New RPG Titans and the "last but not least"

 Three New Pillars

    The RPG industry has seen the rise of some great new games in recent years, and three of these could easily become pillars of the community, but only time will tell if they can stand the test of time as games that bring in newcomers all on their own. 

Shadowdark

    One of the games that originally inspired this post thanks to its incredible quickstart offering, and just being an all around great game. Considered by some to be the current best introduction to D&D, even without being D&D officially. The game is built as a blend of old-school design and aesthetic ethos with modern mechanics and polish. Super bonus extra points for being one of the few RPGs, and development studios, helmed by a woman.

Shadowdark RPG - the closest thing we have to a welcome page - "In Shadowdark RPG, you and your group of crawlers use magic, steel, and wits to delve into mysterious ruins, lost cities, and monster-infested depths. Wondrous treasures and long-forgotten secrets await you! But don't let your last torch burn out, or you could be swallowed by the Shadowdark...
5E players will find what they've been waiting for: an intuitive and complete TTRPG that serves as a seamless bridge into the heart of the Old School Renaissance. Old-school gamers will find a system that is familiar and nostalgic, but with major quality-of-life upgrades that modernize the old-school experience."

Shadowdark Quickstart Set - free bundle of PDFs, with the option to order an inexpensive print edition. 

Daggerheart

    In short, this is the Critical Role RPG. The game created by the publishing arm of the Critical Role media empire, Darrington Press, with Matthew Mercer as one of the lead influences on the game. If you don't know what any of that means, that's okay! Daggerheart is a great game in its own right, taking influence from the "storygame" tradition of RPGs and blending with D&D 4th edition mechanical design to create a modern RPG centered on collaborative story telling with enjoyably crunchy rules.

Daggerheart - the welcome page - "Welcome to Daggerheart, a new epic TTRPG from Darrington Press. Powered by an innovative card and Duality Dice design, Daggerheart blends tactical depth with narrative freedom, empowering each group to make the game their own."

Daggerheart Quickstart - adventure and pre-generated characters.

Cosmere RPG & Stormlight

    If you're a fan of fantasy novels, you probably already know what this is, and if not then just know that this can be a great RPG entry point with no fore-knowledge of the source material. Produced in direct collaboration with Brandon Sanderson, the Cosmere RPG will eventually serve as the system for all of the various worlds of fantasy that exist within the Cosmere universe of novels, but first up we get the Stormlight Handbook.

Cosmere RPG System - the welcome page - "The Cosmere Roleplaying Game features a core of familiar d20-based mechanics, but upgrades every element of the system for a fresh and exciting experience!"

Stormlight Starter Rules - quickstart for the Stormlight version of the Cosmere RPG system. All indications point to this being the first of much more to come.

Cosmere Resources - GM Rules, quickstart characters, and much more.

Last but not least...

    The remainder of this post will be devoted to all the remaining RPG quickstarts I've been able to collate up to this point. I certainly don't consider these games as lesser, but at some point I just had to make a decision about which games got that extra little bit of attention I've shown so far. Some of these will be just a link and a quote, but I might be able to share a little more for others. Find the game that you love!

Further Fantasy Fun

Dungeon Crawl Classics - "Glory & Gold Won by Sorcery & Sword - You’re no hero. You’re an adventurer: a reaver, a cutpurse, a heathen-slayer, a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets. You seek gold and glory, winning it with sword and spell, caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished. There are treasures to be won deep underneath, and you shall have them. Return to the glory days of fantasy with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role-Playing Game. Adventure as 1974 intended you to, with modern rules grounded in the origins of sword & sorcery. Fast play, cryptic secrets, and a mysterious past await you: turn the page…"

Nimble - "A fast, tactical (and 5e compatible), TTRPG. Your game nights are too precious to waste with slow or fiddly rules! Slay the slog using the best elements from the greatest RPGs around. Nimble empowers players and GMs with more interesting choices, less waiting around, and have more fun playing epic stories."

Pendragon - "King Arthur Pendragon is a pen-and-paper roleplaying game. To play, you take on the role of a knight who goes on adventures with other knights in the world of King Arthur. The Gamemaster narrates what happens, you play your knight-character, and your friends play other knights—boon companions to your character. Over the course of play, they grow older, raise families, and strive to leave behind a legacy of heroism and honor, expressed as their Glory score." The mechanics of King Arthur Pendragon are based upon the Basic Roleplaying system found in Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, and other games. 

