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You want to try new games but:
- you don't know where to start
- you have no money
- even if you have money you want to try a game before buying it?
Fear not, for the Mastress of Evil has the answer!
Free Quickstarts and Where to Find Them gathers a list of TTRPGs that have a free quickstart.
This list is based on games available in the Italian language, so here you can find a mix of both international and Italian TTRPGs that have a quickstart in the English language.
Below there is an interactive index to make the site more practical: click on the title you're intrested in, and you'll be brought to the dedicated section, where you can find a short introduction to the game and the link to download the quickstart!
Note: Even though some Quickstarts are "pay what you want" and therefore can be downloaded for free, I think that if you can afford it, even a symbolic donation to support the authors would be nice.
HIGH SCHOOL CTHULHU (Gear Games)
HIGH SCHOOL CTHULHU (Gear Games)
WHAT IS "HIGH SCHOOL CTHULHU"?
In High School Cthulhu teen drama meets the eldritch horrors: it's the '90s, and you're a student at Saint John's High School in the city of Innsmouth.
On one hand you have the drama of the teenage years, the discovery of oneself and their individual identity, the generational clash with the adult world, the hierarchies and dynamics within groups, on the other hand dark secrets coming back to the surface, endangering their existence by confronting ancient and unknown perils that could shatter anyone's psyche.
CORE SYSTEM
This game uses a variant of the Director's Cut, a system that uses d6 pools where you need to make two, three or four of the same number on the dice in order to set the outcome of the actions; the pools are calculated by adding the number of black dots of the Skills and Attributes used in the test.
Conditions mark the character's physical health, while the Spiral of Madness marks the mental.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes the basic rules, the students' archetypes, an adventure and premade characters.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 5E (Wizards of the Coast)
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS 5E (Wizards of the Coast)
WHAT IS "DUNGEONS & DRAGONS"?
Dungeons & Dragons is a traditional fantasy TTRPG, and is considered the father of al roleplaying games.
It heavily relies on a Tolkien-inspired scenery, key element to making this game familiar to those who have never approached this kind of game before, but mixed with other sources such as medieval history, myths and legends to create brand new worlds.
To this day, we have countless settings, along with the types of characters you can create between customizable Races and Classes, and a level-up system that allows the players to gain new feats, abilities or spells.
This quickstart references the 5th edition of the game.
CORE SYSTEM
D&D uses the d20 System, a System that relies on a 20 sided die to determine an action's success or failure with variable difficulty classes to pass, while the remaining dice of the "standard set" (d4, d6, d8, d10 and d12) can be used for other instances such as damage infliced by weapons or spells.
The 6 main abilities (Strenght, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma) showcase the character's basic abilities, while the Skills broaden the instances where they can be applied, along with their respective modifies that impact on the dice roll.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes the basic rules, and a brief showcase about adventuring, combat and spellcasting.
HEART (Rowan, Rook & Decard)
HEART (Rowan, Rook & Decard)
WHAT IS "HEART - THE CITY BENEATH"?
Heart is a dungeon crawler fantasy horror TTRPG that uses the system and setting of another famous game by the same authors, Spire - The City Must Fall, by Grant Howitt and Christopher Taylor.
While Spire is about revolutions, Heart is a horror-weird style game about damnation, redemption, survival and obsession set in the titular Heart: a surreal labyrinth composed of walls made of flesh that breathe and push visitors deeper and deeper into a parasitic dimension that craves to feed on them.
Playable characters will belong to a wider variety of races than the xenophobic Spire: in addition to the dear old Drows, one can step into the shoes of their tormentors, the high elves Aelfir, or even the ingenious Humans or the savage Gnolls. But for each character there will be a Call, the fundamental reason that drew them into this undercity.
CORE SYSTEM
The game uses Spire's Resistance System, based on five resistances and the consequences of accumulating stress for each one of them. As already explained in this quickstart, full of beautiful infographics, you’ll make a d10 pool, keeping the best result for the test; 7 or less means suffering Stress, otherwise you will achieve success without consequences.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes an extensive overview of the dungeons of the Heart and their levels, a summary of the rules, a crazy adventure entitled ‘Drowned’ and five pregen characters.
OUTGUNNED (2 Little Mice)
OUTGUNNED (2 Little Mice)
WHAT IS "OUTGUNNED"?
Outgunned is a cinematic action rpg inspired by the classics of the action and
heist genre, from Die Hard to True Lies, passing through James Bond, Lethal
Weapon, Kingsman, Ocean’s Eleven, Hot Fuzz, and the latest John Wick.
Here, you will take on the roles of Action Heroes, partaking in missions set between the '80s and '90s so that you can have most of the technology available, but with that retro-taste that will make those missions that tad bit more complicated and exciting, challenging yourselves between flash-hackings, heart-stopping chases and jumping out of a plane without parachute because you can't let the Villain get away.
There are no default settings, but you can draw inspiration from movies, tv shows, or make up your own!
