There are many games listed here. The tables below are here to help you navigate this page, depending on your interests. Click on any link to jump directly to the entry for that game, or scroll down to look at the whole list.

If you know of a role-playing game that is great for young people that isn't included on this list, contact me at and let me know about it.

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro / TSR
Cover Price: $35.00 each of three core books
Availability: In print, easily found in major chain bookstores

Summary: Good old-fashioned sword-and-sorcery, Tolkien-inspired fantasy.
Dice used: Full set of polyhedrals - d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, & d20
Supplements: More than you will ever need

The Good: Over thirty years of supplements and supporting material (most of it from earlier editions, but can be converted easily). Easy to find others to play with, or who can help teach the game to you. Uses the d20 rule system, which is used in many other role-playing games.
The Bad: Most games require three $30 core books. Somewhat complex rule system. The name has acquired a bad reputation that hasn't completely faded yet.
Advisory: Fantasy magic, swashbuckling violence

The old, tried-and-true standby. Dungeons & Dragons has been in print in one form or another since it first appeared in 1974. Everybody who role-plays knows D&D, and most of those have played it at least once.

As a game, it can be complex, with lots of modifiers to die rolls, and an involved character creation process. It can be an expensive game to play, as three corebooks (the Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide) are necessary for most games, and each of those will set a person back $30US each. On top of all of that, the name Dungeons & Dragons has acquired a negative reputation with many who believe that role-playing games aren't safe for young people to play (for more information on how that isn't true, click here) - so much so that the game is still banned in some schools, libraries, and other meeting places. In some of these cases, you may be permitted to play any other role-playing game at all, as long as it isn't called D&D.

But with all of the negatives aside, consider the positives. The rules are easily simplified to accommodate younger players (see also Blue Rose and Castles and Crusades, below). The heroic fantasy theme of the game is a popular once again, especially with the release of the Lord of the Rings films (and others that are looking to capitalize on that trend). Lots of people know how to play, and in almost any meeting of gamers (at a store, club, or a convention), you will find many who are interested in playing, and possibly even a few willing to teach the game to a newcomer.

You can play the game with only the Player's Handbook, if you're looking to play a low-magic fantasy game with no monsters (the spells for wizards and clerics are in the Handbook, but all magic items and weapons are in the Dungeon Master's Guide). Or you could make do with just the Player's Handbook and Monster Manual, if you've really got your heart set on monsters. You'll miss out on the magic items and other campaign-building information in the Dungeon Master's Guide, but it can be done if you're working with a budget.

As for supporting material, it would be hard to find another game with more published material. The latest edition (4e) has new material published every month. The previous editions and versions (Basic D&D, Advanced D&D first edition, AD&D second edition, D&D third edition/3.5) all have a huge amount of published material, and while all of it is not fully compatible with the latest version of the rules, all of it is easy to convert once you're familiar with how the rules work. Best of all - many of the old adventures and sourcebooks are available for cheap on eBay, and some of them are even offered absolutely free on Wizards of the Coast's website.

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Publisher: Steve Jackson Games
Cover Price: $16.95/PDF edition
Availability: Out of print, but available as a PDF on Steve Jackson's e23 site. For a print copy, check local game stores, Amazon, or eBay.
Summary: The cartoon roleplaying game - players can make most any sort of cartoon character they wish, then jump into a game of complete lunacy.
Dice used: 2d6
Supplements: Three big books of extra material - Tooniversal Tour Guide (new settings and adventures), Toon Tales (more new settings and adventures), and the Toon Ace Catalog (more new settings and items). All are out of print - the Tooniversal Tour Guide is available as a PDF on e23 - for a print copy of it or the others, check your local game store, Amazon, or eBay for used or backstock copies.

The Good: Fast, light-hearted play. No character death. Random plot tables allow for spontaneous playing with little or no preparation.
The Bad: Try as I might, I can't think of a single thing.
Advisory: Cartoon violence, fantasy magic (in some of the supplements)

(This discusses the 1991 edition of Toon, a thick, 212-page book - not the thinner book that was published in the mid-80s. Both are lots of fun, but the deluxe edition has much more information in it. Try to find that one over the older edition, if possible.)

Toon is the cartoon roleplaying game - a fast, light-hearted game where action and chaos beat out plotting and planning most every time. Players can choose ANYTHING for their character type, from a wisecracking cat to a robotic toaster, and the skills and "Shticks" (special abilities) allow them to build the kind of character that they like.

Toon features a couple of unique game mechanics, such as the Fall Down rule - if a character loses all of his hit points, rather than die, the character Falls Down. He becomes burnt and crispy and crumbles into a little pile of ash, or he is squashed flat by the steamroller and has to find a bicycle pump to re-inflate himself, or any other sort of appropriate character demise. When a character Falls Down, the player must sit out the game for two minutes (in real time) while the rest of the players go about their business. When the two minutes are up, the character is back in the game, as good as new (or with telltale signs of the previous misfortune - anything goes, as long as it's funny).

