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@ Nëïgsëndöïg Cöcülës
2025-05-14 00:01:28Since 2022, Dungeons and Dragons has been going down a sort of death spiral after the release of a revised version of 5th Edition... which didn't turn out very well to say the least. In light of that, I present a list of TTRPGs you can play if you don't want to purchase 5E. I wouldn't recommend 5E, as I've DM'd it in the past. It tastes like a lollipop that's cockroach and larvae flavored.
This list of TTRPG games is in no particular order, though my favorite of these systems is number one.
- Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game (BFRPG)
- B/X-style OSR retroclone with ascending armor class, and the original retroclone from 2006
- Fully libre under CC BY-SA for the 4th Edition, and OGL 1.0a for 1-3 Editions.
- Full books are free PDF files on the website (Basic Fantasy Website)
- All BFRPG editions are compatible with each other, meaning you can have a 3rd Edition book to a 4th Edition game and still have fun. 4th Edition is just the removal of the 3E SRD that's in the OGL editions.
- As with the core rulebooks, all the supplementation is free as a PDF as well, though you can buy physical books at cost (BFRPG principal rights holder Chris Gonnerman doesn't make much profit from Basic Fantasy)
- Old-school community that's an all-around fantastic group of players, authors and enthusiasts.
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Fun Fact: Out of all the TTRPGs I'd want to DM/GM the most, it'd be this one by far.
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Iron Falcon (IF)
- OD&D-style retroclone from 2015 (It's also by Gonnerman, same guy behind BFRPG)
- A close ruleset to the White Box rules and supplements
- Also fully libre under CC BY-SA for the latest releases, just like BFRPG for 4th Edition releases
- Just like BFRPG, the core rules and supplementation come as PDF files for free, or physical books.
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Fast and loose ruleset open to interpretation, just like in 1975-1981... somewhere right around that timeline for OD&D
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Old-School Reference and Index Compendium (OSRIC)
- AD&D 1E-based retroclone by Stewart Marshall and Matt Finch
- An old system that surprisingly still holds up, even after a long time of no new versions of the rules
- Extremely in-depth ruleset, licensed under OGL 1.0a and OSRIC Open License
- Compatible with AD&D 1e modules for the 1st Edition, though 2.2 potentially has its own supplementation
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I don't know much about it, as I'd be too slow to learn it. That's all I know, which is the above.
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Ironsworn
- Custom loosely-based PbtA (Powered by the Apocalypse) system by Shawn Tomkin from 2018
- Includes GM, GMless and solo play in the rulebook
- Supplementation is surely something else with one look at the downloads section for the PDFs of the original, which is free under CC BY-NC-SA. The SRD is under CC BY otherwise.
- No original adventures are made for this system as are known, as it's expected that the Ironlands are where they take place
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Fun Fact: This was a non-D&D system I considered running as a GM.
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Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition (AD&D 2e)
- An official edition from 1989-2000
- At the time, the most customizable edition in its history, before 3E took the spot as the most customizable edition
- A streamlined revision of the AD&D 1E rules (AD&D 1E was exclusively written by E. Gary Gygax)
- The end of old-school D&D, as 3E and beyond are different games altogether
- Wide array of supplementation, which oversaturated 2E's customization... and most of it didn't sell well as a result
- Final TSR-published edition of D&D, as they went bankrupt and out of business during this edition's life cycle, to then be liquidated to Wizards of the Coast (Boy did WOTC mess it up once 5.1E was released)
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Fun Fact: A Canadian history professor named Dr. Robert Wardough runs a customized ruleset using 2E as a base, which he's been DMing since the 80's during the "Satanic Panic" (The Satanic Panic was fake as a result of horrible deceivers gaslighting people to not play D&D). He started RAW (Rules as Written), but saw some things he needed to change for his games, so he did so over time.
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Moldvay/Cook Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons (B/X)
- Competing system to 1E from 1981 and 1982
- Official edition of D&D, part of the old-school era
- Simplified rules for Basic, but some decently complex rules for Expert
- Only goes up to Lv. 14, as it's potentially a 1E or White Box primer (similar to 1977 Basic)
- Supplementation, from some research done, was decent for the time, and a little bit extensive
- The inspiration for BFRPG in 2006 (Did I mention this already? Maybe I have, but I might emphasize that here too.)
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Fun Fact: I considered running B/X, but decided that I'd do BFRPG, as the ascending armor class is easier math than with B/X and the THAC0 armor class (descending armor class).
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Basic, Expert, Companion, Master, Immortal Dungeons & Dragons (BECMI) and/or Rules Cyclopedia
- 1983 variant of the Moldvay/Cook Basic/Expert system, an official edition and part of the old-school era
- Essentially, 1981 B/X D&D on steroids
- 5 boxed sets were released for the five parts of the rules for this system
- Rules Cyclopedia is a reprint of the 1983 Basic, Expert, Companion and Master rules boxed sets. The Immortal set was never reprinted outside of the original boxed set because Immortal is such a bizarre game within a game altogether.
- With the first 4 boxed sets (whether individual sets or the Rules Cyclopedia), levels are 1-36
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Fun Fact: This edition I was considering DMing as well, alongside BFRPG. They're similar rulesets with some mechanical differences, but I think either or would be worth it.
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Original Dungeons & Dragons (OD&D or White Box)
- The original release of D&D from 1974 written by Gygax and Dave Arneson, published by TSR
- Uses the rules from Chainmail, a wargame made by Gygax and Jeff Perren
- Base has three little booklets (Men & Magic, Monsters & Magic, and The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures), five official supplements were released (Greyhawk; Blackmoor; Eldritch Wizardry; Gods, Demi-Gods and Heroes; and Swords & Spells), and many more from fanzines
- Fast and loose ruleset open to interpretation
- Not based upon adventurers taking on dangerous quest, but kings commanding armies (which is why OD&D is actually a Chainmail supplement). The latter was the original purpose of D&D before it got changed in 2000.
There are many more games that are not D&D that you can look up too. See what you like, read the rules, learn them, and start playing with your group. Have fun and slay some monsters!