Other RPG Pillars

 RPGs aren't just D&D

    Everyone knows D&D is the titan of the hobby and industry, but that doesn't mean it's the only game that has left a monumental mark. Here I will point the way to the other games that stand right along side D&D as the pillars of the hobby for many years. I don't have any direct experience with these games, and I don't know the history of these games to same level that I do for D&D, so this will be the first post in this series which is much more limited in scope. All I can do is point the way, then it's up to you to dive deeper if your interest is piqued. 

Traveller

    The sci-fi and space game that has been around very nearly as long as Dungeons & Dragons. Still in active development and supported with regular releases by the current publisher Mongoose (who are a great company and produce some other fine games).

Traveller Start Here - the welcome page - "Traveller is a long-beloved science fiction roleplaying game, with a vast universe to explore. As such, it can be a little intimidating for the newcomer, an easy introduction will soon have you voyaging to distant worlds and exploring ancient civilisations while you try to keep your ship flying!"

Traveller Starter Pack - free starter pack including Explorer's Edition and two adventures - "The Traveller Explorer's Edition is an inexpensive introduction to the game, combining core rules with Scout and Scholar careers; everything you need to run exploration games where you visit worlds never before seen and push back the frontier."

Traveller Merchant's Edition - the other one dollar quickstart - "The Traveller Merchant’s Edition is an introduction to the game for newcomers that provides all of the tools you need to create adventures or even an entire campaign. Create bold exploratory traders and merchant princes who travel into the unknown aboard their trusty Type-A2 Far Trader, a rugged merchant ship perfect for frontier space."

Call of Cthulhu

    A massively popular game around the world, with a long history, and a great alternative to the trope of "heroic adventurers slaying monsters". CoC uses the Basic Roleplaying: Universal Game Engine ruleset, which it shares with several other games. BRP isn't the most exciting name, I know, but it's very well regarded as a fun and solid system.

Call of Cthulhu Getting Started - the welcome page - "Call of Cthulhu is the world’s best roleplaying game of mystery and horror. In Call of Cthulhu, you take on the role of everyday people who become investigators of the unknown—whether they are prepared or not. The mysterious places, people, and situations you encounter are often not what they seem—you and your friends are the only thing standing in the way of diabolical cults and cosmic monsters from beyond space!"

CoC Quickstart Rules - finally, a real quickstart! Free sample of the game, designed as an entry point for new players.

Alone Against the Flames - a solo quickstart for CoC.

Dragonbane

    A Swedish RPG that has been around since the early 80s, and has long enjoyed a stellar reputation as it created its own legacy of design and cultural influence in Europe. 

Dragonbane by Free League - the welcome page - "Dragonbane is a classic fantasy tabletop roleplaying game full of magic, mystery, and adventure. It is designed from the ground up to facilitate fast and furious play, with very little prep time and adventures that are a breeze to run. This is a game with room for laughs at the table, while still offering brutal challenges for the adventurers. We call this playstyle “mirth and mayhem roleplaying” – great for long campaigns, but also perfect for a one-shot. Dragonbane is a translation of Drakar och Demoner, Scandinavia’s first and biggest tabletop RPG, originally launched in 1982. This new and reimagined edition has one foot firmly planted in the heritage of decades of Swedish gaming and the other in the modern and innovative game design for which Free League Publishing is known worldwide."

Dragonbane Quickstart - "includes the complete introductory adventure Riddermound, and five pre-generated characters to play!"

Shadowrun, Vampire, and more

    There are a few other games that have been around for decades, but sadly we don't have free quickstarts for the current versions of the games from the publishers. What we have instead are free quickstarts for older versions of the games!

Shadowrun - Fifth edition quickstart rules of the game, not to be confused with D&D 5E, but I believe this is the version of Shadowrun which predates the current version. Here's a link to the Beginner Box for the current edition, which actually has a blurb introducing the game (the box is only $10).

Vampire: The Masquerade - this is the version of Vampire I remember seeing in the gaming stores I frequented around the turn of the millennium. The game that everyone thought might replace D&D as the default RPG in America throughout the 90s. Here's a quickstart for the current version of Vampire, which I found later, and a link to the official store for Vampire.

Everything Else - just an absolute treasure trove of quickstarts for older RPGs. I know nothing about most of these, but don't let "old" equate to "bad" in your view of RPGs. Just ask the OSR (more on that later, what is the OSR?).

What did I miss?

    This series of posts has been created by someone with roughly 18 months in the RPG hobby and community. I'm sure there are games that should have been included in this particular post highlighting the games that stand along side D&D as the true pillars of the hobby. Please feel free to comment, or contact me some other way, if there is something I can add.

Back to the original post in this series.