#RPGaDay Day 7: Favorite Free RPG

Day 7 of #RPGaDay is "Favorite Free RPG". Now, my favorite free RPG is one I bought twice, actually, once in softcover and once in hardcover. While there are some great free (and that includes Pay What You Want) RPGs out there, I have to give the nod to CJ Carella's WitchCraft, which had a short stint as my favorite game until the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG came along with the Cinematic Unisystem.

Witchcraft (especially with the Mystery and Abomination codices) was just about everything I liked about The World of Darkness with none of the stuff that I hated. While I can't really get excited about Classic Unisystem now (Cinematic Unisystem ruined Classic for me), there is still an amazing amount of content in those three books. Fun fact: I pitched a faction book for The Fellowship of Judas, but was turned down (mostly because I had no idea what the Hell I was doing at the time).

Witchcraft is available for free at RPGNow, so check it out.

While you are there, get Heaven's Shadow and Fate Core, which would be the other two games on my list (mostly trumped by Witchcraft because I have actually ran Witchcraft before).

Wicked Lies & Alibis Giveaway, plus the Age of Arthur Winners!

Imaginary Empire, maker of EPOCH, has offered to sponsor a fantastic contest to promote their new game, Wicked Lies & Alibis, a murder mystery party game in which you create your characters at the table with the aid of a card deck, and the GM/Facilitator serves as The Great Detective, attempting to figure out just which one of you did it.

Random Acts of Kindness Week - Free Godsend Agenda and High Valor

Apparently, it is International Random Acts of Kindness Week, and a couple of awesome RPG industry folk have decided to honor it by giving away digital copies of their games.

A Free Random Adventure Generator

You know how I consistently complain if an RPG lacks a random adventure generator? Well, someone named OFTHEHILLPEOPLE was looking out for me, even if they didn't realize it, by making this 8 page random adventure generator that is completely free and adaptable to a good number of RPGs.

First, it's free. So you have no reason not to download it (unless you hate random adventure generators). But just for fun, I'm going to roll up some random adventures for a few of my favorite settings.

Let's start with Dragon Age, since it's fresh on my mind. All you do is roll a d12 on a series of tables and combine the elements.

Quest Contact: 1 - A Spirit, Ghost or Demon
The Adventure: 10 - Steal (or Destroy) Something
The Location: 7 - An Overgrown Forest
The Macguffin: 4 - Magical Experiments
The Antagonists: 1 - Bounty Hunter
Twists and Complications: 8 - Old Enemy
Dramatic Conflict: 2 - Economic Harm

So the PCs are contacted by the spirit of a Mage whose magical experimentation has killed him, but has left him bound to this plane and unable to move on. He needs the PCs to venture into the Brecilian Forest, which has become overgrown and wild, and free his essence from this reality. Unfortunately, the PCs are being tracked by an old enemy who knows them all too well, and is stalking them through the woods even as are having to fend off the forest's denizens. The magical essence being infused into the surrounding area is bolstering the craftswork of the local townsfolk, who aren't aware of the reason WHY the materials function so well, and destroying the essence of the Mage will reverse the effects of the enhancement and cripple the trade for this poor village.

How about Marvel SAGA?

Quest Contact: 12 - Roll Twice, getting Happenstance and Local Temple, where they bump into a Scavenger/Pauper.
The Adventure: 3 - Harm or Kill Someone
The Location: 9 - Mountains/Caves
The Antagonists: 10 - Magical Beast(s)
Twists and Complications: 5 - Dodgy Ally
Dramatic Conflict: 3 - Environmental Damage

One of the PCs, particularly a religious one, is at a local church when a frightened street urchin rushes in, seeking shelter from "monsters". It seems an enclave of Dire Wraiths have been hiding in the nearby mountains and have begun preying on the local homeless. The PCs set out to stop them, but have to track them to their layer, which is problematic because the Dire Wraiths are shapeshifters. They contact an uneasy ally who can track them (due to powers or technological, whichever), but the ally acts strange. The tracker leads them to the caves...and reveals that he is, in fact, a Dire Wraith! The PCs are stuck in a pitched battle with the Dire Wraith on a mountainside, and as they use their powers, they begin causing instability and landslides that threaten to crush the community below!

Deadlands?

