[Free RPG Day 2026] Air & Wind

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 4: Air & Wind 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 4: Air & Wind presents an adventure during the Aang period that sees them chased across the Earth Kingdom on a picturesque journey through the air accompanied by a wanted thief and the priceless artefact that she stole! Of course, there are numerous factions and peoples who want the artefact back and the thief apprehended. These include Yuzhen Sr., the owner and CEO of Sparrowkeet Air, the company which discovered the artefact, and his son, Yuzhen Jr—though they have very different reasons, and the Snowrats mercenary group and the Yu Dao Bounty Hunter’s Guild both of whom have picked up the bounty on the thief, and last of all, an inventor simply wanting to examine the artefact for what it is rather than anything else.

Like the scenario in Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel, the scenario presented in Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind is a chase scenario. It begins in Boat Bottom, a sleepy fishing village on the coast of the western Earth Kingdom and will ultimately end with the Player Characters and their companion climbing the steps of the Beifong Metalbinding Academy on a mountain north of Yu Dao. Whilst the Player Characters are in Boat Bottom, they are approached by a hooded figure who asks for their help. They realise that they have seen her face before—on wanted posters pasted and dropped everywhere by Sparrowkeet Air, a corporation specialising in the construction of aerial contraptions. Her name is Qian Yu and she explains that she is not a thief, but rather an archaeologist who unearthed a lost Air Nomad artefact from before the Hundred Year War and took it with when she discovered that Sparrowkeet Air planned to sell it rather make it available to the whole world.

Once the Player Characters decide to trust Qian Yu, there are a couple of impediments to get out of Boat Bottom under the noses of the Sparrowkeet Air Guard. First, the artefact gets stolen and then the airship that she has ‘borrowed’ needs repairing, let alone a good pilot! After that, the chase is on, and the Player Characters are free to pilot the airship wherever they want. However, before that, the players get to decide a few things as part of the set-up. One is individually why they are in Boat Bottom and the other is the type and nature of the artefact that Qian Yu has excavated. This includes what it is, what makes it rare and irreplaceable as well as difficult to conceal or keep safe, why it is beautiful, and what is its historical meaning. This gives the players some investment in the artefact and in the need to get it somewhere safe.

What this means is that there is plenty of opportunity for confrontation and conflict, but there is chance too for roleplaying—especially with General Onomu. Initially, she is rude and entitled, still a general of the Fire Nation at heart, and will probably remain so unless the Player Characters intervene and perhaps help soften her attitudes towards those around her. This gives the Game Master a potentially interesting story arc for the general to portray.

Like the scenario in Adventure Booklet 3: Ash & Steel, the scenario presented in Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind is less open in its plotting and more directed. The Player Characters are not as free in their actions in this scenario than they are in the others in that they have a mission to perform and do have to travel from ‘A’ to ‘E’ via ‘B’, ‘C’, and ‘D’. Yet like those other entries in the ‘Adventure Booklet’ series, its ending is open-ended and determined by the actions and decisions of the Player Characters as is the order in which they can visit the scenario’s various locations. These possibilities are discussed and there is solid advice for the Game Master along with detailed descriptions of all of the NPCs, groups, and important locations. In addition, there is advice too for the Game Master on how to handle airship combat scenes—primarily as narrative fight scenes until the Player Characters and NPCs get close to board the other’s vessel and on how 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 4: Air & Wind. The five pre-generated Player Characters for the adventure have all decided to help Qian Yu. They include Taiki the Bold, a Waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe keen to make a name for himself; Lan the Guardian, a warrior fisherwoman from Boat Bottom who wants to help the whole group; Kiki the Hammer, a Firebender who was going to take the bounty on Qian Yu, but has changed her mind; Yuxuan the Idealist, a technologist and trap builder wanting to find a way home; and Chesa the Rogue, an Earthbender want to escape his family’s banditry.

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. The Legendary NPC in Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind is Toph Beifong, an Earthbender that the Player Characters can meet at end of the scenario and whom Qian Yu knows. She can become an ally and teacher of the Player Characters in the future beyond the scenario.

Physically, Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind is well presented, sturdy booklet.

Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind is an exciting chase scenario with a chance for the Player Characters to add a little history to the setting, fly an airship, visit numerous locations and ultimately confront corporate greed. It is a great mix and that is in addition to all of the other opportunities for combat and interaction. Again, as with other entries in the series, Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra will enjoy the background too and overall, Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind is great support for Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game.