CORE SYSTEM
This game uses the Director's Cut, a system that uses d6 pools where you need to make two, three or four of the same number on the dice in order to set the outcome of the actions; the pools are calculated by adding the number of black dots of the Skills and Attributes used in the test. With the mechanics Grit, Adrenaline, Spotlight and Death Roulette (pag. 14-15) you can push your Hero beyond their limits in the most insane and interesting ways.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction of the ruleset, the character sheets' structure, how the different types of rolls work, an adventure and premade characters.
HELLUVA TOWN (Acheron Games)
HELLUVA TOWN (Acheron Games)
WHAT IS "HELLUVA TOWN"?
It's a psychedelic TTRPG inspired by the imagery of '30s cartoons such as Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse, Popeye and Betty Bop, with heavy influences of more recent works like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Goon and Cuphead.
It's set in New York, more precisely in Helluva Town, a secret neighborhood that answers to rules and laws of its own, or lack of thereof: across these violent and anarchic streets, everything is for sale: substances of any kind, sex, phychedelic trips and any kind of poison.
You will be the Toons, cartoon characters living in this bizarre world: there are the Boogeys, beings connected to the supernatural; the Beasties, with animal features; the Folks, who are the most human-like; and the Stuffs, resembling inanimate objects.
Buckle up and lube up your chainsaws: we're going to Helluva Town!
CORE SYSTEM
This game's system is based on poker cards, and the seeds have a matching Ink colour (green, red, blue and yellow), and Stats (touchy, feely, handy, loony); for the tests you have to draw 2 cards from the deck, add their values and on top add the appropriate Stat modifier, in order to surpass the Difficulty set by the Animator (game master).
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction to the setting, condensed rules, a ready-to-play adventure and pregen characters.
SWEET CHERRY PIE VS EVIL (Aces Games)
SWEET CHERRY PIE VS EVIL (Aces Games)
WHAT IS "SWEET CHERRY PIE VS EVIL"?
It's a fantasy roleplaying game where you will be playing the Warries, antropomorphic sweets adventurers. You'll be travelling to the edges of Omnom Island, exploring places like the Flour Plains, the Candied Scrublands, the Eggbogs, the Sucrises, the Landyfloss, and who knows, maybe you could reach the shores of the Marmeltide. But beware! Your path may cross the Gluttonies, monsters coming from obscure and unknown ravines that feed off of Noms like you!
CORE SYSTEM
The system is called "Scoop", and can be used two ways:
- with the physical copy of the rulebook, you open it on a random page and read the result shown and highlighted on an actual measuring scoop on its edges, with a scale going 1 to 8.
- rolling 1d8 and reading the matching outcome, since the results are not progressive.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes an highlight about Omnom Island and the types of Noms, Warries and Gluttonies, the rules and premade characters.
WEIRD WORLD (Tin Hat Games)
WEIRD WORLD (Tin Hat Games)
WHAT IS "WEIRD WORLD"?
Weird World is a weird science-fantasy adventure role-playing game that combines
retro-futurism and fantasy in a violent and hostile world.
Earth, year 6042, the number of sentient races is reduced to an all-time low, while humans, mutants, aliens and automatons try to awkwardly rebuild in an often unsuccessful way some sort of civilization, or a place to call home. You will be the Landwalkers, adventurers of bizarre shapes and abilities who wander from colony to colony, with no path or home, that will try to survive in this post-post-post...apocalyptic world, facing the dangers posed by the X-Energy, an energy that altered the wildlife with mutations, giving life to new monstrous beings.
CORE SYSTEM
Weird Word utilizza uses a system heavily inspired by The Last Torch and D&D's BECMI.
The main Stats are Strenght, Dexterity, Intelligence and Personality, and each one will be assigned a dice with a Size varying from 0 to d12, and the Insidiousness Levels states the test's difficulty, with a range varying from 4 to 10+.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction to the lore and setting, a brief explanation of the rules, an adventure and pregen characters.
DRAKONIA (Gamers Hunter Edizioni)
DRAKONIA (Gamers Hunter Edizioni)
WHAT IS "DRAKONIA"?
It's a classic fantasy rpg with an old-school feeling that takes place in the world of Drakonia, a prosperous valley inhabited by dragons. But unfortunately its delicate balance was shaken when Kastagar, the red dragon, decided to seize control over his brothers through violence and deception, and only thanks to the ancestral force channeled by Artiglio, the green dragon, it was possible to stop him, trapping him in a human vessel. Centuries have passed since, and great secrets are rising to the surface.
CORE SYSTEM
It uses the Basic Old School System (B.O.S.S.), an old-school derivative that uses a number of D6 based on the complexity of the tests, and several tables as a support for rolls and actions.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief history of the world, an introduction to a developing campaign, a summary of the rules and pregen characters.
MANO SINISTRA (Hollow Press, Ignoranza Eroica)
MANO SINISTRA (Hollow Press, Ignoranza Eroica)
WHAT IS "MANO SINISTRA"?
Mano Sinistra is a TTRPG heavily inspired by OSR games that integrates the use of Briscola card in its game system and lore. You will be a Coven of Doomlichs wandering acrott the Four Pastures, an expanse of hellish and abhorrent lands filled with foul creatures, Devils and Inhumans. Each Pasture is build on the suit that created it: Swords (Supèrbatro), Wands (Ìraco), Coins (Avidecca) e Cups (Invìdeo); at the center stands the temple city of Utèria, where the Doom Goddes lays beneath its rotten depths, wating for the awakening of the next Apocalypse.
