Outgunned (2023)

Get your table playing in minutes, not hours.   GATEWAY RPG is a free, rules-lite d20 system built for zero-prep adventures, sudden one-shots, and seamless intro sessions. Familiar 5E-style mechanics with all the bloat stripped out, so you can run any genre instantly: neon-soaked cyberpunk streets, grit-filled noir alleys, high fantasy, cosmic horror, and everything in between. The Definitive Edition is now the main book. This is the complete, current version of GATEWAY RPG: updated core rules, solo play, a starter bestiary, and homebrew variants, character sheets all combined into one source. New artwork, professional layout, and everything players and GMs need in a single 132 page PDF. Want the history? Every older version of the rulebook, spanning 2017 to 2026, is bundled in the Legacy Zip below for collectors and the curious. Download the complete PDF bundle. AI Disclosure: This Enhanced Edition of Gateway RPG features some AI-generated artwork and layout assistance. The rules were still hand written by me and human proofread/playtested since 2017. As a one-man passion project with $0 budget, and $0 revenue gain from this game, this edition utilizes AI imagery only to provide a visually richer and cohesive experience while keeping the game entirely FREE. The original Classic Edition from 2017, featuring human-created artwork, is included as a bonus in the download files. However, if you are only looking for a gaming experience completely free of AI-generated assets, the standalone Classic Edition can be found exclusively on its own dedicated product page at https://gatewayrpg.itch.io/gateway-rpg-classic-edition. What’s Inside? Definitive Edition (Main Book): The complete game in one volume. Updated rules, solo play engine, starter bestiary, and homebrew variants. Legacy Zipfile (2017-2026): Every prior version of the rulebook, character sheet, supplement preserved as released. For archivists, returning players, and anyone who wants to see how the game evolved. Core Rules: The streamlined engine for players and Game Masters, in both English and Spanish (Reglas en Español). Character Sheets: Multiple Printable and Form Fillable Character Sheets Ready-to-Play Content: Pregenerated characters and one-shot adventure modules spanning multiple genres. Jump straight into the action. Player's Toolkit: Printable and form-fillable character sheets, a one-page quick reference guide, and the d20 Oracle for solo play. Starter Bestiary: 25 adversaries across 11 settings, from High Fantasy to Space Opera to Lovecraftian Horror. Homebrew Variants: Over 20 pages of optional mechanics, including Spark of Heroism (Inspiration), Pushing for Success (partial success), and genre modifiers for Survival and Cosmic Horror. Pocket Character Sheets: Compact sheets designed for portability. Solo Play Quickstart Zine: A portable, zine-style guide for on-the-go solo adventures. NEW: Android Player Companion App Character Builder: Create custom characters or select from 30 curated pre-mades. Pocket Rules: Quickly search core mechanics and references on the fly. Sheet-Integrated Dice: Roll checks directly from your sheet. Solo Engine: Built-in oracle for quick, on-the-go solo adventures. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aistudio.gatewayrpg.app Designer's Note: GATEWAY RPG grew out of a personal passion for tabletop gaming. Back in 2015, I discovered S. John Ross’s classic 1993 game, Risus: The Anything RPG. It was free, modular, ultra-flexible, and simple to pick up, but as I played more TTRPG's like DND5e, I missed the iconic d20 and the drama of critical hits and misses. I created GATEWAY RPG to capture that same beginner-friendly spirit while bringing back the thrill of the twenty-sided die and being able to use it for any setting. Whether you are running quick one-shots, playing standalone adventures, diving into solo sessions, or modularly introducing advanced rules as your group learns, GATEWAY adapts seamlessly to your table. GATEWAY RPG and Aurican's Lair are a Not-For-Profit Tabletop Roleplaying Game publisher.