Forbidden Lands - "Forbidden Lands is a new take on classic fantasy roleplaying. In this open-world survival roleplaying game, you’re not heroes sent on missions dictated by others – instead, you are raiders and rogues bent on making your own mark on a cursed world. You will discover lost tombs, fight terrible monsters, wander the wild lands and, if you live long enough, build your own stronghold to defend."

Tales of the Valiant - built from the D&D 5E core system, made by one of the longest running 3rd party publishers of 5E content, now a 1st party game creator. "The Tales of the Valiant RPG is a Black Flag Roleplaying Game from Kobold Press. Gather your friends and journey together across a labyrinth of worlds in search of adventure!"

Root RPG - "Root: The Roleplaying Game is the officially-licensed tabletop RPG based on the award-winning Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right board game by Leder Games. In Root: The RPG, you play vagabonds, individual outlaws whose adventures and alliances define the Woodland forever. "

Different Flavors of RPG

Delta Green - a spiritual descendent of Call of Cthulhu - "Born of the U.S. government’s 1928 raid on the degenerate coastal town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts, the covert agency known as Delta Green opposes the forces of darkness with honor but without glory. Delta Green agents fight to save humanity from unnatural horrors—often at a shattering personal cost. In Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game, the players are those agents. They fight to keep terrors from beyond space and time from infecting the world and claiming human lives and sanity. The Handler is the game moderator who creates and interprets their world, presents the unnatural horror that they investigate, and describes the awful aftermath of their sacrifices."
Delta Green: Need to Know - free starter rulebook.
Delta Green: Briefing Documents - "This eight-page reference document adds resources to orient new Agents"
Review of Delta Green and one of its amazing adventures from Quinns Quest!

Marvel Multiverse RPG - yes, that Marvel. There have been many variations of super hero themed RPGs over the years, and there are currently several alternatives out there if Marvel isn't your preferred source of capes, but this is the only one offering a free quickstart that I can share today. But hey, if you like Marvel and this game, it is being regularly supported with new content from across the Multiverse!
"Take on the roles of Marvel's most famous Super Heroes—or create your own—to fight some of the most dangerous Super Villains in the Marvel Universe! Featuring the All-New, All-Different d616 System, the MARVEL MULTIVERSE ROLE-PLAYING GAME gives players the chance to explore their own corner of the multiverse."

Avatar Legends - from the Avatar The Last Airbender franchise - "Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game brings you and your friends into the beloved setting of Avatar Legends—as new heroes of your own stories! Weave tales of self-discovery and action with your team of friends, and go penguin-sledding while you're at it!"

Fabula Ultima - "Fabula Ultima is a Tabletop Roleplaying Game inspired by Japanese-style console RPGs,or JRPGs. In Fabula Ultima, you and your friends will tell epic stories of would-be heroes and fearsome villains, set in fantasy worlds brimming with magic, wondrous locations, and uniquely bizarre monsters!"

Index Card RPG - "Since its first release as a series of silly Sharpie drawings in 2016, Index Card RPG (ICRPG) has become an unstoppable best-seller and served as a rallying point for a vibrant, creative community of players and creators in several countries, digital platforms, and languages. It has helped to unlock the potential of gamemasters and clumsy dreamers. That was always the hope; to push people ‘over the edge’ of their doubts and hesitations; to remind them of the endless landscapes in their own imagination, and send them tumbling in with reckless enthusiasm."

Honey Heist - "Honey Heist is a surprisingly successful one-page RPG. Here is the plot:
1) You have a complex plan that requires precise timing.
2) You are a GODDAMN BEAR.
That's largely it. It's easy to run and easy to play, and there's a D8 table for hats if you want to be a bear that wears a hat, and who doesn't want that? 
Download includes: a) the original hand-written version as well as b) a properly laid-out one that's easier to read and c) a more complex disguise table, both of which have been made by fans of the game."
That's it, that's the whole game in the link above.

Rowan Rook and Decard - Free Games - "All our free and pay-what-you-want games, from one-page hits to system quickstarts." A collection of games and quickstarts from a great indie studio. Heart and Spire are the only two I have actually heard of, thanks to Quinns Quest reviews.

Savage Worlds - "Savage Worlds has everything you need to play narrative or miniature-based games, with quick, simple, yet comprehensive rules for everything from combat to Dramatic Tasks, Chases, and Interludes. The emphasis is on less bookkeeping for the Game Master so she can quickly and easily create worlds and adventures for any setting and focus on the players and their actions to keep the action and story rocketing along."
Savage Worlds - Dead Lands - quick start for the Weird West variant of the Savage Worlds system.

