The Basic Fantasy RPG

Style Guide
A Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Writing Guide

Copyright © 2016-2019, 2022-2024 James Lemon and

Chris Gonnerman
All Rights Reserved. See next page for license information.
www.basicfantasy.org
The Basic Fantasy RPG Style Guide
Release 20
Copyright © 2016-2019, 2022-2024 James Lemon and Chris Gonnerman – All Rights Reserved
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Artwork: StarGlade
 The Basic Fantasy RPG Style Guide

Introduction
This document contains guidelines for creating documents, in particular adventures, for
distribution as part of the Basic Fantasy Project. It is written not just for authors but also for
editors, to assist with knowing the project's standard methods.

And honestly, reading over it, it seems like a lot. It's a standards document, after all, and so it is
imperative, blunt, even perhaps harsh. You might look through these pages and decide it's all too
much work.

Don't let that happen. The Basic Fantasy RPG community is one of the most welcoming and
helpful groups of people on the Internet. Join the forum and share what you've done there. We'll
help you fix up what needs fixing to make your presentation better, proofread and edit it, add art
if it's needed, and maybe even get it into print as part of our catalog.

Or in shorter words: Jump in!

Notes Titles
 Most of the included examples are If your work is an adventure, the title should
enclosed in parentheses; do not include be in the QueenEmpress font, all-capitalized
them in your work. Some examples are but not bold, and centered. Other fonts are
shown boxed, and this also should not acceptable, but please contact us before using
be done in your submissions. a different font so we can verify that we have
reproduction rights for it first.
 For all capitalization indications, the
one overriding exception is that words If your work is a supplement, the title should
which start a sentence should be be in the Soutane BF font, all-capitalized but
capitalized. not bold, and left-aligned.

 This guide can't cover every little

rule/item nor the rare exceptions. When Copyright Statements
in doubt, make a post on your The title pages need a copyright statement.
Workshop thread and we'll hammer it Normally this is the first year your work was
out. distributed. If that work extends into the next
year, you would note this as “xxxx-xxxx+1”. If
 There are blank adventure and
work stops in one year and then picks up 2
supplement templates available in the
years later, you would note this as “xxxx,
Adventure & Supplement Templates
xxxx+2” or “xxxx-xxxx+1, xxxx+3”, etc. Note
thread in the Workshop on the
that this is a guideline, not legal advice, and
basicfantasy.org forums. The standard
you should mark the dates as you see fit.
font package is also found in that
thread. Examples:
 The easiest way to get started creating “Copyright © 2007 Joe Player”, “Copyright ©
a Basic Fantasy RPG document is to 2007-2009 Joe Player”, or “Copyright © 2007,
download the adventure template and 2010 Joe Player”
edit it for your work. These should
already have the correct style listings,
page and column layouts, etc. If you Header and Subheader Text
have any problems, simply make a post Subheader text should be in the SoutaneBlack
on the Workshop sub-forum and we'll font (even in an adventure), not bold, and left-
help you! aligned.

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The Basic Fantasy RPG Style Guide

Body Text another ability score as appropriate),

particularly if you have already presented rolls
Rules and supplements should use the Soutane that are so modified.
BF font for body text; adventures should use
Adventure BF. Text should be formatted in two
columns (equal width, .2” spacing) with Character Classes and Races
Justified alignment. Sentences should be Character classes should always be capitalized
separated by two spaces, not one. and not bold, when the word applies
specifically to the class. For example, Thief is
Text Language a class, but thief is more a vocation; if an NPC
is described saying "he looked for the thief,"
Basic Fantasy RPG documents may be written the word should NOT be capitalized.
in either American, Canadian, or English style,
consistent with the national origin of the Character races should almost always be
work's author. Composite works (such as the lower-case and not bold. Use “dwarf” and
Adventure Anthology multimodules) should be “dwarves”, and “elf” and “elves”. They should
standardized upon one of them; generally, as only be capitalized where they are titles or
most of our editors are American, it will be the political entities (i.e. the King of the Elves).
American spellings which are used. No
publication should contain multiple spelling
Armor Class
standards.
Armor Class should always be written as Armor
Pronouns Class or AC, capitalized but not bold. It is
acceptable to use the abbreviation in running
In Basic Fantasy RPG we now use the text.
progressive “they” or “their” (“Once the player
character comes into the clearing, they will see
Thief Abilities
the entrance beyond the trees.”).
The names of Thief abilities should always be
Ability and Attribute Scores capitalized and not bold.

