Recommend me an awesome single pdf RPG

[Sword of Spirit]

So I had the idea to perhaps buy myself a pdf of an RPG I haven't played before for Christmas. The right choice isn't jumping out at me though, so I thought I'd ask for recommended favorites from others. Preferably something on the rules-lighter side.

 

[Quickleaf]

Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures is one of my favorite games with everything in one pdf. Very much an Ursula K. LeGuin or Lloyd Alexander vibe to the game and implied setting.

 

[Beleriphon]

Single PDF? How about RISUS? Fun and slightly silly, very short, meant to be played with character sheets on Post-It notes.

 

[darjr]

http://retroroleplaying.net/content/searchers-unknown-rpg-collection

Searchers of the unknown. It was and is a one page rules set to play old school d&d adventures. The current PDF is a library of sorts and is full of great ideas.

 

[aramis erak]

Another great game (albeing information dense, and a sidestep from the mainstream in playstyle): Burning Empires. Based upon the Iron Empires comics by Chris Moeller, even if you don't know the comics, the game will have you creating stories Chris will recognize... There is a supplment, but the supplement is totally non-mechanical, so it's not in any way needed.

Mouseguard is another good option.

 

[Psikerlord#]

Low Fantasy Gaming RPG is a free PDF (or print on demand) you might try https://lowfantasygaming.com/

 

[JeffB]

WhiteStar

DungeonWorld

Warriors of the Red Planet

The Black Hack


All light, all totally awesome.

 

[pemerton]

Some free ones:

Cthulhu Dark

Story Bones, which is a slightly revised and stripped-down version of the Maelstrom Storytelling system - one of the first scene-based, free-descriptor build and resolution RPGs.

 

[Razjah]

Dungeon World is fantastic. Apocalypse world too, whichever setting calls to you more.

I recently got Shadow of the Demon Lord. Haven't played it yet, but it seems good from reading through. If the game plays well enough, it might become my default D&D-ish game.

I really enjoy FATE and Savage Worlds too. They take a genre neutral, toolkit approach that makes creating your own setting really good. You can mix and match what you want and drop the rest.

 

[GMMichael]

http://retroroleplaying.net/content/searchers-unknown-rpg-collection

Searchers of the unknown. It was and is a one page rules set to play old school d&d adventures. The current PDF is a library of sorts and is full of great ideas.

I'm checking this out, just to see how old school D&D rules fit on one sheet. Tables, anyone?

Also, see my signature for a game you can't buy, but are free to modify, expand, critique, and of course, enjoy

EDIT: that's... one page alright. The library that darjr mentioned looks to be variants of SotU, not old school D&D adventures. I like the concept though: if a one-line stat-block is good enough for monsters, it should be good enough for PCs too.