For years, financial and corporate barriers have kept people from experiencing the magic of Dungeons & Dragons. But today, that changes. Free5e, the first fully free, open-source alternative to D&D 5e, is now live on Kickstarter.
What Is Free5e?
Free5e is a complete, fully compatible TTRPG system based on the 5e rules, built for accessibility, community, and creative freedom. It includes three core books—the Player’s Guide, GM Handbook, and Free Range Monsters—all available for free download and licensed under Creative Commons (CC-BY). That means you can play, modify, publish, and even sell Free5e content—without restrictions.
Why Free5e?
TTRPGs should be for everyone. Free5e removes the financial paywalls and corporate control that have locked too many players out of the game. With print-at-cost books, accessible formats, and no licensing fees, Free5e ensures that everyone—players, Game Masters, teachers, libraries, and publishers—has the freedom to use and expand on the game as they see fit.
Key Features of Free5e:
Completely free, forever – No paywalls, no subscriptions, no corporate restrictions.
Compatible with D&D 5e – Play with your existing adventures, monsters, and modules.
Fully open-source (CC-BY licensed) – Modify, translate, publish, and sell your own content.
Disability representation – Three different systems for including disabled characters.
Designed for accessibility – Dyslexia-friendly PDFs, digital braille, audio, markdown, and more.
Affordable print options – Hardcover and softcover books available at or near cost.
A massive bestiary – Over 500 monsters, plus templates to create thousands more.
We’re funding Free5e through Kickstarter to cover professional editing, layout, and all-new, human-made artwork—all of which will also be released under Creative Commons for anyone to use. Backers will get exclusive rewards, including printable GM tools, engraved wooden accessories, and collectible metal art.
Join the Free5e Revolution
Help us change the TTRPG industry forever. Download Free5e today, share it with your friends, and support the Kickstarter to help make this vision a reality. Let’s set 5e free—forever.
Free5e is a fully free, open-source 5e alternative, designed to make tabletop roleplaying games accessible to everyone—forever. Built from high-quality, open-license content, Free5e removes financial and corporate barriers, allowing players and creators to download, modify, and share the system without restrictions.
Free5e offers complete core books—the Player’s Guide, GM Handbook, and Free Range Monsters—with full character options, adventure-building tools, and a vast bestiary. It’s also available in multiple accessible formats, including dyslexia-friendly PDFs, ePub, digital braille, print-on-demand, and more for any need or budget.
Free5e is community-driven, adaptable, and fully independent, ensuring a future where everyone can play, create, and expand their worlds without limitations.
Free5e Kickstarter Launch Update – New Launch Date: March 25
March 25, 2025
Update: March 17, 2025: Due to unexpected prototype material shipping delays, we need to push this back another week.
We’ve got a slight change of plans regarding the launch of our Kickstarter campaign for Free5e! Instead of launching on March 4, we’re pushing back the date to March 25.
Why the delay?
We’re waiting on some key supplies that are essential for fulfilling our backer rewards. We want to ensure that everything is perfectly in place before we open the campaign. This includes running test production so that we can be confident in the quality of the products we’re offering. By getting actual samples in hand before the campaign starts, we’ll be able to show our backers exactly what you’re getting.
We will make every reward in-house after the campaign, and we will personally check every item for quality before it gets delivered. We want to be 100% confident that the rewards we send out are the high-quality, lasting keepsakes you deserve.
We’re all about making these rewards something special—a reminder of when the hobby started to change for the better and that you helped make it happen. Free5e isn’t just a game; it’s a movement toward accessibility and inclusion for every player, and we want our backers to feel proud of supporting this vision for years to come.
We know you’re as excited as we are, and we’re committed to delivering rewards that reflect the importance of this project. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We’re making sure these rewards are something you’ll cherish for generations to come.
The most common question we get about Free5e is, “Isn’t D&D already free to play?”
