This is the list of stuff I made off with and some comments on each. My comments are based on a quick flip through of each product and don't constitute a review or even a fair first impression. I'm also not including the purchases I made along the way as they are outside the scope of this post.
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| Look at all this. They just give all this away. All you have to do is show up and take it. For free! |
Each title is rated as follows, based on my current plans for it:
- Will Run. I will be making the time to drag the poor, screaming players of our group through this product.
- May Run. Interesting, but I'm just not excited about it for some reason or another.
- Pillage for Ideas. Not something I'll be running, but there's some useful stuff that I'll be stealing for some other game.
- Not My Cup of Tea. Something I bounced off of at first glance. Not necessarily an indication of something wrong. It simply doesn't seem to appeal to my tastes. May revisit later.
Deck of Worlds from The Story Engine
This combines two things that I couldn't resist: a deck of cards and a world building tool. This sample set contains 35 cards of the 240 cards found in the full Deck of Worlds set. Scuffle, draw six cards (one of each type), and generate a bunch of writing prompts built around a newly created single location. Just the thing when my brain needs a jump start.
Will Run.
Wires in the Woods from Critical Kit
Although the full version of Wires in the Woods can be run solo or for up to two players, the Free RPG Day quickstart is solo play only. Wires in the Woods is a journaling TTRPG that uses a deck of standard playing cards and a dice tables to determine what happens. The player is a fuzzy critter scavenging the debris of a post-apocalyptic world not of their making. Playing a furry trash bandit appeals to me, so this goes in the pile of solo games I keep meaning to play.
Will Run.
Arzium Quickstart Guide 2 from Red Raven Games
A fantasy TTRPG that I picked up for the steampunk cover. The adventure revolves around a trip on an airship that goes wrong. There's nothing bad about this one, but my TTRPG collection already leans hard into fantasy. There's some interesting stuff in the travel rules and setting, though.
Pillage for Ideas.
Star Trek Adventures The Roleplaying Game Second Edition Quickstart Guide by Modiphius Entertainment
I grabbed this without hesitation. Our group has moved away from Star Trek Adventures lately, so this is my first experience with the second edition. A fair chunk of the guide covers the new rules. The adventure "The Celestial Algorithm" and a set of sample characters fills out the rest. The adventure is set after the Federation-Klingon War seen in Star Trek: Discovery and revolves around the classic sci-fi plot of exploring a Big Dumb Object.
Will Run.
:Otherscape the Mythic Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game by Son of Oak Games Studio
The neon lit cityscape cover caught my eye. Each of the three sample characters is presented on a poster with their game stats printed on the reverse side. Half of the booklet goes over the rules of this cyberpunk fantasy TTRPG. The rest is an adventure set in a location in cyberspace. :Otherscape (yes, the colon is part of the title) solves the age-old question of "what to do with the decker" by dragging everybody along for the ride through cyberspace. On the other hand, who puts a colon in the title of their TTRPG?
May Run.
The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition Quickstart by Green Ronin Publishing
Features a scrappy spaceship crew investigating a derelict and finding more and more trouble as they go. I really need to get around to watching The Expanse and/or read James S.A. Corey's books. Not (yet) being a fan either way, I got this for ideas to use elsewhere. That may change whenever I get caught up on all the entertainment media I've been meaning to consume.
Pillage for Parts.
Starfinder Second Edition Battle for Nova Rush from Paizo
A starting level adventure featuring the upcoming second edition of Starfinder. Why pick up an adventure for a game I don't play or run? To chop it up. The maps of the titular ship Nova Rush are nice and there's a couple of encounters I can use for another sci-fi game.
Pillage for Parts.
Basic Roleplaying Universal Game Engine Quickstart from Chaosium
Part of Chaosium's 50th Anniversary celebrations. Serves as an introduction to the BRP rules. Each of the three adventures presented show how the system works in a variety of times and places. Unfortunately, I'm not in a good place to learn yet another TTRPG system. Maybe I'll circle back to this one later.
Not My Cup of Tea.
G.I. Joe / Transformers Shock and Mayhem from Renegade Game Studio
A mid-level adventure intended to slotted into an existing game. I've been curious about this pair of games for awhile, mostly out of pure '80s nostalgia. This not being a quickstart guide is disappointing, but reading through it might give me an impression of the Essence20 system.
Not My Cup of Tea.
ROOT: The Roleplaying Game Laurel's Canopy Quickstart from Magpie Games.
