Free for the downloading, Spellcraft and Swordplay is a professionally done “old school” fantasy RPG.
Role Playing Game
Dark Dungeons Retro Clone Role Playing Game
Dark Dungeons is a clone of the old school D&D game. There’s been a real renaissance in the retro style RPGs, and its one I welcome after all those years of angst ridden vampires and new-style gaming.
Microlite 74 Free RPG System
Party like it’s 1974!
The Microlite 74 RPG system is a slimmed down, old school fantasy RPG:
Microlite74, like its parent game, Microlite20, is a trimmed-down, sub-miniature version of the Primary Fantasy SRD rules that has been designed to be quick and easy to play. The goal of Microlite74, however, is to recreate the style and feel of that very first (“0e”) fantasy roleplaying game published back in 1974. If you are at all familiar with any game based on the 3.5 edition of the Primary Fantasy SRD, you will find Microlite74 easy to play and easy to run as a GM, but with an extra helping of “old school” flavor.
While Microlite74 is designed as an introduction to “old school” play for players more familiar with modern rules systems based on the Primary Fantasy SRD, it is a rules-lite OGL based game system that old school grognards – especially those who cut their gamer teeth on “0e” – should find equally enjoyable. It is also easy to modify with your own house rules or rules drawn from your favorite edition of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game.
Basic Fantasy Free RPG
The free Basic Fantasy RPG is yet another attempt to recreate the feel of the classic RPGs that so many of us grew up on. The author writes:
The Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a rules-light game system based on the d20 SRD v3.5, but heavily rewritten with inspiration from early RPG game systems. It is suitable for those who are fans of “old-school” game mechanics, and it’s simple enough for children in perhaps second or third grade to play, yet still having enough depth for adults as well.
FAST RPG
FAST stands for Flexible Adventure System, Task Oriented. It’s a free, “throwback” RPG. As with so many of these, I think that there are ideas here for miniature wargamers to lift for skirmish games. I’m in the process of writing one myself.