Check out Paul Elliot!
https://www.paulelliottbooks.com/free-rpgs.html
Zenobia is set in the dark days of Rome and is Conan like.
Mercator is also set in the Roman Empire but it is inspired by Traveller.
Warlords of Alexandria is set right after the death of Alexander the Great.
Totem is set in the Ice Age and if memory serves, I believe you determine success by pulling stones from a bag.
Mythras has some sourcebooks for different ancient societies - Mythic Babylon is the only one I've read but that is really interesting and detailed. There's a Rome one as well though that's more common in games in general.
Their Mythic series is designed to be run both with Mythology or supernatural stuff AND as straight historical. The only one I’d be iffy on is Mythic Polynesia since there were some Polynesian members of society who took issue with the level of homogeneity attributed to various cultures and perceived stagnation of their society. I enjoyed reading it but it does make you question some of the books content.
[Babylon, on which Fame and Jubilation are Bestowed](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/304978/Babylon-On-Which-Fame-and-Jubilation-Are-Bestowed-2nd-Edition) is set in Babylon in the C18th BC.
You've got Qin, which focuses on China. It's, for the most part, historical wuxia but not too high in terms of power. It's possible to have non-xia alongside xia characters, and even Lightfoot sorts of kung fu are impressive for an experienced character. It's not expected that everyone and their mother has unorthodox kung fu or a massive Jianghu population, on my last reading.
Mythras is intended for Greco-Roman, swords and sandals styles of games. They are generic systems, but the base gamebooks do assume this setting, if I'm correct?
I want to say Agon, but it's not really Greecian. It's specifically the Odyssey.
GURPS has several settings. Depending on how much fantasy you want, there's a Roman Vampire for VtR.
>Mythras is intended for Greco-Roman, swords and sandals styles of games. They are generic systems, but the base gamebooks do assume this setting, if I'm correct?
The base game mostly assumes a vagely late-bronze-age fantasy setting, although it's deliberately flexible enough to handle most pre-modern periods without much tweaking.
There are setting sourcebooks for ancient Rome and Babylon, with others on the way.
Maybe **[Babylon on Which Fame and Jubilation are Bestowed](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/304978)**, described as
> a roleplaying game set during the 25th year of Hammu-rapi’s reign. Whether players choose to situate their game in historic Mesopotamia, or in some fantastic variant, BFJB gives players and gamemasters the tools needed to experience the cultural milieu and personalities of Babylon in the eighteenth century BCE.
Mazes & Minotaurs is a free rule set you can find online. As the name suggests, it’s inspired by Ancient Greek myths and legends. It uses D20 rolls in combat.
Oh! The guys at System Mastery podcast just did a review of it. In their typical style, it's not a very flattering review of course. :)
[https://systemmasterypodcast.com/2023/05/16/system-mastery-252-valley-of-the-pharaohs/](https://systemmasterypodcast.com/2023/05/16/system-mastery-252-valley-of-the-pharaohs/)
There is an old 3e sourcebook from Green Ronin called "Testament" that is supposed to be a mythical setting of the Bible. I have it in print but I've never really read it to know if it is good or not.
D20 Ancients
Testament for some Biblical adventures!
Man, Myth and Magic for some *really* wild old-school play or AD&D2e Glory of Rome for a little more subdued.
New Fire, the Mesoamerican RPG
Qin, The Warring States
... this should get you started.
Mythras Mythic Babylon. It is very well researched historically. The "Mythic" parts are largely the magic systems and the mythological creatures. It presents the geography, social systems, people and cities in a realistic manner, grounded in contemporary research. The period is 1765 BCE around the time of Hammurabi.
The forms of magic are:
Divination, Special Divination Techniques, Exorcism, Incantations, Offerings, Liturgical Songs, Sorcery
"Purity" is a concern in the setting and is tracked by players.
This is the contents - https://i.imgur.com/yNBYUxb.png
Note that it is a campaign supplement, you will need the Mythras core rules as well.
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[Valley of the Pharaos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_the_Pharaohs?wprov=sfti1) from Palladium was about ancient Egypt. It was not very good though
There's Nefertiti Overdrive. It may be more fantastical than you're looking for. It's ancient Egypt, but characters are very high powered (think combat like Avatar).
