[Free RPG Day 2026] Earth & Root

Now in its nineteenth year, Free RPG Day for 2026 took place on Saturday, June 27th. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Unfortunately, due to vagaries of International Customs, Free RPG Day in the UK did not take place until Saturday, 22nd August.

This review is possible due to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham.

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For Free RPG Day 2026, Magpie Games published not one book, but six—Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root, Adventure Booklet 2: Fire & Brimstone, Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel, Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind, and Adventure Booklet 5: Water & Mist as well as the Expanded Rules supplement. These are all for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game, one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns for any roleplaying game. This is the roleplaying adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, animated series which are inspired by the indigenous cultures of North America and Asia, in particular, China, Chinese martial arts, and the ability to ‘bend’ or manipulate the four elements—water, earth, fire, and air. Only one person can bend all four elements, and he is known as the ‘Avatar’, and not only does he serve as the link between the physical world and the spirit world, but he is also responsible for maintaining harmony between the world’s four nations. In the roleplaying game, the players roleplay characters, or companions, who are capable of bending one of the elements as well as practising martial arts, all with the aim of protecting the world from harm and those unable to stand up to misuse of power.

As with the other four Adventure Booklets, Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root originally appeared in Wan Shi Tong’s Adventure Guide, which explores and presents adventures in the different eras of the Avatarverse, including the Kyoshi, Roku, the Hundred Year War, Aang, and Korra periods. Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root presents a Kyoshi Era Adventure whose action takes place in Ba Sing Se, the massive, heavily fortified capital city of the Earth Kingdom. Its Lower Ring is home to many ordinary citizens as well as ‘Daofei’, organised bands of criminals and outlaws who live according to sophisticated codes of honour and conduct, as well as honour. The normal hustle and bustle of the Lower Ring have been thrown into chaos as the city’s Anti-Corruption Task Force, led by Yong, a highly diligent earthbender, rips it apart in search of Mengyao, a notorious Daofei has been identified as the kidnapper of the two children of Fire Nation Ambassador Quin. As Yong and his men tear the Lower Ring apart, targeting citizens and criminal alike, the Ambassador has sent in her own highly-skilled Fire Nation guards to find her children as she does not wholly trust the motives of the Anti-Corruption Task Force.

As the lives of ordinary citizen and criminal alike are disrupted in the Lower Ring, the Player Characters are approached by Rangi, famed firebender and companion of the Avatar, to help keep the district stable and to search for Mengyao before any riots break out before she returns with the Avatar. The Player Characters have an advantage in that most of them are former outlaws who live in Ba Sing Se and are trying to make up for their past misdeeds. This gives them a shared connection and backgrounds, even though hidden, may be useful in finding the accused Daofei and keeping the Lower Ring from following into further chaos. They consist of Tao the Adamant, a waterbender who grew up on a pirate ship and lost the person most important to him when they took the blame for a crime Tao committed; Masaru the Bold, a technologist and former thief who wants to turn over a new leaf and still support her family; Sarnai the Guardian, a weapons-user and former criminal who has found a family in the other Player Characters; Jing the Prodigy, a clever potion-maker and concocter who is worried that her creations will fall into the wrong hands; and Quartz the Successor, an earthbender who is heir to a criminal empire, but is not sure if that is what he wants.

Beyond this set-up—and it is a very detailed set-up—the Player Characters are free to approach the problem however they want. To that end, all of the NPCs, groups, and important locations are described in detail and backed up with solid advice for the Game Master. This covers movement around Ba Sing Se, creating more Daofei, ways to escaleate situations and increase the action and tension, handling bystanders and also Rangi and the Aavatar, and exploring various situations that are likely to occur as the scenario plays out. There is advice too for the Game Master on who to set up the scenario if the players are using their own characters rather than the pre-generated quintet which is included in Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root. This consists of asking the players why their characters are in Ba Sing Se and how they know Mengyao and the Game Master making adjustments as necessary. It adds too, scope for flashbacks that explore prior incidents or exploits in Ba Sing Se, but this cannot be used too often without an escalating penalty that ultimately, will force the Player Characters to recall events that went badly for them.

Also included are details of the Basic Moves and Balance Moves in Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game—in addition the Moves for all of the Player Characters—and the techniques that are not in the core book, plus the combat exchanges, statuses, and basic techniques. Rangi is also fully described and there is advice too on how to use Legendary NPCs like Rangi. In some ways, the Game Master advice is so complete and feels longer than the broader description of the situation in Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root and Ba Sing Se.

Physically, Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root is well presented, sturdy booklet.

Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root is not a scenario in the traditional sense, but very much more of a highly detailed set-up backed up with all of the background, stats, and advice that the Game Master needs to respond in what will very much be a Player Character-driven story. Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra will enjoy the background too and overall, Adventure Booklet 1: Earth & Root is great support for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game.