Welcome to the RPG section of 1KM1KT. Here you’ll find member submissions of tabletop pen and paper role-playing games. All of the RPGs available in this section are free for download and are generally in .pdf format. If you’re interested in submitting your own RPG for publication, please visit our submissions page for details or send it to us using our contact form.
Edge of the Century is my second 24 Hour RPG attempt. I didn’t get as much time to work on it as I’d wanted to (about 4 hours, total), but I think it’s still playable. The game has some innovative narrative mechanics (at least I hope they’re innovative) and a fairly unique, but fast, character creation process that’s also very narrative. Have fun!
The edge of the century draws near, as does the life of the great Queen Victoria. In America, the Native tribes have been decimated, and the frontier declared closed. England is beginning to lose her Empire, though for the moment it is safe. In the cities, women shout for the right to vote, workers strike for a living wage, and anarchists gather in secret with Das Capital in one hand and a bomb in another.
In Europe, ethnic unrest and a complex web of alliances will soon burn the continent in a war many men think will be good. They say that Europe has gone soft and weak and needs a war to make it strong again.
And underneath the calm, stoic Victorian facade, madness coils and twists, waiting to erupt. Secret societies meet, calling on spirits of the dead and ancient gods. Curses lay upon families, waiting to drag them down into madness, or worse.
HOUSE OF MASKS: A roleplaying game of Secrets and Sorcery, Power and Greed, Violence and Revenge
2008 Game Chef winner!
Six players switch in and out tag-team style to play three predefined characters in a complex, randomized web of intrigue and sorcery.
2. OVERVIEW:
In a far off land where mighty sorcerers dwell, the God-King Castor rules from a castle where the spirit realm and physical realm touch, allowing for powerful magics to happen and for a person’s spirit form to take control of one’s body. On the eve of Castor’s wedding to the foreign princess Inanna, a mysterious peasant woman named Thalia comes knocking on the palace door…
Each of six players play Aspects (either the “real world” or “spirit world” form) of one of three predefined player characters (PCs). Each player can take control of the PC under specific conditions.
Each player has a randomized goal, which will likely conflict with the other PCs and possibly conflict with the player of the other aspect of their PC. There are three decks of goals (one for each character) with three goals in each deck. Each goal is identified with a symbolic image: a hand with a Key in it (representing Secrets and Magic), a hand wrapped in a Necklace (representing Greed and Power), or a hand holding a drop of Blood (representing Violence and Revenge).
Beyond the initial setup phase of the game, characters have almost complete freedom to act. They are only constrained by their imaginations and the other players. When two characters oppose one another, the players use the conflict rules, which are tremendously simple and flexible. One player (called the Objector) sets two possible outcomes that could happen to the opposed characters. The other player in the conflict (called the Actor) then applies one of these outcomes to their character and one to the Objector’s character.
Two cards called Boons grant special privileges to their holders. The Boon of Beginnings allows the holder to frame scenes. The Boon of Endings allows the holder to call for the end of a scene. Either Boon can be used to activate a character’s sorcerous abilities. In a conflict, these magical powers can be used to reject the stakes set by an Objector and set new stakes. After any use of a Boon, the user gives the Boon away to some other player (which other player depends on how the Boon is used).
Here is a game i wrote in a hour or two. Its been too long since I have submitted so here it is. A bank robbing rpg. Its rules lite, and two pages long. But i feel its a good peice of work.
“Whats the catch?” Asks your friend Jose. “The police will probably respond within minutes so we need to strike fast” As you conceal your pistol and open the door. Jose and you pull down your masks and draw guns; A guard prepares to fire but Jose fires first, nailing the guard in the skull. “THIS IS A F’IN ROBBERY!” Screams Jose.
In The Californian Job, you and a few friends pose as Bank Robbers, with the GM controlling NPC’s and the police. Your duty is to roleplay one day, the day of your bank robbery. The game is not designed to be used in campaigns; but as a role playing exercise.
Adventures in the 41st Millennium puts you behind the gun in battle against hordes of enemies, or in a planet doomed by anarchy and run by gangs.
This game runs on the original Dungeon Squad System and brings the Warhammer 40,000 Universe to life as your party tries to survive the mass combat of the 41st Millennium.
In this First Edition, you can play as Imperial Guard, Space Marines or the people who inhabit Home Worlds across the vast stars. Note that while Imperial Guard and Space Marines may fight in huge battles, Home World characters fight in gang warfare or live the lives of regular inhabitants of one of four worlds: Imperial World, Hive World, Feral World and Void Born.
This game is sure to bring an exciting world of fun and entertainment; now, it’s up to you to take your weapon and head out. Are you ready?