The wording “ability score” should be used

Cleric Turn Ability
rather than “attribute”, and should always be
lower-case and not bold. The name of an The word Turn or Turned should always be
ability (Strength, Intelligence, etc.) should capitalized but not bold when used in
always be capitalized but not bold. The reference to the Clerical ability.
abbreviations for ability scores should be all-
capitalized but not bold (“STR”, “CHA”). In
Hit Points and Hit Dice
general in running text (i.e. not statistical
blocks, but actual descriptions) the full name Written out, both hit point(s) and hit dice/die
of an ability score should be used rather than should be lower-case and not bold. When using
the abbreviation. the abbreviations HP and HD, they should be
all-capitalized but not bold. In some instances,
Ability Checks writing Hit Points or Hit Dice in capitalized
form may be reasonable, in particular when
If a situation calls for an ability-related roll, presented in the same paragraph or section
don’t assume the PC will have a positive where other capitalized statistics are
bonus; in case of a penalty, always write it out discussed (such as Armor Class). When using
as “applying your Dexterity bonus/penalty” or HP or HD after a number, it should be all-
“roll 1d6 +/- Dexterity modifier”. Or, you might capitalized, not bold, and spaced after the
choose to say "modified by Dexterity" (or number (“30 HP”, “10 HD”).

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 The Basic Fantasy RPG Style Guide

Languages Attack Roll

The name of a language should always be Generally, a character's or monster's attack roll
capitalized but not bold. should be written as "attack roll" and not as
"to hit roll" or even "roll to hit." (“Blinded by
Saving Throws the dust, the creature takes a penalty of -4 on
its attack roll.”).
The saving throw phrase should always be
written with only the name/category Damage
capitalized, and “versus” should always be
written as “vs.” (“save vs. Death Ray”). The wording for damage should generally be
“does”, not “deals”, “inflicts”, etc. (“If its claw
Names of Equipment and Weapons hits it does 1d6 points of damage”). When
writing damage as applied to a victim rather
Equipment and weapons should be lower-case than delivered by a foe (for example, damage
and not bold. Bows and swords names are caused by a trap) the preferred wording is
almost always one word (“shortsword”, "take/takes/taken" as in "Anyone who fails a
“longsword”, “greatsword”, “shortbow”, save vs. Death Ray takes 1d6 points of damage
“longbow”), while axes and other weapons are from this trap." However, these usages may
almost always two words (“hand axe”, “battle vary as the author sees fit.
axe”, “light crossbow”). Consistency within a
work is more important than common usage; Always write "points of damage", never just
an adventure where "battleaxe" is always "damage." Half damage should be written out
written as one word is perfectly fine. and without a dash between it (not “half-
damage” nor using “1/2”). These usages should
almost always be followed.
Names of Spells and Magic Items
Spells should be lower-case and bold. Monster Names
Magical items should also be lower-case and The name of a type of monster should be
bold. lower-case and not bold. If a monster has a
unique name, it should be capitalized but not
bold. As an exception, capitalize each word of
Gold Pieces and Other Money
a monster's name where it appears before its
The type of money should always be written stat string, whether in a room description or
lower-cased, and with a space between the wandering monsters table.
value and type of money (“300 gp”, “10 cp”). Do
not write “g.p.” or “c.p.”; no punctuation is With the release of the 4th Edition of the Basic
needed. Fantasy RPG Core Rules, many of the monsters
were re-named. In any adventure you write,
you may choose to prefer the old names, but
Experience Points the new names must appear at least with any
When written out, experience point(s) should stat lines. You may choose any of the following
be lower-case and not bold. When using “XP” formats:
after a number, it should be all-capitalized, not New Name: AC …
bold, and spaced after the number (“300 XP”). New Name (Old Name): AC …
Old Name (New Name): AC ...
Morale
In boxed text, feel free to use either version as
When written out, morale should be lower- you prefer. In any GM-only text, be sure to
case and not bold (“If an orc fails its morale include the new name at least where you first
check...”). In monster stat strings only, write its
abbreviation as all-capitalized (“ML”).

