Bascinet
A downloadable game
What is Bascinet?
Bascinet is a compact fantasy RPG inspired by the classic games of the 1970s, falling within the OSR/NSR tradition.
It aims to capture the feel of old-school adventuring—harsh, mysterious, and uncompromising—while being as easy to play as a board game. A full session can be completed in 1–2 hours.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Features
Compact Rules
The system distills the essence of classic rules into just 8 pages. With fewer prescriptions, the Game Master has broad authority to rule and improvise.
Deadly Encounters
Even goblins are a serious threat if faced carelessly. Always keep spare character sheets ready. In this world, balance is not guaranteed.
Ingenuity and Fate
Survival depends on the players’ creativity. You must exploit every tool and ability at hand—yet in the end, fate rests with the dice.
Inspirations
Bascinet draws from:
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Cairn (Yochai Gal)
Into the Odd (Chris McDowall)
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Knave (Ben Milton)
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MÖRK BORG (Pelle Nilsson)
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Old-School Essentials (Gavin Norman)
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Troika! (Daniel Sell)
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Comments
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This is a wonderful little system. Is there any chance of a physical version?
Thanks! I’ve been thinking about maybe trying DriveThru’s POD.
I just read it, and I dig the system. Nicely done! Will run the sample adventure soon.
I have one question; when taking injuries do characters drop their items if they don't have any free slots left?
Thanks! Happy you liked it, and I hope the sample adventure runs well!
Yes, if they’ve got no free slots when taking an injury, they’d have to drop something.
Neat system! I adapted a free-form magic system to it, works great!
Good work! I appreciate the old book art, it's very pleasant.
The d6-only approach is great. I was initially wondering about the 13 - two stats approach, but it makes sense: you'll always have at least 1 HP. It's always nice when randomness in character generation has a counterweight.
I'd be excited to see more of what Bascinet has to offer, given there's so many options to go from here. If you ever do a print version, I'll be there!
A question about scenario: why are there no window openings in the manor?
Good question!
Fiction-wise, the manor was built by an alchemist who wanted a strange, sealed house so that none of his secrets could leak out.
Gameplay-wise, I wanted players to head inside quickly and get things moving, since the adventure is meant to be short.
Thanks :) It's not a very plausible in-game explanation, of course, (he have a special secret chamber for it), but it will do :)
A really interesting approach to rules-light OSR/NSR play. Having fatigue and injuries take up inventory slots is a clever mechanic and the spell list is wonderfully old school. Excited to try this one out at the table!
Short, fast, fun rules. I like the core philosophy of the game ;)