Invincible - Superhero Roleplaying is a tabletop RPG based on Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley's Invincible comic and its Prime Video animated adaptation, designed by Adam Bradford (founder of D&D Beyond) and Tomas Härenstam (Free League co-founder and lead designer of the ALIEN RPG), and published by Free League Publishing in partnership with Skybound Entertainment.  Announced in February 2025, it was funded through a Kickstarter that raised over $400,000, with a Core Rulebook and Starter Set illustrated by original series artists Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley and graphic design by Johan Nohr of Mörk Borg fame. It runs on an adaptation of Free League's Year Zero Engine, streamlined down to nothing but six-sided dice. Description Playing Invincible means stepping into the franchise's own particular flavor of superheroics: cityscape brawls, sidekicks, team-ups, alien invasions, and witty banter, all delivered without the usual plot armor. Violence is graphic and injuries genuinely last, with death often permanent unless a character has the specific power to avoid it, which keeps the stakes tense rather than routine.  Mechanically and tonally, the game leans hard into the comic's central tension - ordinary teenage life, school, and relationships colliding with a level of power handed down from, and sometimes fought against, a parent - rather than playing superheroics as a straightforward power fantasy.

Tales from the Loop is a tabletop roleplaying game of childhood mystery and quiet sci-fi wonder, designed by Nils Hintze and published by Free League Publishing in 2017, built directly on Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag's narrative art book of the same name. It swept five Gold ENnie Awards in 2017, including Best Game and Product of the Year, and remains one of the clearest examples of a TTRPG built to capture a single, specific visual mood - Stålenhag's paintings of enormous, quietly abandoned machinery looming over ordinary Scandinavian suburbs. Description Players take on Kids - ordinary ten-to-fifteen-year-olds, built from archetypes like the Bookworm, the Jock, the Popular Kid, or the Weirdo - growing up in an alternate 1980s where a massive particle accelerator called the Loop hums beneath the countryside, filling the neighborhood with strange machines and stranger creatures nobody adult seems able to explain.  The Game Master runs Mysteries, TV-episode-style adventures staged scene by scene, where the actual danger from the Loop's technology sits right alongside completely mundane teenage Trouble - being grounded, a bully at school, a parent who won't listen. The game states its central promise plainly: Kids in this setting cannot die, which keeps stakes high through fear, loss, and consequence rather than mortality, and lets the tone stay closer to Stranger Things or E.T. than to horror.

Dolmenwood is a fantasy adventure RPG designed by Gavin Norman - also the creator of Old-School Essentials - published by his studio Necrotic Gnome in partnership with Exalted Funeral Press, following a hugely successful Kickstarter that launched in August 2023.  It's built on a streamlined, customized version of the Old-School Essentials rules, but stands as its own complete game rather than a supplement, growing out of Norman's self-published Wormskin zine, which he'd been quietly developing since 2015. The game went on to win four ENNIE Awards, with its complete retail release - three core books, four adventure scenarios, a supplement, and a referee's screen - arriving through 2024 and 2025.