Quest Contact: 11 - Mercenary Group
The Adventure (rolling twice): 4 - Kidnap or Capture Someone and 11 - Transport Someone or Something and take them to (8) an Urban Location
The Location: 4 - Island
The Innocents: 3 - Family or Friend
The Antagonists: 8 - Mercenary Group
Twists and Complications: 11 - Time Limit
Dramatic Conflict: 10 - Reputation

Let's see...the posse finds out that the leader of a cut-throat gang in Denver needs a member of a pirate group in The Maze brought to justice ASAP, and brought back to Denver in time for the circuit judge to make his rounds, for the accused rape of his daughter. The PCs, upon reading the details of the notice, realize that the accused in question is a cousin, brother or other associate and decide that it behooves them to try to make sure they get to the accused before someone who is likely to inflict more harm does. The problem gets more complicated when they get to The Maze and discover that the pirate gang is serving a "Robin Hood"-like function in The Maze, and their associate is a stabilizing presence for said pirates...if they take him captive, it'll paint them in a bad light to the poor, downtrodden folk of The Maze, and maybe turn the rest of the pirates vicious without him there...but the alternative is that if they don't, then some other force may rain Hell down on their friend/relative.

Okay, not perfect, and like any random rolls, you gotta massage it a little bit...but still very, very cool.

Tommy's Take on Olympian Breed, Devil's Night and Altus Adventum

Everything in today's batch of reviews has something in common: It's all completely free in PDF format at RPGNow!

OLYMPIAN BREED SETTING PRIMER


WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The first release by new Savage Worlds licensee Palewolf Publishing is a the basic character generation primer for their new line of Greek Myth-themed adventures. The PCs are Demigods - spawn of mortals and Gods - and so have an extra edge on the rest of the world. Olympian Breed uses the Super Powers Companion (with a modified Edge that lowers the amount of points available to spend, reducing the power level hat your standard Super Powers Companion game is going to have). The primer also includes a Hindrance for those watched closely by the Gods, as well as a map of ancient Greece, some setting-appropriate equipment and a character sheet.

WHAT WORKS: The big hook for me is the use of the Super Powers Companion combined with the Greek myth hook...two things I love very much. That, and it's free.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Well, there's just not a ton of material here, mostly a few pieces of equipment, as well as the new Edge and Hindrance. It's also at least a three product buy-in to really get rolling, as you need the Savage Worlds rules, the Supers Companion and the first adventure. The primer also says you would need the Fantasy Companion, but other information I have received indicates that's not necessarily the case.

CONCLUSION: They've hooked me into checking out at least Act One to see what it's like, with the "Greek Myth plus Super Powers Companion" hook. I'm a sucker for new fiddly bits, so I would have certainly enjoyed more Edges and Hindrances and so on, especially since there is no setting book available, just a series of adventures. You can also check out the Olympian Breed pre-gen freebie file to get a feel for the kinds of characters that "fit" the setting.

DEVIL'S NIGHT

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: This is a freebie adventure for Deadlands Reloaded released by Pinnacle around Halloween, in no small part to tie in with the release of the Savage Worlds Horror Companion. As you may know, I'm a huge fan of Savage Worlds and I'm a huge fan of Deadlands. In true Deadlands fashion, it is a unique mix of elements, in this case mad science and black magic. The PCs get involved in a crazed revenge plot gone wrong and are the only hope for raising a group of kids from a coma, but have to deal with a demented invention and a force from Hell.

WHAT WORKS: I like when Deadlands products show off the range of the setting, and this freebie does a pretty good job with that. If the PCs can figure out the root cause of the issue, it's even worse - there are bad guys and wronged parties on both sides of things...but, luckily, there are also "acceptable targets" to take out, too.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Not really a quibble, as this is pretty much an excuse to push the Horror Companion, but you do NEED the Horror Companion in order to get the full use of this product, because the Big Bad of the adventure (and their henchmen) are in that book and not this PDF...but this is advertised up front (and it is a freebie).

CONCLUSION: Not the most inspired Deadlands adventure, but far from the worst...and I am a huge fan of the Horror Companion, considering it one of the most worthwhile Savage Worlds purchases ever.