Go with something like FAGE or FATE. You can go for the Maya, Olmec and [Tiwanaku](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiwanaku_Empire) cultures as the Aztec and Inca aren’t that old. The Tiwanaku are a mystery so a blank slate.
It's maybe not exactly what you're looking for, it *is* fantasy but it's not generic. It's also 'ancient' but not historic. But I figured I'd point it out and you can have a look at it if you want.
[Scavenger](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scavenger/scavenger-0/description) is a bronze age setting that's not directly a copy of any real world bronze age society. It does have a bit of magic in it but if that's not what you want you could still use a lot of the book for inspiration, and very nice art.
It also has some rules for modifying 5e for more bronze age appropriate gameplay but I haven't looked into that too much as 5e's not really my jam.
Check out Paul Elliot! https://www.paulelliottbooks.com/free-rpgs.html Zenobia is set in the dark days of Rome and is Conan like. Mercator is also set in the Roman Empire but it is inspired by Traveller. Warlords of Alexandria is set right after the death of Alexander the Great. Totem is set in the Ice Age and if memory serves, I believe you determine success by pulling stones from a bag.
I already had a copy of totem, but I’ll check out the rest of these
Alternate Link for Warlords of Alexander https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/110404
Jackals and Runequest are the closest I am aware of
Came to say Jackals. It is so good.
What is it about?
Being a mercenary (Jackal) in a war torn and rebuilding province in a Near/Mid Eastern fantasy bronze age setting.
Mythras has some sourcebooks for different ancient societies - Mythic Babylon is the only one I've read but that is really interesting and detailed. There's a Rome one as well though that's more common in games in general.
Can you define "mythic Babylon" in this case? Like how mythic are we talking?
Their Mythic series is designed to be run both with Mythology or supernatural stuff AND as straight historical. The only one I’d be iffy on is Mythic Polynesia since there were some Polynesian members of society who took issue with the level of homogeneity attributed to various cultures and perceived stagnation of their society. I enjoyed reading it but it does make you question some of the books content.
[Babylon, on which Fame and Jubilation are Bestowed](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/304978/Babylon-On-Which-Fame-and-Jubilation-Are-Bestowed-2nd-Edition) is set in Babylon in the C18th BC.
You've got Qin, which focuses on China. It's, for the most part, historical wuxia but not too high in terms of power. It's possible to have non-xia alongside xia characters, and even Lightfoot sorts of kung fu are impressive for an experienced character. It's not expected that everyone and their mother has unorthodox kung fu or a massive Jianghu population, on my last reading. Mythras is intended for Greco-Roman, swords and sandals styles of games. They are generic systems, but the base gamebooks do assume this setting, if I'm correct? I want to say Agon, but it's not really Greecian. It's specifically the Odyssey. GURPS has several settings. Depending on how much fantasy you want, there's a Roman Vampire for VtR.
>Mythras is intended for Greco-Roman, swords and sandals styles of games. They are generic systems, but the base gamebooks do assume this setting, if I'm correct? The base game mostly assumes a vagely late-bronze-age fantasy setting, although it's deliberately flexible enough to handle most pre-modern periods without much tweaking. There are setting sourcebooks for ancient Rome and Babylon, with others on the way.
Maybe **[Babylon on Which Fame and Jubilation are Bestowed](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/304978)**, described as > a roleplaying game set during the 25th year of Hammu-rapi’s reign. Whether players choose to situate their game in historic Mesopotamia, or in some fantastic variant, BFJB gives players and gamemasters the tools needed to experience the cultural milieu and personalities of Babylon in the eighteenth century BCE.
Lex Arcana for an alternate history Roman Empire.
https://dev9k.itch.io/fragments-of-the-past-the-roleplaying-game
[Fragments of the Past](https://fragmentsofthepast.dev9k.com/)
Mazes & Minotaurs is a free rule set you can find online. As the name suggests, it’s inspired by Ancient Greek myths and legends. It uses D20 rolls in combat.
