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The Best Free Generic/Universal RPGs
Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
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Free generic role-playing games (RPGs) have yet to incorporate the most cutting edge indie innovations into their rules and, as a whole, remain far more traditional than their non-generic counterparts. If you're willing to spend a measly $12, you can get Primetime Adventures, which includes the majority of Forge-inspired innovations in the highest rated "generic" system of all time. I cover Primetime Adventures in a separate list, but this list is for the ultimate cheapskate who do not want to spend a penny on their games.
The list below provides picks for:
1. Forge-Derived Generic System
2. Traditional System with Some Indie Innovations
3. Non-d20 Traditional System
4. d20 Emulator
These picks are based on overall ratings, reviews, and awards, but, in situations where a couple games were close in these three areas, I made the call based on my own judgment.
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Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
-
Forge-Derived Generic Game
The most generic free Forge-inspired game is James West's the Pool. It came out before the Indie RPG Awards started, and I had to add it myself to RPG.net. However, any visitor to the Forge will quickly realize that the Pool garners tremendous respect among indie designers and inspired many other successful indie games. For a real taste of indie innovations at absolutely no cost, the Pool is the way to go. Another juicy option is Solar System, the rules underlying the award-winning Shadow of Yesterday.
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2.
RPG: FATE
[Average Rating:7.51 Overall Rank:59]
Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
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Traditional with Some Indie Innovations
FATE, winner of Free Indie Game of the Year and runner-up for Best Indie Game of 2003, retains traditional task resolution, Skills, and Stunts that all have equivalents in traditional systems, but adds the revolutionary layer of Aspects and Fate Points that keep players coming back for more. The designers of the FATE-based Dresden Files provide an excellent comparison between d20 and FATE, and FATE spawned the Spirit of the Century, one of the highest-rated RPGs of all time.
Alternatives: Runner up for Free Indie Game of the Year in both 2002 and 2003, Active Exploits is similar to the traditional games listed here, but uses a diceless, resource management resolution mechanic that significantly departs from the usual dice-rolling against static target numbers. With a simple, innovative, descriptive approach to character creation and accruing "damage," PDQ itself hasn't garnered any recognition from Indie RPG Awards, but games it has spawned (Zorcerer of Zo, Truth & Justice) certainly have.
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3.
RPG: JAGS
[Average Rating:8.00 Unranked]
Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
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Non-d20 But Still Traditional
Rather than starting with d20, several generic systems start from scratch, but still focus on accomplishing the same old same old just with different rules. The 270-page JAGS, an impressive rules-heavy system that won outright Free Game of the Year in 2006 and provides more crunch at no cost than many other systems provide even after emptying your wallet.
Alternative: For the ultimate in generic but traditional rules flexibility, FUDGE is your game. It came out prior to the start of the Indie RPG Awards, but has garnered an average rating of 8 out of 10 from reviews on RPG.net.
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Chris Flood
United States
Oakland
California
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d20 Emulator
I'd previously suggested Perfect 20 here because it looked solid and had been recognized as the Free Indie Game of the Year in 2005. However, based on my own experience, the comment below, and the few ratings the games have received since their inception, I have to go with Microlite20 now. There's really not much to d20, and Microlite20 boils it down to its "purest essence" in just a page. There's a solid fan base supplying modular add-ons all the time, so you can make your game as gnarly as you want, but it will always have a simple, straightforward foundation.
Alternatives: In addition to Perfect 20, there's the similar N/A, which was a finalist for Free Game of the Year a year later. It is probably best used for its rules on magic and Composure and grafting them onto another system. The Basic System got some attention from the Indie Awards in 2004, but it is more a hodgepodge mash-up of d20 and Fuzion than a successful simplification of d20.
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Posted Thu Dec 3, 2009 1:22 am