ALTUS ADVENTUM PRIMER

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: I feel very bad about this one, because I was asked to review this quite a while back, apparently misplaced the file, and have let WAY too much time go by without touching it. Altus Adventum is isn't a retroclone, but it is an attempt at recapturing earlier experiences with fantasy RPGs. The primer is a very meaty 92 page document that covers character generation, combat, skills and even a selection of monsters. Literally everything you need for at least an adventure or two is right here, completely free. The races are fantasy standards (human, elf, dwarf, halfling, gnome) with six attributes (Strength, Agility, Endurance, Intllect, Willpower and Luck) that run a range of 1-100. Combat uses dice pools in which each side compares the highest die in their pools for success. Magic is also included in this primer, with nine different forms to choose from, all operating off of the same basic mechanic, but with tweaks for the type you use. The monsters included cover basic animals as well as orcs, red caps, carnivorous plants and plenty more.

WHAT WORKS: For a free product, this primer has a ton of usable material in it. I mean, we're talking more than some smaller commercial PDF releases. I'm not sure what's missing from the main core book, but it is 204 pages, so presumably there is quite a bit extra there above and beyond the impressive amount of material here.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: If you've gotten used to RPGs that tend towards using unified mechanics, Altus Adventum's different approach to combat versus skill checks is going to annoy you.

CONCLUSION: Look, I can't complain much about an incredibly complete free product. The primer covers all the rules you need to play, including skills, combat and magic, and even includes a decent amount of setting material, monsters and magical items. If you have any interest in checking out an another fantasy RPG, you have no reason not to at least download the primer...there is ample material here to decide if the full game is worth your purchase or not.

Hellrazer: Living in Shadows (SAGA/BASH/ICONS)

Here ya go, folks...

Game stats for Rachel Strand, half-vampire hero of HELLRAZER: THE CHRONICLES OF RACHEL STRAND and Tonton Macoute, her first adversary.

Special thanks to Greg Kerner for putting these guys to character sheets. I compiled the PDFs, so if anything got jacked up, you can totally blame me.

Hellrazer BASH version

Hellrazer ICONS version

Hellrazer Marvel SAGA version

Free Copy of the Smallville RPG!

Because I haven't done a giveaway in a while.

A free PDF of the Smallville RPG to the first person who e-mails me the name of the most read RPG review on this website (according to my data). The e-mail is tommyb(a)sstelco(dot)com.

Contest is open immediately, and ends when either someone answers correctly or August 15th comes and goes without a correct guess.

Tommy's Take on BADASS

I was gonna do this last night, but had a nice storm roll in that knocked me offline. BADASS is the free RPG by Stargazer Games, this one by Jay Steven Anyong, who has his own gaming blog over here.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: BADASS is completely free, and only 28 pages, although the author does do a really good job of putting a lot into those pages. The basic premise of BADASS is that the rule of cool trumps logic, meant to just be completely over the top and crazy.

Character creation is pretty basic: You name your character, give them a Defining Moment and pick the type of Badass you are: Kickass, Smartass or Wiseass, with each having a specialty (like kicking ass, being smart or being witty). From there, your characters are mostly defined by their two Flavas, like being a Robot and a Ninja or a Cinematic Disability (like being blind, except an asskicker). There are even Metagame Flavas, like being able to force an arm wrestling match instead of a die roll once per session, or being able to bribe the GM with snacks and the like.

The base mechanic entails rolling 2d6 against a Target Value: If you roll Snake Eyes, you fail badly...if you roll Boxcars (2 6's), you succeed spectacularly. You get a Badass point, extra damage on a successful attack roll, or turning a failed attack into a success. Badass Points can be used to add 1d6 to your die rolls, or power your Flavas. You can gain more Badass Points a few ways out of combat, like Flashbacks and Training Montages, and in combat you can use One liners, show off, trash talk, etc to get more Badass Points in a pinch (although you get less off of "Running on Fumes" - getting points in combat - than you do outside of combat). Running out of Badass points turns your Badass into an Average Joe.

You can also inflict Setbacks on yourself...forcing bad stuff to happen to you in one scene, so you can then trigger the Badass Points you "lost" as automatic sixes in the next scene.

Initiative uses a bidding system, where all Badasses (PCs and NPCs) get to bid Badass Points to determine who goes first. Combat is a a matter of comparing die rolls for attack and defense, with each four points of difference in Attack and Defense rolls being a level of damage.

