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Cthulhu Dark is a horror tabletop RPG of cosmic horror, You can't fight monster. You can only watch, run, hide and fear. There are no combat rules. If you fight, you die. It has been expanded into a 200 page book with 4 adventures and GM advice.

The original free version
Expanded version

My character:
Name: Ashley Lee
Occupation: Painter
Insanity dice: 1

The Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game is a free rules-light fantasy game system modeled on the classic RPG rules of the early 1980's. It has a robust fan community and numerous free content: monster bestiary, adventures, new class options, new rules, etc. It's an open source system and has just released the 4th edition.

( My character: Aimon the elf magic user )

FIST: Ultra Edition is a tabletop roleplaying game about paranormal mercenaries doing the tough jobs no one else can. In the game, you belong to a legendary rogue mercenary unit called FIST. You are a soldier of fortune who doesn’t fit into modern society. You are a disposable gun for hire, caught up in the death and destruction of pointless proxy wars and oppressive establishments. You may also be someone who can turn into a ghost or control bees with your mind.

My Character:

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Apocalypse Frame is a postapocalyptic mecha tabletop RPG that you play a skilled mecha pilot carving through armies of enemies to fight for the your people's freedom.

It's now included along with 642 items for $10 in the TTRPGs for Palestine bundle

My character:

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Cairn is an adventure game about exploring a dark & mysterious Wood filled with strange folk, hidden treasure, and unspeakable monstrosities. Character generation is quick and random, classless, and relies on fictional advancement rather than through XP or level mechanics.
The full text is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0.

My character:

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Between the Skies is a cosmic fantasy game of travel and exploration across endless worlds.

Between the Skies is also a set of modular procedures, tables and methods that can help spark your imagination in any game of weird fantasy adventure.

Between the Skies is a free tabletop RPG with 200 hundred pages of table for encounters, NPCs, factions, adventuring sites, creatures, etc. There's no default setting, but assumes a pre-industrial, multi-species, highly cosmopolitan world-between-worlds background. The pdf is bookmarked and indexed, but some in-text links link to nowhere.

It uses random lifepath character creation to establish the character's past and ability when the game start. As a tribute to classical Traveller, the character can die during character creation. As it's randomly rolled, it can be challenging to make sense of the result (eg. what does "Commandingly artistic" mean?) However, you can get something unexpected, like my cursed wasp person healer who travels between the spheres by music to pay off debt.


My character:

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Liminal Horror is a free 43-page modern horror game that let you play normal people with little power battling against (or being changed by) things that bump in the dark. By the time these stories begin, the systems of power that should have protected the characters have already failed. Death is a possible consequence in this dangerous world. When attempting to do something dangerous, roll a 20 faced die. You can roll to generate a character.

My Character is a a bit of a jerk because of their black and white morality. They are estranged from their family, and doesn't really have much friends. Their boss is a bit weird, but also their only contact. They have an online relationship that may go bad considering what world they are in.

( Detailed Stat )

Zenobia is a fast-play RPG set in the darkest days of the Roman Empire. Full of classic fantasy elements, and with an atmosphere akin to Conan's Hyboria, Zenobia is easy to run and play and includes some innovative combat mechanics - for maximum crunch!

Zenobia is a 226 page free tabletop RPG set in a low fantasy version of the ancient near East when the Roman Empuire in its last days. The setting session covers everyday life (calendar, clothing, social customs and currecy, etc), geography and the history timeline. It uses 6-faced dices (d6) only and combat is resolved with might+combat modifier+2d6 roll. The random table of description of crippling blows can be quite bloody.

Characters can work on becoming a priest of one of the many gods or learn magic/alchemy. Befitting sword and sandal fantasy characters, there are rules for gambling & surprising people. The monster list covers 26 monsters like children of Gaea (half human half snake giants), empusaes (vampires that can turn into dogs, cows and women) and more. There's also a section for mundane creatures like giant scorpions

My character stat:

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Chasing Adventure is a tabletop rpg tailored for DND tropes: fast paced cinematic action in a dangerous fantasy world. The free version has everything you need to play, while the paid version has more tables and options. If you have heard of Powered by the Apocalypse (PBTA), it's a streamlined version of Dungeon World and does its own thing. If you haven't heard of PBTA before, the rule system is inspired by Apocalypse World and here's an explanation about the design philosophy. TLDR: Chasing Adventure let you play DND-que adventure without ability scores, hit points, encumbrance, gold pieces, & race and alignment.

I really like how simple and clear it is. My character feels distinctive without me pouring hours into character optimization. There're story hooks and in-group connection just from character creation.

I create my character by choosing the cleric playbook (flexible archetypal cores for a player character.)

You see the world as it truly is - a part of something greater, an existence filled with angels and demons, gods and devils, mortals and spirits. Some call you mad, others a liar, but you carry this truth with you to all people. No malady is too severe for you to heal, no burden too heavy for you to carry. For truth is made worthy through action.

Each character archetype has 4 starting moves. Clerics have Atonement (taking negative conditions onto themselves and negating some with Spirit [default no: 2]), Divine Agent (gain favour from a deity define by you), Hearts and Minds ( to uncover someone's deepest thought), Invocation (call upon the deity's power).

My character, Renate worships the god of death, who's an impartial judge of the dead. People with newly dead loved one pray to them so that their spirits can find peace in the underworld. The god and abhors the undead like zombies, vampires, liches, etc. Their cleric are responsible for proper burial of the dead, bring lingering spirits to the underworld and destroy the undead. When the god favours Renate, they hear voice of ghosts and animals fear their presence.

Renate is devoted to giving rest to spirits and help them and their family/friends handle their unfinished business, so I choose Minister from the 3 available backgrounds. Then I choose a staff, polished chainmail and an adventurer's gear for additional equipment.

( Cut for length about further details )

Game Stat

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Troika! : "The other world's favorite RPG"
a science-fantasy RPG in which players travel by eldritch portal and non-euclide-an labyrinth and golden-sailed barge between the uncountable crystal Spheres strung delicately across the Humpbacked Sky.

The system is based on Advanced Fighting Fantasy (a British tabletop RPG based on the Fighting Fantasy and Sorcery! gamebook). It uses 6-faced dice only, and combat initiative is randomly decided.

The weird fantasy setting is implied through its fascinating character backgrounds, illustrations and the introductory adventure. One of the character background is a Little Prince reference. The adventure takes place in a hotel of chrome and gold, which its mandrill guards is among the less weird things. There are a lot of third party content inspired by the whimsy strange aesthetic.


You can read the rule book free on its website.

My character:

( Canon background: Bored valet in need of challenge )