Free RPG Games

Welcome to 1KM1KT, the largest collection of free rpg games online! Please take a moment to subscribe to our mailing list and check out our RSS feed. We offer freely downloadable rpg games to our readers and accept submissions of all kinds. Please check out some of our reader's latest work below.

Official Results of the StickGuy Setting Contest

Submission to the StickGuy setting contest constitutes acceptance of the 1KM1KT Submission Guidelines

You do NOT talk about Fight Club.

Submissions must be at least 1, words and use the StickGuy Roleplaying Game rules-set as the basis for the setting. There is no maximum word count.

The more creative and fun the setting is, the better. Seriously, have some fun writing for StickGuy. The judges are setting junkies.

A setting should include a list of factions (if any), associated new rules or rules tweaks, and background – lots and lots of background. Character examples are also a definite bonus, but not a requirement. Art and maps are welcomed as well (just remember to keep it in the StickGuy mood). Make sure that any art you submit is your own work or that you co-submit with the permission of the artist. There is a good chance your submission will be posted at some point on 1km1kt.net after the competition is closed and we would all like to avoid those nasty copyright questions.

There?s no crying in baseball.

Please submit your setting as a .doc, .rtf, html, or .txt file. Pictures may be submitted in .gif and .jpg formats.

Send your submissions, questions, and artwork to stickguy@1km1kt.net

The 1KM1KT Forum is an excellent place to seek advice or ask questions about StickGuy Roleplaying Game.

Multiple submissions are A-OK.

Multiple authors are OK as well. In the case of multiple authors/artists, please indicate a primary author for your submission. Understand that only the person listed as the primary author will be eligible for the prize should your submission be selected as the winner.

Please make sure the idea you submit is your own.

The final winner will win US $4 which will be sent via PayPal. Winners must have an active Paypal account to receive their prize.

The deadline for submissions is August 31, 2004. The final winner will be announced on September 6th, 2004. Should there be an overwhelming need to change these dates, 1KM1KT reserves the right to change the dates of the final submission and announcement of winner with at least 1 week public notice.

1KM1KT is conducting this contest in good faith with the hope of garnering some fun and creative additions to StickGuy the rpg. Contestants are asked to participate accordingly.

1KM1KT reserves the right to edit all submissions prior to publication.

1KM1KT has been hosting a lot of independent RPG contests lately and we’re really enjoying it. The contests we’ve hosted are inspiring authors to get up and get writing and are really pushing RPG authors to develop their potential.

With that in mind, this is the official announcement that 1KM1KT is open to hosting your RPG contest or project. We want to hear about anything and everything you have in mind to get people motivated and more involved in the hobby. Check out our submissions page for details, and send us your ideas today.

Travos looked around him at his new surroundings. The small keep behind him was a strong stone structure and in good repair. On the other side of the road directly opposite the keep stood a small group of people. They were merchants. They stood next to a vending wagon that had been opened to display its wares. Beyond them, just where the forest began to thicken, Travos thought he saw the signs of a passing pack of wolves. The beasts appear to have been wandering far too close to the keep and its populace. Travos would have to do something about that. Just ahead of him one of the guardsmen was trying to get Travos’ attention. The guard seemed anxious about something. Something was wrong.

Travos took a deep breath as he approached the man. Today would be the first day of a grand adventure.

“How do I use the games on this site?”

Many gamers today relate role-playing games to computer games. The computer role-playing game (abbreviated RPG) is actually a migration of a game that people can play together around a table. The migration from tabletop to computer is a popular trend in gaming. Many games have made this transition. When is the last time you saw someone playing solitaire at a table with a deck of playing cards? When is the last time you saw someone play solitaire at their computer?

Like solitaire, computer RPGs and MMORPGs began life at the tabletop. This site is full of various rules systems and mechanics for playing the tabletop version of an RPG. When you click on one of the game documents provided on this site, you receive a set of guideline for playing your own role-playing game at home with your friends.

Most of the game documents available here assume that you as “the reader” have some experience with this kind of RPG. This article is intended for those people who find their way to this site and have never played an RPG at the tabletop before.

Tabletop Role-playing Basics

“How does it work?”

