Could you recommend some free systems?

[Delicious Taffy]

I'm looking to expand my system library beyond Living Legends, D&D 4e, and Wanderlust, but I'm really short on money right now. If possible, could I get pointed in the direction of some fun systems I can download for free? I have a preference for narrative-based and fast-paced systems, as well as some rather impatient players in my group, so anything like that would be groovy. As a side note, most of us like to have a lot of options for character creation, so that would be an added bonus.

Edit: If any systems happen to be conducive to a Doctor Who campaign, I would not protest.

[OPG]

The Wushu system by Daniel Bayn is always worth a spin imo

[Delicious Taffy]

The Wushu system by Daniel Bayn is always worth a spin imo

I'll give it a look here in a bit, thanks. What's it do?

[Fri]

There's actually dozen and dozen and dozen of free indie games if you know where to look, but what I remember from the top of my head right now are.

Fate Core and Fate Accelerated are free.

Burning Wheel Hub (aka the bare basic of the game) is free.

There's a simple game I really like that's really perfect for new players and games with short preparation, Old School Hack, but I don't think it's been updated for a long time and it says it's still beta. But it's playable already.

Rule of Cool's Legend, the game that started in GitP, is free. It's based on 3.5 but basically revolve around building your character based on mix and match archetypes instead of classes that's balanced against each others.

Stars Without Number, a sci-fi game geared for more open world free roaming game

Eclipse Phase, the sci fi game about transhumanist setting.

There's a game I recently found titled Low Fantasy Gaming, it's based on 3.5 but improved it a lot I think, on how it's both more grittier, but also simpler more exciting. For example, other than obvious lack of powerful magic, fights are deadlier but you regain part of your resources after every fight, and you have a very slowly regainable "luck point" that you can use to fuel powerful moves and chance to run away from tpk. You also can basically do extra thing with each of your basic attacks, like you can attempt to daze your opponent with your basic attack by saying "I'm aiming for their eyes" and rolling say, dexterity.

[Knaight]

There's an enormous number of free games, but your criteria do narrow them a bit. Here's a smattering:
Fate: I don't actually like Fate that much, but there's a free version and it's one of those games worth knowing from an RPG-literacy perspective.
Fudge: The game Fate took a lot of mechanics from and gradually stopped crediting. It's less narrative focused, but I personally like it a lot better.
Nemesis: It's not narrative based, but it does some seriously cool things and is thus worth looking into.
Ars Magica 4e: It's not fast paced by my standards, but given your listed library it might just work for you. I also wouldn't call it narrative based per se, but it does have some mechanics in that general direction.


Then there's the small matter of designers. If you dig through the dross long enough you can find some designers with extensive outputs and real talent. Ben Wright in particular seems to fit your particular criteria.
If you're willing to dig through the dross yourself, then there's always the option of going to DriveThruRPG, turning on the filter for free and pay what you want, and searching.

[Firest Kathon]

Everything you need to play Pathfinder is available for free either at Paizo's PRD (sorted by book), on the D20 PFSRD (sorted by topic, includes 3rd party content), or in the Archives of Nethys (mechanical things only, no general rules). You'll only miss out on the art, but everything else is on there.

Edit - Didn't read your requirements, to Pathfinder likely does not fit your group, but someone else may be interested.

[JustIgnoreMe]

King Arthur Pendragon (1st Ed) is free until 31 Jan 2017.

https://mobile.twitter.com/stewartwi...6024697856?p=v

[OPG]

I'll give it a look here in a bit, thanks. What's it do?

Wushu is a roleplaying game where groups of friends sit safely on their asses and tell each other a shared story of high-flying, hyper-stylized action. The emphasis is always on entertainment; this isn't a game where smart tactics and careful resource management lead to clearly-defined victories. It's more like improv theater or a radio play or a drunken bull**** session. The only way to win is to make sure everyone has a good time.

Today I learned that quotes don't count towards the minimum character requirement for posts here.

[Bohandas]

the system refrence documents for d20 and d20 modern are free online and provide basically all you need to play

[Firest Kathon]

the system refrence documents for d20 and d20 modern are free online and provide basically all you need to play

The character creation and advancement rules are not part of the SRD, at least for D20, so you are missing a quite vital part in there.

[Mutazoia]

The Open D6 system took the original rules by WEG (used in the original Star Wars RPG) and converted it into a free, generic system. It's very easy to learn and easy to run, and you only need a few D6's to play.

[darkmammoth]

For free, there is The Window system which is pretty adaptable to any setting. Depending if you are running a d&d style campaign there is also a fan conversion floating around somewhere.

[LibraryOgre]

And, to toot my own horn, there's the One Deck Engine. Played with a deck of playing cards, you can usually get what you need to play for under $5, if you don't already have it at home.

[Arbane]

Risus: The Anything RPG Not THE most rules-light RPG, but one of the lighter ones.
Godbound: A Game of Divine Heroes (Free Edition): Exalted, if it was based on OD&D instead of Vampire.