Technically, yes, the 2014 Basic Rules are available in PDF, and the 2024 Free Rules are on D&D Beyond, but both are limited. Like a drug dealer’s, “The first one is free,” once you’re addicted, it gets expensive, about $50 for each core book, so if you don’t have a group to join, you’ll need about $150 for the set. That’s not to disparage the free options, as they’re better than nothing, but a sample isn’t the whole experience.
Neither of those free options are available as print books. The 2024 Free Rules aren’t even available as PDF — you need an active Internet connection to use them on D&D Beyond. And only the D&D Beyond versions have illustrations.
Because Free5e has an open license, it can be translated and adapted to any context. We will make as many formats available as possible to make it easy to adapt. (The 2014 rules were translated into 8 languages. Mandarin Chinese and Hindi are the 2nd and 3rd most spoken languages in the world, yet they’ve never had a D&D translation. This makes that possible.) Even though Wizards promised a braille version, it still hasn’t happened, but Free5e will have a digital braille version on release day. We’ve already been contacted by schools for the blind who are eager for copies.
And then there’s the difference of what’s included:
Free5e Contents Comparison
Feature
Free5e
2014 Basic Rules
2024 Free Rules
D&D 2014 Core
D&D 2024 Core
Ancestries/Species
9
9
4
9
10
Cultures/Subraces
21
8
3
9
14
Classes
12
12
12
12
12
Subclasses
24
12
12
38
48
Backgrounds
1
6
4
13
16
Feats
52
0
15
42
75
Spells
323
304
314
361
391
Magic Items
269
20
124
263
350
Monsters
424
169
138
483
501
Monster Variants
140
1
0
0
0
Total Monsters
564
170
138
483
501
Monster Templates
16
0
0
3
0
This is, of course, not an exhaustive list of features, but it gives you a sense of what you can get for free. Free5e also includes monster-building guidelines to quickly create infinite monsters in a moment, a background-building formula, and other features to help you expand its offerings as the need arises in your game.
Free5e is also built with our commitment to accessibility and inclusion, featuring:
Culturally respectful language
Mix-and-match PC ancestries and cultures
Disability representation options
Intentionally accessible formats
Ancestral and Cultural Variants for Monsters
Compatibility and conversion guidelines for other 5e systems
Help Us Set 5e Free!
Join us March 18th as we launch our Kickstarter campaign to fund this monumental project to set 5e free forever!
How the Wyrm Worked: 2024 Retrospective
March 25, 2025
In 2024, Wyrmworks Publishing took bold strides to make tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) more accessible, inclusive, and impactful than ever. We helped you make lives better through TTRPGs, and together, we’re making a difference. Here’s what we achieved this year:
Breaking New Ground in Braille TTRPG Accessibility
We converted all our published titles to digital braille, and thanks to our encouragement and assistance, DriveThruRPG now has 13 braille titles available from us and other publishers. What began with zero braille publishers in 2023 now includes six.
Virtual Tabletops (VTT) and Adventure Publishing
Wyrmworks Publishing expanded into Virtual Tabletop (VTT) gaming with new titles for Foundry:
Therapeutic Applications: Multiple therapists reported incorporating our content into their gaming groups, demonstrating the real-world mental health impact of inclusive TTRPG design.
Lair Pages: We added 38 new entries to our online compendium, bringing the total to 1739 resources.
We partnered with disabled, neurodivergent, and mentally ill freelancers, ensuring authentic representation in our work.
We also created Crowdplay, a system to run D&D encounters for dozens or hundreds of players at once. Our test involved 100 players across local and virtual platforms at the same time, and we released the system for free.
We developed an accessible character sheet for print and reading disabilities, ensuring no one is left behind.
Creating in Andovir
The world of Andovir continues to grow with new tools for immersive gaming. This year, we developed six languages to model improved cultural accessibility in the game, all available in the Lair.
We also released Stoneharbor, the first AccessPunk city supplement, demonstrating AccessPunk principles.
Collaborations and Charity Work
Sponsored Game Creators: We supported creators in countries unable to run Kickstarter campaigns, empowering voices in the global TTRPG community.