Seek, gather, smuggle Fragments of the Suits and other arcane relics and open the doorway hidden in the heart of the Temple of Utèria and unleash the Hordes of the Apocalypse from the Pastures' imprisonement.
CORE SYSTEM
The system of the Necrobriscola is completely original and uses Briscola cards for character creation, weapons and armours, other game elements, and for tests, conflicts and actions resolutions, confronting the outcomes on the corresponding table.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction of the game's lore, basic rules and a ready-to-play adventure.
WANDERHOME (Possum Creek Games)
WANDERHOME (Possum Creek Games)
WHAT IS "WANDERHOME"?
Winner of the award "TTRPG of the Year - 2023" Wanderhome is a rural and bucolic fantasy TTRPG heavily influenced by the artistic works of people such as Brian Jacques, Tove Jansson and Hayao Miyazaki. Here, you will play animal-folks, such as hares, pidgeons, hedgehogs, squirrels and many more, and together you will explore the world of Hæth among trips, discoveries, soul-searching and changes while climbing mountains, crossing green fields and witnessing the change of seasons.
Will you be able to understand what "home" means to you?
CORE SYSTEM
The system used is Belonging Outside Belonging, designed to be diceless and without game masters. The presence of Playbooks may recall the ones used in PBTAs (from which they derive), but the game plays out differently: the shared storytelling and worldbuilding are based on active choices and conversation, without leaving the outcome of your actions to any kind of randomization system.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction to the setting, the condensed ruleset, 6 playbooks, 18 natures and 36 basic traits.
LA NOTTE ETERNA (Ali Ribelli Edizioni)
LA NOTTE ETERNA (Ali Ribelli Edizioni)
WHAT IS "LA NOTTE ETERNA"?
It's been 161 years since the Celestial War began in the world of Neir. A war for supremacy fought between gods that doesn't yet see any victor or vanquished.
But while the battle was progressing under the cries of its soldiers the sun sunk into darkness, some say it's the work of a blind and cruel god.
Surrounded by darkness, this world has suffered a sudden change in its living conditions, becoming even more harsh and unwelcoming, and each living being had to adapt and make a virtue of necessity, but some creatures are taking advantage of the situation and trying to take over.
You will be the inhabitants of these lands, travelling through haunted ruins, corrupt cities ruled by tirants and creatures you've never seen before.
CORE SYSTEM
This game uses the 5th Edition SRD, including new races, classes, paths, deities, and original mechanics such as Divine Inspiration and the Sphere Magic, an arcane pattern for conjuring ancient heroes.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction to the game's setting, an explenation of the original mechanics, an adventure for 15th level characters, and a qr code to download the character sheets and the battlemap.
ZOMBICIDE: CHRONICLES (CMON)
ZOMBICIDE: CHRONICLES (CMON)
WHAT IS "ZOMBICIDE: CHRONICLES"?
Based on the famous Zombicide boardgame, Zombicide: Chronicles is a TTRPG focused on surviving during a zombie apocalypse. Here, your characters will be asked to cooperate in order to make strategies to kill the highest numer of walking corpses and keeping your haven safe. Or sacrificing that dude that has an injured leg and slows you down. You know, survival of the fittest.
Unless he comes back to try and eat your face after being infected.
CORE SYSTEM
The game involves the use of two distinct d6 dice sets, specifically one dice set is white, called "standard game dice", and the other set is black called "mastery game dice", and they're used to roll your tests using Attributes and Proficiencies. Inside the corebook you can also find a series of tables dedicated to running the game.
You can also use the props and miniatures of the boardgame, if you have them, to improve the gaming experience.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction to the setting, rules and mechanics, a section dedicated to Game Masters, the map of the city and a "Zombipedia".
EPIGONI (Dreamlord Games, NessunDove)
EPIGONI (Dreamlord Games, NessunDove)
WHAT IS "EPIGONI"?
Epigoni is a “mythpop” TTRPG heavily influenced by literary works such as American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Promethea by Alan Moore, and the most famous epics about demigods, implementing the urban take typical of the works by China Miéville.
Here you will be common people who lived their life normally until a Myth Entity revealed their true nature: by ripping the Veil of Maya they will learn that the stories, myths and legends all have power and one of their parents is a Myth Entity itself. The Myth Entities are born from the tales told by men for millenia, such as Achilles, born from the mortal man Peleus and the nereid Thetis.
Will you escape the lies and tricks of Fate, or will you become victims of its game?
CORE SYSTEM
Epigoni uses the Copperhead System, where you have Keywords to define your characters and that can be used to make the Challenges less hard, and the Ranks are resolved by using d8s.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes the rules, an adventure and pregen characters.
DEAD AIR SEASONS (The World Anvil Publishing)
DEAD AIR SEASONS (The World Anvil Publishing)
WHAT IS "DEAD AIR SEASONS"?
