Introductory Rulebooks or PDFs

[Jama7301]

I know some systems offer free sample rules, or basic, introductory rules, like the Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition ones provided by Wizards, and the GURPS basic rules. What are some other systems that do this? I'm kind of interested in some bite-sized introductions to new game systems so I can expand my horizons a bit.

Edit: Dangit, I just realized the title may be bad. If possible, can it be changed to just Basic Rules? I didn't think it fully through...

[Knaight]

It depends on what exactly is being counted. For instance:

• Does a complete system stripped of an IP count? There's d6 Open in this category, where d6 Star Wars isn't free, but it's a complete game.
• Do complete games with expansions count? Fudge fits here, but there's a book that adds a good 200 pages of optional rules later that is commercial.
• Do systems which are just free count? Fate has several free systems (technically pay what you want, but that can be $0.00), but those systems are complete and thus not analogous to the basic rule books.

Assuming these aren't counted, the only systems I can think of off the top of my head that fit and have been listed are Savage Worlds and Burning Wheel, although I know I've seen a bunch more. Just looking for "Lite" on Drivethru RPG or other major .pdf distributors should pull up dozens of systems.

[Jama7301]

I was trying to find Lite versions, so I could "at a glance" learn about a game, but since Fate is free, I may take a gander at that one. Savage Worlds and Burning Wheel too. Thanks!

[Firest Kathon]

I know some systems offer free sample rules, or basic, introductory rules, like the Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition ones provided by Wizards, and the GURPS basic rules. What are some other systems that do this?

Pathfinder has the full rules available online.

I'm kind of interested in some bite-sized introductions to new game systems so I can expand my horizons a bit.

Oh ... well, depends on the kind of bites you take. They have a Beginner's Box with stripped-down rules, but it is not free.

Edit: Dangit, I just realized the title may be bad. If possible, can it be changed to just Basic Rules? I didn't think it fully through...

You should be able to change the title when you edit your post.

[LibraryOgre]

Hackmaster Basic is available for free. Link goes directly to the PDF. It covers 4 races and 4 classes for 5 levels, and has three introductory adventures.

[Grod_The_Giant]

I've got the basic rules overview for my homebrew system up... (and have been passing out free PDFs on request.)

[Jama7301]

Reading through Hackmaster a bit at work today, and I really like the honor system. I will say though, I may be misreading some stuff, but the HP rules seem odd, and the character sheets make it seem like there's a lot to keep track of.

I might need to start a document with all the mechanics I like from these varying systems and think of ways I can use them.

@Grod_The_Giant

The Promise section of the STaRS system sounds intriguing. I'll take a look at the full rules in brief on my next break. Thanks for the heads up!

[LibraryOgre]

Reading through Hackmaster a bit at work today, and I really like the honor system. I will say though, I may be misreading some stuff, but the HP rules seem odd, and the character sheets make it seem like there's a lot to keep track of.

There is, but feel free to PM me if you have questions... or start a thread in Older D&D and I'll answer them publicly.

[Airk]

What about games with an online SRD like Dungeon World?

[Jama7301]

I suppose I should have opened with systems I'm familiar with. Hooray for lacking foresight.

Here is the list of things I have at least a passing familiarity with the rules.

Dungeons and Dragons 3.5/4th/5th editions
PathFinder
Shadowrun 4th Edition
New World of Darkness
Dungeon World
Technoir
GURPS

I also picked up the Lite version of a pro wrestling game on DTRPG years ago that I keep forgetting to read.

My hope in this is to find a system or systems that I can run for some friends, to help them see more than just the D&D spectrum of games. That, and to help my own understanding of games and mechanics.

[Airk]

What about out-and-out free games? Especially ones that are shorter than a lot of "Quickstarts"?

Lady Blackbird?
Lasers & Feelings?
Danger Patrol?

[Jama7301]

Continuing on, after reading a few more.

Lady Blackbird is a game I probably wouldn't play, but it does have the interesting Buyoff feature, which I dig. I like the idea of introducing complications in exchange for more power or options.

Lasers and Feelings seems like a fun way to spend an evening with some friends in a pick-up-and-play format. Nice, easy character creation. Seems like it'd be great around some drinks.

[FreddyNoNose]

Reading through Hackmaster a bit at work today, and I really like the honor system. I will say though, I may be misreading some stuff, but the HP rules seem odd, and the character sheets make it seem like there's a lot to keep track of.

