Reforged RPG: Tome of Rules presents a veteran, playtested, tabletop role-playing system adaptable for any setting. After 24 years of development and over 10,000 hours of playtesting by over 135 players, we look forward to bringing your campaign to life with over 500 full color pages of our core rules. The Tome of Rules contains a Lexicon of over 600 Character Skills, a Codex of over 400 Species Attributes, a Grimoire with over 400 Sorcery and Ritual Spells, a Divine Cannon of over 400 Blessings, and a Mimesis Storytellers Guide for world-building, character statuses, environmental effects, equipment building and more. For experienced campaigns and storytellers, Reforged RPG also features a flexible adaptation system which allows characters of one species to gain abilities and attributes of another species as they slowly apotheosis or transform into a greater form.

My Review for the Reforged RPG System By Josh Bell, 12/12/2023 What do you get with a system in development since the year 2000 with 100+ playtesters and thousands of hours of testing? One of the most solid universal systems for gaming I have experienced in my 30 years of gaming experience. Note: An important tool with Reforged RPG is its Android/iPhone Application for tracking character sheets and auto-calculation level ups as well as calculating target number / auto-fail with regard to skill usage with modifiers. The application was not in a ready state to use when I playtested so I have no experience with it. Pros: Everything (Players, NPCs, Monsters, and the stone wall of the dungeon) all use the same system for calculating its statistics. This creates one of the most ‘balanced’ systems when it comes to power levels. System stays simple and logical in every instance where it is possible, and when it gets complex it still follows logical sense. System has been playtested enough that I was unable to stump the storyteller with an action he couldn’t find a system rule to cover (but after modifiers, many of those crazy actions were calculated with a 0% chance of success, try something else). Potential Pro: (I did not get to experience it) Complicated math will be handled 99% of the time by the accompanying “Application” allowing easy character generation / leveling / gear-skill modifiers just by clicking to quickly get target numbers / auto-fail for any roll. Cons: Playing (or character generation) without the application is difficult as there are a lot of prerequisites, cap vs. no-cap bonus, gear modifiers, etc. The top most powerful abilities are locked behind ‘Paths of Apotheosis’ becoming a higher Tier race. This is something players are not allowed to fully apply to their characters except in extraordinary circumstances (100+ levels of gameplay, Storyteller approval, only one Tier increase per character ever). Potential Pros or Cons (depending on your preference as a player): System is fairly brutal and characters can easily die even at the lowest level of ‘realism’ (Called Level 1 Play). Every action has consequences and all modifiers have a balanced pro and a con. Yet along with this difficulty is immense satisfaction when a gamble pays off or the hilarity of defeat when you fail even the simplest of actions. Good Party dynamics, balance, and cooperation is essential. A conflicted or un-equally skilled group of players will likely have their characters not survive. Detailed Review: Character Creation - Leveling Character creation is a point-buy system broken down into species (race/attributes/powers-blessings), defenses (saves/resists), and character points (everything else). Leveling up is 100 xp each level giving 10 additional points to spend in each three categories. Most skills are purchased 1:1, but some choices of rogue and professional skills give their ‘base’ in points each level. Overall, Reforged RPG has a gradual power curve to its leveling compared to other games. I found myself leveling up rather quickly due to only needing 100 xp per level, but most options gave limited immediate benefits (i.e. even putting all 10 points for a level into a main skill would typically only increase it by 10%, which while nice was not really noticeable in gameplay.) Some leveling benefits such as ‘blessings’ gave very noticeable improvements like additional “re-rolls.” Even one additional re-roll could turn a session from a failure to a success, and by the end of my playtest I had acquired 4 re-roll blessings which had a dramatic increase not only in my successes, but also allowed me to ‘push my limits’ far more freely than otherwise. Racial abilities tended to be the most confusing options. Many required prerequisites that were not always clear in what needed to be purchased first. Requiring points spent in blessings, attributes/species traits, paths of apotheosis, resistances, attunements, and supernatural abilities. Each supernatural ability required an accompanying flaw to be taken. All in all, the character/leveling application should make this process seamless once available, but right now it is a lot to keep track of manually. Gameplay The only dice needed are d10s. Most rolls are percentile and usually also add another d10 roll if resisted in some fashion. Rounds time can be selected by Storyteller, ours used 1 second per round. This was a significant difference from other games as players were considerably limited in what could be accomplished in 1 second. (Longer actions were of course possible, but required multiple-rounds). Each player has an active action, a move action, and a defense action each round with no way to gain additional actions. Each action cost resources, usually mana or stamina, and running out of either was very possible if you weren't