As you spend Badass Points, you build toward Awesomeness...every 30 Awesomeness you hit, you get a new Flava.

The GM section does toss in a few, paragraph long variants outside of the standard modern setting, like Fantasy Badass and Scary Badass.

A sample setting, Central City, is also given...basically two pages of rough and tumble modern city stuff.

Four standard mook types are also given, to give you an idea about how to do some mook modeling.

WHAT WORKS: It reminds me a little of WUSHU, but better, in the sense that there is more of a "game" to it, and I oddly like my games to have "game" to them. A good amount of text in the 28 pages, so this doesn't feel at all just thrown together. I could definitely see supplements detailing Flavas, Mooks and so on for Fantasy and Scary type games.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The term "Flava" really bugs me, but that's just a personal thing. On one hand, it's a tad too "meta" at parts for me to take seriously, but then, it also explicitly says it's not a serious game. Providing advancement rules for what seems to be a pick-up game seems odd, but I also realize that advancement rules would have been the first thing brought up if they hadn't been included.

CONCLUSION: BADASS certainly isn't the first attempt at modeling crazy, action movie stuff, and it won't be the last, although the "Average Joe" stuff is certainly unique, as far as I can recall. I don't like it quite as much as I do WRM or RAG, as I like at least a bit more detail in my games than this, but a couple of swell supplements like WRM had (and this is released under a Creative Commons license) and I could easily change my tune. This is one of those games I'd like to try, but I'm worried about, because I think the bits used to trigger more Badass Points could get old, fast, although the fact that they are all limited to once per fight or once per session certainly helps. Good effort, but from reading it feels both like it could be a bit tighter and a bit beefier...then, I think, it would really shine.

Tommy's Take on Resolute, Adventurer & Genius

Resolute, Adventurer & Genius, powered by the "WYRM" system behind Warrior, Rogue & Mage, is another free RPG by Stargazer Games, this time set in a pulp setting, rather than a fantasy setting.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Using the same basic mechanic (roll d6, add relevant stat and bonuses based on skill), with some tweaks (the most notable being the lack of magic and the inclusion of skill ranks - you no longer just "know it or don't"), RAG is a completely free 36 page PDF that improves on the presentation of WRM in many ways, from production values to organization.

The book includes a helpful summary at the beginning for those familiar with WRM, summarizing the changes. Resolute and Adventurer largely duplicate the effects of Warrior and Rogue, while Genius tweaks the utility of Mage a fair bit, given the lack of magic in the setting.

Skills can now be Basic (+2), Advanced (+4), Master (+6) or Peerless (+8), although that rank requires a Talent in order to achieve. Speaking of: Skills and Talents are now in the character generation section, and the Talents are blown up nicely in a number of categories, like Mesmerism Talents and Mystic Talents.

Other important, genre-specific changes include the addition of vehicles (airplanes just aren't needed in most fantasy games...a little more important in pulp games, however), and chase rules. The bestiary also gets an overhaul, from more pulp specific enemies such as mad scientists, to some animals and paranormal foes. Enemies are also scaled in three ranks: Minions (nameless, "faceless" mooks), Henchmen and Villains, each with more detail than the last.

Rather than providing a specific setting, RAG includes notes on adventuring in the 1910s, 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, as well as a section covering more non-standard eras. A really nice looking character sheet rounds out the book.

WHAT WORKS: The organization is way better here, and I like the wider range of Talents, which also do a nice job of covering up for the lack of magic. Some fine proof that the WRM formula can be tweaked quite a bit, and the WYRM system used for a number of things. The layout is also very handsome, especially for a free product (not that WRM suffered any).

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: The penciled-looking black and white art is a step down compared to the rest of the layout. As with WRM, I would have liked to have seen a larger Threats section, but it's a free book, so what are you gonna do? Thus far, RAG hasn't had the level of support WRM has. I'm not completely sold on Resolute, Adventurer and Genius being QUITE as iconic as Warrior, Rogue and Mage, which may be part of the problem.

CONCLUSION: If the concept behind the Wyrm system sounded good, but fantasy isn't your cup of tea, maybe the Pulp version will be more up your alley. I mean, it's a pretty risk-free purchase, and I guarantee you have spent money on way worse. For my "money", the main reason I like WRM better is because I HAVE pulp options I, personally, enjoy...while I'm still searching for that fantasy game that really does it for me. That said, it's hard not to show love for the Stargazer Games crew, putting out very impressive products for free like this. Hm...Wyrm Supers, anyone?