ROOT is a TTRPG based on the board game of the same name from Leder Games. Both games revolve around the ongoing conflicts between the denizens of the Woodlands - cats, birds, mice, and others - and how those conflicts are influenced by the vagabonds existing outside of those factions. Another way to describe both games is fantasy asymmetric conflict with cute animals. Half the booklet presents the setting and rules. The other half is a small setting - Laurel's Canopy - rather than a straightforward adventure. Things change in this small clearing in the Woodlands as the vagabonds (PCs) intervene and one faction or another gains or loses advantage. I've seen and run similar things before, but having conflict like this baked into a game is new to me.
Will Run.
This combines two things that I couldn't resist: a deck of cards and a world building tool. This sample set contains 35 cards of the 240 cards found in the full Deck of Worlds set. Scuffle, draw six cards (one of each type), and generate a bunch of writing prompts built around a newly created single location. Just the thing when my brain needs a jump start.
Will Run.
Wires in the Woods from Critical Kit
Although the full version of Wires in the Woods can be run solo or for up to two players, the Free RPG Day quickstart is solo play only. Wires in the Woods is a journaling TTRPG that uses a deck of standard playing cards and a dice tables to determine what happens. The player is a fuzzy critter scavenging the debris of a post-apocalyptic world not of their making. Playing a furry trash bandit appeals to me, so this goes in the pile of solo games I keep meaning to play.
Will Run.
Arzium Quickstart Guide 2 from Red Raven Games
A fantasy TTRPG that I picked up for the steampunk cover. The adventure revolves around a trip on an airship that goes wrong. There's nothing bad about this one, but my TTRPG collection already leans hard into fantasy. There's some interesting stuff in the travel rules and setting, though.
Pillage for Ideas.
Star Trek Adventures The Roleplaying Game Second Edition Quickstart Guide by Modiphius Entertainment
I grabbed this without hesitation. Our group has moved away from Star Trek Adventures lately, so this is my first experience with the second edition. A fair chunk of the guide covers the new rules. The adventure "The Celestial Algorithm" and a set of sample characters fills out the rest. The adventure is set after the Federation-Klingon War seen in Star Trek: Discovery and revolves around the classic sci-fi plot of exploring a Big Dumb Object.
Will Run.
:Otherscape the Mythic Cyberpunk RPG Demo Game by Son of Oak Games Studio
The neon lit cityscape cover caught my eye. Each of the three sample characters is presented on a poster with their game stats printed on the reverse side. Half of the booklet goes over the rules of this cyberpunk fantasy TTRPG. The rest is an adventure set in a location in cyberspace. :Otherscape (yes, the colon is part of the title) solves the age-old question of "what to do with the decker" by dragging everybody along for the ride through cyberspace. On the other hand, who puts a colon in the title of their TTRPG?
May Run.
The Expanse RPG Transport Union Edition Quickstart by Green Ronin Publishing
Features a scrappy spaceship crew investigating a derelict and finding more and more trouble as they go. I really need to get around to watching The Expanse and/or read James S.A. Corey's books. Not (yet) being a fan either way, I got this for ideas to use elsewhere. That may change whenever I get caught up on all the entertainment media I've been meaning to consume.
Pillage for Parts.
Starfinder Second Edition Battle for Nova Rush from Paizo
A starting level adventure featuring the upcoming second edition of Starfinder. Why pick up an adventure for a game I don't play or run? To chop it up. The maps of the titular ship Nova Rush are nice and there's a couple of encounters I can use for another sci-fi game.
Pillage for Parts.
Basic Roleplaying Universal Game Engine Quickstart from Chaosium
Part of Chaosium's 50th Anniversary celebrations. Serves as an introduction to the BRP rules. Each of the three adventures presented show how the system works in a variety of times and places. Unfortunately, I'm not in a good place to learn yet another TTRPG system. Maybe I'll circle back to this one later.
Not My Cup of Tea.
G.I. Joe / Transformers Shock and Mayhem from Renegade Game Studio
A mid-level adventure intended to slotted into an existing game. I've been curious about this pair of games for awhile, mostly out of pure '80s nostalgia. This not being a quickstart guide is disappointing, but reading through it might give me an impression of the Essence20 system.
Not My Cup of Tea.
ROOT: The Roleplaying Game Laurel's Canopy Quickstart from Magpie Games.
ROOT is a TTRPG based on the board game of the same name from Leder Games. Both games revolve around the ongoing conflicts between the denizens of the Woodlands - cats, birds, mice, and others - and how those conflicts are influenced by the vagabonds existing outside of those factions. Another way to describe both games is fantasy asymmetric conflict with cute animals. Half the booklet presents the setting and rules. The other half is a small setting - Laurel's Canopy - rather than a straightforward adventure. Things change in this small clearing in the Woodlands as the vagabonds (PCs) intervene and one faction or another gains or loses advantage. I've seen and run similar things before, but having conflict like this baked into a game is new to me.
Will Run.