Root RPG: The Core Book

Root RPG: The Core Book – A Fantasy Role Playing Game of Woodland Warfare, Roguish Feats, and Unlikely Alliances

War has returned to the Woodland.

The Marquise de Cat’s once-undisputed armies have conquered vast clearings, establishing their authority over much of the forest. But the Eyrie Dynasties, long dormant, are rising once more to reclaim their lost territories. Meanwhile, in the shadows and among the underbrush, the Woodland Alliance—driven by the mice, rabbits, and foxes who will no longer tolerate oppression—fights for freedom against any power that seeks to control them.

These three factions—the Marquise de Cat, Eyrie Dynasties, and Woodland Alliance—are locked in an ongoing conflict for control of the Woodland, shaping the political and territorial struggles that define the setting.

In this tense, volatile environment, the balance of power teeters on a knife’s edge. The great factions clash for dominance, yet their struggles leave cracks and opportunities for those clever—or reckless—enough to exploit them. That’s where you come in.

The basic idea of Root RPG is to provide a simple yet flexible sandbox environment where players can build their own stories within the forested realm, while game masters use this framework to plan and guide narratives.

You and your friends are vagabonds: cunning, resourceful wanderers who drift from clearing to clearing, taking on jobs too dangerous, too secret, or too unsavory for anyone else. You might be a mercenary fighting for coin, a rebel working to free the oppressed, or a schemer who plays both sides to your own advantage. In the Root RPG, your decisions shape the fate of the Woodland.

The Essence of Root RPG

The Root role playing game is an officially licensed adaptation of Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right, the award-winning asymmetric board game by Leder Games. Developed by Magpie Games, this tabletop RPG transforms the fast-paced faction warfare of the board game into a rich narrative experience, allowing you to embody a single character rather than commanding an entire faction.

While the board game focuses on strategy and territory control, the Root RPG puts you in the boots (or claws, or paws) of a roguish hero whose personal story unfolds in the midst of the larger war. The result is a fantasy role playing game that blends political intrigue, daring heists, exploration, and combat in an endlessly replayable woodland setting.

For example, instead of simply moving pieces to control clearings as in the board game, a typical RPG session might involve your character negotiating with rival factions, uncovering secrets, or planning a daring rescue, emphasizing narrative choices and character development.

Players and GMs can expect a more story-driven experience in the Root RPG, with a focus on personal motivations and collaborative storytelling, compared to the tactical gameplay of the board game.

Building Your Vagabond – Character Creation

At the heart of the Root RPG: Core Book is an extensive character creation system designed to make every player’s hero unique. You’ll choose from nine playbooks, each tailored to a different kind of adventurer. Whether you’re a fierce fighter, a silver-tongued manipulator, a stealthy infiltrator, or a jack-of-all-trades, your playbook guides your initial basic moves, special weapon moves, and potential roguish feats. The playbooks and their associated moves are organized in a structured form that facilitates storytelling and gameplay.

You’ll also determine your two different natures—the instincts and tendencies that define your character’s approach to challenges. Here, 'nature' serves as a defining feature that influences gameplay, shaping your character's resilience, motivations, and how they respond to obstacles. These natures influence the way you interact with factions, handle tense situations, and determine when you must trust fate rather than brute force a solution.

Beyond stats and abilities, you’ll define your positive reputation and negative reputation with various factions. These reputations evolve over time based on your actions—earning you allies, enemies, and complicated obligations as the story progresses.

The Setting – A Woodland at War

The Woodland is a vast forest dotted with independent clearings, each with its own politics, trade routes, and allegiances. The ongoing conflict has left the Woodland broken, with its landscape and communities scarred by war and strife. The Root role playing game invites you to explore this dangerous and unpredictable land, where no clearing is entirely safe and every faction has an agenda.

Key factions include:

• The Marquise de Cat – Rulers of industry and production, seeking to expand their dominance through trade and military might.

• The Eyrie Dynasties – Proud, traditionalist birdfolk determined to reclaim their former glory.

• The Woodland Alliance – A guerrilla movement composed of the oppressed species of the forest, fighting for freedom and justice.

While these three are the primary power players, they’re far from the only ones you’ll encounter. Mercenaries, smugglers, local leaders, and fellow vagabonds all have a role to play in your story. Despite the constant turmoil, there are rare moments when the factions withdraw and the Woodland finds a brief rest from conflict, allowing characters to recuperate before the struggle resumes.