using meditation to regenerate. No matter how high your skill, there is always a possibility of failure, with more complicated (modified) rolls increasing their auto-fail number accordingly. By the end of the first game I was mostly comfortable in calculating my skill check rolls. Some rolls that took longer to grasp were when skills were reduced (i.e. when use Parry for another person) as well as applying gear modifiers to skill rolls (semi-complicated as you must apply the gear’s size, material, 1 or 2 handed, professional/magic bonuses, etc.) The system is robust enough to adapt to any particular genre or world setting. As usual, combat tended to slow play down enough that a single standard combat could take an hour or more (less for experienced players). Combat was nearly always a cause for concern in my playtest which was only Tier 1 difficulty, but had limited gear and very restricted movement paths. During the dozen or so combats I had in my playtest, only 1 instance of combat did I feel confident in my success. Most combat was fought in a nail-biting level of anxiety as we could generally only travel one way, and that was usually through a dangerous opponent(s). The fact that our combat rounds were only 1 second long also meant that if our party was separated by any significant distance it was very likely that the entire combat would be over before the roaming party members could make it back to the group (This particular situation happened to my character who picked a fight when his teammates were at least five minutes away, I was knocked unconscious by round 7, 7 seconds from the start of the fight). Combat in Reforged RPG should be entered with good planning, party cooperation, and proper tactics designed to end combat as soon as possible (Focus on 1 enemy till downed , etc.) Non-combat skill usage as percentile rolls were very easy to apply and understand. Crafting skills are well planned out and have reasonable rules around cost and time. Tier 1 difficulty allows for simple skill gain/leveling, but higher difficulty play requires actual ‘learning’ skill percentile rolls and in-game justification/training for skill acquisition. Characters are required to choose an alignment that matches their values and actions. Blessings are usually only available from gods that match your alignment (or at least within one step away from it). Final Thoughts Reforged RPG is a solid framework for both casual and hardcore gaming. Storytellers have enough leeway to be strict or loose with various rules without unbalancing the gameplay into a boring lack of challenges or a no win situation for the players. Even with my playtests’ Tier 1 (lowest) level difficulty, I did find Reforged RPG to lean into the “more lethal" category of RPG systems I have played. I believe this is because unlike other games, the ability for players to min/max their way into a significant advantage over the NPCs has been removed over its twenty plus year development. That is not to say that characters cannot get powerful, they can absolutely get powerful and have synergies and optimizations that puts a well planned and optimized character far ahead of an equally leveled un-optimized character. It just takes more levels and a solid plan, which in the end makes it more rewarding to both the player and the group to develop into power rather than a system that lets you take an unbalanced/OP ability or class. I’d say that Reforged RPG falls into the rule “Easy to learn, difficult to master.” Once defined the rules apply logically and don’t require exceptions or qualifications. Combat flows easily with no additional actions/round or other interruptions of play outside of rare blessing or supernatural abilities usable 1/game. On the flip side, the depth of options a character can apply makes proper planning critical to character growth and a poor choice will have consequences later on. Some combat options can leave characters wide-open for retribution and even a high-level character can make themselves vulnerable enough for a one-hit death. Reforged RPG requires a player at higher difficulties to fully understand the system and how abilities and rolls interact to be able to succeed in those high difficulty challenges and encounters. Ultimately, casual gamers will find Reforged a strong and intuitive system to play. While experienced and hardcore gamers will appreciate the challenges and enjoy the satisfaction of a plan executed successfully. Winning in Reforged RPG feels like you earned it, and it stands out among other systems for that reason.

The Character Creation App serves as a "character sheet" generator for Storytellers and Players alike. The App allows you to build characters of any species (either by selecting one of the 400+ available options or by creating a custom species that fits your specific campaign.) The App calculates your Character Skill Totals dynamically as you play during a session and serves as a place for you to put campaign notes, record gear, loot, buffs and debuffs. As well as allows you to input experience and spend points as you level after a session. The App was written for Android and Windows PC devices. (iOS for Apple is currently in development) The App was specifically designed to work OFFLINE and does not require an internet connection to function after the initial download. The App does NOT contain and In-App Purchases, Advertisements and does NOT collect your personal data. The App stores all your characters on the device it was installed in. What characters you create are your business and no one else's. The App was designed to be as small and fast as possible. The base program only requires less than 15 megabytes of storage space.

