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ThiagoMartell
2012-09-05, 11:35 PM
Hey, guys. I'm currently interested in getting to know more indie RPGs, specially free ones. Any suggestions?

LoneStarNorth
2012-09-05, 11:49 PM
Warrior, Rogue, & Mage (http://www.stargazergames.eu/games/warrior-rogue-mage/) is a good one. Actually there are a few good ones on that site, but I haven't looked at them all.

AuraTwilight
2012-09-05, 11:57 PM
I'd recommend JAGS Wonderland. It's truly a masterpiece and I can never find anyone else who's heard of it.

UserClone
2012-09-06, 12:14 AM
Lady Blackbird (http://www.onesevendesign.com/ladyblackbird/) ALL DAY LONG.

Also, HAX (http://mightyatom.blogspot.com/2010/03/lady-blackbird-hacks.html)!

Also, for pulp action, Danger Patrol (http://www.dangerpatrol.com/) is BOSS.

I'd suggest World of Dungeons (it was free for all Kickstarter backers of Dungeon World), but I don't think it's been made free to the public yet.

If you can handle VERY rules light, give GHOST/ECHO (http://www.onesevendesign.com/ghostecho/ghostecho_021909.pdf) a try. Do note that results are assigned to the goal/danger(s) AFTER you roll the appropriate number of dice.

ComradeGnull
2012-09-06, 02:04 AM
Labyrinth Lord (http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html) has a nice free version if you are interested in playing an old-school dungeon crawl. I've also borrowed some rules from it (such as the exploration/time and movement) rules to use with other systems.

I would also second the vote for Warrior, Rogue, and Mage as a nice very bare-bones way to re-think your RPG experience if you are coming from a more detailed and rule-heavy system.

UserClone
2012-09-06, 06:53 AM
Oh, that's right! Old School Hack (http://www.oldschoolhack.net/) is a refreshingly indie take on the early style of D&D. Very cool stuff. See also Red Box Hack (on the same link).

For extra fun (if you like post-apocalyptic play in the style of the Fallout series), try Retrocalypse (http://machineageproductions.com/2011/08/fallout-old-school-hack/), the Fallout-inspired hack of Old School Hack.

Knaight
2012-09-06, 12:40 PM
There is a free version of Inspectres that should be enough to play from. Fudge, Fate 2, and Spirit of the Century all have free versions, which is fairly nice. A significant part of Burning Wheel is available for free. I'd also look into what I believe is called The Great Tournament - it's 2 pages, though it makes a minibooklet with 8. It looks like a lot of fun, speaking as someone who has read and has not played it.

Wolf_Haley
2012-09-06, 06:27 PM
I ebelive the PDF for Eclipse Phase is still free through the main site.

UserClone
2012-09-06, 06:30 PM
Ah yes! If I recall correctly, all of the WEG D6 books were made free in PDF.

Knaight
2012-09-06, 07:05 PM
Ah yes! If I recall correctly, all of the WEG D6 books were made free in PDF.

At the very least, most were - however, there was a process of making them generic. You'll find d6 Space, but not d6 Star Wars, for instance.

rkarnes
2012-09-06, 07:31 PM
I ebelive the PDF for Eclipse Phase is still free through the main site.

Not quite, they would prefer you pay them for their work, but they have published their book under a Creative Commons License (http://www.eclipsephase.com/cclicense), meaning that anyone can download, twist, rework, and reuse their material. The game is great, and I can't encourage enough people to download the PDF (for free and without breaking the law) and get alienated. If you love it as much as I do, you will want to buy a physical copy of the book.

Hiro Protagonest
2012-09-06, 07:37 PM
Spirit of the Century (online (http://www.faterpg.com/dl/sotc-srd.html), Adobe PDF (http://www.faterpg.com/dl/sotc_srd.pdf)). Advertised as a completely wacky pulp action game, but really, it can easily be adapted to any low-magic setting. For weaker or stronger characters, tamper with the number of Fate Points, the number of Stunts, and make the skill pyramid bigger/smaller/narrower/wider.

Glimbur
2012-09-06, 09:04 PM
I enjoy Wuthering Heights (http://www.unseelie.org/rpg/wh/index.html) roleplay, though it takes a different sort of player. Otherwise you end up with two characters dueling to the death outside of a tavern they lit on fire. Maybe I just draw the wrong crowd.

rkarnes
2012-09-06, 09:34 PM
I enjoy Wuthering Heights (http://www.unseelie.org/rpg/wh/index.html) roleplay, though it takes a different sort of player. Otherwise you end up with two characters dueling to the death outside of a tavern they lit on fire. Maybe I just draw the wrong crowd.

that's actually very, very awesome.