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mention the monster. It should always be easy  Special attacks: if a monster has a
for the GM to find the correct monster in the special attack/ability (for example, a
4thEd Core Rules. harpy’s song), it is best to specify it in
the Attack line/section (“#At 2 claws, 1
Monster Stat-blocks shortsword + song”), and briefly
describe its effect in the Damage
If you are contributing creating a new monster line/section (“Dam 1d4 claw, 1d6
for an adventure or the Workshop Monster shortsword + song: save vs. Spells
Creation thread, read over the first page in the within 300' or be charmed”). Any
Monsters section of the Basic Fantasy RPG further information/details can be given
Core Rules (p. 62 in r139). That page covers below the HP checkboxes.
each line of the monster stat-block.

A few notes: Monster/NPC Stat-lines

Here is what an example monster/NPC stat-
 Silver or Magical Damage: if a monster
line in an adventure looks like:
can only be hit by a silver or magical
weapon, this is notated by adding “(s)”
Skeleton: AC 13, HD 1, #At 1 weapon, Dam 1d6
or “(m)” after the AC value. Note that
or by weapon, Mv 40', Sv F1, ML 12, XP 25
we do not put an asterisk on the
monster name anymore for this. (One or Note that both the name and colon are bold.
two asterisks may still appear on a
monster’s HD value for a Special Ability If there is more than one monster/NPC: add
Bonus for its XP) the number before it (“3 Skeletons”), and add
“ea.” to the end (“XP 25 ea.”). Singular
 No. of Attacks: each attack is always monsters should not be numbered.
described (“horn”, “fist”, etc.).
Creatures with multiple attacks in each Be sure to use non-breaking spaces if needed
round has each attack notated with a to help keep relevant information on the same
comma between them (“1 horn, 2 line, unless it will break any subsequent layout
claws”). If a creature has multiple ways for that section/page.
to attack but can only use one option
each round, those attacks are notated For NPCs and humanoid opponents, write out
with “or” instead. We no longer use the the race, class, and level after the name and
slash notation, as in "2 claws/1 bite" for before the armor class rating (“Reginald
example, but always list attacks in a Darkwood, Human Fighter 1: AC 15, ...”). The
comma-separated format. Some “Sv” portion is not needed, as the class and
variation is allowed where needed to level will indicate the save value.
clarify attack options.
Also note any ability scores which grant either
 Damage: damage is always listed in the a penalty or bonus on a line between the stat-
same order and wording as the “No. of line and the HP checkboxes, each comma-
Attacks” above it. Note that we now list separated.
the damage and attack name, and do
not list multiple attacks of the same STR 15 (+1), INT 8 (-1), CON 17 (+2)
type, as in “1d8 horn, 1d6 claw” for
If the NPC or monster has equipment that is
example.
relevant to combat, list that information next:
 XP: as noted on page 62, you will use
the table on page 49 of the Basic Equipment: platemail, shield, longsword +1
Fantasy RPG Core Rules to calculate
the XP value.

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 The Basic Fantasy RPG Style Guide

If an NPC or monster has a spell-casting checkboxes align properly. It is advisable to

ability, write out the spell names on a line review the guidance in the adventure template
below the stat-line (and ability scores if any) if you are not experienced at working with
and above the HP checkboxes. styled documents... using styles properly will
make both your work and ours easier.
Spells: bless, continual light, animate dead