Imagine that you are sitting around your dining room table with a few of your friends. One of your friends is describing a scene to you:

You are standing in front of a small keep. The keep is a strong looking stone structure in good repair. On the other side of the road opposite the keep is a wagon. The wagon is open and various items have been laid out on it for display. It looks like there may be some articles of clothing and also some basic weapons here. A few people stand near the wagon keeping an eye on it and its contents. Beyond the vender wagon there is a tree line, the beginnings of a forest. You think that you can see some kind of animal tracks in the ground near the trees. On the road ahead of you a man is approaching. He is dressed in chain armor and the heraldry on his surcoat indicates that he is affiliated with the keep behind you. You think that he might be a castle guard. He is heading your direction and appears to want to speak with you. What do you do?

GAME MASTER (GM) or DUNGEON MASTER (DM)

Most tabletop RPGs assume that one person will take the role of a special kind of player called the Game Master. This person will describe the game world to the other players, set the scene for them and help them to “visualize” in their imaginations where their characters are and what they are doing at the moment.

CHARACTERS or PLAYER CHARACTERS (PC)

The other players each adopt the role of a singular character within the game world. These players (generally from 2 to 4 in number) will listen to the descriptions provided by the GM and respond to the GM’s descriptions by answering the question, “What do you do?”

Jennifer responds to the GM’s description. “I want Travos to go look at the animal tracks to see what they are, but since this guy seems like he wants to talk to me, I’ll wait to do that for a minute and go up to him. Travos will walk up to the castle guard and say, *Greetings, sir. Are you a guard here at this keep?*” Jennifer speaks on behalf of her character, Travos and addresses the guard that the GM has described to her.

Other players around the table will each take a turn to describe the actions of their characters. This is how role-playing around a tabletop works.

The Game Master will have a set of “encounters” in mind before the game session begins. These encounters are meant to provide an impetus for the other players and to give their characters some motivation to take action. The string of encounters and player responses when taken together will work to tell a sort of adventure story.

“Interesting, but what makes this a game?”

RPGs are generally meant to simulate dramatic adventure stories. Adventure stories are often filled with perilous action sequences that endanger the heroes of the story in some manner. To simulate this sense of danger an element of uncertainty is introduced into the game play.

Before there were RPGs there were miniature battle games. War game simulations that used miniature figures to represent troops have been used by combat tacticians for centuries. These war simulations evolved over the years into battle games played by hobbyists. At first the intent of these games was to recreate historical battles. Then, thanks largely to the popularity of a fictional work of magical high fantasy called, “The Lord of the Rings” players began to introduce more fantastical elements into their battle simulations.

This was the beginning of an evolution that was to become the modern RPG. It is important to note the origins of this hobby because it will help to explain the other primary focus of an RPG.

COMBAT

The guard steps up to you. He wears concern on his face and diverts his gaze over to the tree line and into the forest. “Greetings …” He addresses you. “I was told that help might be coming. The wolves have grown very active recently and people have grown afraid. Conflict with the kingdom to the north has the castle guard worn thin and we haven’t the manpower to deal with the problem. The baron has placed a bounty on wolf pelts in hopes that enterprising mercenaries and trappers might journey here and help to thin the population.”

Assuming the player characters decide to accept this challenge, the above encounter is meant to provide the PCs with a reason to venture out into the forest and do battle with wolves. In most role-playing games combat is very structured and played in turns just like any other game a group of people might play around a table. On their turn each PC could roll some dice and consult the rules of the game to determine if they were able to hit and injure the wolf. The GM would also take a turn on the wolf’s behalf rolling dice to try to hit and injure one of the PCs.

The rules about how combat works and what the numbers mean when you roll dice vary greatly from game to game. This is what the rules documents are about. There are different ideas for generating numbers and resolving conflicts. There are also many different settings and backgrounds. Maybe the PCs will pretend to be brave knights and warriors in a medieval world filled with dragons and magic. Maybe they are super powered vigilantes who don spandex costumes to patrol the streets of a modern city and fight to keep it free of crime. Maybe they are star faring pirates who travel in a space ship from planet to planet looking for treasure.

THE RULES IN PLAY:

Jennifer has told the GM that Travos would accept the guard’s suggestion and venture into the forest in search of wolves. She has told the GM that Travos is following the tracks he saw earlier and that he is keeping his eyes peeled for danger.