Introduction
This is a Role Playing Game set in the futuristic nightmare of Warhammer 40,000 and this game comes off the hinges of the wonderful creation by Jason Morningstar, Dungeon Squad. Creators Neuicon and Sean Daniels have delved into the world of 40,000 when they were introduced to Dark Heresy (the official Role Playing Game of Warhammer 40,000), and quickly fell in love with it. Neuicon, having played Dungeon Squad, opted for something simple and fun to get those interested in Warhammer 40,000 into
gameplay using an exciting system, designed to entertain you and keep you on the edge of your seat!This game comes off the release of Starcraft: Tactical Miniatures Combat, where you command skirmish-sized squads into battle against your foes! The fun of that game has helped in the inspiration to continue releasing new, fun and awesome games available to everyone!
How will you be remembered after you die?
This is the question being faced by the Terribly Beautiful, former prostitutes who find themselves facing a slow death at the hands of the disease known as the Pale. Is there still hope to be found when life is slipping away?
TO TOUCH IMMORTALITY
It is the dream of humanity to escape death. No one lives forever, but we hope that our lives mattered, that we will be remembered by the next generation. We have a lifetime to create that legacy. All too often most of that lifetime gets squandered. We come to realize the importance of our
legacy only when it is almost too late.Seduction
They are the most desirable and seductive women in the city, the women of the night. Men are willing to travel into the most disreputable of neighbourhoods to meet them, offer money and gifts for but a few hours of their time or even less. They ply the oldest profession, selling their bodies into others’ fantasies.
Dying Together
For the streetwalkers of the red-light district known as the Kaz, death takes its time. The disease known as the Pale stakes its claim by transforming its victims into visions of beauty, alabaster skin and elegantly thin. But beware, for death is a jealous lover, who lays claim to any who might make love to those already ill, and so they become known as the Terribly Beautiful. Shunned by society, they find each other and face the remaining days of their lives.
The World
It is a world not unlike that which we live in today, with countries that war and trade. It is a city not unlike those found in many parts of the world today, with cultures that clash and blend. They are streets not unlike those that we walk in our cities every day, filled with people who have dreams both pursued and dashed.
The city sits on the water, industry and docks to the east, a thin strip of old docks leading to luxury shorefront property to the west, a downtown of skyscrapers and suburbs beyond. Nestled between them all, surrounded by stone walls, is a neighbourhood, the oldest in the city. It is called the Kaz.
The Kaz
“Ruined buildings, ruined lives…”
Once the beautiful, prideful, majestic centre of the city, the neighbourhood called the Kaz has been brought low by age. Grassy expanses were covered over by scabs of concrete, cheap apartments grow where flowers once bloomed, and treets that once wove gracefully around estates now snarl with traffic. Only a few of the buildings remain, protected by heritage laws, but impossibly expensive to maintain. They have fallen, one by one, to the ravages of time, becoming urban legend, the source of stories of ghosts, secrets and other mysteries that refuse to die.
For all the things that have changed, it is debauchery that remains a part of the Kaz. In times past a carelessly parted blind would reveal the parties of the rich, sumptuous, opulent attire carefully put on and carelessly thrown off. Today the sliver of light through a night window is reveals attire as carelessly thrown aside as ever. The Kaz has become a red-light district, a neighbourhood where prostitution is tolerated.
Around all this are the walls. Once they stood to protect the rich from would-be invaders. Indeed, they still do protect the rich, but now they do so by protecting the rich outside from having to see what the crowning glory of the city has become.
Welcome to a world where magic exists and legends are true, a world where knights battle dragons to save the day, a world where cunning thieves try to outsmart powerful warlocks to snatch some of their treasures. Welcome to the fantasy world of Warriors, Wizards & Wanderers!
Warriors, Wizards & Wanderers is a complete fantasy RPG in 6 pages, including everything you need for some old school gaming action. It is intended as a beer & pretzel game but it can be easily expanded for a more serious kind of play.
The game is very rules-light and minimalist by design. You can learn how to play and create your first character in less than 10 minutes. The rules assume you’re familiar with tabletop role-playing games and with common fantasy tropes and conventions. No default setting is provided but the GM can use his favorite fantasy kitchen sink or any other existing fantasy setting instead.
To play you need good old six-sided dice (d6), at least one twenty-sided die (d20), pens, paper and some friends. Drinks and something to eat can be useful too, as well as a table and some kind of chair for everyone. And now, have fun!
II The Basiics
When your character needs to do something difficult like solving a riddle or avoiding a cunning trap, you make a Challenge roll to see if the character succeeds: roll a d20 and add the relevant Trait modifier (such as Might for breaking down a door). If the result equals or exceeds the Difficulty of the Challenge roll, the character is successful. In the following rules, this will be noted as aChallenge roll. The Difficulty is set by the GM and is usually between 10 and 20. Opposed rolls are used only in case of a conflict between characters. Each involved character make a Challenge roll with a Difficulty equal to the result of his opponent. That means the character with the highest total is the winner of the contest.