Gameplay Mechanics – How the Root RPG Works

The Root RPG is a PBTA game (Powered by the Apocalypse), meaning it uses narrative-driven mechanics where dice rolls determine the outcome of moves—actions that drive the story forward.

• Basic Moves: These are core abilities every character can use, such as persuading an NPC, traveling through dangerous territory, or engaging in combat. Players attempt these moves by rolling dice to see if their actions succeed or fail.

• Special Moves: Tied to your playbook, these unique abilities set your character apart.

• Roguish Feats: High-risk, high-reward actions like picking a lock, forging documents, or pulling off a daring theft.

• Reputation Moves: Actions triggered when your standing with a faction influences events—positively or negatively.

Combat in the Root role playing game isn’t just about rolling dice and dealing damage. Weapon choice, positioning, and narrative consequences all matter. A vicious strike with the right weapon at the right time can turn the tide, but poor planning can leave you wounded or surrounded. Players can use a variety of attack moves to engage opponents, and the selection of weapons is crucial for determining available tactics and combat outcomes.

The Core Book also provides tables for determining environmental factors, encounter results, and unexpected twists. During setup, you may draw clearings or locations on the map to establish the Woodland environment. Whether you’re traveling between clearings or facing a tense situation, the rules ensure your choices and the dice work together to create memorable moments.

Exploration and Discovery in the Woodland

The Woodland in Root: The Roleplaying Game is a living, breathing world just waiting to be explored. As player characters—resourceful Vagabonds—you’ll journey through dense forests, bustling clearings, and shadowy byways, each with its own secrets and stories. The core book lays the groundwork for this sense of adventure, providing clear rules for travel, discovery, and meaningful interaction with the environment. Whether you’re sneaking past a Marquise de Cat patrol, uncovering a hidden cache left by the Woodland Alliance, or simply navigating the tangled politics of a new clearing, every journey feels unique.

The game’s setting is designed to spark curiosity. Each clearing is a potential hub of intrigue, with the clearing booklet offering ready-made locations and story hooks to keep your adventures fresh. The ever-shifting power struggles between factions like the woodland alliance and marquise de cat ensure that the world never feels static—your actions can tip the balance, create new opportunities, or spark unforeseen challenges.

Root’s focus on collaborative storytelling means that exploration isn’t just about moving from place to place; it’s about creating your own stories and leaving your mark on the world. The rules encourage you to interact with the setting, forge alliances, and shape the fate of the forest. For players interested in discovery and narrative depth, Root: The Roleplaying Game offers a rich, immersive experience where every path leads to new possibilities.

Character Progression and Advancement

Growth and transformation are at the heart of Root: The Roleplaying Game. From the moment you begin character creation, the PBTA game system invites you to define your Vagabond’s two different natures and personal drives, setting the stage for a journey that’s as much about self-discovery as it is about adventure. As you play, your character evolves—earning experience points for completing quests, overcoming obstacles, and surviving tense combat encounters.

Advancement in Root isn’t just about getting stronger; it’s about unlocking new weapon skills, mastering daring roguish feats, and developing unique abilities that reflect your character’s story. The reputation moves system adds another layer of depth, as your positive reputation or negative reputation with various factions and NPCs opens doors—or closes them—throughout the world. Every choice you make, every alliance you forge or betray, shapes your character’s path and the unfolding narrative.

The game’s design ensures that progression feels meaningful. As you gain new abilities and face tougher challenges, your character’s impact on the world grows. Expansions and additional content build on this foundation, offering new options and storylines to keep your adventures fresh. Whether you’re seeking to become a legendary hero, a notorious rogue, or something in between, Root: The Roleplaying Game gives you the tools to craft a character whose journey is as compelling as the world they inhabit.

The Role of the Game Master

In the Root RPG, the Game Master (GM) is the storyteller and world-builder. They control the factions, NPCs, and evolving political landscape of the Woodland. The Core Book offers detailed advice for crafting compelling scenarios, running faction conflicts, and managing travel and exploration. As the GM guides the story, unexpected events and dynamic situations can happen, making each session unique and engaging.

It also includes a fully fleshed-out clearing booklet—Gelilah’s Grove—so new GMs can start running games immediately. From there, you can expand the map, create your own clearings, and adapt the factions’ goals to fit your players’ actions. Some aspects of the game are supposed to be open-ended or minimalistic, reflecting intentional design choices that encourage creativity and flexibility.

