Our goal here on Rules & Riddles isn’t necessarily to get you to play D&D or Pathfinder. Both are excellent games, and happen to be ones that we play around our gaming table on a regular basis. They are also some of the most visible tabletop roleplaying games in that the general public actually knows that they exist in some form. This often manifests as some vague knowledge of elves and dwarves and possibly chainmail bikinis. Regardless, our goal isn’t to force you into playing D&D. It is to encourage getting off of the computer and out of your parent’s basement tabletop gaming in any of its forms.
With that in mind, we’d like to introduce you to a few other options. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be doing some posts that will focus specifically on choosing the setting for a new campaign or one-shot series. This may be an introduction to a completely new system of play or to an unique setting for a D&D based adventure. Most of the time, we’ll be trying out these systems for ourselves as we introduce them here on the blog.
Trying Out New Systems, Near and Far
Rulebooks for roleplaying games are ridiculously expensive (at least on a college-student / young adult budget). It’s difficult for me to drop $50 on a book for a system that I’m not even sure that I will enjoy.
It was with this in mind that publishers began to release quickstart rules. Quickstart rules can often be found as pdfs somewhere on the great, wide interwebs. These are small sets of rules that allow a group to play low level adventures and give the game a try.
You won’t find prestige classes and extra campaign settings here. However, they do often come with a starter dungeon or adventure and a variety of premade characters. And best of all, these rule sets tend to be (legally and everything) free! Just distribute among friends and get playing.
What To Get and Where
I grabbed up about 30 quickstart manuals and free adventures at DriveThru RPG. What you choose to try out is really up to personal preference. There is a huge variety, including sword and sorcery type games, horror, urban fantasy, steampunk, and a few based on popular TV shows and books.
Here’s my quickstart acquisition list thus far:
- World of Darkness and it’s spin-offs, which include Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, Mage: The Awakening, and Hunter: The Vigil.
- Valiant Universe
- Scion
- Shadowrun
- Outbreak: Undead
- Corporia
- Clockwork Dominion
- Brass & Steel: The Case of the Croquet Mallet (actually a LARP, but sounded fun)
- HackMaster
There are a few others that I am still taking a look at, but if they seem to be worth trying I will add a note into another post. In the meantime, check out the vast online world of free quickstarts and try some new things. Even better, DM them for your gaming group. Your friends will have no idea if you screw up. Yay!
Baby DM out.
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