Colonel Kane Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Hello I need some help. I have decided that after many years of not playing a role playing game that I would like to start playing again. I use to play dnd but have given all my stuff away. I am looking at trying to do this as cheaply as I can, free would fit my budget great, however I kbow that's improbable. If I have to buy I'd like to try before I buy. Anyways there is noone that I can get a game with where I live so I thought I'd try a email game or barring that a play by post. So what I'm asking is what games are out there that could try before I buy and where would I go to get into a game? Any and all help would be nice. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuaslater Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Savage Worlds is extremely cheap to buy into, and has given our group a lot of mileage, for both Fantasy and Post Apoc. and Modern Horror. You can buy the Explorer's Handbook for about ten bucks, and then find lots of online free scenarios, and then maybe put down more for a sourcebook or two. It's Fast, Fun and Furious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenity Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 There's a free source of most of the D&D 3.5 rules if that's of interest: D20 SRD. I think they left out things like the fluff, XP charts, and certain monsters. Still, there's a lot of stuff there. One place to play is on these forums. Other forums exist as well, including one called Roleplay Online. There are 4000+ games running there and plenty of players looking for games to join. Not sure if you've considered freeform gaming, but that's one way to play without buying any rules -- freeform games don't use many, if any, rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof65 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 There is also the option of online play using programs like Fantasy Grounds and Maptools. Maptools forums are at forums.rptools.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruunwald Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Pathfinder isn't free, but the core books are available as pdfs for only $9.99 each. It's compatible with only small adjustments with all that cheap/free 3.5 stuff you're likely to find around. And if you like it, you can buy the actual books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inarah Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Have a look through drivethrurpg.com. They sell games at a variety of prices and have a selection of free stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inarah Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 oops, double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haldir Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 give Swords & Sorcery a try. It's pretty much red box "basic" D&D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper User ReaperWolf Posted January 12, 2011 Reaper User Share Posted January 12, 2011 Check this out: http://www.dungeonslayers.com/ Completely free, easily adapted, has most of the classic fantasy tropes, requires only a single d20 for all mechanics and best of all lots and lots of fan support. A 4th edition in English is in the works but it's still some time off, plenty of time to enjoy 3.5. Also, depending upon your interest there are a number of in-print wonderful rpgs: Iron Gauntlets from Precis Intermedia Group formerly Politically Incorrect Games has lots of spiffy ideas, fairly inexpensive as a .pdf. Eldritch from Goodman Games while graphically uninspired is also quite good and best of all it's only $5.00 US. High Adventure Role Play (HARP) is the rules-lite inheritor of Rolemaster and MERP. There's lots of support material with modular optional rules but you can get by with just a few d10s and the core rulebook. Castles & Crusades from Troll Lord Games, while I hate some of the mechanics you can easily see the OD&D mechanics at the core. I loathe the XP based upon character class and the multiclass rules but the rest is pretty solid. Legends of Anglerre from the fine folks at Cubicle 7 is powered by an evolved version of FUDGE called FATE. Very very good and you only need one rulebook and a couple of d6s. Labyrinth Lord, OSRIC, and Swords & Wizardry are more or less free to download if you're hankering for a re-skinned OD&D experience. Barbarians of Lemuria: Legendary Edition from Cubicle 7 is an excellent non-Tolkienesque rpg in the tradition of Conan, Kull, and Thangor. Very rules lite and friendly community. Generic Universal Roleplaying System (GURPS) 4e from Steve Jackson Games would only require the Character & Campaign Guides but if you were to run fantasy you'll want to splurge for Fantasy and Magic to round out your collection. Maybe a bit crunchy but it does the job. D6 Fantasy from West End Games is freely downloadable now that the game is open content, you can even get the locations and bestiary for free if you check out DriveThruRPG.com. Legends from Dark City Games (http://www.darkcitygames.com/) is basically the Fantasy Trip re-skinned and freely downloadable although the adventures aren't. QUERP, while I've never played or run it has gotten pretty good reviews and it's cheap. One easily overlooked game is Burning Wheel, never ran it but it's pretty darn cool how all characters and creatures are created. >>ReaperWolf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kengar Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 You can get the pdfs of Labyrinth Lord and its Advanced Edition Companion for free (sans art). LL is essentially Moldvay-Cook Basic/Expert D&D (circa 1981). There are a ton of modules and supplements for it put out by 3rd party publishers, and it is a light enough rule set that running over the net is pretty simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkmeer Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I'll second Pathfinder, and you CAN start without paying a dime at the Pathfinder Reference Document. Paizo did a good job and it's D&D like you're used to, but with a bit more punch. Another, not quite as inexpensive option, is FantasyCraft from Crafty Games, which is available as a .pdf at rpgnow right now for $11.00. It's a complex, rich d20 based-system, and its .pdf expansions are extremely inexpensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel Kane Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Thank you all very much for the help. There's a lot of info I have to go through. So far I'm leaning toward pathfinder. Mainly cause it's like dnd from what I hear and I think it would ease the learning curve for the rules and I have to admit I found an add on called the skyships of nova avalon. I'm partial to skyships. Anyways, all I would need is the core book right? The d6 stuff looks cool as I also found a spaceship battle add on,but I'd like to find a gm/ game before I pick a system. Might seem backwards,but I don't want to get a system then find a game for another system. Any takers??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corlock Striker Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 I personally love GURPS, the books themselves aren't too expensive, and Steve Jackson Games is a great company that seems to really care about the customer. Plus you can get a feel for the rules for free by downloading GURPS Lite. GURPS is a bit on the crunchy side, but it can do anything you want it to. Though some people say it doesn't do things as well as others. I picked it up for it's flexability and price range. I was considering Hero System as I'd heard good things about that, but the two volumes of the starter set were way too expensive for my tastes. And if you want a real D&D sort of feel from GURPS you can check out the Dungeon Fantasy line. All their books are also available for purchase as downloadable PDFs, and at a cheaper price in that format than the physical books, so again, if price is really an issue, you might want to look into that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decado Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Another recommendation for Pathfinder. The PDF downloads are a very cost effective way to get back into gaming if you cannot afford the printed books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haldir Posted January 14, 2011 Share Posted January 14, 2011 Oh yah 9.99 for the main hardbacks is a sweet deal. I usually get the hardbacks from Amazon these days but if I had the extra cash I'd re-up my subscriptions with Pathfinder. You can "subscribe" to the various lines of Pathfinder, when you do that you get a % off your order + you get the dead tree & the pdf as well each time something is released in that line. Right now the pdfs are nice for me since I do most of rpging via play by post & having those on my 'puter is very handy. RM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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