Yesterday was Free RPG Day, an opportunity for publishers big and small to help players get new resources, try new one-shots, and preview what’s to come for the hobby. This year I went to the wonderful Cape Fear Games to pick up some goodies. While I haven’t gotten to play through these one-shots, I did take a peek through every book I received. Here are my initial impressions:
Level 1: The Free RPG Day Indie Anthology
Publisher: 9th Level Games
I love the idea of RPG magazines, especially those with one-shots and games with little setup. This small anthology is filled with creative roleplaying games that take 15 minutes to a few hours. At a glance, some cool ideas stray far from the norm. One solo game requires players to create an empty Discord server and explore the loneliness of moderating a dead server. Another has players stacking dice as towers. Somewhere in the middle as a session with applicants applying for a job and being put in separate rooms for interviews.
While I haven’t explored any of these with players, I’m impressed by the creativity and look forward to trying these, especially the solo ones. Even if most don’t have much replayability, trying something new is nice. Who knows, maybe some of these mechanics might be picked up or expanded upon for bigger releases in the future.
The magazine includes five games for all ages and eight that are 13+. Four of the games are solo experiences.
One-Shot Wonders
Publisher: Roll & Play Press
This is a little preview of the One-Shot Wonders book that features 100 ideas for one-shots. This preview has six of those sessions, each covering two pages of information. As expected, each one-shot features information on the situation, a few important characters and creatures (with stats), a suggested storyline, key locations, secrets, and quest rewards. It doesn’t railroad GMs or players, but it is more specific about “what happens” than some other one-shots, sort of like the Root RPG Free RPG Day books (Where is my Root book this year, Magpie?). The art, fonts, and breakdowns look great, making this a visually appealing and easy-to-follow book.
Each scenario is broken down by theme (Adventurous, Mysterious), objective (Investigation, Delivery, Confrontation), and setting (Coastal Town, Secluded Lodge, Twisted Carnival). Finally, every scenario shows the GM what level the party is expected to be, with suggestions for making it easier or harder, such as tweaking an enemy’s actions or even replacing them entirely.
Overall, this seems like an excellent tool for getting creative juices flowing or giving GMs what they need for a last-minute session. I’m very interested in the full-size book now, so this preview gets the job done.
Dragonbane: The Sinking Tower
Publisher: Free League Publishing
Dragonbane is an excellent RPG by the folks at Free League. It’s probably my favorite system that focuses on a fantasy setting. This book provides a quick and effective look at the game’s rules—just enough for players to enjoy this session as beginners. After 24 pages of rules, the Sinking Tower scenario is introduced. This one-shot is a tournament, with players getting a set amount of time to navigate a tower to solve puzzles, win battles, and get treasure. After the time limit, the tower sinks into the sea, and players score points based on how many treasures were found, puzzles solved, and enemies defeated, including the big bad. It’s unconventional but offers lots of replayability, which can be a nice change of pace. Players have access to a few preset characters, and GMs have tons of information to bring this dungeon crawl to life. At a glance, this looks like a fun time.
The Sinking Tower is an official tournament adventure for the Dragonbane RPG. Players need to work together to solve puzzles, win battles, and find valuable treasure—all in just two hours! This new Quickstart includes condensed rules and seven pre-generated characters.
Pathfinder: The Great Toy Heist
Publisher: Paizo
The second edition of Pathfinder is excellent, making the crunchy game as accessible as Dungeons & Dragons. Of course, all of this doesn’t mean much if players don’t know how to play. Unlike the Dragonbane scenario above, the rules aren’t covered in this section, so newcomers won’t have much to go off of. For veterans, this is a fun and lighthearted scenario in which up to four players take on the role of preset toys as they try to take back their home—a toyshop! It’s a nice little heist that gives GMs all the tools they need to run a great session. I like this one at a glance and look forward to mixing up my usual serious games with something silly like this.