Charity Contributions: We participated in the Rio Grande do Sul Flood Charity Bundle, which raised enough to fund nearly seven improvised shelters.
Strengthening the Hoard and Community
We sent 22 notes of encouragement in our email updates. Thank you to everyone who responded with kind words—your feedback helps silence our inner critic. If you’re not already signed up, join the Dragon’s Hoard for updates and encouragement!
Additionally, I am volunteering to DM for a D&D group of a dozen teens at our local library, inspiring the next generation of TTRPG players.
Encourage Inclusivity and Join Us on Patreon
We couldn’t have achieved this without you, and the work isn’t done. Support us on Patreon to help us continue making lives better through TTRPGs.
Plans for 2025
The view from my front yard in the summer
We haven’t mastered divination magic, so we have lots of plans but don’t always know what life will bring in the coming year. (In 2024, we moved from Minnesota to Leadville, CO. We never imagined that, and it consumed our entire summer and more, but it’s been great for our family.) And thanks to my ADHD, time blindness makes predicting timeframes difficult, but here’s our plan:
Free5e: A Free Open-Source Dungeons and Dragons Alternative. Fully free, Creative Commons D&D core books—accessible, affordable, and open for everyone. Launching March 4 on Kickstarter
Ready-to-Roll: Feyweather Friends: Last Minute, No Prep D&D 5e Adventure $1. Seal the Far Realm breach! No Prep Needed D&D Adventure for 1-2 players level 1-4 with lots of eyeballs, tentacles, and fey magic!
What if we told you that Dungeons & Dragons core books could be free, fully accessible, and open to everyone forever? That’s the mission behind Free5e, a project designed to make D&D not just a hobby but a movement for equity and inclusion.
The TTRPG world has long been gated by affordability and access. People shouldn’t have to decide between playing D&D and paying rent. We aim to knock those gates down and create a future where anyone, anywhere, can join the adventure.
Here’s what makes Free5e a game-changer:
1. Open to Everyone, Everywhere, Forever
Free5e isn’t just about making books free—it’s about breaking barriers. With its Creative Commons license, anyone can:
Translate the books into languages D&D would never reach. Imagine D&D thriving in local languages and cultures, with local printers and creators adapting and selling copies to support their economies. And nobody could take their license away!
Customize the content to fit their culture, community, or gameplay style.
Create copies for families, FLGSs, or local clubs with illustrations, photos, house rules, and other details specific to that group. (Imagine a FLGS creating a localized version the way all those Monopoly clones do!)
Create custom gifts by replacing the photos in one of the books, turning it into a graduation, birthday, or anniversary gift.
Do anything they want with it!
2. Perfect for Schools, Nonprofits, and More
Free5e makes it easy for schools, nonprofits, mentoring programs, and therapeutic settings to:
Provide copies to everyone involved—players, Game Masters, educators, and students.
Adapt the content for specific educational, cultural, or therapeutic needs.
3. Permanently Billionaire-Proof
Once released, Free5e’s core books will belong to everyone, not to a corporation, investors, or self-important billionaires. No matter who buys WotC or what happens to the TTRPG market, Free5e will remain a community resource, free to download, adapt, and share, and nobody can stop it!
What’s Inside?
Each Free5e book is packed with expertly curated content from some of the best TTRPG creators:
Player’s Book: Subclasses from KibblesTasty and spells from EN Publishing bring creativity to every character.
Game Master’s Book: Encounter-building tools and tips from Sly Flourish make running games easier than ever. Magic Items from EN Publishing make treasure more exciting.
Monster Book: Encounter guidelines from Forge of Foes and unique monsters from EN Publishing inspire unforgettable adventures.
