Fantasy Earth: Basic Rules
Tabletop fantasy role-playing game
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Description
Fantasy Earth: Basic Rules is a 120-page perfect-bound book that describes the Fantasy Earth role-playing game. It is a generic system — there is no world or universe setting, leaving gamemasters free to create their own world.[1]
In 1996, Zody Games published a streamlined version of the rules, called The Essential Fantasy Earth.[2]
Character generation
Players assign 10-sided die rolls to 26 attributes such as Strength and Appearance. Over 120 skills are derived from the attributes.[3] The player then chooses a class: Warrior, Sorcerer, Cleric, Shaman or Burglar. The only race available is human.[1]
Skill resolution
To resolve a skill, the gamemaster sets a success level for the task, which the player must then equal or exceed with a die roll added to the character's relevant skill level.[1]
Combat
The combat system uses maneuvers and hit locations to allocate damage that can range from superficial to extreme.[1]
Reception
In the April 1996 edition of Dragon (Issue #228), Rick Swan wondered why any publisher would create a new generic fantasy role-playing game, given the preponderance of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, but then admitted that "Michael Zody forged ahead anyway, with surprisingly credible results." Swan found the combat system "number-heavy but manageable." He concluded, "I don’t imagine many folks will be abandoning their AD&D Player's Handbook for Fantasy Earth. But if you’re a supporter of the small press, or if you’re looking for a set of ready-made rules to graft onto a homemade setting, you could do worse than this."[1]
Reviews
- The Familiar (Issue 2, February 1995)
See also
- Fantasy Earth: The Book of Magic - The Fantasy Earth magic supplement