Other cartoony rules include the Walking Off Of A Cliff rule (if this happens, your character must make a Smarts check to see if they realize they're walking on air - if they make it, they start to fall, but if they miss it, they're still too dumb to realize that they should be falling), and the Back Pocket rule (everyone has a back pocket where they keep things, even if they don't wear any clothes).

Players are rewarded with Plot Points whenever they act out their character appropriately, cause another character to Fall Down, or whenever the player does something that makes the GM burst out laughing. They can use these points to improve their character's skills, buy new Shticks, or even buy one-shot Shticks which can be used in the next game, but only once.

(As a house rule, I allow players to re-roll a skill check by spending a Plot Point, mostly because characters aren't re-used often enough to make character improvement very valuable.)

Toon can be played with a prepared adventure, or completely off-the-cuff. Because story and plot take a back seat to madness and fun, a story that makes sense isn't really necessary. In fact, the Toon rulebook contains an "Instant Adventure Generator" that will help you create a wacky scenario to play in just a few die rolls! This makes it a great game for those times when you have a bunch of players, but nothing ready to run for them.

Toon is a great game to play with kids - it's easy to learn, plays quickly, and it's full of laughs.

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Publisher: Pandahead Studios
Cover Price: $10.00
Availability: Out of print - check your local store, Amazon, or eBay.

Summary: A gang of teenagers and one 'wild card' character controlled by the GM (think Scooby Doo or Captain Caveman) investigate mysterious happenings most everywhere they go.
Dice used: d6s - at least 3, preferably 3 for each player.
Supplements: None. 

The Good: Lite rules system. Kids love to play teenagers. Investigation RPGs help build research and problem-solving skills.
The Bad: Other than a little bit of book padding, not much to tell.
Advisory: Supernatural themes

Meddling Kids is a little RPG designed specifically for introducing people to role-playing. The combination of a simple rule system with a very familiar setting makes an excellent formula for that sort of thing. Players take on the roles of teenagers who, along with a 'Wild Card' character, investigate mysterious happenings, find the culprits, and bring them to justice.

The 'Wild Card' character can be most anything from a scaredycat Great Dane to an unfrozen flying caveman to a talking shark or dune buggy or purple ape. The gamemaster controls this character, and can use it as a 'nudge' if the players get stuck for a clue or the story begins to slow down.

The game system is very simple, (3d6 + stat vs. a target number, for those of you who understand that shorthand) and encourage creative play. All in all, it's a great little book to use for an introduction to role-playing for most anyone, kids and adults alike. If there has to be a negative, it would be the amount of 'padding' the book seems to have - a chart of every possible target number complete with a sentence or two on the difficulty it represents, for example, takes up both sides of a page. Some of that space could have been better spent or something else, like a list of story seeds, or something as useful.

Pandahead announced two other games as future releases in the 'Meddling' series: Meddling Spies and Meddling Heroes, but the release dates for both have passed as of this writing, so it's not clear if these will ever be released.

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Publisher: Firefly Games
Cover Price: $10.00 PDF / $19.95 print
Availability: In print - www.firefly-games.com
Summary: Adventures in the realms of the little people - pixies, sprites, boggans, and pooka, and the evil, twisted goblins that oppose them.
Dice used: d6s - preferably 6-10 of them. Stones or other tokens would also be handy to use as Essence counters.
Supplements: PDF adventures - some of them free - available on their website.

The Good: Lite rules system. No character death. Contains diceless and LARP options. Flexible system allows for creative character building and storytelling.
The Bad: Nothing bad here. It's all good.
Advisory: Supernatural themes (magic, supernatural creatures)

Faery's Tale is an RPG designed specifically for introducing young people to role-playing. It uses a simple rule system that young children can grasp easily.

Characters can choose between Brownies, Pixies, Pooka, and Sprites for their characters. To attempt an action (called a Challenge in the rules), a player rolls a number of dice equal to the character's appropriate ability - either Body, Mind, or Spirit. Every even number that comes up is a success, and the character must meet or beat the Challenge Level of the action being performed - 1 is easy, 2 is tricky, 3 is hard, and so on. The good news is, each 6 rolled on the dice not only counts as a success, but can be rerolled to possibly add even more successes.

Faery characters use Essence to power their special abilities and track their health. Players must monitor their Essence carefully - a faery who runs out falls into a deep sleep on the spot, and doesn't awake until the Narrator says that she may.

Players can also spend Essence on other story elements, such as creating a Plot Twist, or "catching a clue" when they get stuck on what to do next. The Narrator can give rewards of Essence points for acting bravely, or suggesting complications to the story that make it more challenging for them.

Faery's Tale is an excellent RPG for young players, with plenty of simple mechanics to allow them to control the story and even challenge themselves.

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Publisher: CRN Games
Cover Price: $9.99 PDF / $24.99 PDF & print
Availability: In print - www.crngames.com
Summary: The overworked king of an archipelago nation sends his sons and daughters out to solve the problems of his people.
Dice used: d4s, d6s, and d8s - LOTS of them. The rules recommend at least twenty d6s, and ten each of d4s and d8s.
Supplements: None as of this writing.