I might need to start a document with all the mechanics I like from these varying systems and think of ways I can use them.

@Grod_The_Giant

The Promise section of the STaRS system sounds intriguing. I'll take a look at the full rules in brief on my next break. Thanks for the heads up!

Bushido has a honor system as well. A bushi class needs both xp (called budo) and honor to advance in levels.

[Jama7301]

The more I've been thinking about the Hackmaster initiative, the more it intrigues me, in a way. Reading about the new UA for 5th edition's initiative reminded me of it, and how it could be used or simplified for use. I can see the why people would want a flowing initiative system and how it'd add it's own sense of tension, but I'd need to find a way to make it work within what I can do.

[LibraryOgre]

Reading through Hackmaster a bit at work today, and I really like the honor system. I will say though, I may be misreading some stuff, but the HP rules seem odd, and the character sheets make it seem like there's a lot to keep track of.

Just to go back to this, let me explain:

HP is determined by 3 main factors: Size/Race, Constitution, and Class/Level.

Size/Race is a kicker that everyone gets (except pixie-faeries, and it's simply that they're so small they get a 0). At equal training and constitution, a dwarven brick is going to be tougher than an elven willow. Dwarves, Humans, Half-orcs, Half-Hobgoblins, and Grel are all medium sized creatures... they get 10 HP from their size. Elves, Halflings, Gnomes, and Gnome Titans are all Small... they get 5 HP from their race. Half-elves are a special case, and get either 7 or 8, depending on if they were humanly robust or elvenly lithe.

Constitution is just that. Tough people have more HP. Add your whole Constitution (integer, not the fractionals) at 1st level. If your constitution goes up at a later level, use the new constitution.

Class/Level; you get a HD based on your class at every Odd level. So, a 1st level fighter gets to roll 1d10, and add it to his Size/Race and Constitution to determine his HP. At 2nd level, he'll get to reroll that 1d10; if he gets higher, that's his new HP. If he gets lower, he keeps his old, or bumps it up to half. If he rolled maximum when get got the HD, he instead gets +10% on his Constitution fractional.

So, let's look at Rangar the dwarf fighter and his HP.

He is a dwarf, so he has 10 HP from race.
He has a 14/91 Constitution, so he gets 14 HP from his Constitution, for a total of 24 HP.
He is a fighter, so he rolls 1d10 HP at 1st level, for a total of 25-34 HP at 1st level.

At 2nd level, he gets to reroll that HD.
If the roll at 1st level was 1-4, and the roll at 2nd level was 1-4, he upgrades to half the maximum, or 5. He would have 29 HP at 2nd level (10 + 14 + 5)
If the roll at 1st level was 5-9, and the roll at 2nd level was less than that, he remains the same in HP (so, 29-33 HP).
If the roll at 1st level 1-9, and the second roll is higher than that AND higher than 5, he advances to the new HP total (so, 29-34 HP)
If the roll at 1st level was 10, he doesn't reroll, he increases his Constitution to 15/01 (14/91+ 0/10). His new HP would be 35 (10 size + 15 Constitution + 10 HD).

It looks a little complicated, but Hackmaster mostly keeps that kind of complication to the off-table time, especially on the player's side of the shield.

[Airk]

Wasn't Hackmaster basically supposed to be a joke game? A sort of parody of the absurd level of rules nonsense that some people go in on? I mean, just look at the name, for heaven's sake.

[LibraryOgre]

Wasn't Hackmaster basically supposed to be a joke game? A sort of parody of the absurd level of rules nonsense that some people go in on? I mean, just look at the name, for heaven's sake.

The history is a bit complicated.

Hackmaster started off as the game they played in the Knights of the Dinner Table comic. It was pretty clearly based off AD&D.

Due to some copyright disputes with Wizards of the Coast, Kenzer & Co. got the rights to produce a Hackmaster RPG in the early part of the century. It was a limited term license, and Wizards required it to have a pretty high parody content on things converted from AD&D... still a playable game (it won Origins in 2002 for Game of the Year), but very much in the flavor of Knights of the Dinner Table. However, K&Co. knew the license would be limited. This was "Hackmaster, 4th edition" (so named because the characters in Knights of the Dinner Table were playing the 3rd edition up until then; with the release of the game, they upgraded to the new 4th edition, which didn't change very much).

