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  • Open Source TTRPG Resources

    Open Source TTRPG Resources

    This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series TTRPG Advice

    Here’s a collection of forever open licensed tabletop roleplaying games and resources. Borrowed from and inspired by the Forever Open Source RPG game jam series.

    Example Open Licenses

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    Open Source RPG Resources

    Quick Choices

    Open SRDs

    • 24XX, lo-fi sci-fi RPG SRD.
    • BInAS (Balanced Integrated Attribute System) SRD, d12-based system built around pairs of attributes between which the player chooses a balancing or pivot point at which the two meet.
    • Breathless, a creation toolkit that helps you design a game where every mechanic ratchets tension up to dangerous consequences.
    • The Buddy System, perfect for story-based character driven games where characters are stronger together.
    • Carta, a toolkit for making exploration focused solo RPGs.
    • Duels SRD, a unique resource to make games about bardic dueling!
    • DramaSystem, the system used in Hillfolk by Pelgrane Press.
    • EMERGE8, for TTRPGs you design as you play.
    • GOSS (GrimOgre Storytelling System), a mostly diceless system with haggling over action details, inspired by Nobilis and Engel.
    • Hopes & Dreams SRD, goal focused system that puts player characters against what they dread the most in every single roll.
    • Peregrine SRD, toolkit for creating card-based solo journaling games.
    • Push SRD, lightweight, story-driven RPG system designed for cooperative, action-packed adventures.
    • The Resistance Toolbox, the same rules that power Heart and Spire.
    • Threads of Lachesis, create solo games or generators with branched random prompts that the player organizes into a cohesive sequence via a single roll.
    • We Love In Whispers (WLW), create GM-less diceless games of romance and politics using a block tower and deck of cards.

    Open Games

    A man in a plaid shirt reaches for poker chips on a white surface, depicting a gambling scene.

    • Anamnesis, solo journaling RPG about self-discovery, reflection, and identity.
    • Anima Prime RPG, a fast-paced RPG inspired by JRPGs and action fantasy anime.
    • Babes in the Woods 2e, encounter the peculiar folks who reside within and help solve their problems while confronting your own relationships & fears.
    • Blades in the Dark, an extremely popular game with toolkit for making “Forged in the Dark” games.
    • Cairn, about exploring a dark & mysterious Wood filled with strange folk, hidden treasure, and unspeakable monstrosities.
    • Dinosaur Wizards In Space, exactly what it says on the label: DINOSAUR WIZARDS IN SPACE.
    • Fellowship, about going on an adventure, in the same vein as Lord of the Rings or Wakfu or Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders.
    • Liminal Sea: Dream, a game emphasizing why characters are acting and who they are while following dream logic.
    • Malandros, a tabletop role-playing game of swindlers and street fighters, of love, hate and community in the last days of imperial Brazil.
    • Monolithscience-fiction adventure game for one Game Master (GM) and at least one other player.
    • Pommel, tabletop roleplaying game with an emphasis on roleplay over rules. Made for the Minimalist TTRPG Jam by Binary Star Games.
    • Rainworlda love letter to janky early-90s rules, dystopian SF settings, and dad jokes disguised as flavour text.
    • Rascalsminimalist OSR TTRPG based on Ben Milton’s Knave and the Italian fork written by Francisco Pettigiani: Canaglie.
    • Swamp Troll Witches, be a troll witch! Live in a swamp! Solve problems! Brew potions! Relax with a hot bath! Live your best troll witch life!
    • Thirsty Sword Lesbians SRD (Sapphic Reference Document), (shop link), the famous game of sword wielding lesbians (licensing info).
    • Whispers In The Walls, a solo journaling RPG about the knowledge of the walls. You play it by yourself in the dark.

    Worlds

    • Beyond the Spozak, a sprawling public domain (CC0) science fiction universe!
    • The Oz books from Wonderful Wizard of Oz through to (as of 2025) Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz (the 1st through 23rd books).
    • Anything you can find in the public domain at Project Gutenberg.

    Music

    Art

    Even More Resources

    A cozy library space in Stockholm with brown leather chairs and wooden bookshelves filled with books.

