Pimp other people's free games!

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

I mentioned this in the "Free SF RPGs" thread, but I think Exiles really deserves some recognition, so I''ll re-post the info here:

From the people who brought us (a simple universal game) and , (about playing angels in the struggle of good and evil) there is the SF RPG . After a new "dinosaur killer" sized asteroid strikes Earth, the only survivors are those living in underwater habitats.

Its mostly hard SF, though there are rules for psychics. Super-cavitation submarines are in fact a current area of research. (note the torpedo!) The setting is quite detailed, and I find the system powering the game quite innovative - each roll can tell you three things. It begins as a basic [Attribute+skill+d100], but its the presence of 1 or not (ie over 100) that determines success, the 10s digit is the degree, and in combat, the ones place is where you hit the target. Not the usual roll under percentile. (The game is from circa 2005, so I belive it predates the "One Roll Engine" also designed to tell multiple-points from one roll)

For a free game, its a very professional lay-out, and has quite a few pieces of artwork. Placyers trapped inside high-tech cities is a far cry from the usual post-apocalyptic milleu of being stuck outside the few bastions of humanity.

[Dyson Logos]

The first release of Godlike (the first of the One Roll Engine games) was in 2002, so predating Exiles by 3 years or so. Edit: Sorry, 2001 for the true first edition prior to the Arc Dream edition)

Other than that minor nit-pick about the review, I agree with it, it's an interesting read although I'm not completely enamoured with the system.

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

Oops. I recalled incorrectly, thank you for pointing that out. Its been a while since I read a review of a game based on the ORE. On the upside, I checked out - and they still offer - the horror game based on ORE for free. (Under the section for the game Wild Talents)

Speaking of horror, I don't know how we forgot to mention this before! - by CJ Carella and a product of Eden Studios (who also make All Flesh Must Be Eaten). is available for free as well.

It runs on the Classic Unisystem (Like AFMBE, and unlike the licensed games Buffy/Angel/Armies of Darkness which are the "cinematic unisystem") - stat+skill+d10 vs target number 9.

The setting is similar to Mage or most other urban fantasy games - magic really does exist in the hands of a few different groups, but mostly remains hidden from the everyday populous. Unlike many of those games, however, its not simply political factions using the same magic. There are multiple paths - Psychic phenomenon energized by pure will, Miracles granted by a greater power, ritual sorcery with summoning circles (and one or two more) - each of is somewhat different mechanically so each type feels and plays unlike the others.

However all the groups are aware of and working against the cthonic Mad Gods that seek to undermine reality. Fortunately, the metaplot is not as heavy handed as the old world of darkness stuff, so you're quite free to structure the game as you wish.

[jeffmoore]

Four Colors
by Cynthia Celeste Miller

Is in my opinion the best free Superhero RPG money can't buy. It's clean, concise, functional, and presented in a small digestable package which is everything that I try to do when I design my own RPG's. The author manages to give you everything you need to capture the spirit of the genre and avoids wasting your time (or ink cartrige) with anything you don't. I can't recommend 4C highly enough.
[url=http://4crpg.homestead.com/]
Get it here![/URL]

Jeff Moore

[Kinslayer]

I'm surprised hasn't gotten any love on this thread yet.

It's not just my love for the Dark Fantasy genre, or my unhealthy feelings for D12's. Runebearer is a really cool game. If I had discovered it earlier, I probably wouldn't have written Midian. (I know, that's a bit like saying, "If I knew oxygen was so great, I wouldn't have been breathing methane all these years.") It really is that good.

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

Ars Magica (4th Edition) is apparently still available for free. / Hopefully everyone is already aware of this game - the predecessor to WoD's Mage line, set in a medieval European era and encouraging players to make multiple characters - not just a powerful wizard, but their entourage of servants and guards so that each player can trade off the chance to play the center stage occultist while others fill lesser roles. Still, its a classic, so a review should come about eventually.

Another more indie game I need to suggest is of course . Its designed around old arcade fighting games like Street Fighter, Samurai Showdown, Mortal Kombat et-al. It offers an impressive array of martial arts styles, potential combo moves, power-up attacks, Ki blasts and captures the feel of the old tournament games quite well.

has been sitting alone and forgotten on the web for some time now. (last update was May 01) But it has good detail about the setting, and makes some interesting adjustments to the normal WEG d6 system to capture the power of Cyborgs and "Landmates".

While they're not games in and of themselves and are amazing resources for anyone running a modern/SF/or cyberpunk game - lots of illustrations, ideas, and at least a thousand different guns between the two resources. All sorts of fun to add a bit more flavor to your descriptions and fights.