazy ;)

So, this is how we are going to do it - post a comment between now whenever I wake up Saturday morning (January 3rd, 2015). One random commenter gets a PDF copy of the River of Heaven rules and the Reunion adventure.

It's already a Silver Best Seller at RPGNow and it's only been out for a week and a half.

(if you want to check out the OpenQuest rules for free, OpenQuest 2 Basic is available RPGNow in PDF)

Here's info from the blurb:

It is the dawn of the 28th Century.

The Third Renaissance, or Bright Age as future historians will call it, is at its zenith.

After the catastrophic first contact with extra-terrestrial life that led to the horrific Solar System war, humanity clawed its way back from the brink and finally reached the stars. For millions of people, Earth’s sun is no more than another star in the night sky, a mote of light, a spiritual birthplace that they will never visit in their lifetimes.

It has been over a century since the Machine Civilisation gifted humanity technological marvels such as the Visser Cube, allowing wormhole travel across the vast chasms of interstellar space. Now interstellar distances grow ever shorter. How the myriad of splintered cultures view this gift varies. Some see it as a blessing, a way to draw humanity into a united whole. Others see it as a curse, robbing them of their individuality. And then there are those who would use it as a means to subjugate humanity and impose their own will upon all…

Across the river of heaven, humanity clings to a scattering of islands in a sea of stars. Players can take on a multitude of roles in this future: a crew member on an interstellar trader, a member of the mysterious Engineers’ Guild, a body-hopping Intercessionist agent – out to manipulate human cultures to its own secret ends, a Renouncer Zealot – intent on destroying Artificial Intelligence in all its forms, or perhaps one of the Reclaimers – planetary engineers dedicated to terraforming any viable planet they happen upon…

River of Heaven uses D101 games’ OpenQuest rules engine; a sleek and streamlined D100 rule set that enables you to maintain the tempo of your stories whilst keeping the rules simple and in the background.

In the core rulebook you will find:

The OpenQuest rules engine - tailored to a hard sci-fi setting.

Simple Character generation

Enabling you to go from concept to fully finished character as quickly as possible.

Augmentations

Humanity has found many ways to improve upon what nature created. Quickly augment your character with the latest biotech/nanotech upgrades.

Equipment

All the weapons, armour (those damn Brits ;)and other types of equipment your character might need to go adventuring in the 28th century.

Transportation

Information on how to get around the River of Heaven universe, be it lowly pack animal on a frontier dirt farm or an interstellar trader equipped with exotic stellar-tap drive.

Background

In addition to a timeline spanning 1000 years of future history, River of Heaven includes an introduction to the Bright Age, the default play setting for the game. It also includes a campaign setting – the Kentauran Hegemony – and information about all the colonised star systems at the start of the 28th century.

Adventure Seeds

Ideas for adventure ideas set in the River of Heaven universe, covering a wide range of styles and themes.

Friends and Foes

An A-Z list of lifeforms that may be encountered by the player characters during their adventures. It includes humans from the various divergent cultures and castes, mundane animals encountered on many worlds of humanity, and some more exotic creatures too.

Written by John Ossoway.

Free RPG - OpenQuest 2 Basic Edition

Back in my early days of gaming, aside from AD&D, I had three basic "go to" RPG systems:

MERP

Warhammer Fantasy

Runequest

All had their own things going for them. What I liked about RuneQuest, besides the awesome setting and supplements, was the comforting familiarity it had in many ways to D&D - and then ran off in a totally different direction.

OpenQuest is, in my eyes, a direct descendent of that old Chaosium edition of RuneQuest. Even better, OpenQuest Basic is free. It's derived from the Mongoose RQ OGL.

And yes, Legend (the latest version of the Mongoose RQ OGL) and RuneQuest 6 Essentials are also available, at a buck and PWYW respectively.)

OpenQuest 2 Basic available for Free in PDF

I've been a fan of OpenQuest for a while. It's built off of the open MRQ / Legend rules, and it really is a nice version of what is at it's core the Chaosium d100 rules.