Why Root RPG Stands Out Among Fantasy Role Playing Games

Many fantasy role playing games focus on grand heroics and epic quests. The Root role playing game is different. It’s about small-scale, personal adventures set against a backdrop of political unrest. You’re not a chosen one destined to save the world—you’re a vagabond trying to survive, thrive, and maybe change the Woodland in your own way.

This focus on the individual gives the game a unique tone. Every job you take, every faction you help or betray, every clearing you pass through—it all leaves a mark on the story. Actions have consequences, and alliances can shift with startling speed. The difference in your reputation with each faction depends on your choices—gaining notoriety can quickly decrease your standing, while earning prestige increases it, showing just how much your actions can change your relationships.

Contents of the Core Book

The Root RPG: Core Book is packed with tools for both players and GMs:

• Nine Playbooks – Fully developed character templates with moves, roguish feats, and customization options.

• Faction Profiles – Detailed breakdowns of the Marquise de Cat, Eyrie Dynasties, Woodland Alliance, and more.

• Travel and Clearing Rules – Mechanics for exploring the Woodland, creating new locations, and managing resources.

• Combat and Weapon Systems – Tactical and narrative rules for conflict, including weapon-specific moves.

• Reputation Mechanics – Systems for tracking your standing with factions and leveraging it for advantage—or surviving its consequences.

• GM Resources – Tips for running engaging sessions, generating scenarios, and keeping the political landscape dynamic.

• Gelilah’s Grove – A ready-to-play starting location with factions, NPCs, and potential conflicts.

• Page Layout – The book features a clear page layout with well-organized chapters and ample white space, making it easy to navigate and read.

The layout design, including thoughtful line spacing and margins, enhances readability and improves the overall user experience.

Future expansion content may introduce new factions, playbooks, or settings to further enrich the game.

For Players of the Root Board Game – and Beyond

Finally, fans who have been waiting for an RPG adaptation of Root can dive into this new experience.

If you’ve played the Root board game, you’ll recognize the factions, tone, and thematic depth in the RPG. But you don’t need to know the board game to enjoy this experience. The Core Book includes all the rules and lore you need to jump right in.

For TTRPG fans, this is a fantasy role playing game that blends political intrigue, faction warfare, and character-driven storytelling into a seamless whole. Whether you’re a veteran GM or new to role playing games entirely, the Root RPG offers a compelling and approachable way to tell stories in a rich and colorful setting.

The Root RPG has received positive review from both board gamers and RPG enthusiasts, highlighting its engaging mechanics and faithful adaptation.

Replayability and Story Potential

Because every session is shaped by player choices and dice results, no two Root RPG campaigns are ever the same. You might play a daring thief who becomes a folk hero to the Woodland Alliance in one game, then a manipulative spy who sells secrets to the Marquise de Cat in another.

Each bit of story or gameplay—every decision, encounter, or twist—adds to the overall narrative, making every campaign unique. If you want to revisit earlier sessions, you can always refer to the previous campaign logs for context. Navigating through your session notes is easy; just use the previous page option to review what happened before.

The factions themselves evolve based on your group’s actions. A negative reputation with one faction might make travel dangerous, while a positive reputation could grant you allies—or obligations you’d rather avoid.

Final Thoughts

The Root RPG: Core Book is more than just a set of rules—it’s an invitation to step into a living world of shifting loyalties, daring heists, tense negotiations, and hard-fought victories. Whether you’re out to earn coin, fight for justice, or simply survive another day in the Woodland, your story is yours to tell.

Setting up a game or generating a Woodland layout typically takes only half an hour to an hour, making it quick to get started compared to more complex RPGs. The game also excels at exploring the human aspects of its characters, allowing for emotional depth and relatable storytelling that brings the Woodland to life.

Magpie Games has taken the heart of Leder Games’ board game and transformed it into a role playing game experience that is equal parts tactical, narrative, and deeply immersive. With its intuitive mechanics, rich setting, and endless potential for creative storytelling, the Root RPG stands as one of the most engaging fantasy role playing games available today.

So gather your friends, choose your playbooks, and step into the Woodland. The war rages on, the factions plot in the shadows, and opportunity awaits those bold enough to seize it.

Fame and glory—or danger and ruin—are just a roll away.