Free RPG Day (North America) is coming this Saturday, June 25, 2022! Friendly Local Game Stores (FLGS) across the United States and Canada are offering RPG products including quickstarts, one-shots, samples, miniatures, dice, and more. It’s a great time to get out to your FLGS to play an tabletop roleplaying game. Before you make the trek to your store, here’s a quick guide to the available RPG products. While there are miniatures, dice, cards, and pin offerings from Foam Brain Games, mantic, Dave Taylor Miniatures, Q Workshop, and WizKids, this article focuses on the tabletop roleplaying quickstarts and adventures.
NOTE: If you’re an RPG fan outside of North America, then save this information for Saturday, July 23, 2022 as that is Free RPG Day (International).
The cover says it all: Cyberpunk Red: EASY MODE, “An Introduction To The Dark Future.” From R. TALSORIAN GAMES, this offering lets players sample the latest edition of THE cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying game. For a free offering, this is a lot of good. Core rules to enjoy a Friday Night Firefight plus your first job in Night City with five pre-gen characters. You’ll quickly jump into the game and have time to make use of the bonus battle map when the shooting starts. If you’re a fan of Cyberpunk 2020, 2077, or just the genre, this freebie gives you everything you’ll need to know if you want to upgrade to the Jumpstart Kit Boxed Set or the full rulebook.
If you love indie games, 9TH LEVEL GAMES has exactly what you need: level 1: volume 3 | 2022 “The Free RPG Day Indie RPG Anthology.” This anthology of unique RPGs provide full rules ford short games. Equally as important, this RPG allows you to experience new concepts, mechanics, and creators like Gabrielle Rabinowitz, Steffie de Vaan, Monica Valentinelli, Jim Dagg, and many more. As the third volume in this free series, you’ll find unique gameplay worthy of any pick up game.
DARRINGTON PRESS, Critical Role’s publishing wing, offers a new one page RPG, A Familiar Problem. Created by Marisha Ray (Critical Role) and designed by Grant Howitt (Honey Heist), you play as familiars left behind when their spellcasters went on an adventure without them. In an effort to not be overlooked again, you’ll go on an adventure without the wizards to prove your readiness to run with the pack. If you’re a Critical Role fan, or into unique RPGs, this one pager is a good item to pick up.
MAGPIE GAMES offers a new ROOT RPG titled, Talon Hill Quickstart. This Powered by the Apocalypse RPG booklet contains basic rules, pre-gen characters, and a full setting, called a clearing, to adventure through. As vagabonds, you’ve arrived at Talon Hill where your actions will have consequences for the entire Woodland. This product is good if you want to try out the ROOT RPG or a Powered by the Apocalypse anthropomorphic fantasy.
The pictures for MODIPHIUS ENTERTAINMENT’s Homeworld: Revelations 2d20 RPG make it a must have. First, the product is a starter rule set introducing the 2d20 system. The booklet is an adventure complete with character sheets. Second, the production design for this looks incredible. The multiple grades of blue on the character sheets and booklet give this project a distinct visual appeal. In addition, this is a worthwhile project because it brings one of Modiphius’ strengths – their amazing IP library – to Free RPG Day. If you’re a fan of Homeworld, the 2d20 system, or great layouts and designs, this book is worth checking out.
PAIZO, a stalwart of Free RPG Day, presents two adventures, one for Pathfinder 2nd Edition and the other for Starfinder. Pathfinder: A Fistful of Flowers offers a 3rd level adventure for a group of leshy (sentient plants) heroes. The party leaves the forest to attend a fancy tea party where adventure will ensue. Starfinder: Skitter Warp comes with four pre-gens for a quick sci-fi adventure. For both of these, you’ll need the core rulebooks or an experience GM.
RENEGADE GAME STUDIOS offers up four individual folders for school kids featuring covers, interior artwork, quick dice rules, and a QR code that takes the scanner to information on Power Rangers Roleplaying Game, GIJoe Roleplaying Game, Transformers Roleplaying Game, and Hunter: The Reckoning Fifth Edition. It’s exciting to see some freebies and previews of their Essence20 RPG system Dice Shift Ladder as well as how the HtR dice work. As a keepsake, these are cool offerings and something that fans of these RPGs will want to add to their collections.
LOKE BATTLE MATS gives fans a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition adventure, maps, tokens, and more in Curse of the Dread Marsh Crew. Loke Battle Mats is known for their maps and gaming accessories so this promises to be a great sampling of what they do best. In addition, they’re going to the extra mile with an adventure, tokens for characters, enemies, and even terrain, plus a quick guide to 5e, some pre-gens, and enemy stat blocks. This is a great kit for getting the full 5e RPG experience.