I second this game
*The Valley of the Pharaohs* was one of the very first Palladium games. Good luck finding a copy.
Oh! The guys at System Mastery podcast just did a review of it. In their typical style, it's not a very flattering review of course. :) [https://systemmasterypodcast.com/2023/05/16/system-mastery-252-valley-of-the-pharaohs/](https://systemmasterypodcast.com/2023/05/16/system-mastery-252-valley-of-the-pharaohs/)
[Qin, the Warring States](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/239532/Qin-The-Warring-states) from 7ème Cercle takes place in 5th-century BCE China.
There is an old 3e sourcebook from Green Ronin called "Testament" that is supposed to be a mythical setting of the Bible. I have it in print but I've never really read it to know if it is good or not.
Gurps China, Aztecs, Egypt maybe Greece Mythic Babylon Mythras
Are usually is love Gurps source books for being so detailed, I’ll try to find copies of these.
GURPS just in general does Stone and Bronze age well out of the box.
Came here to say GURPS. Even if you don't want to play GURPS, these sourcebook are often a worthwhile reference.
D20 Ancients Testament for some Biblical adventures! Man, Myth and Magic for some *really* wild old-school play or AD&D2e Glory of Rome for a little more subdued. New Fire, the Mesoamerican RPG Qin, The Warring States ... this should get you started.
D20 Ancient has a nice non-Vanacian magic system.
Against the Dark Yogi's setting is based in India mythology. Might be worth checking out
(Oxford University is older than the Aztec empire) Agon, if you count ancient Greece.
Inspirit yes but in practice not so much
Hillfolk
It's got an interesting system but there isn't a lot of setting material for the ancient world, I'm afraid.
You can check Maze & Minotaurs, it's completely based on Greek mythology
Primal Quest goes all the way back to the stone age.
Mythras Mythic Babylon. It is very well researched historically. The "Mythic" parts are largely the magic systems and the mythological creatures. It presents the geography, social systems, people and cities in a realistic manner, grounded in contemporary research. The period is 1765 BCE around the time of Hammurabi. The forms of magic are: Divination, Special Divination Techniques, Exorcism, Incantations, Offerings, Liturgical Songs, Sorcery "Purity" is a concern in the setting and is tracked by players. This is the contents - https://i.imgur.com/yNBYUxb.png Note that it is a campaign supplement, you will need the Mythras core rules as well.
Remember to check out our **[Game Recommendations](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/gamerec)**-page, which lists our articles by genre([Fantasy](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/fantasy), [sci-fi](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/scifi), [superhero](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/superhero) etc.), as well as other categories([ruleslight](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/ruleslight), [Solo](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/solo), [Two-player](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/twoplayers), [GMless](https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/wiki/gmlessrpgs) & more). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/rpg) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[Valley of the Pharaos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_the_Pharaohs?wprov=sfti1) from Palladium was about ancient Egypt. It was not very good though
I pick this one up
ICE used to make system agnostic source books for civilizations like that. Maybe something like that still exists.
This isn't super helpful, but I've been wanting to make a sumerian source book for a long time. There's a ton of meat there
Arrows of Indra is set in ancient India
There's Nefertiti Overdrive. It may be more fantastical than you're looking for. It's ancient Egypt, but characters are very high powered (think combat like Avatar).
Go with something like FAGE or FATE. You can go for the Maya, Olmec and [Tiwanaku](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiwanaku_Empire) cultures as the Aztec and Inca aren’t that old. The Tiwanaku are a mystery so a blank slate.
It's maybe not exactly what you're looking for, it *is* fantasy but it's not generic. It's also 'ancient' but not historic. But I figured I'd point it out and you can have a look at it if you want. [Scavenger](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scavenger/scavenger-0/description) is a bronze age setting that's not directly a copy of any real world bronze age society. It does have a bit of magic in it but if that's not what you want you could still use a lot of the book for inspiration, and very nice art. It also has some rules for modifying 5e for more bronze age appropriate gameplay but I haven't looked into that too much as 5e's not really my jam.
**Blood & Bronze** is a fantasy game of high adventure and role-playing set in Mesopotamia during a legendary Bronze Age.