Alice, Reforged RPG playtester since 2023 “I love that the system lets you play as anything. If I wanted to do a dragon rider campaign with sapient spirit bonded dragons like in the Pern or Inheritance series? I can do that. If I want to do a Digimon campaign where your players have to balance raising healthy partners with surviving the Digital World? I can do that. If I want to do a werewolves and vampires campaign? I can do that. If I want to play as an eldritch biblically accurate angel? I can do that. The variety of types of campaigns and the freedom to do different things all while keeping everything balanced and fair is what makes me love the system so very much.”

From Jahx the author of Monroe In the halcyon days of yore, when I was clear of eye and no hint of grey could be found in my beard, I swore an oath, dedicating myself to bringing to fullness the forbidden prophecy, which called for something great, and terrible : A truly balanced gaming system. Following the leader of our party, I labored alongside him for over *twenty years* to bring the prophecy to it's glorious conclusion. It has been hard. There have been times when I despaired, believing that true balance was impossible, but Teddy kept us on the path. Revision after revision, adjustment after adjustment. I have swung my nerf bat long and hard in service to the ideals of balance. It's with not only relief, but with a touch of melancholy, that I am pleased to announce that it's done. Finally. If you've ever wanted to take a deep dive into the System, or wanted to run or play in a campaign using it, the time is near. As part of his campaign to launch it, Teddy has included stretch goals to have Monroe professionally and fully edited. Structural, copy, grammatical. The works. I love Teddy. He's been there for me for over twenty years, and I've walked into hell with him, and I'd do it again. I'd say I can't believe he's willing to help me like this, but I can believe it, because it's who he is. A rising tide lifts all ships. Or, as we like to say in our little band of brothers 'Our only currency is loyalty.' So, if you want more information on the System, follow the link and check out the campaign launch. He has to hit a certain number of people signing up before it gets greenlit. I think. Due to the Mom Alzheimers/Dementia situation, I haven't been as involved in the past six or seven months as I should have been. We'll be doing FAQ's and AMA's in the future, and he can clarify more about the launch.

Paige, Reforged RPG playtester since 2016 “Reforged Is great! I have played as a dryad with a triceratops farm, a fire priestess who nuked people with firebolts and a very smart sentient goose who was not so wise. I love the versatility of being able to have almost any magical power without it feeling broken.The ability to play anything is also something I love about the game. I am the type who wants to play anything other than human and there are many options in Reforged. Have you ever made a character to only realize you and a friend made basically the same character? That's not going to happen in this game. There are so many options in this game that one way or another you will make an interesting and different character from your friends.”

Reforged RPG A review by Jasper Walters I am a beta tester and divine blessing enthusiast. Players will find a system that is easy to learn and hard to master, like all good systems it is straightforward with a lot of depth. Reforged RPG allows a player to build anything. That’s a huge statement and an incredibly bold one. A statement that Reforged delivers on, not only has reforged codified a plethora of skills for players to purchase with its point buy system. Those skills are built with a matrix which means players and DMs can build their own skills, and by following the outlines of the matrix those new skills will be balanced for play. Scifi, modern, cyberpunk, high fantasy, low fantasy, mystery, horror, any campaign type you can think of, reforged can accommodate and thrive with. Reforged wasn’t just built with players in mind though, DM’s can take a breather as well, monster creation is as simple and easy as building a normal player character. Why? Because they use the same math, here let me show you an example. You want your party to fight some ghouls? All you need to do is pull up the species already coded into the app, and you’ll have a blank ghoul ready to go, then you level it up so it becomes an appropriately leveled encounter. Maybe you build a warrior ghoul, or a spell caster, or even a rogue. Encounters are going to be tuned exactly to the difficulty you want, because you can pull up your player sheets and compare them to what your ghouls can do. Now your fights are as overtuned, or as underleveled as you want. I have spent thousands of hours breaking this system down to help build it back up, and if nothing else I’ve said has piqued your interest I want you to consider this. It’s a COMPLETE gaming system. Over twenty years of playtesting, and balancing, with hundreds of testers. This has been a labor of love and friendship and I hope you and your table get the chance to enjoy our system!