Dead Air Seasons is a post-apocalyptic game inspired by media such as The Last of Us, The Girl With All The Gifts, Contagion, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and other classics of this genre.
Panacea was a bacterium designed to feed off the polluting agents that should have been the scientific miracle that would end all the damage caused by the human species. In a few years the sky turned blue and the air was pleasant to breath again, the soils were fertile and the forests were flourishing.
But the miracle didn't last as long as they hoped, and the uprising of a global apocalypse led humanity on the brink of extintion.
Panacea, the answer to all evil, became the Blight, the worst imaginable nightmare.
Here you will be Survivors that will have to make their way through the vegetation and nature that took back its space, and you will have to face many different dangers including the Awakened, corrupt beings whose only mission is to infect and transform everyone in an Emissary of the Blight.
CORE SYSTEM
Like other games of The World Anvil Publishing, the system is the Monad Echo, and here you can find for free a thorough explanation https://theworldanvil.com/en/products/monad-echo-srd-pdf-eng
But worry not, it's easier to play than to read!
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes an introduction on the game's world and themes, rules to set the scenes and game mechanics, an adventure and pregen characters.
OBSOLETE SHITTY RULES (Tin Hat Games)
OBSOLETE SHITTY RULES (Tin Hat Games)
WHAT IS "THE TRUE OSR: OBSOLETE SHITTY RULES"?
The True O.S.R.: Obsolete Shitty Rules is an ironic and parodic TTRPG inspired by all those stereotypes about overlord masters, all-seeing gods of not only the story but also the party, and players that will suffer the consequences or gather to rise against their hegemony.
Thanks to a complex system of mirrors, tables and levers (Italian meme reference) you will be able to dive into the most disparate worlds, playing very different characters, such as Sister Agatha, a sororitas who shoots first and asks questions later, a Ninja that doesn't speak and the party often forgets about, Sam Winchester, the elf mage Cousin (name) OfLegolas (last name) that seems to speak every existing language, and Michelin-star Chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo who solves things with vigorous slaps and only speaks with names of recipes and ingredients (these examples are characters I wrote for a one-shot at the Free RPG Day 2022 in Milan).
CORE SYSTEM
For your tests you only need to roll 1d10 and add the right modifier.
For those game masters that don't want to prepare anything, by rolling the d100 you can randomize ANYTHING on the dedicated tables! Enemies, traps, worlds, quests, weapons, unexpected events, and many more!
Lastly, you can also use the "XPicks", tokens you can spend to reroll your dice (any other option is useless, the important thing is to reroll your shitty outcomes).
SICKSTART
The sickstart includes the rules, TABLES EVERYWHERE, a premade setting and ready-to-play characters.
FABULA ULTIMA (Need Games)
FABULA ULTIMA (Need Games)
WHAT IS "FABULA ULTIMA"?
Winner of the award "TTRPG of the Year - 2022", Fabula Ultima is a TTJRPG heavily inspired by videogames such as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Octopath Traveler and many more from that genre.
Here you can build your own worlds surrounded by a combination of magic and technology, where you can take on any kind of quests: discovering and exploring the most hidden landscapes, solving ancient mysteries, meeting bizarre creatures, or facing evil enemies.
CORE SYSTEM
The system used is the original Fabula System, inspired by the classic TTRPGs, but with a twist: Fabula Points (for playing characters) and Ultima Points (for Villains), special points both the players and the game master can use to try and change the course of events.
QUICKSTART
In “Press Start” you can find a brief introduction on the rules and an adventure with pregen characters.
HOUSEHOLD (Two Little Mice)
HOUSEHOLD (Two Little Mice)
WHAT IS "HOUSEHOLD"?
Winner of the award "TTRPG of the Year - 2019" with its first edition, and now available with a second edition (used in this quickstart), Household is the smallest ttrpg in the world!
Once upon a time there was a big House, where the Master lived along with his Family, but little did they know that in the most hidden corners and recesses also lived the Littlings, tiny people that are part of the Little Folks.
However, one day the Master simply disappeared and never came back. From that moment, the Little Folks started to freely explore this vast House and to thrive within it. Over the years, after many changes, splittings, and thanks to the influence of several Ancestral Forces, new littlings bloodlines were born: the Boggarts who swore loyalty to the Master, the Faeries who turned to the Stars, the Sprites who turned to the Household Forces, gaining the gracefulness of Air, the ingenuity of Fire, and the strenght of Water, and lastly the Sluaghs, who made a deal with the forces of the Farbeyond.
Here, you can live adventures, intrigues, and scout those places that yet remain unexplored, between dangerous spiders and contracts to observe.
CORE SYSTEM
This second edition is highly based on the Fortune System, a system that uses d6 pools where you need to make two, three or four of the same number on the dice in order to set the outcome of the actions; the pools are calculated by adding the number of black dots of the Skills and Attributes used in the test.
There are Fields and Skills, that determine what you can do along with the Profession and Vocation; Traits and Moves that are special abilities you can use under more specific circumstances; the Aces up the Sleeve are resources you can spend to gain benefits.