Accessible to Everyone
Every Free5e book will be available in a range of accessible formats to meet the needs of every player:
Dyslexia-friendly PDFs designed with low-vision readers in mind
ePub files for e-readers
Digital braille for visually impaired players
MP3 Audio for visually impaired players or for listening on the go
Markdown for easy customization
Print-on-demand options with black-and-white artwork to keep print costs low
Source files to easily create new versions
Inclusivity at Its Core
Free5e isn’t just another set of rulebooks—it’s a promise to create a more welcoming TTRPG community. These books include tips and rule options to help Game Masters and players make their games more inclusive, ensuring every adventurer feels welcomed and valued.
Backer Rewards to Remember
Backing Free5e isn’t just about supporting a great project—it’s about getting unique rewards:
Game Accessories: Enhance your sessions with handmade tools for the table.
Commemorative Items: Celebrate your role in this movement with exclusive keepsakes.
These one-of-a-kind rewards, crafted in-house by our team and specifically designed to last for generations, are a thank-you for helping make Free5e a reality. You’ll be able to show them to future generations and explain that, back in your day, not everyone could afford D&D, but that changed because of you!
Change the World with Us!
On March 18, join us on Kickstarter to help fund the editing, layout, and human-made artwork needed to bring Free5e to life. Follow the project now to stay informed, and don’t forget to sign up for The Hoard, our email announcements, to get early access to draft manuscripts for playtesting.
Free5e isn’t just a set of books—it’s a movement. Whether you’re a TTRPG veteran or a newcomer, you can be part of something that makes gaming more inclusive, accessible, and open to the world.
As Donald Trump prepares to retake the oath of office on January 20, 2025—a day ironically shared with Martin Luther King Jr. Day—the TTRPG community braces for what lies ahead. Based on his previous term, campaign promises, and those he has appointed since the election, how will this impact the tabletop roleplaying game industry and hobby?
High tariffs on imported goods could hit the TTRPG industry hard, especially for printed books. The US has limited options for hardcover offset printing, meaning many publishers rely on international printers to make high-quality books affordable. If Trump reinstates tariffs, TTRPG publishers could be forced to raise prices or shift to print-on-demand only, making it harder to produce affordable, high-quality products. If domestic printers need supplies imported, that will raise book prices further. These cost increases will make it nearly impossible for most TTRPG publishers to offer wholesale prices to Friendly Local Game Stores (FLGS), which will limit the variety in those stores, the backbone of our hobby, and the players who depend on them for public game spaces and new TTRPG options.
Tip for Publishers: If you’re looking for a US-based printer that can print hardcover offset books, contact yearbook companies. I have learned of two that will print TTRPG books, although I’m not listing them here since I haven’t tried them and don’t know whether they have openings. As domestic printing demand increases, their availability may change.
Affirmative Action: Inclusivity Under Threat
We founded Wyrmworks Publishing on the principle of amplifying silenced voices and giving opportunities to the oppressed. We prioritize hiring disabled, neurodivergent, and mentally ill creators to ensure our products authentically reflect all voices and experiences. But with Trump’s Project 2025, affirmative action policies could be dismantled, penalizing companies that prioritize diversity, potentially forcing us out of business.
Regardless of governmental threats or penalties, Wyrmworks Publishing will fight with every resource we have to keep creating and hiring in line with our values. We’ll continue amplifying marginalized voices, standing with those who’ve been ignored or silenced, and showing that diversity isn’t just a checkbox—it’s the heart of what makes TTRPGs truly immersive and transformative.
Benefit Cuts: Hurting Players and Publishers Alike
So, we’re taking action. Wyrmworks Publishing is working on accessible options to ensure TTRPGs remain within reach, regardless of someone’s financial situation. Sign up for The Dragon’s Hoard or support us on Patreon to get updates on our initiatives and help us keep this community strong.
Meanwhile, we’re encouraging everyone to use #DefiantKindness with whatever resources you have to help those who are struggling in your community, especially those directly impacted by these forthcoming changes, like those struggling financially and of tenuous housing or immigration status. The way to Make America Great Again is through empathy, compassion, and working together to improve the lives of the disadvantaged.
And of course, contact your representatives to tell them how these changes do not put “America First,” but rather hurt American small businesses.
