Thought Punks

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,Β lo-fi sci-fi RPG SRD.
  • BInAS (Balanced Integrated Attribute System) SRD,Β d12-based system built around pairs of attributes between which the player chooses a balancing or pivot point at which the two meet.
  • Breathless,Β a creation toolkit that helps you designΒ a game where every mechanic ratchets tension up to dangerous consequences.
  • The Buddy System,Β perfect for story-based character driven games where characters are stronger together.
  • Carta, a toolkit for making exploration focused soloΒ RPGs.
  • Duels SRD,Β a unique resource toΒ make games about bardic dueling!
  • DramaSystem, the system used inΒ HillfolkΒ 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, goalΒ focused system that puts player characters against what they dread the most in every single roll.
  • Peregrine SRD,Β toolkit for creating card-based solo journaling games.
  • Push SRD,Β lightweight, story-driven RPG system designed for cooperative, action-packed adventures.
  • The Resistance Toolbox, the same rules that powerΒ HeartΒ andΒ Spire.
  • Threads of Lachesis,Β 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,Β a fast-pacedΒ 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 makingΒ “Forged in the Dark” games.
  • Cairn,Β 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:Β 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,Β a tabletop role-playing game of swindlers and street fighters, of love, hate and community in the last days of imperial Brazil.
  • Monolith,Β science-fiction adventure game for one Game Master (GM) and at least one other player.
  • Pommel,Β tabletop roleplaying game with an emphasis on roleplay over rules. Made for theΒ Minimalist TTRPG JamΒ byΒ Binary Star Games.
  • Rainworld,Β a love letter to janky early-90s rules, dystopian SF settings, and dad jokes disguised as flavour text.
  • Rascals,Β minimalist OSR TTRPG based on Ben Milton’s Knave and the Italian fork written by Francisco Pettigiani: Canaglie.
  • SwampΒ 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),Β (shop link), the famous game of sword wielding lesbians (licensing info).
  • Whispers In The Walls,Β a solo journaling RPG about the knowledge of the walls. You play it by yourself in the dark.

Worlds

Music

Art

  • Free! Fantasy Stock Art, packΒ of 74 hand-drawn images of fantasy items.
  • llemoi.itch.io Artpack, collection of graphics, doodles, and illustrations created for various TTRPG projects.
  • Openverse, anΒ extensive library of free stock photos, images, and audio, available for free use.
  • Public Domain Review,Β an online journal and not-for-profit project dedicated to the exploration of curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas.
  • Smithsonian Open Access, where you can download, share, and reuse millions of the Smithsonian’s imagesβ€”right now, without asking.
  • TabletopΒ Art Pack,Β 14 black-and-white illustrations to use in your projects. (BONUS:Β Forestpunk Pack.)

Even More Resources

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More SRDs

  • Aspire SRD,Β a framework for designing narrative-driven TTRPGs featuring turning points that change both the stakes and the rules.
  • Bad Time Game SRD,Β a d4 based system that results in inevitable failure.
  • BFB SRD, for thoseΒ who’d like to build on and/or adapt the rules and ideas found inΒ Beak, Feather, & Bone,Β a tabletop roleplaying game by Tyler Crumrine.
  • Core Micro,Β blends traditional RPG concepts with narrative techniques to createΒ unpredictable character-driven stories.
  • EbonΒ Fantasy Essence,Β a robust mid-crunch OSR-style system.
  • ENI,Β ruleset for RPGs focused on collaborative storytelling, meaningful choices, and growing tension.
  • Fantasy EMERGE,Β a version of the EMERGE8 SRD tuned specifically for fantasy roleplaying games.
  • Firelight Creator Kit,Β a condensed and open licensedΒ 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,Β a GM-less, card-basedΒ 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.
  • InitiatedΒ SRD, four-page ruleset for mechanically leveraged storytelling.
  • Ironsworn SRD, based on the famous GM-less and solo capable game.
  • JourneyΒ 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 gameΒ Lay On Hands.
  • KnaveΒ is a toolkit for building classlessΒ OSR games.
  • MiniBX SRD,Β 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,Β where the curious investigate mysteries, explore paradoxes and delve into the hidden truths of the omniverse.
  • RISE SRD,Β guide players in 3 Acts to get to know their characters, scaffolding difficulty as you play along through your game.
  • Second Guess System SRD.Β 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 forΒ The Sigil System,Β gritty lethal rules meant to put all your skills to the test.
  • Striders SRD,Β 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,Β a word association storytelling games that fit in a mint tin.
  • Tavern Dice,Β a single dice system designed for narrative play powering your entire world with a single d12!
  • The Goblin Pulls Out A Gun,Β 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,Β 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,Β some jackass necromancer just raised your bones back to life and you’re a reanimated skeleton.
  • Brighter Worlds,Β whimsical 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.
  • Gratitude,Β a storytelling game about trying to please an unknowable god-being in the hopes of being able to leave this terrible place.
  • GrimBlade,Β 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 fromΒ CairnΒ designed to play radiant space opera
  • Ringmail,Β a frameworkΒ for reintroduce the style of play of the Wargame that preceded “the most famous RPG ever”
  • ThΓ‘lassa,Β adventure game for one facilitator (the odigΓ³s) and at least one other player.
  • The Lurking Fear, lightweight simulationist investigative horror ttrpg in the style of classic horror tabletop games.

TTRPG Advice
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Related posts:

  1. About Us
  2. Welcome to Thought Punks!
  3. In Defense of Optional Rules
  4. Rebutting the Criticisms of Rules-Light Systems
  5. Great TTRPG Newbie Paradox (they’re easier to teach)

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