OnceWas Core Rulebook

Author

Jack Frank & Ryan Hartman


Welcome to OnceWas

The Wistful World of OnceWas is a tabletop role-playing game inspired by the elegance and accessibility of Basic Fantasy, but significantly modified to unify all mechanics under a single guiding principle: roll a d20 and roll high. Whether attacking an enemy, resisting poison, picking a lock, or attempting a risky maneuver, players always roll a d20 and aim to meet or exceed a target number.

This system preserves the simplicity and flexibility of early editions while streamlining gameplay for modern sensibilities. All mechanics have been reworked to eliminate inconsistencies and provide a more intuitive, consistent experience for both new and veteran players.

The Core Rule Book is a heavily modified version of the Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game, 4th Edition by Chris Gonnerman. The rules have been thoughtfully homebrewed by Jack Frank, tailored specifically for the Wistful World of OnceWas campaign setting. The revised rules were edited by Ryan Hartman, who also created the corresponding website.

This content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.