7th Sea - "7th Sea is a tabletop roleplaying game of swashbuckling and intrigue, exploration and adventure, taking place on the continent of Théah, a land of magic and mystery inspired by our own Europe. Players take on the roles of heroes thrown into global conspiracies and sinister plots, exploring ancient ruins of a race long vanished and protecting the rightful kings and queens of Théah from murderous villains. It is a world of sharp blades and sharp wits, where a cutting retort can be just as deadly as a sword’s point."

Basic Roleplaying: Universal Game Engine - "Honed from years of refinement, Basic Roleplaying (BRP) is a system of core rules for tabletop roleplaying. Whether you’re a seasoned roleplaying veteran or new to the hobby, Basic Roleplaying has everything you need for years of entertainment. Chaosium has created other fabulous and widely-acclaimed games based on different worlds of myth and fantasy for you to explore and adventure in based on the BRP: Universal Game Engine."

Chaosium Quickstarts - a trove of quickstarts for other games produced by Chaosium!

Dreams & Machines - "a brand new RPG setting where people come together to rebuild their world following a catastrophic war. You will venture into a world of mystery and adventure, a world where slumbering mechs dot the landscape and people build their lives anew in the wreckage of paradise. Take on the role of one of the new tribes of humanity, an Archivist, Dreamer, Everan, River, or Spear, and forge a path for yourself and your people." From Modiphius Entertainment.
Dreams & Machines Quickstart

Modiphius Quickstarts - a trove of quickstarts (and other free materials) for other games, for their licensed and original properties, produced by Modiphius!

Not Quickstarts, technically

Pathfinder - the other big fantasy RPG, which splintered off from D&D 3.5E and is now on its own 2E. "A world of adventure awaits, but it needs you to be the hero of the story! Pathfinder is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game where you tell heroic tales in a world of quests, magic, monsters, and treasures. Your choices, and the roll of the dice, determine how the story unfolds."
The Archives of Nethys "offers a free online Pathfinder Player's Guide to help you learn and play!"

Fate Core System - "Fate Core is a tabletop roleplaying game about proactive, capable people who lead dramatic lives. Create your characters and develop instant group dynamics with our unique phased char gen system. Use those characters as a springboard to storytelling in our GM worldbuilding chapters."
Fate Condensed - "Fate Condensed is a compact, stand-alone version of the Fate Core System streamlined for clarity and ease of reference. Fate Condensed gives you easy-to-digest rules in as few pages as possible, letting you get to the table and roll the dice, fast. It includes a few simple refinements to the Fate Core engine honed over a decade of active play and development. And best of all, it’s 100% compatible with every one of our 90+ Fate products already published."
Both Fate products are presented as PWYW pdfs.

Quest - "Quest is a fantasy roleplaying game about the adventures of you and your friends. Together, you’ll create amazing characters and tell their stories. The game helps you tell an exciting story in a world of magic and danger. The rules of the game help you create a story that’s totally unique. No two games are the same, and the possibilities are endless."
Quest Digital Edition - "The Digital Edition of Quest contains downloadable versions of the Game Book and Core Deck. The Quest Game Book contains all of the information you need to play the game. It contains all of the rules you need to know, provides step-by-step instructions on how to create a character, and contains a special section for the narrator that explains how to run the game."

Level Up Advanced 5E - "Level Up is a deeper, more flexible version of the 5E ruleset which you know and love. If you love 5E but would like a little more depth to the ruleset, Level Up is the game for you! Developed by a diverse team of 5th Edition experts, and a two-year public playtest of thousands of people, this is the ultimate expression of the 5E ruleset."
A5E Tools - the free to access digital site for A5E, which contains most of the rules and systems of the game.

Lancer - "In Lancer, players adopt the roles of mechanized chassis pilots - mech pilots - comrades together in a galaxy of danger and hope. Lancer offers deep, modular mech customization, a wide range of player backgrounds and hooks to prompt storytelling, and a system and setting with room for any narrative you and your group want to tell." Here's a link to the official site and paid version.
Review of Lancer from Quinns Quest!

Thought Punks - "Here’s a collection of forever open licensed tabletop roleplaying games and resources." If you like your art open and free, and you have a bit of that DIY ethic, this is an amazing resource.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay - "The fourth edition of the original dark fantasy roleplaying game, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay takes you back to the world where Chaos never sleeps. Drawing inspiration from the legendary early publications of the grimdark RPG, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay brings innovative twists to build on the beloved classic."
WFRP Starter Set PDF - the only game I'm including which doesn't have any free option that I can find, but you may be able to find some free materials for the older editions of the game. Warhammer just barely makes the cut due to its cultural significance in tabletop gaming, even if it does have a lot of issues stemming from its portrayal and glorification of fascism.

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