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Software, Hardware, and Finding the Perfect Digital Table Dungeons & Dragons is known to be illustrated by people sitting around a table, rolling dice and eating snacks together. But with the rapid rise in popularity, many games are now happening online. Tables have extended beyond physical limitations and can now connect players in different countries or even continents.  Playing tabletop RPGs online has evolved from a backup plan into the preferred way to play for millions of players worldwide. Whether you are struggling to coordinate schedules with local friends or want to dive into the hobby for the very first time, playing online removes geographic boundaries entirely. This guide breaks down exactly how to play dnd online, detailing the tools you need, the best software available, and how to find a welcoming group. Hardware and setup You don't need a powerful gaming computer to play D&D, although making sure you meet the baseline requirements will help you avoid any technical glitches or issues and make sure the focus remains on what matters - the story itself. The computer A standard laptop or desktop computer is highly recommended. While you can access certain character sheets via your phone, running a virtual map, looking up rules, and participating in a voice call simultaneously requires the screen real estate of a proper monitor. The microphone Bad video is tolerable, bad audio ruins games. Built-in laptop microphones may pick up the sound of your computer's fans, your typing and every nearby siren. Invest in a dedicated USB microphone or a decent headset. Your party will thank you. Headphones over speakers Always wear headphones while playing online. If your microphone picks up the game audio coming out of your desktop speakers, it creates an unbearable echoing feedback loop for everyone else in the call. A webcam Ask your group what their camera policy is before Session 0. Some tables require webcams because reading facial expressions drastically improves roleplay and keeps players focused. Other groups prefer voice-only "Theater of the Mind" style play to protect privacy and keep things casual. The Virtual Tabletop (VTT) A Virtual Tabletop (VTT) is the software that acts as your digital table. It displays maps, tracks the locations of character tokens, and handles dice rolling (if your group decides to roll digital dice). Choosing the right one depends entirely on your budget and how much time you want to spend learning the software. Owlbear Rodeo Free (with premium tiers) Best for: Casual groups, fast setup, simplicity Roll20 Free / Optional subscription Best for: Browser-based play, massive player base FreeVTT Free with no registration required Best for: Online and in-person games Foundry VTT One-time GM fee ($50, free for players) Best for: Advanced automation, heavy modding, lighting Fantasy Grounds One-time Subscription or license tiers Best for: Deep rulebook integration, tactical automation and many others you can browse here If your game does not rely on battlemaps, you might not even need to set up a VTT system. Or your GM might direct a webcam at their table, where they have a physical grid or terrain removing the need for a digital platform setup. Video and voice Unless your game is "play by post" (text-based game through a chat or forum) you will need a platform to communicate on. For most people the primary choice will be Discord. Although there is a multitude of various other platforms (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and many others alike) that work just as well. Some VTT platforms have integrated a video and voice module to keep things in one place. Make sure to test your microphone and video before the game begins to avoid the classic "Can you hear me? I cant hear you? Why can't you see my video" situation. How to be a great digital player Playing through a monitor requires a distinct set of social manners to keep the game moving smoothly. Implement these four simple habits to ensure your Game Master invites you back: Art of the Pause Online audio cuts out when multiple people speak at once. Practice leaving a tiny half-second buffer zone before speaking up to prevent accidentally talking over your fellow players or the GM. Minimize digital distractions It is incredibly easy to open a second browser window to browse social media or play a video game while another player is taking their turn in combat. Avoid this at all costs. GMs put hours of unpaid work into prepping maps and stories; give them your full attention. Remove the background noise If you are playing in a loud household, have pets that bark, or are chewing on snacks, turn on Push-to-Talk or keep your microphone muted whenever you aren't actively speaking. Test your tech early Don't wait until exactly game time to find out your browser needs an update or your headset isn't syncing. Log into your Discord channel 5 to 10 minutes early to run an audio diagnostic test and ensure everything is working smoothly. How to find an online group Once you have your headset plugged in and your necessary accounts created, you face the most notorious hurdle in the entire hobby: finding an active group of people to play with. With Groupfinder you can filter players and games by timezones, to make sure that your schedules align. There is a multitude of groups and players looking for their next game - Either reach out to a group or create your own player post.

GrimFolio is a canvas-based project planner. Map out your campaign as cards, rooms, encounters, NPCs, factions, locations, and plot points, then connect them with labeled paths to show how everything relates. Each card has notes, checklists, and reference images. You can see your whole story structure at once instead of losing threads across tabs and documents. /images/general-media/1780401778_IBYYgMJz.jpgEvery connection is a decision. Collaborate and work with a team. Invite editors and viewers to any project. Track every change, leave team notes, and always know what happened while you were away. Your command center. Ready when you are. When the canvas is done, Production takes over. Schedule your crew, track your budget, run your master checklist, and export everything — all from one configurable dashboard. Grim stays active, reading your full project state and flagging what's not ready before opening night. Every scare has a blueprint. Map your rooms, scares, and actor cues on a connected canvas. Grim helps you pace the experience — flagging dead zones, suggesting beats, and keeping the story arc tight from entry to finale. Build the world. Let Grim run it. NPCs, locations, factions, quest threads — mapped and connected so you can see every moving piece. GrimVision generates concept art from your card notes. Grim tracks the logic so your players can't break it. Plan the arc. Not just the chapter. Plot beats, character arcs, world lore, chapter outlines — mapped so you can see the whole story at once. GrimVision generates panels and scene concepts. Grim keeps your narrative logic consistent across every arc.