QUICKSTART
In this quickstart you can find sections about the Folks of the House, a glimps about the House itself and its rooms (along with a map), the game system, a pregen adventure and characters, and a guide to add the Discord Bot for playing online!
Savage Worlds (Pinnacle Entertainment)
Savage Worlds (Pinnacle Entertainment)
WHAT IS "SAVAGE WORLDS"?
Winner of the award "TTRPG of the Year - 2014", Savage Worlds has an extremely flexible game system that can be adapted to any setting with only a few adjustments. There are many expansion with the most diverse themes: you could be in the mysterious campus of the "East Texas University", on a flying ship of "Space 1889", or in this case, in the Weird West of "Deadlands". Otherwise, you can create your own original setting and shape it around this versatile game!
CORE SYSTEM
Don't be frightened by the loads of tables! You'll only need them during character creation, it will become easier moving forward! All the basic rolls are determined by 5 Attributes (Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strenght, Vigor) and each one, based on the character's skills, will have an assigned dice varying from d4 to d12. To each roll you will add bonuses or penalties given by Skills, Edges and Advantages. And if you fumble a roll don't worry, you can spend your Bennies to reroll!
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes the rules' essentials, including tables for character creation, weapons, combat mechanics, an adventure in the Deadlands setting and pregen characters.
VHS (Aces Games)
VHS (Aces Games)
WHAT IS "VHS"?
Are you horror fans? VHS is a TTRPG specifically designed to dive into the most disparate scenarios: from slasher classics, to exoteric occult, supernatural, gore and distopic horror. It's heavily inspired by movies from te '70s, '80s and '90s such as Halloween, The Thing, Hellraiser to name a few.
And you? Well, you will be the victims, some random people dragged by the flow of events. Or by a friend who is overly excited to visit that haunted house everyone warned you to stay away from.
Ready to press play? We can't assure you will make it out alive.
CORE SYSTEM
The system is easy and original: in your character sheets, along with a short description of who you are, there are Instability, Wounds, your Parameters, Traits and Special Ability.
Instability and Wounds points are both your mental and physical health. The 3 main Parameters show your emotional state during the game based on plot changes or monster encounters: Calm, in yellow, Fear, in red, and Shock, in light blue. Your Traits point changed based on your Parameters; your Traits are Strenght, Agility, Mind and Charisma, and they're used for tests.
Even the Traits you can use can vary based on the Calm and Fear states. Tests are made with 2d6 and you need to roll even or higer than the value on your Parameters.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes the ruleset, 8 pregen characters, 3 monster sheets, 3 main sets, and a Roll20 guide.
ROOT (Magpie Games)
ROOT (Magpie Games)
WHAT IS "ROOT"?
Based on the homonymous boardgame, Root is a game that despite the simple and "childlike" illustration style, the plot focuses on political schemes, fighting for power, and conflicts between different animal factions such as cats, birds, mice, rabbits, foxes and other Woodland creatures.
Here, you will take on the role of the Vagabonds, characters that for various reasons found themeselves living outside of the "civilized" society. You answer to no one, or you may answer to the best bidder, taking on missions for a faction or another, acting as the needle that can decide the outcome of a battle destined to change the Woodlands forever.
CORE SYSTEM
This game is Powered by the Apocalypse: thanks to the playbooks you can handle both your individual character and its faction, keeping track of the relationships and connections you can make or break.
For the tests triggered by the Moves, you use 2d6. The Moves are a series of very specific "labels" that describe your abilities. The outcome can be a success (10+), a success with a cost (7-9), or a failure (6-).
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction to the setting, the core rules, some pregen characters, a map, and a game hooks generator.
THE WITCHER (R. Talsorian Games Inc.)
THE WITCHER (R. Talsorian Games Inc.)
WHAT IS "THE WITCHER"?
Based on the homonymous franchise, The Witcher's TTRPG takes place between "Assassins of Kings " and "Wild Hunt ", and the adventures unravel in a region called the "Continent".
The Elder Races (dwarves, elves, gnomes, bokolaks and halflings) once lived peacefully within this Continent, until the humans arrived.
Humans, in order to ward off, hunt down and wipe out all these non-human races, they created an actual "monster slayers" organization, the Witchers: these individuals were trained since they were children to turn them into killing machines, going as far as giving them potions to enhance their strenghts, altering their bodies.
Complemented by the grim dark fantsy hues of a late medieval age, your characters will constantly be on the edge between life and death, between political schemes, poverty, diseases, curses and monsters.
CORE SYSTEM
The Witcher uses the Fuzion system: a hybrid between a recent version of the Interlock system, and the Hero system, involving the use of mostly d10s. But this easy mode gives you a more quick guide, with less complicated rules and game mechanics, since the game system could be perceived as "crunchy".
The playable races are Human, Elf, Dwarf and Witcher (considered a race on its own), while the professions you can choose from are Bard, Craftsman, Criminal, Doctor, Mage, Man at Arms, Merchant, Priest, and Witcher.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction to the game world, explains how to read a character sheet, explains combat, magic, crafting, and you can also find an adventure with pregen characters.
