Verge RPG

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Verge is a free RPG that bills itself as “Fantasypunk.” It’s set in a vast and ancient city.

SNAFU Modern and Science Fiction Rules

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SNAFU is a set of free wargames rules for Modern and Science Fiction games. Author Michael Taylor writes:

As for a basic run down of the rules, SNAFU is aimed at 15mm games of about platoon level (each side controls a platoon sized force plus support units) from the modern era into science fiction. The basic unit is the fireteam, usually 4 figures strong but sometimes less or more. As commander of this force you are concerned with the performance of your fireteams as whole units, not of the individual members of each team (leave that work to your team leaders!). As such, units move and fight as one whole.

A key part of the game is stress. The battlefield is a frightening and chaotic place, and how your troops deal with the stress of combat will effect their performance. As units take fire they will accumulate stress points, which makes them more difficult to activate. Adding to the chaos is the random draw deck to determine the order of play each turn. You can never be sure how many units you will get to activate, or when you will activate them.

Creatures and Caverns RPG

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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.