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Dumbledore lives
2012-03-19, 04:00 AM
So for the past 2 years I had DMed a 3.5 game with a group of friends, and we were all enjoying it, and I still enjoy the system despite its faults. This year I decided to do something different, and try some different systems with the players to see the breath of the genre, and what else it had to offer. One of my players is now DMing a 3.5 campaign, and I've been running this up and coming system called Legend, which I think some of you may have heard of.

After we finish a game of it I was thinking we'd play some All Flesh must be Eaten, and depending on the result of that game, that is if the players survive or not, we'll play either Paranoia or Don't Rest Your Head.

After that I don't know, so I'm looking for suggestions on other cheaply available online, or through other means, games that are interesting or well made. I'd also liked the playground's opinions on the games I've picked so far.

Thomar_of_Uointer
2012-03-19, 08:36 PM
World of Darkness is a fairly popular one, designed for a modern setting. The core ruleset is World of Darkness, and then it has a bunch of expansions based around different types of supernaturals (Vampires, Werewolves, Mages, etc etc). I promise that once you've played it a few times, you'll never want to use D20 Modern.

Bearpunch
2012-03-19, 08:45 PM
I suggest Shadowrun. It takes fantasy tropes and tosses them into mildly dystopian future where the main characters are very likely to actually be the bad guys.

erikun
2012-03-19, 10:58 PM
Fudge is free online, (http://www.fudgerpg.com/goodies/fudge-files/core/FUDGE-1995-Edition-(PDF)/) and one system I would recommend.

Burning Wheel is a good system - although quite throughly cemented in Tolkienish fantasy - and reasonably cheap as game systems go, if you can find it. Mouse Guard is based off the same system, although simplified a bit and perhaps more easily converted. I like World of Darkness, although I wouldn't consider picking up the books terribly cheap. Eclipse Phase is a fun game system with some interesting ideas (cloning your mind and swapping bodies?) and that feels quite similar to Shadowrun, actually.


I've honestly never played All Flesh must be Eaten, Paranoia, or Don't Rest Your Head, so don't have an opinion on any of them. I haven't looked at Legend since well into their beta phase, so any opinions I would have about the system could likely be out of date or changed completely.

Note: The server errored out when I tried to post this before, and I'm not seeing it in the reply preview, so I assume this isn't a double-post.

golentan
2012-03-19, 11:08 PM
A lot of people are suggesting the well known and (coincidentally) pricy systems, so I'll offer some free alternatives. If you liked d20 NarutoD20 (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=naruto%20d20&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.narutod20.com%2F&ei=CQFoT7DPHsWjiAL7yvngBg&usg=AFQjCNFGQ--ei7SOWaN-5qjvs6CFHcPaVA) is a free conversion for the Naruto-verse which is fairly good (it definitely has flaws, but I enjoyed it nonetheless). I believe eclipse phase (http://eclipsephase.com/) is still offered as a free pdf for the core book, though they request you buy if you enjoy it. It's a solid game that takes a look at a more transhumanist cyberpunk than shadowrun. And for meta ridiculousness if you feel like trampling the puny fourth wall beneath your mighty gamer feet in favor of gamer community in jokes and power munchkinry play, there is always Dungeons: The Dragoning 40,000 7th edition. (http://lawfulnice.blogspot.com/)

In general, you get what you pay for, but those are the relatively exceptional free systems I've found. I've had good fun with each above and beyond what I expect of many paid systems I've bought, and all are at least worth a read through.

Dumbledore lives
2012-03-20, 12:50 AM
From the suggestions I've read through Dungeons the Dragoning and it seems interesting, we might try a short story in it. I've heard of World of Darkness and the local gaming shop does have one, so I might look over it.

Also I discovered I have the FATE 2nd edition on my hard drive, does anyone know if that is any good, or what it's best for?

Knaight
2012-03-20, 01:21 AM
From the suggestions I've read through Dungeons the Dragoning and it seems interesting, we might try a short story in it. I've heard of World of Darkness and the local gaming shop does have one, so I might look over it.

Also I discovered I have the FATE 2nd edition on my hard drive, does anyone know if that is any good, or what it's best for?