Hiro Protagonest
2012-09-06, 09:38 PM
I enjoy Wuthering Heights (http://www.unseelie.org/rpg/wh/index.html) roleplay, though it takes a different sort of player. Otherwise you end up with two characters dueling to the death outside of a tavern they lit on fire. Maybe I just draw the wrong crowd.

That reminds me. I gotta buy this (http://www.lulu.com/shop/edward-sabe-jones/blazing-rose-a-story-game-of-romantic-rivalry-ashcan-edition/paperback/product-4639945.html).

JellyPooga
2012-09-07, 09:24 AM
The Plain English RolePlaying System (PERPS) has always been a favourite of mine, for a rules-lite system. I particularly like the Pumpkintown (http://www.memento-mori.com/other/games/pumpkintown/cosmology.html) setting that someone wrote for it. Can't seem to find the original PERPS rules online though...shame :smallfrown:

UserClone
2012-09-07, 09:47 AM
Can't seem to find the original PERPS rules online though...shame :smallfrown:

Same website? (http://www.memento-mori.com/other/games/pumpkintown/perps.html)

Angry Bob
2012-09-07, 04:24 PM
Claustrophobia (http://www.1km1kt.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Claustrophobia.pdf) is a rules-light rpg where you play as gnomes on board a vessel headed for the center of the earth, but the setting and premise can easily be adapted. It's a bit too rules-light, in fact, so I have the following house rules for it:


Each gnome gets 6 points to assign to the three stat spheres
A gnome may roll a number of dice equal to their stat normally, or up to double their stat, but if they exceed their stat, 1s and 2s reduce their total hp/sanity/dice instead of just 1s. A gnome may have a 0 in a stat and roll a single die, for which a 1 or 2 will reduce their hp/sanity/dice total.
Tasks have a two-part difficulty level, first, the minimum number of dice that can be rolled for the task, and second, the number of successes required, which is usually one and almost never goes above two. An example of a two in my game was "get out and push," so these are mostly arbitrary.
Each gnome may begin with an item of their choice.
The AI/ship have a 5 in all stats.
When gnomes team up, combine their successes and just treat it as multiple simultaneous individual checks rather than pooling dice.
Combat is resolved as such: The attacker and defender roll, ties go to the defender, but no damage is dealt, the higher roll then does damage to the lower roller.


Still, it always ends up for my group as like a combination of Dwarf Fortress, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Event Horizon.

Risus (http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/risus.htm) is another rules-light rpg. It can be used for more serious games, but the boss of the first game of it that I ran was the Super Saiyan Robot Zombie Ninja Hitler, which says pretty much everything.

Everyone Is John (http://wso.williams.edu/~msulliva/campaigns/john/): Is something you might have heard of. Basically, everyone plays a different voice in the head of an insane person.

Jack of Spades
2012-09-08, 10:42 AM
Claustrophobia (http://www.1km1kt.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Claustrophobia.pdf) is a rules-light rpg where you play as gnomes on board a vessel headed for the center of the earth, but the setting and premise can easily be adapted. It's a bit too rules-light, in fact, so I have the following house rules for it:

Link doesn't work :smalleek:

Anyhow, to mostly pass on the past recommendations of others:

All the Little Things (http://tailsteak.com/000473/All%20the%20Little%20Things.pdf) is essentially Toy Story, the RPG. It's mostly geared toward one-offs though.

Feast of Goblins (http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/feast-of-goblins) is notable in that every character is a randomly generated hodge-podge of parts whose general purpose is to reproduce and wreak havoc on an unsuspecting material plane.

Dungeon Squad 2 (http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/downloads/index.php?file=/free_games/dungeon_squad_2.pdf) (download link, for some reason) by Bully Pulpit Games (http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/) is an instant dungeon generator with a simple game system attached. Pretty rules-lite.

Other than that, most of the smaller RPG's out there have demos. I recommend finding as many of those as you can. Smalltime RPG's tend to be a lot of good, rules-lite fun.

ThiagoMartell
2012-09-08, 01:56 PM
I wasn't really looking for rules-lite stuff but I'll check them anyway, thanks.

Aliek
2012-09-08, 02:15 PM
Wasn't there some awesome community-built system around here? I kinda remember it, just not the name.

Anxe
2012-09-08, 02:45 PM
You could also check out Hackmaster. It's not exactly an indie game, but the basic rules are free. Link is in my signature if you'd like to take a look.

Rakmakallan
2012-09-08, 04:43 PM
Archipelago (http://norwegianstyle.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/archipelago-ii/)
It's one of those experimental GMless games, but actually quite solid.

Sebastian
2012-09-08, 06:34 PM
not exactly indie, but the pdfs of ars magica 4e (http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=AG0204) and Witchcraft can be downloaded for free.

also

http://www.homebrew.net/games/

http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/freerpgs/index.html

more free rpgs than you can shake a stick at.