    More SRDs

    • Aspire SRD, a framework for designing narrative-driven TTRPGs featuring turning points that change both the stakes and the rules.
    • Bad Time Game SRD, a d4 based system that results in inevitable failure.
    • BFB SRD, for those who’d like to build on and/or adapt the rules and ideas found in Beak, Feather, & Bone, a tabletop roleplaying game by Tyler Crumrine.
    • Core Micro, blends traditional RPG concepts with narrative techniques to create unpredictable character-driven stories.
    • Ebon Fantasy Essencea robust mid-crunch OSR-style system.
    • ENI, ruleset for RPGs focused on collaborative storytelling, meaningful choices, and growing tension.
    • Fantasy EMERGE, a version of the EMERGE8 SRD tuned specifically for fantasy roleplaying games.
    • Firelight Creator Kit, a condensed and open licensed solo/co-op role-playing game about a guided journey across a plagued land, inspired by the Metroivania video game genre.
    • Four Points, a TTRPG SRD focused on the aforementioned 4 points of player agency, narrative, characters, and customisation.
    • The Grove System, a unique system for building and exploring communities, with a macro phase for influencing communities directly.
    • Guided by Sun SRD, a GM-less, card-based system, telling the story of a protagonist undertaking a journey and making friends along the way.
    • Heroic Tales, genre-neutral role-playing system of heroic problem solving.
    • Initiated SRD, four-page ruleset for mechanically leveraged storytelling.
    • Ironsworn SRD, based on the famous GM-less and solo capable game.
    • Journey Tarot SRD, uses tarot cards and archetypal symbolism to tell stories through single-player tabletop games.
    • Lay On Hands SRD, for modifying the unique post-apocalyptic solo game Lay On Hands.
    • Knave is a toolkit for building classless OSR games.
    • MiniBX SRD, an attempt to make That Game our own. More than a minimalistic hack, a new rule set.
    • OZR, a lightweight framework for running OSR-ish adventures.
    • Personae SRD, where the curious investigate mysteries, explore paradoxes and delve into the hidden truths of the omniverse.
    • RISE SRD, guide players in 3 Acts to get to know their characters, scaffolding difficulty as you play along through your game.
    • Second Guess System SRD. What if each time you rolled a prompt over again you had to admit to something that you had lied about previously in that prompt?
    • Sigil SRD, Creative Commons licensed SRD for The Sigil System, gritty lethal rules meant to put all your skills to the test.
    • Striders SRD, English translation of Frontearth Striders Source Reference Document (SRD), about explorers striding through a turbulent world and being dragged into all sorts of problems.
    • Tapestry SRD, a word association storytelling games that fit in a mint tin.
    • Tavern Dice, a single dice system designed for narrative play powering your entire world with a single d12!
    • The Goblin Pulls Out A Gun, a TTRPG tech pack to make a GM-less opposed dice pool system.
    • Total//Effect, a fast, modular, configurable TTRPG system.
    • Trophy SRD, build your own rules-light, risk-heavy games.
    • Untold Narrative Options SRD, mechanic pack containing combat and skill check mechanics for Role-Playing Games (RPGs) using a set of hobby dice and a standard Uno card deck.
    • VEN6 SRD, storytelling roleplaying game system with conflict mechanics and a GM option.
    • VRBS SRD, ultralight system for creating highly improvisational role-playing games that reward creative heroic action.
    • Wretched & Alone, a unique card and tower based solo system.

    More Games

    • Agouro, narrative game of inevitable prophecies, inspired by Tarot cards and dark fantasy stories like Kentaro Miura’s Berserk and Netflix’s The Witcher.
    • BREATHE LIFE INTO THESE BONES, some jackass necromancer just raised your bones back to life and you’re a reanimated skeleton.
    • Brighter Worldswhimsical fantasy tabletop RPG with modular crunch.
    • EMPLOYEE, one-page simple adventure game that based on daily activities of a professional employee working in a professional corporate office.
    • Gratitudea storytelling game about trying to please an unknowable god-being in the hopes of being able to leave this terrible place.
    • GrimBlade, light and fast-paced roleplaying game of adventures and stories set within an implied grim fantasy world.
    • High Moon, western/fantasy-themed classless TTRPG with an emphasis on tough character-building choices and practice-based skill progression system.
    • Iron Edda, lets you tell stories of brave warriors, Jarls, Bonebonded giants, and their defense of their holdfasts.
    • Ironsworn, an iconic TTRPG famous for its GM-less and solo play modes.
    • It Wasn’t Supposed To Happen Like This, something has gone horribly wrong. Your spirit leaves your body. Can you find a way to save yourself?
    • Liminal Horror, rules-lite, fail forward tabletop role playing game with investigators navigating a modern world full of terrible and unknowable things that hide in the spaces between.
    • Plerion, a sci-fi hack from Cairn designed to play radiant space opera
    • Ringmail, a framework for reintroduce the style of play of the Wargame that preceded “the most famous RPG ever”
    • Thálassa, adventure game for one facilitator (the odigós) and at least one other player.
    • The Lurking Fear, lightweight simulationist investigative horror ttrpg in the style of classic horror tabletop games.
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  • Contact Us