OpenQuest 2 Basic is a slightly stripped down version of OpenQuest 2. OQ2 Basic is free in PDF and $10 POD.

If I run a D100 game, it would be OQ2 Basic. Actually, the next system I'd like to run would be OpenQuest 2. God himself only know if and when I'll find the time ;)

Taking OpenQuest to the Stars - River of Heaven SciFi Kickstarter

I'm a big fan of OpenQuest, and hope to run a few sessions later this year as time allows. It evokes a feel, to my non-expert eyes at least, of classic RuneQuest 2. I really liked RQ2.

Anyhow, River of Heaven takes OpenQuest to space and puts a scifi twist to it. The manuscript is already written - the Kickstarter is for art assets, and it's already hit it's basic funding goal.

Prices for print copies include a coupon for "at cost" printing from RPGNow, which is way many publishers are going to get around the high costs of international shipping.

+Newt Newport produces good stuff, and I'm looking forward to OQ in the Stars ;)

Time to Award Two Free Copies of the OpenQuest 2 PDF to Our Loyal Readers

Now for the other free stuff today, to be given away on our (my wife and I) second wedding anniversary:

Two free copies of the OpenQuest 2 PDF.

May I have a drum roll please?

Or not.

In any case, the winners are:

Mike Gibb and Shane Mangus -

I need you lads to email me at tenkarsDOTtavernATgmailDOTcom so we can hook you up :)

let me know the addy you use with RPGNow, as I'll be gifting your accounts with a PDF copy - unless you plan on getting it in print - in which case I'll issue you credit you can use towards it, as the PDF is free with a print copy ;)

Adding a 2nd PDF Copy of OpenQuest 2 Into the Prize Pool (and possibly a 3rd)

The main giveaway thread currently has 48 50+ entries - at 50, I'll add a 2nd PDF copy of OpenQuest 2 into the prize pool. You need to add yourself to the original thread to be counted and entered.

Not too shabby, if I must say so myself.

Heck, I'll add a third copy IF the affiliate sales commissions at RPGNow hit 15 bucks before the end of the day on November 5th, my actual wedding anniversary. Currently, we are ahead of pace these first 2 days at a hair over 6 bucks (probably due to everyone looking for the RPGNow Halloween Freebies). Still, if the pace continues, a 3rd copy goes into the random prize pool. So, if you are going to shop at RPGNow anyway, shop thru one of my links and buy the community another copy of OpenQuest 2 ;)

As I've said many a time at The Tavern, monies raised from affiliate sales are the community's money, and I like to return it in fun ways - either through contests like this or to review products I wouldn't otherwise have access to.

This is a very fun way :)

The Tavern is Giving Away One Free PDF Copy of OpenQuest 2 (D100 System)

Sometimes you just need to do something fun to cheer yourself up. This is what I'm doing for fun:

Between now and the morning of November 5th (Tuesday) you can give yourself a chance to win a PDF copy of OpenQuest 2, the new revision to OpenQuest. All you need to do is make a comment on this post and come Tuesday morning (my wife and I's 2nd wedding anniversary) and you'll be entered to win a copy of OpenQuest 2 in PDF.

One random winner will be awarded the prize using account credit at RPGNow. Kinda like my anniversary gift back to the community here at the Tavern.

Why OpenQuest 2? Because I really like the first edition, and to my sensibilities, it is what the modern version of RuneQuest should have been. After D&D / OSR rules, my picks would be Tunnels & Trolls and RuneQuest 2nd edition for old style play. OpenQuest 2 brings out the RQ2 feel for me.

From the blurb:

A complete and easy to play Fantasy Roleplaying game, with monsters, magic and exotic locales.

OpenQuest uses the classic D100 rules mechanic, which uses percentages to express the chance of success or failure.

This is the 2nd Edition of the game in full colour with 80 new pages of content. The Deluxe version of the game aims to be a self contained game with rules and advice on how to run a full campaign where the adventurers progress from their poor and ill experienced beginnings to the lofty heights of Godhood!