Tommy's Take on Warrior, Rogue & Mage

If you haven't heard of Stargazer Games, you may be missing out. They have released a few games, all of which are completely free...and now, I'm going to step in and take a look at a few of those games, beginning with Warrior, Rogue & Mage.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Warrior, Rogue & Mage is a fantasy RPG that has neither classes nor levels, and is completely free. What it DOES have is three Attributes (Warrior, Rogue & Mage), as well as skills (which are linked to given attributes and offer +2 bonuses to rolls) and Talents (which offer extra perks).

Every task involves rolling a d6, adding the relevant stat (and rolling again if you rolled a 6), versus a target number. Each of the three attributes ties into various other areas, like Hit Points being based off of Warrior, Fate Points off of Rogue and Mana off of Mage. Defense is set by both Warrior and Rogue, and different weapon skills are keyed to different stats (battle axes are a Warrior thing, daggers are a Rogue thing).

Initiative is largely "common sense" with a simple high-roll mechanic in place if there is any doubt as to who should act when. Anyone can cast spells as long as they have at least one point of Mage (you CAN leave a given stat at 0), and spells are divided into four Circles. The higher the Circle, the higher the target number and the higher the Difficulty Level. Spellcasters can cast spells while wearing armor, it just costs more mana. In fact, the magic system has a surprising amount of depth, allowing you to store spells in rings, staffs, gauntlets, etc., or to boost a spell's effect by spending more mana and the Difficulty Level.

First Circle spells let you create light and heal with a touch, while the Second Circle can make food and water and summon lighting bolts. At the Third Circle you get Firebolts, and the Fourth Circle gets into raising the dead and teleportation...and if you don't like magic at all, a variant called Warrior, Rogue & Scholar is included that turns spellcasting into a Talent, which can be completely removed to get rid of magic altogether.

A setting is included, the fallen Imperium of Vaneria, but is painted in very broad strokes, encouraging - heck, requiring - the GM to fill in a lot of detail, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Skills and Talents are provided in the appendix, with Skills like Unarmed (Warrior), Thaumaturgy (Mage), Firearms (Rogue) and so on. Talents include Hunter, Blood Mage (which allows you to spend Hit Points instead of Mana for your spells) and Massive Attack (add your Warrior attribute to your melee damage once per combat).

Although the setting assumes humans are the only race, a number of common races such as Elves, dwarves, orcs and halflings are included in an appendix, getting Racial Talents (including a negative one in each case, to balance the bonuses).

There's an odd little aside about the Dual Wielding talent, and how it does not provide extra attacks (unless the PC also has the Double Attack talent), which makes me wonder what the point of Dual Wield is, other than to act as a prerequisite for Double Attack.

The bestiary provides a list of common NPCs (which can have the racial Talents added in of you need, say, an elven Apprentice Wizard), animals (from horses to giant spiders) and monsters like War Golems and zombies. Not a huge selection, but enough for an enterprising GM to expand on his own.

The book wraps up with a summary of all the important information, as well as spell sheets and a nice looking character sheet.

WHAT WORKS: Well, you can't beat free. Especially when you look at the production values (which aren't on par with major commercial products, but still look very nice and have a very evocative feel to them). For a 41 page, rules lite RPG, there's a good amount of depth, especially with some of the little bits and tweaks in the Magic section. Five free supplements have already been released, expanding on the game in various ways.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: I'm not a fan of some of the organizational issues, like Skills and Talents being in the back of the book. Dual Wielding is apparently just a prereq talent, or was very poorly explained, although without actually playing the game, it may be that two attacks is a big enough game breaker that it requires essentially giving up an advance to get. A few more examples, especially of monsters, would have been great...but come on, it's a free product.

CONCLUSION: Easily on par with, or beyond, many of the lower-tier RPGs, and blowing right past about every free RPG I can immediately think of (aside from, say, older titles that have now been released for free). Warrior, Rogue & Mage is rules lite, yeah, but has a solid foundation and the thought and effort that went into it is very apparent. while the game includes a low-magic, and no-magic, tweak...I would like to see someone tweak it a bit more (higher magic, dark fantasy, etc.).