BROKEN TALES (The World Anvil Publishing)
BROKEN TALES (The World Anvil Publishing)
WHAT IS "BROKEN TALES"?
“Once upon a time, a child saved the world of fairytales. His reward was a wish.
The One Who Plots in the Shadows saw an opportunity to tarnish the child’s heart, whispering to him a corrupted idea. The child asked the King of Fairytales that the Villains, accursed for centuries, be granted a new life. This was to be their chance for redemption. This was how the Villains became good. But any light needs a shadow, and in turn, the Heroes became evil. At that moment, all fairytales were shattered.”
Set in the 18th century in a grim-dark Europe, birthplace of many Fairytales we all know and love, Broken Tales is a setting that shatters, overturns and redifine the division between classic "heroes" and "villains". The characters will investigate threats and events on the behalf of the Order, a secret group operating on behalf of the Papacy.
CORE SYSTEM
Like other games of The World Anvil Publishing, the system is the Monad Echo, and here you can find for free a thorough explanation https://theworldanvil.com/en/products/monad-echo-srd-pdf-eng
But worry not, it's easier to play than to read!
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes an introduction to the world setting, two pre-made adventures and some pregen characters.
CITY OF MIST (Son of Oak Game Studio)
CITY OF MIST (Son of Oak Game Studio)
WHAT IS "CITY OF MIST"?
City of Mist is a roleplaying game that can touch many genres: noir, crime, superheroistic, or outright urban fantasy.
The key aspects of this game are two.
One one hand, there's the Mist surrounding the city where the events take place, a supernatural Mist, invisible to common people, a sort of veil that alters reality, your senses, and even your memories.
Then, there's the essence of your characters: you'll be the Rifts, people who have awakened to have legendary powers within them. They come from what they embody, the Mythos, ideas, individuals or objects of mythological-popular nature.
You could be a young union leader incarnating the ideals of Joan of Arc, a retired dramaturge incarnating Oscar Wilde, or a rich old dame incarnating Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur.
CORE SYSTEM
This game is Powered By the Apocalypse: the characters and their relationships are determined by a set of questions, and their sheets are made of four Themes that delve into their abilities. For your tests, you use 2d6, with a set of outcomes depending on the results: 6 or below, 7-9, 10 or above.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes an introduction to the world, the rules, and a brief explanation about Mythos, Logos and Moves the characters can make. On the site you can also find pregen characters and recaps of the rules ready to print.
VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE 5th (Renegade Game Studios)
VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE 5th (Renegade Game Studios)
WHAT IS "VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE 5th edition"?
The 5th edition of Vampire The Masquerade has the goal of simplifying and modernizing a game with an incredibly rich lore that has been going on for many years. It's set after the 9/11 Twin Towers terrorist attack, a key event that has disrupted the lives of many people, human or not, regarding several aspects: the Vampires' existence is now revealed, with humans coming together to organize a Second Inquisition with the goal of "eradicating all evil".
The Vampire society reacts in different ways: on one hand, the Camarilla withdraws inside their Domains, on the other hand the Anarch Revolt uprises, backed by many Cainites.
If you don't know much about Vampire's lore and clans, the 5th edition is a great starting point for approaching the World of Darkness: the core rulebook explores in depth the Clans and their respective Attributes and Disciplines. Here, you will play Vampires of the most recent generations, including Thin-Bloods (vampires so distant from Cain they haven't inherited any great or distinctive abilities).
CORE SYSTEM
This game uses the latest revised version of the Storytelling System, where each value is mesured with a number of dots. Each test requires the use of as many d10 as there are dots of the appropriate "skills" required to succeed. The target number for success is 6 or higher, the Difficulty is determined by how many successes you have to roll, and there are Bestial Failures and Messy Criticals.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart “Monsters” includes a brief introduction to the WoD and VtM, tips for Narrators, an adventure, pregen characters and their Relationship Map.
INFERNO (Two Little Mice, Acheron Books)
INFERNO (Two Little Mice, Acheron Books)
WHAT IS "INFERNO: DANTE'S GUIDE TO HELL"?
It is perhaps one of the most anticipated Italian TTRPGs of the last few years because it teases a topic most people love: Dante's Hell. Your characters will be the Lost Ones, people that one way or another have lost the righteous path and will find themselves wandering across the circles of Hell. As Dante himself, they will be alive, but the perils, temptations, demons and corrupt souls will try anything to drag them into this hellish mud and leave them no way out. Will they be able to not abandon all Hope?
SISTEMA DI GIOCO
This game uses the 5th Edition SRD of "the most famous roleplaying game", with original archetipes, Vices and Virtues, and Hope, that they'll need to try and protect.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction to the world, who are the Lost Ones (and some archetipes), an adventure and pregen characters.
CALL OF CTHULHU (Chaosium Inc.)
CALL OF CTHULHU (Chaosium Inc.)
WHAT IS "CALL OF CTHULHU"?