PRIVATEER PRESS brings a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition adventure for their Iron Kingdoms setting entitled, A Strange Light Breaks. Designed to showoff Iron Kingdoms’ paranormal investigators, this adventure gives you five 1st level characters to face grymkin, undead, and more dangers. If you’re a fan of Iron Kingdoms, 5e, or paranormal encounters, this is worth checking out. For this adventure, you’ll need the core 5e ruleset.
GOODMAN GAMES provides two distinct gaming options, a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition adventure and a Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) offering. The Three-Wizard Conundrum gives 1st level 5e characters a challenge in which your party picks one of the wizards and works to retrieve a fabled ring from the place where magic almost died. Yet, there are aspects of this journey the employing wizard is not aware of, which means your party is going in without a complete picture of what to expect. For DCC fans, you get Danger in the Air, which provides a zero level adventure. Something huge and golden drifts in the air above the village, will you retrieve its treasure? For DCC or 5e fans, these adventures are likely to be memorable.
SFG comes with a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition adventure, Epic Encounters: Chasm of the Duergar Cult. Another cooling sounding 5e adventure, this one is set in the underworld. Expect Duergar Cults attempting to summon a demonic force, something you should stop. This is likely to prove a great showcase for SFG’s Epic Encounters brand.
Need a mix of RPG comics and magazine for Free RPG Day? ONI PRESS brings a best of from their Rolled & Told vaults. Look for adventures, comics, and articles curated from issues zero to six of the series. If you need some magazine style RPG content this Saturday, check out Rolled & Told.
As mentioned at the start of the roundup, there are free RPG accessories such as miniatures, dice, cards, and more from Foam Brain Games, mantic, Dave Taylor Miniatures, Q Workshop, and WizKids. These offerings give gamers a little something extra to enjoy their games. In addition, many local creators come out to run games at their FLGS. It’s a chance to game with designers and see their wares.
To learn more, check out Free RPG Day’s Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates. To find out if you’re FLGS is participating in this promotion, search this link. Keep in mind that each FLGS Free RPG Day participation and policies vary and that these products are not free to the store, so please support your local store.
Special thanks to Tyche's Games in Athens, Georgia. They helped with the previews and some of the photos for these products. I tour as many FLGS as I can and I can state that Tyche Games is one of the best tabletop RPG stores I’ve been in. Not to knock other stores, but Tyche is RPG heaven offering floor to ceiling shelves of RPGs. That compares favorably with other stores that have a few shelves or racks of RPGs. Tyche is an RPG store, packed with endless roleplaying games both new and old. If you’re in Athens, Georgia and looking for an RPG, Tyche Games is worth checking out.
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
NOTE: If you’re an RPG fan outside of North America, then save this information for Saturday, July 23, 2022 as that is Free RPG Day (International).
The cover says it all: Cyberpunk Red: EASY MODE, “An Introduction To The Dark Future.” From R. TALSORIAN GAMES, this offering lets players sample the latest edition of THE cyberpunk tabletop roleplaying game. For a free offering, this is a lot of good. Core rules to enjoy a Friday Night Firefight plus your first job in Night City with five pre-gen characters. You’ll quickly jump into the game and have time to make use of the bonus battle map when the shooting starts. If you’re a fan of Cyberpunk 2020, 2077, or just the genre, this freebie gives you everything you’ll need to know if you want to upgrade to the Jumpstart Kit Boxed Set or the full rulebook.
If you love indie games, 9TH LEVEL GAMES has exactly what you need: level 1: volume 3 | 2022 “The Free RPG Day Indie RPG Anthology.” This anthology of unique RPGs provide full rules ford short games. Equally as important, this RPG allows you to experience new concepts, mechanics, and creators like Gabrielle Rabinowitz, Steffie de Vaan, Monica Valentinelli, Jim Dagg, and many more. As the third volume in this free series, you’ll find unique gameplay worthy of any pick up game.
DARRINGTON PRESS, Critical Role’s publishing wing, offers a new one page RPG, A Familiar Problem. Created by Marisha Ray (Critical Role) and designed by Grant Howitt (Honey Heist), you play as familiars left behind when their spellcasters went on an adventure without them. In an effort to not be overlooked again, you’ll go on an adventure without the wizards to prove your readiness to run with the pack. If you’re a Critical Role fan, or into unique RPGs, this one pager is a good item to pick up.
MAGPIE GAMES offers a new ROOT RPG titled, Talon Hill Quickstart. This Powered by the Apocalypse RPG booklet contains basic rules, pre-gen characters, and a full setting, called a clearing, to adventure through. As vagabonds, you’ve arrived at Talon Hill where your actions will have consequences for the entire Woodland. This product is good if you want to try out the ROOT RPG or a Powered by the Apocalypse anthropomorphic fantasy.
