FEAR RPG is a free and
complete pencil-and-paper fantasy roleplaying game.
Last updated on 5
November 2022.
Download the 12th
Edition rulebooks here for free!
Rulebook (10th edition) available in print on www.lulu.com
Review of FEAR at thefreerpgblog.blogspot.com
Why?
Some
role-playing games are so simplistic that any realism is lost. Ever played a
game where:
· only thieves can pick
locks?
· rapiers do the same type
of damage as clubs?
· each combatant makes one
attack every ten seconds, and can only wear one type of armour?
This
game has been designed from scratch to be realistic yet flexible. There is
enough depth to satisfy experienced role-players and enough explanation for
novices. The rules provide:
· 13 character races;
· 170 detailed monster
descriptions;
· 490 spells in 13 schools
of magic;
· a simple and flexible
skill development system;
· a realistic combat system
that allows:
o
second-by-second
attacks;
o
different
pieces of armour to be worn on different parts of the body;
o
no
tracking of hit points;
o
severe
injuries to be modelled simply.
FEAR
RPG can be adapted to virtually any fantasy world invented. Just add dice
(d10s) and imagination…
Authorship and Contact
Information
FEAR
RPG was created by Paul Jeffcoat, with suggestions from Dale Broadbent, James
Lowe and Chris Murtagh.
It
has been published on the internet to get feedback from other role-players. If
you have any comments or suggestions, please email them to:
Last Rule Update
Changes c.f. Eleventh Edition (6
October 2019):
Divided
the rule book into two parts - the Players' Guide and the GM's Guide.
Revised
system for dice rolls, so that no more than 3d10 are required.
Character
Generation
Added
personality framework to help roleplaying and distinguish different PCs.
Stopped
gender causing differences in character generation.
Actions
Revised
rules for fumbles, to increase their frequency. Added a note about using dice
roller programmes rather than real dice.
Added
feats, as an opposite to fumbles.
Stopped
1s cancelling out successes.
Added
Art skills: Boon, Contingency, Lipreading, Gem Physic (for healing using
precious stones) and Serenity.
Renamed
Advanced Melee skills as Advanced Combat. Added skills for ranged weapons:
Arcing Ambush, Master Weather, Ricochet, Strongarm, Twinshot and Thunderbolt.
Added Consolation, Dodge Death, Eat Magic, Evade, Flailcraft, Improvise Weapon,
Inspire, Misdirect, Shield Wall, Smell Violence, Tactics, Taunt, Weapon Mastery
and Whipcraft. Death Prod also renders mute.
Expanded
skill descriptions to cover finding food in the wilderness: fishing, foraging,
hunting, trapping.
Advanced
skill development.
Divided
Unarmed skill into three different skills: Strikes, Trips/Throws and Grapples.
Combat
Simplified
Defence to 2xAG.
Simplified
Location Penalties - rear attacks now zero penalty for first division body
locations. Added a note about reach.
Clarified
that surprise attacks arise when defender cannot react in time, as well as if
he fails to detect the attack.
Provided
more example injury descriptions.
Added
medium injury between minor and major injuries.
Clarified
rules for loss of action with major and mortal injuries.
Tweaked
mental injury table to induce temporary blindness, and to let CO reduce stun
duration.
Added
mechanism for iron vs steel armour and weapons.
Added
mechanism for bodkin vs broadhead arrows.
Renamed
broad sword as arming sword.
Added
guidance on times to don armour and sleeping in armour.
Added
guidance on breaking through doors.
Added
clogs as cheap armour for the feet.
Magic
Improved
descriptions of range and volume.
Changed
casting duration of rituals to 1 hour. Altered some effect durations as a
result.
Reduced
the number of spells with Revocable Infinite effect duration, but this can be
achieved through magic skill sacrifice.
Lengthened
loss of spell-casting ability on spell-casting failure.
Clarified
that spells embedded in items can be cast without a Spell-Casting Roll.
Aeromancy
- added Startle, Summon Narrator. Let Lightning Bolt affect multiple targets.
Shortened duration of Illuminate, amended variants of Lightning Ball. Scrapped
Lightning Wall. Amended Wand of Aeromancy to allow the caster to wield his
staff as a shield in combat, Gandalf-style.
Alchemy
- added Cool Environment, Mask of Surveillance, Secret Window, Stone of
Alarming, Stone of Door-Guarding, Wicker Man. Noted that a Skill Enhancement
bonus to a shield affects Defence. Changed the limit on creation of magical
items with Alchemy spells so that counting is no longer required. Renamed Stone
spells.