The GM tells Jennifer that a gigantic wolf has jumped out from the underbrush to attack her.

The GM tells Jennifer to roll to see who goes first.

The GM rolls for the wolf and Jennifer also rolls. Jennifer rolls higher so she gets to go first.

Jennifer explains that she wants Travos to try to hit the wolf with his sword. The GM tells Jennifer what she must roll in order to hit and she rolls her dice. The roll is high enough so Travos hits the wolf with his sword.

Jennifer rolls more dice to determine how much damage the sword blow does to the wolf and the GM reduces the wolf’s “life” by the damage amount.

Both the GM and Jennifer have note paper in front of them. On this paper are various pieces of information. Like how much damage Travos’ sword inflicts or how much “life” the wolf has.

It’s now the GM’s turn and he describes to Jennifer how the wolf lunges back at Travos and tries to bite him. The GM rolls the dice but doesn’t roll high enough for the wolf to hit Travos so Travos evades the attack and his able to take his turn again.

Jennifer rolls to hit the wolf again and rolls high enough to hit. She rolls damage again and the GM reduces this additional damage from the wolf’s remaining “life.” This new damage drops the wolf’s life total down to less than zero and the GM reports to Jennifer that the wolf falls to the ground lifeless and defeated.

“How does the GM know what number Jennifer needs to roll for Travos to hit?”

“How does the GM know how much “life” the wolf has? How much damage a sword does?”

That’s what the RPG rules are for. Rules will answer these questions and make it possible for the Player Characters and the Game Master to simulate all manner of physical conflicts.

If you can, find someone who has played a tabletop RPG before and ask them to be your GM. If not, review this introduction again, and read the rules presented in any one of the free game downloads. Once you think you have a good “feel” for how things should go in your head, give it a try. There is no teacher better than hands-on experience. Oh, and feel free to post questions in the forums here. We love questions!

“Why play this way… why not just play a computer game?”

The Game Master has the freedom to create any manner of story they can imagine. The Player Characters can respond to the situations presented by a living Game Master in ways a computer could never predict. Tabletop RPG’s are about creative freedom. This method of gaming also offers a level of social interaction unequalled by the computer world of instant messages.

There is nothing better than sitting down around the table with a few friends, ordering a pizza or two and losing yourself in a world of fantastic adventure. You will build memories together that will last the rest of your life.

Role playing adventure for the under four foot, six inch set.

According to legends the Dwarven, gnome and halfling races live for hundreds of years. Legends do not, however, tell how these races spend their many, many, many juvenile years. Certainly their developmental years must be as creative and fantastic as their adult adventures. What dwarven or halfling boy could resist borrowing a colander or cooking pot as a helmet for an afternoons adventure? Perhaps young gnomes barrow bed sheets in order to portray evil spirits? A youthful imagination can be indefinitely creative. Let us make a childish attempt to define the indefinite.

Lost Memories is a game of transcendent horror, in which characters are thrust into a terrifying world, where they must confront and overcome the sins of their past, or be consumed by the hatred and sorrow within their hearts. Surrounded by similar transgressors, antagonized by the darkness in their souls, forced to the edges of insanity and suffering, the characters must plead forgiveness for their crimes and transcend, or become manifestations of their wrongs.

Lost Memories is not a conventional role-playing game. For one, this game is not intended for long, campaign-style play, the subject matter and progression of the game makes the ideal story to run from 1-6 sessions. Lost Memories also requires a lot of cohesion between the GM and all of the players, it requires a collectively agreed-upon interpretation of morality, a strong understanding of each others’ comfort level concerning mature issues, and a strong bond of trust between the GM and players, as the GM has more control over the PCs in this game than in most. The game is also much more single-minded than most games. The entire goal of the game is to have characters question their own concept of right and wrong, and to confront things from the past that they have forgotten. Lost Memories is intended to be an experiment in role-playing, not a universal system for many types of games, or a setting easily converted to other games. With all of this said, I hope that you have fun trying to make sense out of this current version.

Most games are about what happens before the character dies. Thrilling adventures and heroic deaths. Well, this is a game about what happens after death, when a character doesn’t want to cross over yet. They can get jobs as Shinigami, or Guardians of Death.

