13th Age

What is 13th Age?

13th Age is an "open" d20-based tabletop fantasy RPG similar in play to games like D&D 3.0/3.5 and Pathfinder.

What makes 13th Age different from these other games?

13th Age makes use of many game mechanics and features that are intended to develop characters and story as the game is plays. For example:

• Icons - Powerful factions that exert their will on the realm in some way or another.
• Relationships - A quantitative measurement of how much influence a given Icon exerts on a character.
• Backgrounds - Instead of advancing individual skills, a character assigns points to jobs or positions they have held, which can help them with actions in-game.
• One Unique Thing - Every player character in 13th Age has one unique thing about them that separates them from every other individual in the campaign's universe. This defines both the character and the universe by exclusion.

Dungeon World

Dungeon World is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game. Created by Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel, the game uses the Powered by the Apocalypse engine originally designed for Apocalypse World and used in Monsterhearts and other games. The game has an old school style but coupled with modern rules.

Dungeon World uses the Powered by the Apocalypse engine to produce old school Dungeons & Dragons play. The game uses the same six ability scores used by D&D (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma). Dungeon World also uses D&D character classes: the bard, cleric, druid, fighter, paladin, ranger, thief, and wizard.

Like other Powered by the Apocalypse games, actions in Dungeon World are called Moves. When a player character makes a move, the player rolls two six sided dice and adds the appropriate ability modifier. On a result of 10+ the move succeeds without complication. On a result of 7-9 the move partially succeeds or succeeds with a problem, allowing the GM to make a move of their own. On a result of 6 or less the move fails, giving the character XP and allowing the GM to make a move. Characters share general moves and gain unique moves from their class.

To represent character relationships and facilitate quick setup, each class lists Bonds which show before the game starts how the characters see each other, filling one name of one other player character in the blank space of each bond. Example bonds are:

_______________ owes me their life, whether they admit it or not.
I have sworn to protect _______________.
I worry about the ability of _______________ to survive in the dungeon.
_______________ is soft, but I will make them hard like me.

Mutants & Masterminds SRD

d20HeroSRD.com provides all of the Open Game Content rules necessary to play the 3rd Edition of the Mutants and Masterminds Superhero Roleplaying Game by Green Ronin Publishing. This includes everything but the two phrases "Hero Points" and "Power Points."Those phrases (and the associated mechanics) are replaced on this site by the phrases "Victory Points" and "Character Points."

Traveller

Traveller is a futuristic sci-fi game and...

...it is human-centric but cosmopolitan: The background of the OTU features a human-dominated universe. As such, the core rules primarily focus on development of human characters touching only briefly on a few non-human species. Despite the dominance of humanity, a large number of aliens was always implied to exist, inside and outside of Charted Space. There are numerous Traveller publications with rules and extensive information on playing aliens.

...includes much interstellar travel: Interstellar travel is through the use of the jump drive, which moves a ship through "jump space" a few light-years at a time. Each jump always takes about one week.

...has limited communication: There is no faster-than-light information transfer – meaning no ansible, subspace radio or hyper-wave. Communication is limited to the speed of travel.

...has a feudalist governmental system: Relatively slow communication speeds mean that local rulers cannot be directly controlled by central authority. Therefore, affairs are managed by independent nobility, who make use of classic titles such as Baron, Duke and Archduke.

...is a non-utopian future and has no "Prime Directive": The human race never evolves into a superior state. People remain people and continue to show courage, wisdom, honesty and justice, along with cowardice, deceit, and criminal behavior. Planets fight out internal wars, and capitalism is the major driving force of civilization. The same factors that shaped Earth shape the Traveller universe.

Swords & Wizardry

Swords & Wizardry is a simulacrum (also sometimes called a "retroclone") of the original edition of the 1974 fantasy roleplaying game written by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Now everyone can play this ENnie award-winning re-creation of the original rules without paying hundreds of dollars for the original books.

These are the rules the classic megadungeon Rappan Athuk was designed for!

Modern Path SRD

The Modern Path: Heroes of the Modern World" uses the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game as its base but then provides additional resources and options suitable for modern settings. This site is heavily linked to d20pfsrd.com throughout since not ALL mechanics needed to run or play in a game are provided by Game Room Creations. The parts of the rules that The Modern Path does not change are linked to and fully available via d20pfsrd.com.