Curses
- added Claws of the Gargoyle, Compel the Fool, Corrode, Curse of Misfortune,
Delay Poison, Drain Sleep, Eye of the Naga, Hobble.
Force
- added Don Armour, Ease the Load, Force Key, Force Wall, Grease, Hook,
Immovable Object, Manacles and Weightlessness. Scrapped Animate Rope and Break
Bonds. Expanded Telekinesis.
Healing
- add Ablution, Alter Physique, Burn the Wick at Both Ends, Heal Comrades,
Midwifery, Rejoin Extremity, Share Fate, Wrest. Replaced Delay Injury with
Resist Injury.
Hydromancy
- added Analyse Waters, Boots of Ice, Ice Dagger, Ice Shield, Read the Waves.
Bubble Cloak spell allows the wearer to cast spells underwater.
Lithomancy
- added Engrave, Warding Stone.
Mind
- added Conceal Item, Courier, Deny Identity, Deny Skill, Detect Mind, Dither,
Enthral, Fetch Guard, Mine the Gestalt Consciousness, Mine Memory, Pervert the
Truth, Phantasmal Coward, Silk Purse of Sow's Ear, Suggestion. Scrapped Charm
(see Bardic Magic in Optional Rules).
Nature
- added variants to Bestial Guard and Beard of Bees. Added Animate Undergrowth,
Classify Beast, Cloak with Thorns, Delouse, Feet of the Frog, Find Familiar,
Rope Arrow, Wild Hunt. Reworked Hunt Quarry and Bind Familiar.
Necromancy
- added Path of Dust for mummies, and reduced the difficulty of several vampire
and lich spells. Removed Mindgrub. Added Beguile, Bone Bolt, Celerity,
Decapitated Advisor, Delay Death, Devour Skill, Dismay, Dominate, Penumbral
Sustenance, Preserve Corpse, Rebuke, Restore the Living Aspect, Sanguine
Biography, Tomb Guard. Narrowed scope of Summon Ancestor to find information.
Pyromancy
- added Beacon, Firecracker, Pyre Ashes, Warm Environment, Will-o'-the-Wisp.
Terramancy
- renamed as Lithomancy. Changed die for Sand Sprite. Shortened duration of
Crystal Light. Removed reference to extinct Climbing skill in Summon Stair.
Replaced Rock Fall with Summon Cracks. Replaced Devour Blade with Shatter
Blade. Added Summon Pillar, Sail the Dry Sea.
Wizardry
- added Analyse Spell, Bulwark, Counter Spell, Gauge Power, Glyph, Locate
Object, Recall Self, Summon Outfit.
Restructured
pious magic section, and expanded descriptions of the gods.
Provided
examples of interventions.
Expanded
and amended priestly gifts.
Added
rules for altars.
Renamed
Goddess of Fate as Doom.
Optional
Races
Added
Dryads.
Added
two-headed trolls - Ettins.
Renamed
Icthoid as Kalaman. Added note about Kalamen larvae parasitising PC races.
Removed
the effects of gender on ST, skill values and goals.
GM
Added
dungeons section with guidance on climbing and mechanical and magical traps.
Added
discussion of travel, including roads, journey times, etc.
Added
councils of aldermen into society.
Added
lesser gods to aid lay-people.
Added
note about downtime.
Added
table of random wilderness feature encounters.
Harms
Beyond Combat
Replaced
Hunger and Fatigue Penalties with Weakness Penalty, and added rules for hypo-
and hyper-thermia and scurvy.
Revised
potencies of diseases, so some are more likely to spread through populations,
e.g. plague.
Renamed
Spell Ache as Mage Blight.
Added
racial predispositions to certain madnesses. Added Obsession madness.
Advanced
Magic
Aeromancy
- added Summon Whirlwind, Vacuum.
Alchemy
- added Compaction, Duplicate Potion, Make Candle, Philtre of Oaths, Returning
Enhancement, Secret Door, Stone of Cloaking. Removed Item Familiar.
Curses
- added Banish Demon, Choke the Liar, Demonic Assassin, Demonic Teleportation,
Expel, Pollute, Sacrifice Pawn.
Force
- added Battering Ram, Black Pearl, Defended by Dancing Swords, Entomb, Great
Attractor.