It is a fairly high quality generic system that can handle almost anything. It is rules light, it is heavy on direct narrative interaction mechanics, and the system uses the underlying Fudge engine to good effect - though I, personally, prefer the original Fudge.

Strormer
2012-03-20, 10:13 AM
WoD is pretty good and you can sometimes find good deals at half price or on amazon, but otherwise they're kinda pricy. Cortex is a good system. It has a few tie-in properties out already, but I've only played Serenity. There's also the new AGE system for dragon age. Not sure on the price, but the system seems quite solid for fantasy.

dsmiles
2012-03-20, 10:39 AM
Mouse Guard.

That is all.

Dr Bwaa
2012-03-20, 10:41 AM
You might want to take a look at Legend (http://www.ruleofcool.com/get-the-game/). It's pretty new, very slick and well-put-together IMO. It is also cheap (actually free, as of this writing).

Nothing to see here. Stupid stupid dumb.

DropsonExistanc
2012-03-20, 12:25 PM
WoD is pretty good and you can sometimes find good deals at half price or on amazon, but otherwise they're kinda pricy. Cortex is a good system. It has a few tie-in properties out already, but I've only played Serenity. There's also the new AGE system for dragon age. Not sure on the price, but the system seems quite solid for fantasy.

I was going to suggest Dragon Age too. MSRP is $25 for the lvl 1-5 box set. Then I thought about it, and you can get the core nWoD book for less than $20 on Amazon, MSRP of $25. WoD gets a nice price jump if you decide to add in a game-specific core book, like Werewolf or Hunter, but is perfectly playable with the one core book.

Dragon Age has intrigued me on the shelf almost enough to buy, and I've been playing nWoD for a couple of years now. Hunter: the Vigil has been my favourite sub-game so far for feel.

erikun
2012-03-20, 01:17 PM
You might want to take a look at Legend (http://www.ruleofcool.com/get-the-game/). It's pretty new, very slick and well-put-together IMO. It is also cheap (actually free, as of this writing).
Given that he said he's currently running it in his first post, I think he's familiar with the system. :smallwink:

Dr Bwaa
2012-03-20, 02:03 PM
Given that he said he's currently running it in his first post, I think he's familiar with the system. :smallwink:

fffffffffffffffffff.

Brain, why must you betray me so?

Strormer
2012-03-20, 02:15 PM
From what little I've seen DA has a good system with a unique feel, though it is worth mentioning that it is nothing like the video games and that the only thing connecting the two properties is fluff.

LibraryOgre
2012-03-20, 02:44 PM
I always flog d6, which is free online through DriveThru RPG.

You might also check out Hackmaster Basic which, while not free, is available pretty cheaply for an excellent game.

erikun
2012-03-20, 02:58 PM
fffffffffffffffffff.

Brain, why must you betray me so?
S'okay, it happens to all of us.


A bit more on topic, here is a handful of free RPG systems I've run across. I haven't played any of them though, so will not vouch for their quality.
http://www.mimgames.com/window/rules/
http://wiki.saberpunk.net/Wushu/WushuOpenRules
http://www.randomordercreations.com/rpg.html
http://lumpley.com/towardone.html
http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/risus.htm
http://www.faterpg.com/resources/ <-- Here is the Fate RPG

And a bunch more:
http://www.1km1kt.net/cat/rpg

Tengu_temp
2012-03-20, 03:01 PM
Spirit of the Century is 90% freely available on the net, and it's pretty good.

Mutants and Masterminds 2e/3e is an excellent system that's ridiculously versatile, although character creation might seem complex at first for those who are inexperienced with it due to a huge amount of options. You really only need the core rulebook to play.

Thrawn4
2012-03-20, 04:54 PM
A lot of people are suggesting the well known and (coincidentally) pricy systems, so I'll offer some free alternatives. If you liked d20 NarutoD20 (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=naruto%20d20&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.narutod20.com%2F&ei=CQFoT7DPHsWjiAL7yvngBg&usg=AFQjCNFGQ--ei7SOWaN-5qjvs6CFHcPaVA) is a free conversion for the Naruto-verse which is fairly good (it definitely has flaws, but I enjoyed it nonetheless).