Starfinder: Second Contact
Publisher: Paizo
Pathfinder’s second edition is a big success, and soon Starfinder will be getting the same treatment with playtest core books. To give players a taste, Paizo has provided Second Contact, which acts as a second-edition compatible bestiary that includes a few new spells and creatures. The information here is compatible with Pathfinder but otherwise doesn’t offer much until we get our hands on the second edition playtest rulebook.
The art sure looks nice, though! I like what I’m seeing so far and look forward to more Starfinder Second Edition shortly.
Arzium Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Red Raven Games
Red Raven bringing its board game line into the RPG space is such a delight. The board games are so heavy on storytelling that this is a perfect fit. This preview starts with the rules, which include a few neat systems. Challenges are deemed by the GM to be Normal or Hard, and players roll D10s to determine success (7+ is considered successful during normal challenges). There are contested challenges and even an “unlucky 6” rule that results in extra complications when players roll a 6. The rest of the rules blend other systems that seem to work well together. The system appears to be loosely based on Powered by the Apocalypse, but it certainly does its own thing.
Unsurprisingly, the book is filled with gorgeous art by Ryan Laukat, the artist for the board games. It’s a nice little preview of what the RPG Core Book will look like. The preview ends with a small adventure in a cave town from Above & Below. Players take on a premade character, make connections, and find some folks who went missing in a cavern. GMs get a good breakdown of the situation but leave most of the scenario up to their imagination. This looks like a solid RPG for fans of the series, and I look forward to seeing the full package.
Obojima: Mayhem At The Truffle Festival
Publisher: 1985 Games
Obojima is an upcoming campaign setting for 5E heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda and Studio Ghibli films. It looks whimsical. Mayhem At The Truffle Festival is a one-shot for 2-4 level 3 characters as they join a truffle hunt. GMs are treated to 14 pages of information for the scenario, ensuring they have everything they need to embrace the theme and setting. It seems cute, and while there is some combat, this scenario will be a delight for parties who just want to vibe and find truffles in a dangerous setting.
The book is colorful, has nice art, and the pages are glossy. This is a nice preview of what’s to come.
Fateforge
Publisher: Studio Agate
Fateforge is a self-contained RPG powered by 5E. The setting offers a wide range of vibes, from gritty scenarios to typical fantasy action or mysteries. A good chunk of content is already out, including a core book, bestiary, spellbook, and encyclopedia.
This preview provides an idea of what is available and what the setting is like before offering a small one-shot. GMs have all the tools needed for success and then some. The appendix is thorough, making this a well-rounded scenario for a good time. Players and GMs will know if this is for them, but it’s nice how malleable the setting feels.
The Hollows: The Sins of Grisham Priory
Publisher: Rowan, Rook & Decard
The Hollows Quickstart jumps into a world I’m unfamiliar with but looks gritty and full of monster hunters. It’s a moody book, which isn’t always my thing, but I’m intrigued by the system inspired by blackjack. Players try to roll a number as close to their stat value as possible without going over. There are some neat tactical elements at play here, and the 14-page one-shot scenario looks great at a glance. I’m suddenly really into this and can’t wait to get it to a table.
I also appreciate that it isn’t gritty just to be edgy. It includes content warnings before the scenario, which is always a nice touch. I’m down for giving this “Bloodborne meets hell” kind of thing a ride.
Wandering Monsters & Treasure Trove Card Decks
Publisher: Nord Games
There are actually three decks from Nord Games, but I wasn’t able to get a hold of the Traps deck. These are decks of cards to give GMs quick access to monsters for balanced combat or treasures as rewards. It’s a nice tool to have, and every card has a table to keep things balanced. Players will need access to the monster’s character sheet in 5E to fully use these decks, but that likely isn’t a problem for those reading this article.
The Legend of Drizzt Dice Set
Publisher: Sirius Dice
It’s a nice little themed dice set. I like the colors, and the weight of the dice is fine. It’s a solid set, especially for beginners. I gave them to my son, who just started playing roleplaying games with me.
There you have it! Share your hauls and favorite one-shots in the comments below!