    Contact Us

    Wanna reach out to Thought Punks or Rev? You’ve come to the right place! Send us a message and let us know what’s on your mind. Ask any questions. Reach out for any podcasts or streams. Touch base to share some TTRPG ideas or feedback on a recent blog post. Any of it! We’re here to reach out to.

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  • About Us

    About Us

    About Thought Punks

    At Thought Punks, we’re here for the storytellers: the dreamers, the improvisers, the people who love rolling dice as much as spinning wild tales. We make indie tabletop RPGs that are approachable, flexible, and designed to spark creativity. Thought Punks creates TTRPGs and storytelling tools that embrace bold ideas, innovative mechanics, and a do-it-yourself spirit.

    Motif Story Engine: Stories Powered by Chance

    At the core of Thought Punks is the Motif Story Engine, a dice oracle system that transforms the randomness of dice rolls into the building blocks of a story. This isn’t your standard RPG mechanic! Motif uses dice outcomes to create prompts, twists, and opportunities, acting as both a collaborator and a source of narrative tension. Whether you’re crafting an intense noir mystery, an epic sci-fi odyssey, or a quiet personal drama, Motif provides the structure and flexibility to make your story shine.

    It’s designed to be:

    • Intuitive: No need to juggle charts or dense rules. You roll, interpret, and keep the story moving.
    • Flexible: Whether you’re solo gaming, running a GM-lite session, or crafting a new game from scratch, the dice oracle adapts to your style.
    • Engaging: Every roll brings a story beat to life, whether it’s a sudden twist, a major success, or something complicates everything in the best way possible.
    • Solo and GM-Lite Friendly: You don’t need a huge group to enjoy Motif. It’s perfect for solo players and low-prep GMs who want deep stories without spending hours prepping encounters or memorizing rules.

    The Motif Story Engine isn’t just a mechanic, it’s a philosophy. It powers many of our games and is available as an open toolkit for creators to build their own RPGs. Check out the Motif SRD to see how you can make it your own.

    Our Games

    Thought Punks is home to a variety of RPGs that stretch across genres and tones. Each one is designed to take advantage of Motif’s dynamic storytelling power while offering something distinct and memorable.

    • NEVER Stop Smiling: A dystopian RPG where enforced happiness hides a world of surveillance and repression. Perfect for players who love exploring dark, surreal themes and pushing against systems of control.
    • Dinosaur Wizards In Space: Dinosaurs. Magic. Space. This lighthearted two-page RPG delivers exactly what it promises: chaotic, imaginative fun with minimal prep and maximum energy.

    Beyond Games: Experimentation and Community

    Thought Punks thrives on creativity, and we believe the best ideas often come from collaboration and experimentation. That’s why we embrace game jams, community hashtag days, and unconventional approaches to RPG design. From wild one-page experiments to digital tools like the Motif Oracle Notebook, we’re always exploring tabletop games.

    We’re also here to support the wider RPG community. Whether it’s through sharing tools like the Motif SRD or engaging with creators and players online, we believe in the power of mutual inspiration.

    Why Choose Thought Punks?

    We’re not here to be a big, polished corporation or dominate the TTRPG market. Our approach is simple: we make games that stand out. We focus on simplicity without sacrificing depth. Whether you’re looking for bold mechanics, unique stories, or tools to create your own adventures, Thought Punks has something for you. We focus on:

    • Creative freedom: Our games give you the tools to shape your stories the way you want to tell them.
    • Innovation: From dice oracle mechanics to genre-blending concepts, we love breaking new ground.
    • Accessibility: We keep our designs easy to pick up and play, whether you’re gaming solo, with friends, or trying something completely new.

    Join the Punk Movement

    Explore our games on DriveThruRPG and Itch.io, or visit us on Bluesky. Whether you’re looking for your next fun TTRPG or a new way to create your own, Thought Punks is here to fuel your imagination.

    Let’s make stories that matter, together.

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