The pictures for MODIPHIUS ENTERTAINMENT’s Homeworld: Revelations 2d20 RPG make it a must have. First, the product is a starter rule set introducing the 2d20 system. The booklet is an adventure complete with character sheets. Second, the production design for this looks incredible. The multiple grades of blue on the character sheets and booklet give this project a distinct visual appeal. In addition, this is a worthwhile project because it brings one of Modiphius’ strengths – their amazing IP library – to Free RPG Day. If you’re a fan of Homeworld, the 2d20 system, or great layouts and designs, this book is worth checking out.
PAIZO, a stalwart of Free RPG Day, presents two adventures, one for Pathfinder 2nd Edition and the other for Starfinder. Pathfinder: A Fistful of Flowers offers a 3rd level adventure for a group of leshy (sentient plants) heroes. The party leaves the forest to attend a fancy tea party where adventure will ensue. Starfinder: Skitter Warp comes with four pre-gens for a quick sci-fi adventure. For both of these, you’ll need the core rulebooks or an experience GM.
RENEGADE GAME STUDIOS offers up four individual folders for school kids featuring covers, interior artwork, quick dice rules, and a QR code that takes the scanner to information on Power Rangers Roleplaying Game, GIJoe Roleplaying Game, Transformers Roleplaying Game, and Hunter: The Reckoning Fifth Edition. It’s exciting to see some freebies and previews of their Essence20 RPG system Dice Shift Ladder as well as how the HtR dice work. As a keepsake, these are cool offerings and something that fans of these RPGs will want to add to their collections.
LOKE BATTLE MATS gives fans a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition adventure, maps, tokens, and more in Curse of the Dread Marsh Crew. Loke Battle Mats is known for their maps and gaming accessories so this promises to be a great sampling of what they do best. In addition, they’re going to the extra mile with an adventure, tokens for characters, enemies, and even terrain, plus a quick guide to 5e, some pre-gens, and enemy stat blocks. This is a great kit for getting the full 5e RPG experience.
PRIVATEER PRESS brings a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition adventure for their Iron Kingdoms setting entitled, A Strange Light Breaks. Designed to showoff Iron Kingdoms’ paranormal investigators, this adventure gives you five 1st level characters to face grymkin, undead, and more dangers. If you’re a fan of Iron Kingdoms, 5e, or paranormal encounters, this is worth checking out. For this adventure, you’ll need the core 5e ruleset.
GOODMAN GAMES provides two distinct gaming options, a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition adventure and a Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) offering. The Three-Wizard Conundrum gives 1st level 5e characters a challenge in which your party picks one of the wizards and works to retrieve a fabled ring from the place where magic almost died. Yet, there are aspects of this journey the employing wizard is not aware of, which means your party is going in without a complete picture of what to expect. For DCC fans, you get Danger in the Air, which provides a zero level adventure. Something huge and golden drifts in the air above the village, will you retrieve its treasure? For DCC or 5e fans, these adventures are likely to be memorable.
SFG comes with a Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition adventure, Epic Encounters: Chasm of the Duergar Cult. Another cooling sounding 5e adventure, this one is set in the underworld. Expect Duergar Cults attempting to summon a demonic force, something you should stop. This is likely to prove a great showcase for SFG’s Epic Encounters brand.
Need a mix of RPG comics and magazine for Free RPG Day? ONI PRESS brings a best of from their Rolled & Told vaults. Look for adventures, comics, and articles curated from issues zero to six of the series. If you need some magazine style RPG content this Saturday, check out Rolled & Told.
As mentioned at the start of the roundup, there are free RPG accessories such as miniatures, dice, cards, and more from Foam Brain Games, mantic, Dave Taylor Miniatures, Q Workshop, and WizKids. These offerings give gamers a little something extra to enjoy their games. In addition, many local creators come out to run games at their FLGS. It’s a chance to game with designers and see their wares.
To learn more, check out Free RPG Day’s Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates. To find out if you’re FLGS is participating in this promotion, search this link. Keep in mind that each FLGS Free RPG Day participation and policies vary and that these products are not free to the store, so please support your local store.
- Free RPG Day (North America) is Saturday, June 25, 2022
- Free RPG Day (International) is Saturday, July 23, 2022
Special thanks to Tyche's Games in Athens, Georgia. They helped with the previews and some of the photos for these products. I tour as many FLGS as I can and I can state that Tyche Games is one of the best tabletop RPG stores I’ve been in. Not to knock other stores, but Tyche is RPG heaven offering floor to ceiling shelves of RPGs. That compares favorably with other stores that have a few shelves or racks of RPGs. Tyche is an RPG store, packed with endless roleplaying games both new and old. If you’re in Athens, Georgia and looking for an RPG, Tyche Games is worth checking out.
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
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