Along with D&D e VTM, Call of Cthulhu is the third pillar of the "holy trinity" of roleplaying games. Based on H.P. Lovecraft, this is a game of cosmic horror with investigation elements that will drive your characters to the brink of madness, testing them with supernatural events about things that the human mind cannot fathom, between ominous nightmares, cultists trying to awaken monstrous creatures, or even worse, deities that could annihilate the whole humanity with a snap of the fingers (but it wouldn't be fun for them, right?). And yet, even these small, insignificant human beings could be the key to the survival (or extintion) of the whole world, or even the universe.
CORE SYSTEM
The core system is the Basic Role Playing, that involves the use of the d100, and the character sheet is mostly split into characteristics, skills, sanity, magic points, hit points, and luck.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a recap of the rules, an adventure with handouts, and pregen characters.
MAGE: THE ASCENSION (Onyx Path Publishing)
MAGE: THE ASCENSION (Onyx Path Publishing)
WHAT IS "MAGE: THE ASCENSION"?
Third child of the World of Darkness, in Mage: The Ascension each person has the innate ability and power to use a unique magic, capable of influencing the reality all around us. Only a few, though, can "awake", starting their journey towards the Ascension, towards becoming aware and gaining control of their own power. But remember: for each action, from the most thought-out to the most brutal, there is a consequence. Within this world, Mages are split into Factions, which are also split into Conventions. The main Factions are Traditions, Technocracy, Nephandi, Marauders and Disparates, where each one has a vision and a Paradigm, some kind of "faith" or "precepts" they believe in, that guide them and their actions.
CORE SYSTEM
Like every other WoD game it adopts the Storytelling System, where all the various values are measured with a number of dots. Each test requires the use of as many d10 as there are dots of the appropriate "skills" required to succeed.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes the game rules, a short premise to the Factions, an adventure and some pregen characters.
THE LAST TORCH (Serpentarium)
THE LAST TORCH (Serpentarium)
WHAT IS "THE LAST TORCH"?
It's a fantasy TTRPG whose design is largely inspired by old-school games, and all its expansions are sold in boxes.
Pure old-school fantasy, high mortality rate, so you better always have some extra characters sheets, or you can simply add a "Jr" or "the 2nd" and "I'm here to avenge my father".
The basic races are Human, Dwarf, and Elf, while the Roles are Warrior, Thief, Sorcerer, Priest and Ranger.
CORE SYSTEM
The system uses the d10 (one or two dice depending on the role/race of the character) to which you add the modifiers (usually +1 or -1).
QUICKSTART
The super-short quickstart includes a summary of the game system, the rules, pregen character sheet and a very straight-forward adventure.
WARHAMMER 40K WRATH&GLORY (Cubicle 7)
WARHAMMER 40K WRATH&GLORY (Cubicle 7)
WHAT IS "WARHAMMER 40K WRATH&GLORY"?
Set during the 40th Millenium, a time where humanity has already colonized different parts of the known galaxy, with the goal to expand its empire for the Emperor's will, and to crush any threat to his power. It's a gritty, violent world made of wars, factions, and a slithering Chaos that aims to corrupt and break even the strongest of wills.
Specifically, in Wrath&Glory, we're in the 41st Millenium, in the Gilead System, a stronghold of the imperial power that, after the opening of the Great Rift, sees itself cut off from a significant part of the Imperium and the Emperor's glory.
CORE SYSTEM
The game system uses a d6 for each test, adding a Wrath Die where if you get a 6, you gain Glory Points, while if you get a 1 you add complications to the story. There are also Wrath and Ruin Points, along with Glory Points, that are used for re-rolls, adding d6 to the dice pool for a test and other escamotages and ways to make the game more interesting.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart “Rain of Mercy” includes the basic rules of WRATH & GLORY, and a one-shot adventure set in Enoch, the Shrine World of the Gilead System, also known as the lost system.
UNGLORIOUS (Aces Games)
UNGLORIOUS (Aces Games)
WHAT IS "UNGLORIOUS"?
It's a necro-fantasy TTRPG that "begins when all the others end": your heroes, died in the most bizarre and ridiculous ways (they can also be characters from your old campaigns played with other games) will rise in the Orchard and will get a second chance to fulfill their heroic deeds... Or al least they'll try. Between Squishies (zombies), Skinnies (skeletons) and Windies (ghosts), they'll face the most absurde and unusual creatures, such as Deaderns (dead Wyverns), Livingjoys and Necrolovers.
CORE SYSTEM
With a single d10 and your Death Certificate you're ready to go! If the result of the dice roll is 6+, the action succeeds, otherwise if the result is below 6, the action has failed. You can have some bonuses by adding the values listed in the character sheet, such as your armour, special effects of spells, abilities and amagic items. You also have Soul Points that you can spend to activate foretold special effects, or to re-roll the dice.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief introduction to the setting, core rules, a bestiary, pregen characters, an adventure and how to conduct and create your own.
HISTORIA (Mana Project Studio)
HISTORIA (Mana Project Studio)
WHAT IS "HISTORIA"?
It's a renaissance dark-fantasy setting in a world populated by all kinds of anthropomorphic animals (the arts on the Mana Project Site and Instagram will leave you speechless).
Adventures, political schemes, battles and much more awaits you in Vesteria, but also something very ancient and powerful that disrupted the continent...