LibraryOgre
2012-09-08, 07:48 PM
You could also check out Hackmaster. It's not exactly an indie game, but the basic rules are free. Link is in my signature if you'd like to take a look.

I second Hackmaster. It isn't rules-light, but they are quickly learned and elegantly designed.

ThiagoMartell
2012-09-08, 07:49 PM
I second Hackmaster. It isn't rules-light, but they are quickly learned and elegantly designed.

Sounds interesting, I'll take a look.

Geostationary
2012-09-08, 11:18 PM
Wasn't there some awesome community-built system around here? I kinda remember it, just not the name.

That would be Legend (http://www.ruleofcool.com/), which can be gotten for free at said link.

Siegel
2012-09-09, 07:26 AM
Hey, guys. I'm currently interested in getting to know more indie RPGs, specially free ones. Any suggestions?


Wait, you want Indie AND NOT Rules light?

ThiagoMartell
2012-09-09, 09:26 AM
Wait, you want Indie AND NOT Rules light?
Yeah. Something like Thrash (http://dsg.neko-machi.com/thrash.html), basically. I'm sure there are plenty others.

Angry Bob
2012-09-09, 11:03 AM
Link doesn't work :smalleek:


Weird. It works for me. Try this (http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/claustrophobia) one.

gkathellar
2012-09-09, 01:17 PM
Wait, you want Indie AND NOT Rules light?

Then you should look into Legend, linked above by Geostationary, which I will gladly second the recommendation for. It's lighter than 3.5, but still fairly sophisticated.

qwertyu63
2012-09-09, 07:06 PM
Just a note, look at 1km1kt.net. They have a bunch of free RPG's with any theme you care to name.

CarpeGuitarrem
2012-09-09, 08:06 PM
Diaspora (http://www.vsca.ca/Diaspora/diaspora-srd.html) is a fairly crunchy indie game based off of FATE. I believe it's stated to be a hard sci-fi game, including a communal universe-building session to kick things off.

Arbane
2012-09-09, 10:33 PM
Don't forget Dungeons: The Dragoning 40,000 (7th edition) (http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Dungeons:_the_Dragoning_40,000_7th_Edition), which may or may not be 'good' but is definitely AWESOME.

ThiagoMartell
2012-09-11, 01:41 AM
Then you should look into Legend, linked above by Geostationary, which I will gladly second the recommendation for. It's lighter than 3.5, but still fairly sophisticated.

Not a fan of Legend, but thanks.

Man on Fire
2012-09-11, 10:07 AM
that's actually very, very awesome.

Oh my God, my eyes, what were they thinking putting black and blue on pink...

I actually have few of those lying around, never got a chance to play them, but one day, one day I hope to:

Dawn of Worlds (http://www.clanwebsite.org/games/rpg/Dawn_of_Worlds_game_1_0Final.pdf) - players are gods, who create completely new world.

Song Of The Sidhe (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dnross/SongsOfTheSidhe1.pdf) - Adventures in world of Celtic mythology

Mekton Zeta (http://www.mektonzeta.com/) and Giant Guardian Generation (http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Giant_Guardian_Generation) are for Super Robots Wars-esque style of game (there is at least another free SRW rpg out there, but I lost the link for it), through the latter has official rules to turn it into Super Sentai/Keman Rider type of game. And when we're at giant robots, there are two (http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Adeptus_Evangelion) versions (http://1d4chan.org/wiki/AdEva_Borderline) of Adeptus Evangelion, fix to Dark Heresy allowing you to play your own version of NGE.

Traveller (http://www.travellersrd.com/content/official/mongoose_traveller_srd/mongoose_traveller_srd_index.html) - I heard nothing about it aside that it's popular SF RPG and apparently it's SDR is free.

Arbane
2012-09-12, 12:45 AM
Traveller (http://www.travellersrd.com/content/official/mongoose_traveller_srd/mongoose_traveller_srd_index.html) - I heard nothing about it aside that it's popular SF RPG and apparently it's SDR is free.

I dunno about the new edition, but classic Traveller was semi-hard SF (it has psionics), and tended to be about a bunch of veterans chugging around the galaxy trying to make a credit by fair means or foul.

JellyPooga
2012-09-12, 05:13 AM
I dunno about the new edition, but classic Traveller was semi-hard SF (it has psionics), and tended to be about a bunch of veterans chugging around the galaxy trying to make a credit by fair means or foul.

New edition or old, if you want a good idea of what a typical Traveller game plays like, just go watch Firefly. I swear Joss Whedon must have played Traveller at some point before making that show...