Open Quest is based on the Mongoose RuneQuest SRD (MRQ SRD), with ideas from previous editions of Chaosium's RuneQuest and Stormbringer 5th, mixed in with some common sense house rulings from the author's twenty years of experience with the D100 system.

OpenQuest 2nd Edition - Hardcover in Hand - 99.99% OGL

It funny. Just the other day, I was posting about RQ2 (Chaosium) and today I get the HC of OpenQuest 2 from last year's Indiegogo Campaign.

If I'm going to run a fantasy game outside of the traditional OSR rulesets, this is the game I'd run. It feels like a hybrid of sorts between RQ2 and RQ3, built off of the MRQ OGL rules.

Heck, except for the art and the maps, this sucker is ALL OGL.

Shit - I'm a player in TWO games tonight (if I can pull the timing off), the tomorrow is football and the first part of the Adventures Dark & Deep review. I need more free time and I need it NOW! ;)

On The 14th Day of Free Holiday Swag, My Bartender Gave to Meeeeeee: Renaissance, a D100 Black Powder RPG

Last week I was talking about Mongoose Runequest, and how Mongoose's license had expired and that they had re-released the rules as Legend (and for a lowly buck at that).  Now Cubicle 7 comes along with Renaissance - D100 Black Powder SRD.  It builds upon OpenQuest, which itself is build upon the Mongoose Runequest SRD and OGL.  You follow so far?

No?

Doesn't matter.  Here's what matters.  Renaissance is free.  As in it cost nothing.  From Cubicle 7.

Here's the blurb:

Renaissance is a free D100 roleplaying system designed for historical and fantasy gaming in the age of black powder weapons. It features familiar mechanics, grim and gritty combat, extensive period weapons and equipment lists, dozens of professions, and rules for factions and belief systems. It also includes two magick systems - the powerful battle alchemy first introduced in Clockwork & Chivalry 1st Edition, and a streamlined and expanded version of the witchcraft rules from the Silver Oggie Award-winning supplement Divers & Sundry. Based on Newt Newport's OpenQuest and released under an Open Gaming License, which allows companies and individuals to incorporate the rules into their own games, is also showcases the rules system of Clockwork & Chivalry 2nd Edition, the epic historical fantasy RPG from Cakebread & Walton, authors of Abney Park's Airship Pirates.

Mini Review - The Age of Shadow (D100 / OpenQuest)

This is a quick Two-fer.

First, we have The Age of Shadow, a fantasy RPG drawing upon the OpenQuest rules, which drew upon the Mongoose RuneQuest, has it's roots deeply in the previous versions of RuneQuest.  Got that?  Good.

So, it's OpenQuest with a few twists, like less modifiers but higher mods when you do have one.  Oh, and its free, which is always nice when looking for new options for a current game engine.

From the blurb:


The Age of Shadow is an easy to learn fantasy role-playing game based upon the OpenQuest system. As such, the game utilises a simple percentile rules mechanic to resolve most actions, and is set in a fantasy world of elves, men, and fearsome monsters.
Within these pages you will find:
• character generation rules.
• a comprehensive skill list and combat chapter.
• rules for two different types of magic.
• a complete monster section.
• a two page character sheet.

Then we have The Age of Shadow: Campaign Guide.  This 28 page PDF goes into further detail of the default world referred to in The Age of Shadows RPG.  This comes in at $2.99.  Definitely grab the free RPG first before deciding if you need more.

From the blurb:


This campaign guide is intended for use with The Age of Shadow: Role-playing Game, and is presented in such a way as to quickly familiarise both players and GMs with the specifics of the setting, as well as providing a starting point from which many tales and adventures may arise.
Within these pages you will find:
• a brief history of the land and its people.
• a full colour map of the land itself.
• short descriptions of all of the major settlements.
• a number of alternate rules and items of interest.
• statistics for several NPC archetypes.
Note that this booklet is not intended to be a complete campaign setting, but rather an easily digestible primer than can be read in a single sitting. In addition, to make full use of the information contained within you will require the Age Of Shadow: Role-playing Game (which is available as a free download).