Hit point checkboxes should use the box References to the GM, Players, and
character ☐ in groups of five with spaces Characters
between groups. Usually, four groups of five GM should always be capitalized, and used
boxes is the maximum that will fit on one line instead of “DM”, “Referee”, “Judge”, etc.
for a normal stat-line; wandering monsters are "Game Master" is the preferred form when the
presented with an indent that leaves room for title is written out; leave a space between the
rows of only three groups of five. words.
The box character ☐ is entity ☐ in HTML "Player characters" is not normally capitalized
terms, or U+2610 BALLOT BOX in Unicode. In (except at the start of a sentence), but when
instances when some of a monster's hit points abbreviated should appear as "PC". When
are already lost when it is encountered, pluralized, write it as “PCs”, not “PC's”. These
present those boxes as ☒ U+2612 BALLOT BOX same rules apply to non-player character(s)
WITH X, entity ☒ in HTML. Other boxes (“NPC, NPCs”).
are not preferred as not all boxes work
properly with print-on-demand vendors. If you refer to the player(s), be sure it’s
something the player(s) should/could do, not
Treasure the player character(s). If it’s the latter, be
sure to use that term, or PC(s).
Names of magical items should usually be bold
and capitalized when treasure is presented in
Hyphens and En-dashes
list form; lowercase and bold is used in running
text. If a dash is used in a sentence rather than a
(semi-)colon, it should be the shorter en-dash
Magical weapons, armor, etc. that grant a (“Erin paused – they could hear the leaves
bonus should have it listed after the name, not rustling.”) rather than the longer em-dash
before (“longsword +1”). (“Erin paused—they could hear the leaves
When notating what is found in a room, on a rustling”).
monster’s body, etc. numbers should usually In LibreOffice Writer you can insert an en-dash
be given in numeric form (“2 potions of by typing a word, pressing space, typing two
healing”, “3 scrolls of raise undead”). It is hyphens, press space again, and type the next
acceptable to omit the number for singular word; Writer will automatically change the two
items in lists; in running text, "a" or "an" item is shorter hyphens into one en-dash.
acceptable.
Spaces separating an en-dash from the words
HP Checkboxes on either side are considered the standard in
English; we prefer to always include such
Use this utility page on the Basic Fantasy RPG spaces. The longer em-dash does not include
website to create your HP checkboxes: such spaces.
https://basicfantasy.org/checkboxer.html

Be sure to use the adventure template, or an

existing Basic Fantasy RPG ODT file, to have
the “HPCheckBoxes” and “HPChecksEnd”
styles, as these will help make sure the

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The Basic Fantasy RPG Style Guide

Ellipses Commas
Ellipses should appear as three dots, followed Serial (Oxford) commas should be used. When
by a space, and then the rest of the sentence. listing three or more things, there should be a
If your word processor changes this to a single comma after each item: “One, two, and three”.
character, that is acceptable, but not
necessary. References to Basic Fantasy RPG
Works/Titles
Dice Notation
Any Basic Fantasy RPG titles referred to should
Dice notation should always use a lower-case be capitalized and bold. "Basic Fantasy RPG"
“d,” i.e. "There is a 1 in 1d6 chance of success." should always be spelled out, not shortened to
We usually write NdN, not just dN, so that for "BFRPG". “Basic Fantasy” by itself is not
example "1d20" is preferred to just "d20." sufficient; it must include “RPG”.

Titles of supplements, etc. should be written

“X in X” Chances as given; don't add RPG to the title if the title
As shown above, this phrase should be written does not normally include it. For example,
as “X in X chance”, with no capitalization nor "Some of the equipment in this adventure
dashes. For rolls involving low numbers on come from the Basic Fantasy Equipment
1d6, giving the range is preferred, as in "1-2 on Emporium."
1d6."
Creative Commons License
Numbers and Ordinal Numbering When pasting or otherwise using the CC license
The use of words in place of numbers is from an existing Basic Fantasy RPG document,
preferred in running text, except when you need to be sure you’re listing the correct
discussing game statistics (hit dice, damage, version (Creative Commons Attribution-
etc.). When naming or referring to a room/area ShareAlike 4.0 International License) and
in a dungeon/wilderness, always write the listing its URL as well:
numeral, not the word (“the orc from room 2
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/
will patrol here”).
4.0/
When writing “second”, “third”, etc. they may
We also customarily show its icon, which you
be written as a number, with the lettering
can save/copy-paste or download from their
added as a superscript (“3rd”, 4th). If your word
website.
processor makes this difficult, we will correct
the situation in the proofing process.
Final Notes
Distance and Range These are, in the final analysis, just guidelines.
The rules stated above are those that the Basic
The words “feet” and “inches” are always
Fantasy Project team follow most of the time
preferred over the marks ' and ". The ' is used
when editing works for publication. Like the
for movement, as it is traditional and not
game rules themselves, though, they are
generally subject to misunderstanding, but we
subject to interpretation, and when they don't
prefer to see the actual words used for ranges,
work, we do something different.
areas, etc. Stat-blocks/lines use marks as is
tradition and for brevity. This is a recent The one most important rule is this: do not
change due to comments from non-American hesitate to ask if you have a question! Post
community members (those do not customarily your questions to the forum, so that all can
deal with Imperial measurements) as the benefit from the answers. Ask for help if you
quote-marks are unfamiliar to them. need it. The Basic Fantasy Project can only

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move forward if people share their work; we want to do anything we can to help you share
your work with us.