In 2007, K&Co came out with Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier, a western role-playing game, with new mechanics. That game formed the basis of a new edition of Hackmaster, the basic version of which was released in 2009, with a Hacklopedia, Player's Handbook, and GMG following, along with supplemental materials. "New Hackmaster" is just called "Hackmaster", and derives some aspects from AD&D, but I think shares a fair bit of DNA with Palladium's Fantasy line, while also using some of A&8's mechanics, such as a lack of rounds.

[Airk]

The history is a bit complicated.

Hackmaster started off as the game they played in the Knights of the Dinner Table comic. It was pretty clearly based off AD&D.

Due to some copyright disputes with Wizards of the Coast, Kenzer & Co. got the rights to produce a Hackmaster RPG in the early part of the century. It was a limited term license, and Wizards required it to have a pretty high parody content on things converted from AD&D... still a playable game (it won Origins in 2002 for Game of the Year), but very much in the flavor of Knights of the Dinner Table. However, K&Co. knew the license would be limited. This was "Hackmaster, 4th edition" (so named because the characters in Knights of the Dinner Table were playing the 3rd edition up until then; with the release of the game, they upgraded to the new 4th edition, which didn't change very much).

In 2007, K&Co came out with Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier, a western role-playing game, with new mechanics. That game formed the basis of a new edition of Hackmaster, the basic version of which was released in 2009, with a Hacklopedia, Player's Handbook, and GMG following, along with supplemental materials. "New Hackmaster" is just called "Hackmaster", and derives some aspects from AD&D, but I think shares a fair bit of DNA with Palladium's Fantasy line, while also using some of A&8's mechanics, such as a lack of rounds.

Wait, wait. So you are saying that:

A) This game combines DNA from AD&D and Palladium
B) It is not a parody

I am having trouble reconciling these two statements. :P

[Jama7301]

Looks like Burning Wheel will have to be something I check into at home. Curse this work network, and my inability to download or open ZIP files from DriveThru RPG.

Savage Worlds pulled up fine though, so time to take a gander at this.

[Airk]

Looks like Burning Wheel will have to be something I check into at home. Curse this work network, and my inability to download or open ZIP files from DriveThru RPG.

Savage Worlds pulled up fine though, so time to take a gander at this.

Burning Wheel isn't really available digitally though.

[Jama7301]

They have a basic rules/introductory version called the "Hub and Spokes" version in PDF form. That's what I was trying to take a gander at.

[Airk]

They have a basic rules/introductory version called the "Hub and Spokes" version in PDF form. That's what I was trying to take a gander at.

oh, derp, yeah, I totally forgot about that. Carry on. x.x

[LibraryOgre]

Wait, wait. So you are saying that:

A) This game combines DNA from AD&D and Palladium
B) It is not a parody

I am having trouble reconciling these two statements. :P

Get the free PDF linked above, then. I'm happy to talk about it (though we should probably move to another topic)

[Jama7301]

Savage Worlds looks kinda neat. I'm a sucker for exploding dice sometimes, so the Ace/Raise system is fun. Seems like it'd be a very swingy system. Didn't care for the inches measurement system, but it looks like it could be adjusted as needed.

Might be fun for a game that plays like the Wild Wild West movie.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Savage Worlds looks kinda neat. I'm a sucker for exploding dice sometimes, so the Ace/Raise system is fun. Seems like it'd be a very swingy system. Didn't care for the inches measurement system, but it looks like it could be adjusted as needed.

Might be fun for a game that plays like the Wild Wild West movie.

As I understand the history, it did grow out of Deadlands, a wild west/pulp/horror game...

[Jama7301]

As I understand the history, it did grow out of Deadlands, a wild west/pulp/horror game...

Rad. Didn't know that. Thanks!

[JAL_1138]

As I understand the history, it did grow out of Deadlands, a wild west/pulp/horror game...

I dunno if it grew out of Deadlands (not saying it didn't; I dunno the history), but I do know it does have a licensed version of Deadlands that's pretty solid (and inexpensive if you already have the Savage Worlds core rules, although you absolutely need the SW corebook to run it).

Regarding the original topic, Call of Cthulhu has a paperback Quick Start rules book for the newest edition that seems fairly solid.

[ElFi]

You can find the full (and relatively simple) rules to Open Legend RPG on this site. I believe a printable version is in the works, and they do have downloadable resources for things like character sheets.

[Jama7301]

The first thing that jumps out to me about Open Legend is the 'dice-as-modifiers' thing. I feel like that would work well if it was automated, but tracking which die/dice your using as a modifier to the D20 roll could be a pain.