Big Adventure Game's Free Beta is Here to Scratch Your Traditional Fantasy Itch
Classic mechanics. Fresh updates. No BS.
Big Adventure Game (or BAG) is d20-based, medieval-fantasy-focused indie TTRPG system. It is the first indie system from Spellbook Gaming, run by YouTuber and AP producer Alex Vigna. During the beta period, the game is completely FREE! BAG started as a hack of the D&D 5e SRD after it went into Creative Commons, but has evolved significantly into its own beast in the year since. It consists of a Player’s Handbook and a Game Master’s Guide, with a setting guide to follow later in the beta. BAG also promises to be firmly anti-AI, and will always be 100% human-made.
Where is the game?
To start, watch the announcement video.
After that, you can find the game’s PDFs here, on Discord, which is also where feedback will be gathered and updates will be posted: https://discord.gg/w64W6xZCjN
What makes BAG different?
» No class system. Instead, it has a selection of mix-and-matchable features.
» 8 core stats instead of 6 (adding dedicated Magic and Luck stats)
» Intuitive full action/quick action turn economy (inspired by Lancer, a sci-fi mecha game, funnily enough.)
» Emphasizes plot-related battles over random encounters and dungeon slogs, trying to emulate the overall feel of the biggest games, while catering to modern GM storytelling style. Let's be honest, most of us weren't doing 4-6 daily encounters, so the game is balanced around just one or two.
» All spells can be accessed by all PCs, and they’re modifiable.
» Easy(er) to balance encounters, since the overall power band is thinner.
» Awards upgrades for a job well done regardless of whether or not combat occurs.
» Easy to homebrew for, since without classes and subclasses you can just make a feature or spell and call it a day.
» Lore isn’t baked into the system, so GMs are free to play in their own settings, though we will eventually have our own setting guide for those not into worldbuilding.
What is BAG’s current status?
BAG is in a Beta state. It is fully playable, but only minimally tested, and the books lack any art. You might discover typos, balance problems, and exploits. The current selection of features, spells, magic items, and monsters is incomplete, but still expansive enough to play full campaigns (there's about 100 spells and features, and a few dozen NPCs).
How can people help?
For now, the best way to help is to read over the documents, then point out any errors, unclear wording, balance problems, or inconsistencies to Alex so he can fix them. Also, invite friends to join! The best way to help is to run your own combat tests, one-shots, and campaigns, and then tell the community about them, but that’s a big undertaking and isn't expected from everyone. One day I will likely launch a Kickstarter, but not for several months into the beta. For now, if you want to support the development monetarily, the best way to do that is to become a YouTube member.