Hold on. Are you talking about the fan-made pdf that has around 1000 pages? I had a look at this one, and I can't imagine anyone having fun with this overly complicated system.

Thrawn4
2012-03-20, 04:55 PM
A lot of people are suggesting the well known and (coincidentally) pricy systems, so I'll offer some free alternatives. If you liked d20 NarutoD20 (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=naruto%20d20&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.narutod20.com%2F&ei=CQFoT7DPHsWjiAL7yvngBg&usg=AFQjCNFGQ--ei7SOWaN-5qjvs6CFHcPaVA) is a free conversion for the Naruto-verse which is fairly good (it definitely has flaws, but I enjoyed it nonetheless).


Hold on. Are you talking about the fan-made pdf that has around 1000 pages? I had a look at this one, and I can't imagine anyone having fun with this overly complicated system.

Eric Tolle
2012-03-20, 05:18 PM
Got whatcha need right here

Nicotine Girls (http://www.halfmeme.com/nicotinegirls.html): the game of lower-income teenage girls looking for happyness.

Wuthering Heights (http://www.unseelie.org/rpg/wh/index.html): roleplaying in the world created by Emily Bronte and other Romantic writers.

Under the Broken Moon (http://www.rpglibrary.org/settings/thundarr/): Roleplaying in the world of Thundarr the Barbarian, using the Over the Edge ruleset.

More seriously, heres a couple lists of free RPGs.

John Kim's Free RPGs on the Web (http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/freerpgs/): my go-to list for free rpgs.

Chris's Compendium of Free Role Playing Games (http://www.homebrew.net/games/): extensive, but with no real order.

If you can't find a system and/or setting you like in all that, well there's just no hope for you. :smallbiggrin:

dsmiles
2012-03-20, 05:30 PM
Also, I lied. Mouse Guard is not all.

There is also, Maid (http://www.maidrpg.com/).

Eldan
2012-03-20, 05:35 PM
I-d think for a breather from D&D you can't actually beat any of the more rules-light FATE derrivations. It's free, you can teach someone how to use it in ten minutes, and you can make pretty much any character you can think of, though tending towards lower power levels.

golentan
2012-03-21, 03:52 AM
Hold on. Are you talking about the fan-made pdf that has around 1000 pages? I had a look at this one, and I can't imagine anyone having fun with this overly complicated system.

:smallsigh:

The rules are not as complicated or different from standard d20 as people make it out to be.

The majority of those thousand pages are customization options (classes, techniques (spells), feats, monsters) rather than rules: about the same as buying about a dozen 3.5 supplement books only it's FREE and ONE SEARCHABLE DOCUMENT rather than a 200 dollar stack of paper you need to sift by hand (though you can print it if you want).

Yes, I have played it. Yes, I have run it. Yes, it is fun.

I'm kind of tired of explaining this to the hate-dom every time I mention the system.

Siegel
2012-03-21, 03:59 AM
There is also Burning Wheel if you are interested in a medieval fantasy style story game

some guy
2012-03-21, 05:30 AM
Step 1: download the quick start rules for Call of Cthulhu (here (http://www.chaosium.com/article.php?story_id=87))
Step 2: run The Haunting
Step 3a: buy the rulebook
or
Step 3b: go to Yog-Sothoth (http://www.yog-sothoth.com/content/) for other scenario's, help with rules questions, GM-tools, if you don't feel like paying for it.

Seriously, Call of Cthulhu is pretty great.

Mindartis
2012-03-21, 10:24 AM
The thing about All Flesh Must Be Eaten and Don't Rest Your Head is the fact that they are rules light, especially Don't Rest Your Head. Both are extremely fun to play, however, and have potential to be very creepy.


I suggest Shadowrun. It takes fantasy tropes and tosses them into mildly dystopian future where the main characters are very likely to actually be the bad guys.

Shadowrun is also very enjoyable. In our current game, we blew up a city block with 32 pounds of plastic explosive. It's a game of stategy, plans getting screwed up, making new stategy to get out of the situation you're in, and luck.

Coming from a guy who transitioned from DnD to AFMBE(All Flesh), I would suggest going to Shadowrun first, as the mechanics are a little different (using mostly d6's), but still easy to master.

Thats all I have to contribute.