Verge is a free RPG that bills itself as “Fantasypunk.” It’s set in a vast and ancient city.
RPG Fantasy
Creatures and Caverns RPG
Creatures and Caverns is an easy to play free RPG. From the author’s description:
In 1982 a 13-year old who’d just seen some neighborhood kids play Dungeons & Dragons decided to create his own game in which knights and wizards explored underground catacombs, defeated monsters, and took their treasure. This book represents a refined version of those rules appropriate for kids interested in transitioning from traditional board games to a more imaginative form of structured play.
Creatures & Caverns is a very basic “roleplaying” game in which players explore subterranean labyrinths, using imaginary heroes to defeat monsters they encounter and collect their treasure. Although it uses a map like a board in a traditional game, it also enables players to assume the roles of knights and wizards exploring underground. These heroes use an arsenal of weapons and spells to slay monsters; die rolls often decide their fate, determining whether they strike their foes and fend off attacks.
Creatures & Caverns includes all the rules needed to play, character sheets for knights and wizards, a bestiary of monsters to fight, guidelines for creating new foes, notes on traps and treasures, experience rules for improving characters, and two ready-to-play scenarios.
Peter Schweighofer is a writer, editor, and game developer with more than 20 years’ experience in the publishing field, including time working for many companies in the adventure gaming hobby. While best-known for his contributions to various iterations of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, he’s also the author of period sourcebooks Pulp Egypt and Heroes of Rura-Tonga, as well as numerous other works for various roleplaying games. He pursues his game-publishing activities under the auspices of Griffon Publishing Studio.
MicroLite 20 RPG System
Here is a collection of OGL MicroLite 20 RPGs. From the website:
The new two volume 2012 Edition of The Microlite20 RPG Collection is now available for free download. The Microlite20 RPG Collection is a PDF compilation of Microlite20 based games. This collection is made available for free and is not to be sold. Each individual game is copyrighted separately, is based on the Open Game License (because the original, Microlite20, is OGL), and is available for free. Each game is a separate entity with its own copyright and license. The author of each individual game is solely responsible for his or his work. No editing of individual games has been done. The original 2010 edition was a single volume with around 600 pages. The 2012 edition is two volumes with a total of over 1300 pages.
In addition to the standard Microlite20 rules (and a large number of optional systems and expanded rules, The Microlite20 RPG Collection (2012 Edition) includes the following Microlite20-based role-playing games: Microlite20 House Rules, MicroFantasy, Alter Microlite20, Ultramicrolite20 Revised, Ultramicrolite20 Revised II, Nanolite20, Microlite20 Modern, M20 Modern: Expert, Microlite20 Modern-Day, M20 Hard Core Rules, Swords against Sorcery, M20 Heroic, Iron Heartbreakers, Microlite11, WildWalker’s M20 4e, Microlite20 Variant 4e, Microlite 4E, Micro Action Fantasy, MULRAH, Lite20, Mini20, Realms of Renown, Microlite74: Basic, Microlite74: Standard, Microlite74: Extended, Microlite74: Companion I, Microlite77, Microlite20 OSS, Advanced Microlite20 OSS, Argo, M20 Hyborian Age, Microlite Conan, Prehistoric Microlite20, Microlite20 Bronze Age, Microlite Dark Sun, Omerian Tales, Beacon, WarEngine RPG, Yamato M20, Challenges & Champions, Microlite20 Elf Lords, Microlite20 Resident Evil, Microlite20 Cthulthu, Microlite20 Vampires, Microlite20 2012, SpyLite, Giant Bug Invasion, Cyberpunk, SuperLite, Microlite20 Costumes, Tumbleweed, Gunsmoke & Goblins, Owl Hoot Trail, Microlite Storytelling, TileHack, Dragoons, ZombiePocalypse, Relics & Ruins, OmegaLite20, RABID, Microlite20 Vermin, Where No Man Has Gone Before, Galactic Methuselah, FrontierLite, M20 Star Wars, Microlite20 Star Wars, Scions of a Primordial Planet, Micro MechWarrior, Stargate 1895, Blaster D20 Microlite, Pendragon D20 Microlite, Diabolical D20 Microlite, PathfinderLite20, Microlite20 Golden Edition, DungeonFinder Player’s Guide, DungeonFinder GM’s Guide, DungeonFinder Book of Monsters, and Grimm Lite.
Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque: Gothic Compendium For RPGs
Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque is billed as a “Gothic Fantasy Compendium For Old School Fantasy Role Playing Games.”
I found it quite interesting, especially the introduction, which covers the whole concept of Gothic Literature.
Fantasy Fudge
Fudge is a free — and free to adapt — rules-light RPG that has been ported to a great many settings. At the link below, you’ll find FUDGE (Freeform Universal Donated Gaming Engine) Fantasy rules.