“The galaxy is in great peril. With the advent of the Sith invasion of the galaxy, the Jedi order is calling on their members to take an active role in the defense of the galaxy. The Sith are ruthless enemies with nothing to lose, so the characters must out forth their every effort to stop them. This game takes place during the Great Hyperspace War, a time of Sith expansion, and the players assume the role of Jedi in order to combat the threat to galactic safety. With a variety of Force powers, classes, and species to choose from, the Sith won’t know what hit them.”
A Note from the Author
This title borrows heavily from the Star Wars line of games (both revised and Saga editions) from Wizards of the Coast, and from West End games. It also uses the crystals, emitters, lenses, and energy cells from the Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords with little change in their effects. Most similarities between those products and this game are not coincidental, and are, in fact, intended. I thank the creators of those products profusely, and gives them full credit for their work.
Five by Five is a “choose your trait” style RPG that makes unique use of the d6 (called the d5) to create an easy to learn and easy to play universal task resolution system. The game is meant to be flexible enough to satisfy a variety of settings and easy enough to pick up and play right away.
The core of the Five by Five game system is the 5×5 dice roll. Players roll two d5’s and multiply the results. This basic mechanic gives an average unskilled person around a 30% chance of success and ranks of skill tend to improve this chance in roughly 10% increments.
The combat rules include examples for weapons and armor both archaic and modern, an open ended damage mechanic for the possibility of spectacular critical hits, and rules are included for unique traits like super powers or magical abilities.
Powers-Brawl is the RPG of superhero battles with the emphasis on POWERS! Creating a character is as simple as choosing a few powers. There are no points to spend or attributes to roll… just select some powers and start playing right away! Players who are not sure what kinds of characters they want can even roll some powers randomly and be ready to play in moments with no prior exposure to the rules.
Combat resolution uses standard 6 sided dice and is simple enough that each player can control multiple heroes or villains. Characters can advance during play improving existing powers and adding new ones allowing for an ongoing gaming campaign with the same characters lasting as long as the players desire.
For players in a game of super powered heroes, what one element about their characters is the most important? It’s the POWERS!
POWERS-BRAWL
Powers-Brawl is a combat oriented miniatures game based on the battles of super powered comic book heroes and villains. Players can create characters and battle head to head or one player can take the role of the Referee shaping the story in an imaginary game world where the other players work cooperatively to defeat evil.In a 2-player head to head brawl, each player can control up to 3 characters a piece. In a game controlled by a referee, any number of players will possess 1 character each and will compete against collections of villains controlled by the referee.
Characters are comprised of Values and Powers.
Values serve as a template for all characters and come in two forms: Action Values and Opposition Values. Action Values modify die rolls when you attempt to do something. Opposition Values represent how difficult it is to do something. Values can become temporarily damaged during combat but base values do not vary from one player character to another.
Powers vary for every character. They will continue to grow and evolve through play making the character more versatile and effective each time you play.
As the prisoner of a selfish, cruel dictator who swiped all your merchandise, you can get mad and you can also get even. You just need to get out of your cell and escape the palace with all the loot you can carry, before the helpful staff put you on the menu for their pet ogre. This is a solo RPG that can be played with pencil, paper, and six-sided dice. A roll of the dice reveals whether you are a human, an elf, a dwarf, or a space alien. You also get to have one spell and two weapons. You need all the help you can get, as you roll to find out what lies behind each of six doors. Is it a passage to freedom? Is it more doors? Is it a big, ugly mummy or a nasty skeleton? Do they have any treasure worth stealing after you kill them off with your screwdriver or your sonic force spell? It’s all a matter of chance. Along the way, you can keep most of the sixes you roll and stockpile them to either convert them into Reward Points (your loot) or transform them into Life Points. Naturally, you want to get out of the palace but you also want to make up for the loss of your livelihood, so you hope to get at least 50 points in the bargain. You’ll have to decide sometimes what’s more important to you: that extra piece of treasure or staying alive a little longer.
Story:
Yesterday, you were just an innocent wandering merchant with a stock of wine. Today you’re a prisoner in the heart of the local overlord’s sprawling palace complex at the mercy of his henchmen. They have the wine and you have one day to get out before they use you as bait in a game of “tease the ogre.” Luckily, they left the slackest guards in charge of your cell. They’d rather play cards than watch you closely. A loud argument over a good hand was your chance to get the keys off the floor,
where they landed after the table got turned over. Now the guards are being summoned to the commandant’s office for discipline. You make your way out of the dungeon and start looking for the exit. Before you exit the last door, you have time to grab some weapons off the wall.
