Looking for a free to use RPG system

Lucky Day

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I'm looking for an RPG system that's available freely for commercial. Particularly computer use.

I would like to develop a back end cRPG system that's freely available for anyone to use, with the code open to anyone, free to make changes but not be required to reveal their source code.

I see with graphics engines, like Unity, great front ends but developing RPG's with these are quite limiting. What I would like to do is create a universal system that can be used anywhere to simplify the tdevelopment of CRPG's.

Looking at what's available ,the OGL was very restrictive regarding computer use, besides which, its been recinded for any new project. I was looking at at the Free Basic RPG system until I saw they used that.

I've see that some use the GNU license and some use the CC licenses. The GNU license requires the source code, I'm not aware of any LPGL be made public for commercial use (I've yet to see a system that used it anyway) and so far I can't seem to find a decent RPG using Creative Commons.

I'm looking for an RPG system that would be familiar and flexible.

I am aware that game rules are not copyrightable and I can work to avoid using trademarked property, its just that I would like to avoid the extra work of creating my own.
 
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Pathfinder is open I believe. On OGL, I didn't think you could rescind something once you put it out there
 
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Also, great idea. I've also wondered why something like this didn't already exist
 
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Looking around, theres more OGL stuff than I expected. The hard part will be deciding which to go with. Sheesh, good luck.
 
Pathfinder is not free to use on computer. I mean, we would have a number of other companies before Obsidian's recent venture.

Toff, I have seen one that looks both free and familiar to users. Basic Fantasy for instance used the OGL and that's not only now rescinded its not free for computer use. I did find the company (somewhere) that Bioware and Lucas used for KotOR but I'm not entirely sure of the details.

One thing I've thought of is just developing a DIY engine that you import plugins into for your use. Effectively it would be a stack of stacks. You could have sets of stacks such as a "medeival plugin" and a "fantasy plugin" then pick and choose what you would use.
 
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D&D Next, the newest edition, is free. At least, a basic form of their rules can be downloaded in .pdf from their site - a friend of mine sent it to me for a game we're running. They've divorced themselves from trying to make a p&p mmo, and now it seems we're back to something more familiar.

"But the best part? The Basic Rules is a free PDF. Anyone can download it from our website. We want to put D&D in as many hands as possible, and a free, digital file is the best way to do that."

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
 
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D&D Next, the newest edition, is free. At least, a basic form of their rules can be downloaded in .pdf from their site - a friend of mine sent it to me for a game we're running. They've divorced themselves from trying to make a p&p mmo, and now it seems we're back to something more familiar.

"But the best part? The Basic Rules is a free PDF. Anyone can download it from our website. We want to put D&D in as many hands as possible, and a free, digital file is the best way to do that."

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

Free to download for "personal use" is unfortunately very different from free to use for a computer game.

IIRC the pathfinder rules are free to use, but the logos, art, flavor text, and setting stuff are not.
 
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Lucky Day,

It could just be that I'm a little sleep deprived right now, but it's not clear to me exactly what exactly you're planning to make. Are you talking about making a full fledged engine; say something like RPGmaker (except more geared towards making WRPGs)? Or are you just talking about some sort of template that can be incorporated into an engine / to use the RPG rules. Anything that facilitates the development of CRPGs is a noble goal in my book, I'm just having trouble picturing what you're talking about here.
 
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You could look at the unity store :p I know they have some paid ones but a free one would make sense. If you're looking to adapt a table top one to computer then you could go to /tg/ on 4chan. Its dangerous, but those guys spend a fair amount of time making and playtesting random rpg systems
 
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for a summary on why you can't use Pathfinder to make a commercial video game I found an excellent summary here:

http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questi...puter-game-based-on-the-pathfinder-core-rules

Same site sums up the old OGL and the extreme restrictions on software use and the d20 (for the use of any system that still can hang on to the d20 OGL like Pathfinder)

http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questi...-use-rules-from-ogl-or-gsl-in-a-computer-game



In regards to Unity it was precisely the lack of a good, flexible and open system to build with Unity and anything else I'd want that got me interested in such an idea.

There were a few things out there on Unity but the seemed more trouble than they were worth and you are beholden to their system.
 
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OK, I think I've finally found one, and its pretty major too

Fate Core
http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/

aka Fate 4th ed. They managed to get a kickstarter out to get the 4th edition published.

Originally it was based on FUDGE which integrated the OGL into it, but Fate has since released a Creative Commons version of itself as well as an OGL if wanted.

I see no riders preventing the use of a computer version of it, only the attribution requirement. I would think that WildTangent's malware loaded aRPG Fate may take issue with the name on a box cover.

From what I've read so far its an entirely skill based system with no attributes. Skills a character doesn't list are to be considered "mediocre". It reminds me of the "philosophy of virtues" which was once popular but now is out of favour because of its open nature.

My concern is, I'm not sure if such an open ended system lends itself to computer development. I've not looked at much as far as details. I wonder if anyone else here has tried this system.

Again, its completely free.
 
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