UserClone
2012-09-12, 02:01 PM
I actually think that Dogs in the Vineyard is a better fit for Firefly. In Firefly, the story is only superficially about gettin' them credits an' keepin' ol' girl flyin'. Really, it was about the fundamental changes that Mal and his crew brought to the places they visited. It was about doing the right thing, even when that wasn't the smart thing or the profitable thing. It was about holding the freedom of the individual and the inherent goodness of common folk in higher regard than making a buck or giving the Union the finger.

Anxe
2012-09-12, 02:44 PM
Dawn of Worlds (http://www.clanwebsite.org/games/rpg/Dawn_of_Worlds_game_1_0Final.pdf) - players are gods, who create completely new world.

Dawn of Worlds isn't actually an RPG. It is lots of fun though. My group has been playing it to create our next campaign world.

Justin Halliday
2012-09-14, 05:50 AM
Vested interest for Heroes Against Darkness which is downloadable here:

http://heroesagainstdarkness.blogspot.com

Here's an overview:

http://heroesagainstdarkness.blogspot.com.au/p/heroes-against-darkness-overview.html

And here are some reviews:

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/15/15671.phtml
http://www.enworld.org/forum/en-world-official-reviews/326941-review-heroes-against-darkness-justin-halliday.html
http://www.thefreerpgblog.com/2012/07/heroes-against-darkness-by-justin.html
http://impossibleboulder.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/heroes-against-darkness-beginner.html

AuraTwilight
2012-09-14, 03:33 PM
Now that I've played it, I'm going to suggest Magical Burst, by Ewen Cluney. It's still in rough draft, but it's fully playable as is.

It's got the magical girl anime genre down pat, and is highly influenced by Puella Magi Madoka Magica, but even if that's not your bag, I'd atleast flip through it for inspiration. The change tables and the relationship mechanics are total genius.

ThiagoMartell
2012-09-15, 04:10 AM
Now that I've played it, I'm going to suggest Magical Burst, by Ewen Cluney. It's still in rough draft, but it's fully playable as is.

It's got the magical girl anime genre down pat, and is highly influenced by Puella Magi Madoka Magica, but even if that's not your bag, I'd atleast flip through it for inspiration. The change tables and the relationship mechanics are total genius.

Anything by Ewen Cluney is good in my book. Man is a genius.

Mono Vertigo
2012-09-15, 05:26 AM
Now that I've played it, I'm going to suggest Magical Burst, by Ewen Cluney. It's still in rough draft, but it's fully playable as is.

It's got the magical girl anime genre down pat, and is highly influenced by Puella Magi Madoka Magica, but even if that's not your bag, I'd atleast flip through it for inspiration. The change tables and the relationship mechanics are total genius.
Seconded.
It's still in obvious beta, and might require one houserule or two to make more sense, but it's a great system. I'm GMing one such game right now. :smallsmile:

Acanous
2012-09-15, 05:37 AM
Dungeons: The Dragoning 40,000 v 3.5 is pretty fun.

If nothing else, your friends will love reading the sourcebook.

JustIgnoreMe
2012-09-15, 05:55 AM
the latter has official rules to turn it into Super Sentai/Keman Rider type of game.

Can anyone point me in the direction of those? I've downloaded the rules but I can't seem to find anything specific to that, and it's a type of game I'd be interested in running.

Loki_42
2012-09-15, 12:31 PM
Dungeons: The Dragoning 40,000 v 7.5 is pretty fun.

If nothing else, your friends will love reading the sourcebook.

Yes, this game is definitely amazing. Get it, and get book 2.

Bayonet Priest
2012-09-15, 12:54 PM
Stars Without Number is about the best free indie game I've ever seen.

Stars Without Number (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/86467/Stars-Without-Number%3A-Free-Edition)

It's like a mix of basic D&D and Traveller that's been designed specifically to cater to sandbox gaming. Not really Hard SF but no softer than most. It has a really nice Psionics system. This is pretty much the game I would use for a planethopping, ruins exploring, pirate fighting SF game.

Man on Fire
2012-09-15, 05:43 PM
Can anyone point me in the direction of those? I've downloaded the rules but I can't seem to find anything specific to that, and it's a type of game I'd be interested in running.

I heard they're on author's blog, not downloadable, just in a blog post.

JustIgnoreMe
2012-09-16, 07:58 AM
I heard they're on author's blog, not downloadable, just in a blog post.

I think I found it, not much there but it gets a mention (http://tk31.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/more-than-just-giant-robots.html).

Joe the Rat
2012-09-16, 09:55 PM
A co-conspirator of mine has a site dedicated to free RPGs of all stripes. A lot of them are old school and "historical", but it's worth a look-see.

Check it out here: https://sites.google.com/site/rpgfreelist/