Simple and Cost Effective Roleplaying System Wanted

[Xondoure]

Hey folks. So I'm planning on running a campaign over the summer and was hoping the playground could point me towards a set of rpg books that makes conceptualization -> play rather fast and easy. Cheap or free is better, given that all of my players are varying degrees of flat broke. If anyone has any recommendations they are much appreciated! Thanks!

[Karl Aegis]

If you don't mind pdfs Tenra Bansho Zero is pretty cheap. A hardback collection is slightly more expensive.

[Eisenheim]

fate core and fate accelerated are awesome, pay what you want, not just for the core rules but also for lots of setting books and they have a fantastic G+ group if you have trouble getting anything.

[Honest Tiefling]

fate core and fate accelerated are awesome, pay what you want, not just for the core rules but also for lots of setting books and they have a fantastic G+ group if you have trouble getting anything.

I'm recommending this so hard as it seems to be what you want. I think you should actually look it over and if it is not to your liking, I am sure the playground will find something, but it'll help if we know this is near to what you want, or not.

[Maglubiyet]

fate core and fate accelerated are awesome, pay what you want, not just for the core rules but also for lots of setting books and they have a fantastic G+ group if you have trouble getting anything.

I third this vote. Downloads are free for both Fate Core and Fate Accelerated, so you can evaluate ahead of time. Fate Accelerated hardcopy was $5 last I checked. Fate Core is still only $25, if you decide to go that route -- which I highly recommend.

Also, I'm really digging Savage Worlds. Also has free download under 'Test Drive Rules'. Book is only $10.

[Xondoure]

Fate Core and Fate Accelerated look perfect. I'm definitely going to try them out. I ran into Savage Worlds a while back and had totally forgotten about it, so thanks for putting it back on my radar! Depending on how the systems work out in practice I may have to go looking again, but for now I feel pretty good about giving Fate a shot. Thanks for the quick response playground!

[LibraryOgre]

ODE, in my sig, is played with one or more decks of cards.

[Elbeyon]

I enjoy dungeon world.

[SimonMoon6]

Mayfair's DC Heroes RPG has always worked for me. Nice and simple, with a bare minimum of crunch necessary to say "you can do this but not that". And because it's a superhero RPG, it can be used for any genre.

[neonchameleon]

Hey folks. So I'm planning on running a campaign over the summer and was hoping the playground could point me towards a set of rpg books that makes conceptualization -> play rather fast and easy. Cheap or free is better, given that all of my players are varying degrees of flat broke. If anyone has any recommendations they are much appreciated! Thanks!

As everyone else has said, Fate Core/Fate Accelerated is awesome (and Pay What You Want).

The other game I'd recommend if you're looking for something with a bit more grit to it than Fate Core is Apocalypse World ($10 pdf), although Vincent Baker's writing can be an acquired taste. Fast playing, easy to create characters (it's the root system of Dungeon World), and flexible enough to cope with anything from Mad Max to Firefly to Veronica Mars with just the base game (even if it sells itself as Mad Max) - and to do it better than most other systems.

[Jay R]

Do you already have polyhedral dice? That affects what the most cost-effective system is.

If you already have the dice, then there are many downloadable retro-clones for free.

Edit: I suppose the question of printing costs should also be considered.

[MKV]

I am seconding JayR's vote for retroclones, some of my favorites

Lamentations of the Flame Princess: this system is mostly known for its dark tone and emphasis on mature content but is in my opinion one of the best rpgs out there simply in terms of rules. Rules, character sheets, and two full adventures all available for free

Labyrinth Lord: a straight clone of the 1981 version of D&D and a favorite of many. Rules, an expansion to bring it more in line with the first edition of AD&D and numerous resources and adventures all available for free

Full metal Plate maill: probably the rest recreation of the original edition of D&D in terms of rules fidelity and cheapness. Rules available for free

the best thing about retroclones (aside from the awesome rules and super-cheap price) is the mass of materials that are compatible with the rules all classic D&D materials produced before about 2000 is broadly compatible with all of the above rulesets and their is a huge online community of who also produce cheap or free content for their retroclones and by extension all retroclones.

[Yora]

I am seconding JayR's vote for retroclones, some of my favorites

Lamentations of the Flame Princess: this system is mostly known for its dark tone and emphasis on mature content but is in my opinion one of the best rpgs out there simply in terms of rules. Rules, character sheets, and two full adventures all available for free.

And it's only the adventures that are dark. The rules are practically generic fantasy.

Basic Fantasy is a good alternative, doing many things similar and a few slightly different. The best thing about both is that you can get the rules for free and they are very easy to learn, run, and prepare.