And thanks to our patrons, if you’re already struggling financially, you can grab some free Community Copies now. We will be restructuring this program to add more copies and a wider variety in the near future.
Roll initiative, and leave a comment below with your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions to help struggling gamers!
WotC’s PHB 2024: Hit or Miss on Disability & Diversity?
March 25, 2025
How exciting! Take a look at that screenshot from the preview video for the Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Players Handbook (PHB)! They’re showing a picture of a character in a wheelchair and talking about new ways to customize your character!
So I talked to some of my friends who got advance copies and asked them how the 2024 PHB handled disability inclusion! “There’s nothing there.” Is there maybe a wheelchair in the equipment section?! “No, nothing like that.”
Really?
Today, I looked for myself to see whether they missed something. I searched the D&D Beyond version for anything that might reveal an overlooked section. Nothing. That video was poorly planned at best and completely misleading at worst.
Roll for Racism
But it doesn’t stop there. Because WotC (admirably) wanted to remove terms like half-elf and half-orc due to problematic racist connotations, they removed all rules for creating any character of mixed ancestry. They could have included an adapted variation of the custom lineages from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything as a paragraph or two instead, but they didn’t, so the 2024 core rules allow only pureblood people groups, effectively gamifying miscegenation laws.
GM: “A Hadozee and Tanis Pureblood-Elven walk into the tavern….”
OK, but what about neurodivergence?
Neurodiversity gets even less authentic representation than physical disabilities in games and other media, but WotC showed their (one-time) commitment to this by introducing Asteria in the Book of Many Things, their first autistic character. But sadly, their ADHD representation wasn’t as accurate.
With ability scores, the PHB suggests, “Once you’ve assigned your ability scores, give some thought to what those scores might say about your character’s appearance and personality.” It includes suggestions for high and low scores, but the only remotely neurodivergent trait included, “Fidgety,” is listed under High Dexterity. I can tell you as a fidgety guy with ADHD, Dexterity is my dump stat. Clumsiness is a common trait for ADHD, so if that was an attempt at subtle inclusion, they did not hit the necessary DC for a success.
But not a critical fail
That said, they did make some improvements.
Why can’t we see art like this in the PHB?
Artwork copyright Kii W – https://twitter.com/kiichan – used with permission.
The artwork includes a vast range of demographics, showing far more diversity than ever, although still no body differences like face differences, body proportion differences, or pigmentation varieties such as vitiligo. The inclusion of disabled characters in the artwork is commendable, even if it’s a picture that lacks 1000 words that should explain them.
Common Sign Language has been added to the common languages list.
But if I could get them to include one subtle change, one Limited Wish, it would be the inclusion of this sentence, which does appear in the 2024 PHB:
Many effects impose a condition, a temporary state that alters the recipient’s capabilities.
Conditions like Blinded, Deafened, and Paralyzed have often been used to represent the permanent experiences of blindness, deafness, and paralysis, but we have argued that conditions in 5e, in spite of the problematic images in the 2014 PHB (Thanks for removing those!), are designed to represent temporary circumstances, not the permanent disabilities we encounter and experience in the real world. WotC finally codified that.
This is a critical inclusion. This clarifies that disabilities are more complex than rolling with disadvantage. It hints that disabilities are nonbinary spectrums. It removes the insinuation that people can’t learn to adapt to their disabilities and even thrive with them.
Yeah, I’m probably reading too much into that, but we’ll take our victories where we can get them and use them to ascend yet another step in an inaccessible world.
We are still in Initiative, and it’s our turn.
Limited Time DnD 5E Campaign Expansion Pack
March 25, 2025
Discover New Realms with Our Limited-Time Bundle!
Elevate your Dungeons & Dragons 5E campaigns with a treasure trove of new content! This limited-time bundle on DriveThruRPG brings together exciting titles from multiple publishers. Get incredible value and fresh adventures for your table. For a limited time, you can get this amazing collection at a significant discount.
