Microlite78: First Edition Lite is a trimmed-down miniature version of the Primary Fantasy SRD rules designed to be quick and easy to play, especially when compared to modern incarnations of the game. The goal of Microlite78: First Edition Lite is do for First Edition (1e) what Microlite74 did for the Original Edition (0e) to recreate the style and feel of the First Edition of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game published back in 1978 without giving up all of the clearer mechanics of modern D20-based versions.

The Microlite78: First Edition Lite rules are based on the 1978 1e edition of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game with, some of the house rules the author used in the 1970s, and selected ideas from other roleplaying games. These rules are not intended to be a clone of the 1e rules, but rather a conversion of them to a rules-lite D20-based system that encourages old-school play without strictly old-school rules.

Microlite78: First Edition Lite was created at the request of a RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund donor who asked me if I could piece together parts of Microlite74 to produce a complete single volume Microlite78: First Edition Lite and add a “few things” to make it more like the 1978 “First Edition” of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game. It would have been simple to toss the rules from Microlite74 Extended with the descriptions from Companion II: Treasure, Companion IV: Bestiary of Monsters and Companion V: First Edition Spells together in one volume. However, the request is for a bit more: classes written up in more detail (as in Microlite81, including the more normal XP treatment) and some of the system altered a bit to make it more like 1e. This project is finally finished and while the resulting set of rules (at 150+ pages) does not really deserve the “mircolite” name, the rules are what was requested.

You can download a free copy of the Microlite78: First Edition Lite rules here.

Microlite78 Sponsors
The author would like to thank the following individuals who sponsored the production of Microlite78 and Microlite81 by making donations to the RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund to help pay the huge cancer bills treating my wife’s Stage 3 Oral Cancer without insurance ran up.

Bronze Donors: Kenneth Bailey, Rob Baseel, Isaac Boekelheide, Jason Decker, Pascal Furlan, Nathan Harwell, Sean McKeon, Sandra Misse, Alex Muscar, Thomas Simmons
Copper Donors: August Beirmont, Stacey Conover, Silas Crowe, Dennis Davis, Chris Harvey, Tom Hayes, Michael Julius, J.E. Leems, Tom Lewis, Juan Lopez, Marianne Marlow, Brian Marstella, Chad Nal, Joseph Nelson, Keith Nelson, Brennan O’Brien, Peter Reynolds, Bertel Robbins, Ed Roberts, Brett Slocum, Harold Smith, Scott Sutherland, George Taylor, Lisann Towwer, Don Turner, Harald Wagener
Silver Donors: Gabriel Barrenechea, Chris Brandon, Timothy Brannan, Alistair Caunt, Marion Hill, John Lockard, Oliver Korpilla, John Lee, Olivier Lefebvre, Allan MacKenzie, Jonathan Mayo, Lloyd Rasmussen, John Seabury
Gold Donors: Penelope Anders, Sebastian Dietz, Brian Isikoff, Helen Perez, Nelson Singer, Steven Wales
Electrum Donors: Robert Gibson, Ralph Williams
Platinum Donors: Bill Morrison

And thirty-five additional donors who wish to remain anonymous.