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FREE RPGs ON THE WEB

     This is a collection of links for over 500 free roleplaying games (RPGs) which are available on the web. In general, "RPG" here refers solely to narrative (aka "table-top", "pencil-and-paper") games rather than various computer games, MUD's, MUSH's, etc.

     Each game is listed with author, a capsule description, a page count, and file format (i.e. ASCII, HTML, PDF, etc.). The "page count" is semi-arbitrary for ASCII and HTML. In addition, each entry has a set of non-exclusive keywords. i.e. A well-documented rules-lite game like FUDGE will appear as both "rules-lite" and "long", while a science fantasy game will appear as both "scifi" and "fantasy". See my category explanation for what the keywords mean.

Getting Started
This is an introduction to the possibilities of free RPGs, including a few recommendations. Without the time to detailedly check, I cannot review most games and thus my recommendations are limited. Check here for some links to sites which do review free RPGs, though.
 
Full List
All entries in a single alphabetical-by-title file, suitable for printing (~112k)
 
Keyword Lists
Here the entries are broken into lists which have specific keywords. The keywords are made to overlap -- i.e. the same game may show up under several categories.
new added or changed within the past month
long over 50 pages
rules-lite simple and loose rules
preview a upgraded, non-free version is also available
supplement not a standalone rules set
online intended for online play (IRC/WWW/etc.)
open-license released under some form of "open" license
universal intended for a wide range of genres or settings
genre intended for a specific genre or setting
Genres:
fantasy has major fantasy elements
horror within or using the horror genre
modern set in Earth of this century or a similar parallel
postapocalyptic fits the post-apocalyptic/survivalist genre
scifi has major science fiction elements
superhero has superpowered heroes and villians
traditional subset of fantasy similar in genre to D&D
 
Categories Explained
This goes over my still-in-progress definition of keywords used to categorize the different games on the list.
 
Help Find These Missing Games
This is a list of games which probably exist somewhere, but which I cannot find the content to. Some are broken links that I have culled from the list; others are games that I have heard about but cannot access. If you want to help out or if you know about any of these, please let me know.
 
Links to Other Index Sites
This is a list of other sites which list free RPGs.

J. Hanju Kim <hanjujkim-at-gmail-dot-com>
Last modified: Tue Apr 1 16:18:54 2003