FEAR RPG is a free and complete pencil-and-paper fantasy roleplaying game.

Last updated on 5 November 2022.

Download the 12^th Edition rulebooks here for free!

Players’ Manual, GM’s Manual

Rulebook (10^th 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.