CORE SYSTEM
It uses the 5th Edition SRD of you-know-what, with some new rule mechanics, new races and classes that get increasingly more interesting.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief summary of the game's world, rules for character creation along with the forementioned new mechanics, races and classes, and a pre-made adventure.
XENOSCAPE (Tin Hat Games)
XENOSCAPE (Tin Hat Games)
WHAT IS "XENOSCAPE"?
This game will bring your characters on Materia, an extraterrestrial world, former colony of the Ancient Empire of Mankind that was forcefully claimed by nature over time, a time much farther from our own. Its ecosystem went back to its old and dangerous magnificence, between radioactive deserts and crystal forests. Here, you have the chance to play the most diverse species, varying from giant sentient insects, humanoid reptilians, shrubs that developed a conscience by eating genetic engineering waste, and many more.
CORE SYSTEM
This game's system doesn't involve the use of dice or other types of action randomization, but takes full advantage of all the character sheet values: that's where you'll find all the essential resources to face your tests, spending and detracting points from the total based on the level of success you wish to achieve.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief overview on the history of Materia, the playable species, the rules, an adventure with maps and illustrations, and pregen characters.
VULCANIA (GearGames)
VULCANIA (GearGames)
WHAT IS "VULCANIA"?
Vulcania is a world that is currently under full industrial revolution, where natural landscapes and post-apocalyptic scenarios coexist, all in a Pulp Steampunk fashion. Here, your characters will be dealing with ominous investigations, political schemes and exploring dangerous and remote places.
CORE SYSTEM
The core system involves the use of a single d12, whose outcome will be added to the Character's Attributes and Skills. The tests will be also influenced by other mechanics such as the Gears of Fate and Opportunities.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart includes a brief description of Vulcania's atmosphere, the core rules, some pregen characters and an adventure.
SHINTIARA "CRUSADE OF TIME" (MS Edizioni)
SHINTIARA "CRUSADE OF TIME" (MS Edizioni)
WHAT IS "SHINTIARA - CRUSADE OF TIME"?
This game is set in a sci-fi universe where the characters will face time jumps, Paradoxes (items and places from other time periods), and races against time (literally).
This setting is so rich that it cannot be summarized in only a few sentences, but believe me when I tell you you'll be fascinated, from the battle of the two main factions: Siray that wants Shintiara's survival, and Murya, that wants its demise. The Chronoguardians try to keep some kind of order amongst the chaos; the Voidwalkers, instead, bathe in that chaos and try to disrupt the timeline; but for each world that seems torn in two, there are also those who gravitate between one faction and the other depending on what suits them best: the Timedancers.
CORE SYSTEM
Initially born with the Modern d100 system, this version uses the 5th Edition SRD of you-know-what, an evergreen system that you need to know how to adapt!
QUICKSTART
“Shintiara - Crusade of Time” includes a brief summary of the story of this universe, completely new and original classes and races, an adventure and some pregen characters.
NOT THE END - (Fumble GDR)
NOT THE END - (Fumble GDR)
WHAT IS "NOT THE END"?
Winner of the award "TTRPG of the Year - 2020", Not the End is perfect for narrating the adventures of heroes who are willing to risk everything they believe in. Which kind of heroes, you may ask? That is entirely up to you: its huge popularity is due to its flexibility in terms of choosing a setting (in the core book you can find some examples, but there is no default setting) and the straightforward game system, rules and chatacter creation.
Here, you have the chance to explore the journey, the events and lives of these heroes, for better and for worse: risky, problematic and adverse events can lead to a constructive evolution of the characters, and the game encourages it (thanks to rules such as Complications and Misfortunes), by inviting you not to fear change.
CORE SYSTEM
The character sheets are made of a hive of hexagons, within you can write a keyword to describe their nature, skills and abilities.
This system is called "HexSys", an original game system where you use different coloured tokens (white/orange for positive outcomes, black/purple for the negative ones) that will be extracted blindly to set the outcome of an action.
NOTE: initially the tokens were black/white but have been changed to orange/purple to be inclusive towards colourblind people.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart briefly explains the rules, the Hero creation, and how to set a story.
THE YELLOW KING - (Pelgrane Press)
THE YELLOW KING - (Pelgrane Press)
WHAT IS "THE KING IN YELLOW"?
Inspired by the novels of Robert W. Chambers, The Yellow King is a roleplaying game where the characters will have to face the horrors of this alien tome capable of altering the state of reality, dragging them into a spiral of pure madness. If the mood sounds familiar, it's easily explained: Lovecraft was a huge lover of this stories' collection, so much so that it inspired him to create the notorious Necronomicon.
CORE SYSTEM
This game uses the Quickshock GUMSHOE, an easier version of the GUMSHOE system. Here, your characters have Investigative Abilities (which don't have a numeric value), some General Abilities (to check with a d6), and Pushes to spend to gain special benefits outside of the usual investigative informations. You also have Shock and Injury cards, to use whenever you gain mental or physical damage.
QUICKSTART
The quickstart “The Doors to Heaven” includes the core rules, 6 pregen characters, and an adventure set in Paris during the Belle Époque, where the events of the first of 4 books take place.
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