Open D12
Open D12 is an open source* and free to use rule system for creating tabletop roleplaying games, developed by Dice Punk Press.
But what does that mean?
It means that anyone can use the core Open D12 rules and extensions to make their own game set in their own world.
Open D12 is also the system we use internally for developing games, so a significant amount of thought and play testing has gone into it.
How does the system work?
It uses d12s* and a simple bonuses and penalties mechanic. Rolling low numbers is good. Characters have skills which are organized into groups, you put points into groups and not individual skills. You can choose to be extra-good at certain skills. The core rules are suitable for short play games. There are a number of extensions available (like combat) for longer and more complex games.
Why give it away for free?
We want more people to be able to make great games because games connect people and the world needs more connection.
We want to build a fun, accessible and enduring system - maybe we can do that on our own, but we'll do it better if we work with players, game masters and game designers to come up with something greater than the sum of it's parts.
This isn't purely an altruistic move, the games we want to create and sell on top of this system will be significantly better because of any collaboration and feedback on the core rules system. Also, having an open system as the foundation for games means they can more easily be extended by the players and community authors can be fairly compensated for their work.
Too many people are trying 'own the platform' and tax everyone who builds on top of it, think of this as giving the platform away so we can focus on building cool stuff with it instead.
How can I get involved?
You can check out the current state of Open D12 and download the latest system docs on GitHub.