Total Value: $32.37
Special Bundle Price: $17.77
Savings: $14.60 (45%)
Included Titles:
Maze of Mezeria for 5e by Earl of Fife Games
A thrilling 53-page adventure filled with labyrinthine secrets and survival challenges, best for 1st or 2nd level characters.
Features new adversaries, a fully keyed map, and fatigue mechanics to test your players.
Stoneharbor (Andovir Atlas) by Wyrmworks Publishing
A vibrant port city that integrates accessibility and diverse cultures, perfect for any campaign world.
Includes adventure hooks, new ancestries, backgrounds, and NPCs to enrich your stories.
Cavern Crawl #047 – Vein Vengeance (5e) by Grim Press
A 4th-level adventure featuring new monsters, magic items, and detailed battle maps.
Perfect for a party of four to six players.
Asger Earthsculptor — People of the Vale by T.M. van Dalen RPG
Focuses on a wizard obsessed with earth magic, including a unique encounter and exploration-focused mini-boss battle.
Into the Paper World: Ashcan Edition by Echidna Design
A whimsical and dark setting inspired by forgotten creative works, featuring new monsters, magic items, and adventure hooks.
Siege of the Silver Stag (5e) by Scoundrel Game Labs
A horror survival one-shot where players must withstand waves of zombies while managing NPC interactions.
Don’t Miss Out!
This bundle is an unbeatable way to inject fresh life into your campaigns with diverse adventures and rich settings. Whether you’re exploring the depths of a maze, navigating a bustling port city, or surviving a siege, this collection has something for every D&D 5E fan. Grab it now before it’s gone and bring new excitement to your gaming table!
Run a #TTRPG for 100+ players at once with Crowdplay
March 25, 2025
What’s the ideal number of players for a TTRPG game? Five or six? What about dozens? Or hundreds?
What if you wanted to run a Dungeons and Dragons 5e game for hundreds of players, most of whom have never played a TTRPG, all at the same time?Introducing Crowdplay, a solution that allows presenters to run immersive encounters for dozens or even hundreds simultaneously!
What is Crowdplay?
Crowdplay is simplified, streamlined system for teaching D&D 5e basics through shared narrative encounters. A presenter explains the game and uses “Table GMs” to facilitate the encounter. A Table GM needs no experience with Dungeons & Dragons or other tabletop roleplaying games. The Crowdplay system uses simplified rules that anyone can use without experience.
Key features:
Designed for large groups of any experience level
Focuses on core TTRPG mechanics: Ability Checks, Initiative, Advantage/Disadvantage, and, for some extra fun, critical successes and failures!
Built on 5e to prepare players for full 5e play
Demonstrates that experience is not necessary to have fun as a Dungeon Master
Can be used in-person, online, or both at the same time
It’s free to download and use
Teach TTRPGs Anywhere!
We designed Crowdplay to answer the question, “What is Dungeons & Dragons?” through a fun interactive demonstration. We tested it at a non-gamer event with 100 players, including 6–8 attending via Zoom. 5–6 total attendees had ever played a TTRPG before, and we updated the design based on that test.
We designed the final product to be usable in nearly any setting, such as:
Business Conferences
Family Reunions
Motivational Speaker events
Classrooms
Neighborhood Barbecues
Gaming Conventions
Tween Birthday Parties and Slumber Parties
Church Youth and/or Family Events
Those times when a horde of kobolds invade your home looking for entertainment (As we’ve all experienced!)
A Little Problem: Examine the Kit
This all-in-one resource includes all of the files you need to run a Crowdplay game:
Presenter’s guide PDF with tips for facilitating Crowdplay sessions.
PowerPoint presentation file to visually set up the narrative and mechanics.
Pregenerated character sheets representing a wide range of diverse heroes to demonstrate the limitless character possibilities that tabletop games offer
Comprehensive Table GM guide for coordinating the encounter in person and across multiple “virtual tables” using apps like Zoom, with insider info on enemies, adjudicating ability checks, initiative chart, encounter management chart, and more.
An escort mission with an encounter facing hostile goblins, including multiple possibilities for success.