Some way or another, you died. It may have been suicide, an accident, or even murder, or something else. But for whatever reason, you didn’t want to go on to the afterlife. Something kept you here. Your unfinished business, if you will. It might have been looking after a loved one, or continuing your life’s work, or some other reason. But that’s okay; there was a place for those who didn’t want to go on.

So you became a Shinigami; a Guardian of Death. It’s your job to help monitor the mortal world. You’re supposed to help make sure people die when they should. Not before, not after. Sometimes this might mean protecting a mortal from a supernatural threat. Sometimes it might mean finding and stopping a mad killer. Sometimes it might even mean hunting down and killing someone who’s somehow outlived their allotted time. Mostly it’s the first two. Mostly.

But hey, there are perks to being a Shinigami, in the form of supernatural powers, a monthly paycheck (Yes, you get paid. This is a job after all.), and a warm fuzzy feeling when you help people. Oh, and there’s also the fact that you’re really freaking hard to kill, what with being dead already. You can take massive amounts of damage, and though it will still hurt like hell, you can regenerate fairly quickly. That’s the good news. The bad news is that you can be destroyed if you take enough punishment in a short enough time. And this is all you get. If you die now, you’re gone forever. You just? cease to exist.

There are also other dangers. Demons tend to take your existence personally. And there are the rare few sorcerers and madmen who know about the Shinigami, and try to use that knowledge to their advantage. Usually, it’s these same sorcerers and madmen who find ways to live beyond their time, so you’ll probably run into at least one eventually. And in a job like this, it’s easy to get disillusioned and depressed.

Anyway, that’s in the future, and this is now. Welcome to the ranks of the Shinigami.

Ronin Story. A samurai blood opera.

What is it that your samurai did? Why do they drift aimlessly back and forth across the Empire like a wave upon the sands? You decide what wicked things your samurai has done. As you create a character you?ll be asked to devise two, three, or four secrets for your samurai. That?s two, three or four completely different, unrelated, very wicked acts. Take a note of your secrets (in case you forget them) but don?t tell anyone else what they are!

Here’s my entry to the 24hr RPG challenge. It’s called Enchanted Tales and it is an urban fantasy rpg.

I?ve always been fascinated by fairy tales set in the modern world. I like the idea of elves, fairies and demonic critters still lurk out there, just hidden from our view. That out of the corner of your eye you might just catch a glimpse of them, and when you turn to look you chalk it up to an overimagination.

Because you are not sure what you think you saw, but the mind rationalizes it. A fairy flying past the window, could be just a reflection of a car headlead, or someone with a flashlight. The big brutish wrestlers on television are indeed, ogres and trolls duking it out.

Enchanted Tales is a fantasy set in our world, in the here and now. Though, the imagination of man has been dimmed to their cynical beliefs. The mind has been programmed not to see fairies, elves, trolls or treefolk, but your character has. And they have been awakened to the world that is just beyond our belief.

Enchanted Tales is inspired by urban fantasy as well as fairytales.

Today I checked the 1KM1KT mailbox like I do every morning (yes, all the e-mails are read by the monkeys at 1KM1KT) and found the following:

Naturally, this type of e-mail has mixed emotions for me. On the one hand, I’m thrilled that one of our members has made the leap from RPG enthusiast to published author, and it makes me happy to think that maybe our site contributed to their success in some small way. On the other hand, We’re always sad to have to take down our precious online RPG content – especially when it’s something we’ve really enjoyed.

I guess for now we’ll have to continue to settle for the idea that we’re doing our job of getting the word out there for RPG authors. That said I’d like to take this opportunity to salute all of the members of 1KM1KT, both past a present, who have had the gumption to get out there and take their work to a higher level.

The Rule of 5 is a role playing game set in a dystopic world. This has rules, has some background and real lame character sheet.

For the 24 Hour RPG Challenge
Started at 7: AM EST on 2.28.5
Finished at 9: PM EST on 2.28.5

This is my first attempt at a complete RPG. I have had several ideas in the past, and have jotted down notes. This is the first one that has been completed. Additionally it is a submission for the 24 Hour RPG Challenge. Which states you have from your start time to your stop time a total of 24 consecutive hours to make a RPG. So here is my first one. I hope you like how it ended up. I have enjoyed the creation process. Welcome to the State of UnGrace and the poor souls who live there.