Suggested free/cheap fantasy RPGs suitable for online

[caden_varn]

As you may have guessed, due to the current covid-19 situation, our group has been driven online, and are likely to have to stay that way for a few months (we have a couple of vulnerable people in the group, including myself). We were playing Torg before, but with the various card decks it is not really that feasible (maybe if we weren't noobs in VTT we might be able to do something, but we are.).

As I don't have young kids, I was volunteered to run (not a problem, experienced DM). The problem is what to play. The only game we all have in common is D&D 5E (and possibly 3E), but I am burned out on the system. Not a fan of the attritional model of 6-8 encounters per day. Also I only have the PHB, and not really enthused to shell out for the others (I'd need the MM at least for anything but the most basic encounters). People in thje group are pretty wedded to the fantasy environment though.

So - any suggestions for RPGs that are either free or cheap to get as PDFs, can work with fantasy, will work via VTT for inexperienced VTT users (we have played a bit with Roll20) with minimal system setup work (I am lazy too), and are pretty easy for people to pick up (aforementioned people with small children are busy now schools have closed for the foreseeable).

We tried FATE previously and it did not quite gel with the group - we enjoyed it, but I found it hard to weave a coherent story among the various characters, and we never really got the whole players contributing to world building thing going. I will have a look at Fudge, which I believe is less (or not) narrative-based in the same way, but any other suggestions I could consider?

[FaerieGodfather]

Barbarians of Lemuria is free if you don't need the most up-to-date version of the rules. If it's not quite "D&D" enough for you, the author's own The BoL Hack can fix that for you.

Most of its offshoots are pretty cheap.

[Grod_The_Giant]

How 'bout STaRS? It's a generic system, but I built it from the ground up to be quick to learn and require minimal preparation. (It's a d10-roll-under system where the players do all the rolling. An enemy can be as simple as "has fire magic, and players take a penalty when opposing him"). The actual pdf is $10, and there's a stripped-down version that's pay-what-you-want.

[ngilop]

RISUS is free and fairly simple to learn and implement in a PbP.

[Knaight]

I'd second Fudge, it's what I've run the most fantasy in. Depending on how D&D like you want things I have a few suggestions. They progressively get weirder.

Warrior, Rogue, and Mage ($0): WR&M is a fairly light D&D like, substantially softer on encounter restrictions and the like. It's what I default to if I want to play D&D, but don't actually want to play D&D.

Chronica Feudalis ($10): CF is less a fantasy game and more a medieval one that can support fantasy elements. Where it shines is the four conflict resolution systems with equal weight, for fights, chases, parley, and stealth.

Reign 1e, Enchiridion Edition ($10, 2e is outish but substantially pricier): Reign is the fantasy incarnation of the One Roll Engine family of games, which is really cool from a system side. In particular it handles PCs as leaders, large scale group conflicts, and having ridiculously cool magic well.

Ars Magica ($Varies, I think 4e is currently free): Academic mages, noun-verb magic, troupe play. You're probably already familiar with this, but if not those are the core elements - with troupe play being the big one. Every player has two characters (one mage, one very competent nonmage), plus access to a common pool. You bounce between them from adventure to adventure, which gives a lot of range. Bust out every single mage for high powered action drama. Use only the common pool for picaresque comedy. Mix and match for standard adventures.

Save the Realm ($0): This is the fantasy version of Save the Universe, and while StU is the better game StR is still really good. It's got a really cool structure for collaborative setting generation which is much more approachable than Fate's (list picking as a starting point, followed by specific but open ended questions), and it's generally a neat little system. The core dice mechanic is also neat, 2d6, check each die individually, faces have condition specific successes. It sounds a little clunky but it plays smooth, far more so than the analagous bonus and roll over system.

[Firest Kathon]

We were playing Torg before, but with the various card decks it is not really that feasible (maybe if we weren't noobs in VTT we might be able to do something, but we are.).

I know that in Roll20, you can set up custom card decks. I know neither Torg nor that specific Roll20 funcitonality, so I do not know if it is suitable, but it may be worth a try (it's free after all) if you want to continue that game.

[Sam113097]

I strongly recommend Dungeon World! It's easy to pick up, and is similar to DnD with less crunch (it's much less reliant on battlemaps as well, which is nice for online play). The entire SRD is available online for free here, and the section on gamemastering is fantastic- it taught me a number of principles that I try to apply to every system I gamemaster for.

[Wraith]

Take a look at the Free Stuff thread under the Gaming forum. Usually it's for stuff that's made available on Steam or GoG.com, but recently DriveThruRPG.com posted an advert for loads of tabletop/RPG stuff that they have made free for the next few weeks.

I made a short list here but there's loads of stuff on there that I didn't cover. Wraith: The Oblivion is probably the biggest name on the list so far (not that I have bias or anything ) but it's certainly worth looking through it all if you're looking for inspiration.

[caden_varn]

Thanks for the suggestions - I will check them out!

[ColinOfOde]

Having a blast with Ode: The Bard's RPG right now. It's specifically designed for online play and free.