Healing
- added Alter Size, Resurrection Tattoo. Removed self-resurrection from
Resurrection. Removed self-regeneration from Regenerate All. Changed Sanctuary
Tattoo so it triggers in the event of the caster's death.
Hydromancy
- added Assay Ship, Cushion Fall, Summon Whirlpool.
Lithomancy
- added Construct.
Mind
- added Enchanter's Curse, Illusory Landscape, Lost in the Crowd, Phantasmal
Horror.
Nature
- added Banish the Beast, Bestial Warden.
Necromancy
- added Path of Dust for mummies. Reduced the difficulty of several vampire and
lich spells. Added Banish Undead, Bejewelled Skull, Daywalk, Dwimmerlaik, Grave
Bolt, Path of Bone - Battalion, Path of Worms, Paths of the Dead, Penangalan,
Retard, Revolt.
Pyromancy
- added Crystallise Flame, Incinerate Arrow.
Wizardry
- added Analyse Teleportation, Darkcell, Give Succour, Retreat in Extremis,
Reversal of Fortune, Reverse Mantis. Amended Teleport to allow indefinite
linking of two pentagrams.
Expanded
magic injuries hugely, including splinching.
Bestiary
Added
personality frameworks to NPCs.
Added
Black Hood, Black and White Snapper, Brass Shrike, Cave Limpet, Child of Yidhra,
Dirigible Squid, Dracowight, Dryad, Elder Lord, Graveroot, Harpoon Snail, Hoard
Guardian, Honey Bee, Icthids, Ice Giant, Kelpie, Leyorb, Lindelver and
Lindworm, Minotaur, Moonflowers, Underminer, Worms-That-Walk (and bats via
Crows).
Added
Tombherd, a monster that looks terrifying but might actually be an ally.
Added
Owlman, a grunt-level threat.
Amended
Mummy to reflect new Necromancy Path of Dust.
Amended
Fire Fiend to remove wings. Did Balrogs have wings?
Amended
Giant Wasp to introduce chest-burster larvae.
Amended
Lesser Naga to make them more distinctive and pervasive.
Turned
Banshee into White Lady.
Amended
Wight to add skill draining power, like Mirror Demon.
Replaced
Great Eagle with Great Raven.
Added
Sabre-Tooth to Leopard.
Tweaked
rules for pack creature attacks, allowing ball and cone spells to slay them.
Revised
undead senses to be more akin to those of the Nazgul.
Tweaked
attack characteristics throughout.
Added
rules for huge creatures to swallow whole.
Added
end-of-the-world Unique Monsters.
Goods
and Services
Added
rules for healing using precious stones.
Expanded
accommodation section to include property purchase and rental.
Money
lending. Revised to mention usury and pawn broking.
Added
general adventuring equipment, e.g. lodestone, new tents.
Adjusted
weights of shields and swords.
Added
communication section to Services: messengers, homing pigeons.
Added
sleighs to vehicles, and average speeds.
Added
elephant to mounts, and woolly rhino and tree mantis.
Added
Dwarven locks.
New
taxes, including scutage. And bridge and ferry tolls.
Changed
retainers fees. Added courtesan.
Added
general living costs.
Reworked
herbs to merge with poisons under Apothecary.
Added
new herbs and poisons: Beetle Nut, Black Ironwood, Bluebeard, Candle Urchin,
Cutleaf, Death's Seat, Eyecap, Foolhardy Pear, Judge's Hand, Mandos' Gift,
Melkor's Pact, Narwhal's Horn, Nightwitch, Orcroot, Orcwrath, Phosphor Lichen,
Pink Shrieker, Quicksilver, Realgar, Salve-Aloe, Splintcane, Undine's Hair,
Verra, Wizard's Hat, Yavanna's Dream.
Replaced
Scab Comfrey with Maid's, Mother's and Crone's Comfrey.
Allowed
multiple doses of herbs to be found again, occasionally.
Revised
rules for taking multiple doses of herbs and poisons.
Treasure
Added
Potions of Altruism, Fumbling, Love, Resurrection, Suspension and Truth.
Added
dragon scale and dwarven quartz armours, giant spider silk and goblin tea.
Restructured
and hugely expanded the example magical items.
Optional
Rules
Added
rules for cursed items, world settings with less magic, a new Chronomancy
discipline, and bardic magic (enhancing spells with songs).
Seventh
son of a seventh son - changed chance to 1 in 100.