The Good: Game concept is based around morality - strong moral themes, encourages nonviolent conflict and "talking it out." Open character design allows players to be very creative with their characters and the setting as a whole.
The Bad: Lots of dice required - but most veteran gamers will have enough in their stockpiles. Bidding system may be too complex of a concept for younger children.
Advisory: Possible cinematic violence and supernatural themes (but only if the Guide allows it).

The Prince's Kingdom is an RPG using a rule system based off of the popular indie RPG Dogs in the Vineyard. Each of the characters in The Prince's Kingdom is the son or daughter of the king of a nation of many islands. There are so many islands, in fact, that the king has been having problems keeping things in order, so he has begun sending his sons and daughters out to travel among the kingdom and set things right.

Players create characters by listing strong and troublesome qualities about them, and describing any special possessions that they may have. When any sort of struggle ensues - be it anything from an exchange of words to an exchange of blows - the player rolls a number of six-sided dice equal to the age of their character, plus any extra dice from appropriate qualities and possessions. The Guide (GM) rolls a fixed set of dice as well, and the two being a bidding session, using the die results as bids to match or exceed the bids of the other, and describing the actions that their characters are taking. Matching a previous bid with one die is excellent - "reversing the blow", two dice is a "block or dodge", and three or more dice is a bad result, called "taking the blow," which generates Fallout. Fallout is used after a struggle to determine the good and bad things that happen to a character as a result of the struggle.

A player who wins any struggle is permitted to add a new quality to their character - something that they have proven about themselves. A character who outruns a hungry wolf can add "I have proven that I am an excellent runner" to their qualities, for example.

It's an innovative system for dramatic roleplaying with a strong angle towards character development. The only downside seems to be that younger players could be confused by the bidding system - though this may vary from player to player.

As an added plus - all proceeds from the sale of The Prince's Kingdom go to the American Friends Service Committee - so your purchase goes to a cause that runs parallel to the nature of the game.

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Publisher: Atomic Sock Money Press
Cover Price: $30.00 print / $15.00 PDF
Availability: In print - see the ZoZ page for links to stores
Summary: Fairy tale adventures in the vein of Wizard of Oz, Chronicles of Narnia, Peter Pan, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and others.
Dice used: 2d6
Supplements: None as of this writing.

The Good: Story-driven rules help develop an interesting plot. Many opportunities for players to help build the story.
The Bad: The rules, though not very complex, may be over the heads of some younger gamers.
Advisory: Supernatural elements - fairy tale magic, talking animals, etc.

ZoZ (for short) is a fairy tale RPG that uses the PDQ System, the same set of rules used in Truth & Justice, but "slimmed-down" a bit for easier play. Players create characters with general qualities, such as Athletic or Knight, and rate them on a scale that runs from Poor to Master. These qualities can help them succeed automatically in certain simple situations, and give them a bonus (or penalty) to a die roll for complicated situations.

Characters take "damage" to these ranks when they fail at certain tasks, such as combat or other dangerous situations. The player may choose which quality takes the damage, and that quality works at a lower level until it can be recovered later. Taking this sort of 'damage' - or downshift, as it is called in the rules - can generate Story Hooks that are respective to the quality that took the downshift. So a character who takes a downshift in his Knight quality may later find his honor questioned at a later time, or be assigned to an undesirable mission by the King.

ZoZ handles failure very well, something very important in a game for young people, by including Hero Points and Learning Points. Hero Points are earned for acting heroically, or when anything bad happens (to help ease the pain!) - these can be spent on various in-game perks, such as asking for help from a Fairy Godmother, cashing in a favor from a someone the character helped in the past, or much more. Learning Points are gained whenever the character fails at a task, and can be spent on improving the character's qualities at a later time.

(Added bonus - our own Agents A and N appear as illustrations in the book, on pages 90 and 120, respectively!)

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Publisher: Guardians of Order (BESM webpage)
Cover Price: $30.00
Availability: Second edition revised is out of print, and Guardians of Order have recently closed their business. Check your local game store or eBay for a copy. A 'fastplay' trial version of the game is available here.
Summary: Anime-styled adventures in any genre - mecha, sci-fi, fantasy, pocket monsters, you name it!
Dice used: d6
Supplements: Many to be found on the BESM product page, including Cute and Fuzzy Seizure Monsters (a spoof of the Pokemon genre), Big Ears Small Mouse, Space Fantasy, and BESM Dungeon, a treatment of D&Desque high fantasy in the anime style. Free supplemental material, including character sheets and a couple of adventures, are available on the downloads page.

The Good: Can be rules-lite. Flexible rules allow for lots of different settings.
The Bad: No substantial setting information - you'll need to cook one up or purchase a supplement.
Advisory: Depending on the genre being played, can contain swashbuckling or cartoon violence, fantasy magic, and supernatural themes. The name of one character attribute contains a minor expletive ("_ _ _ _ Healthy!"), which can easily be changed to something more appropriate ("Very Healthy," perhaps).

Named for the typical facial features of your average anime character, Big Eyes Small Mouth (or BESM for short) is a multi-genre anime roleplaying game. This means that many different settings can be played with the rule system - sci-fi, high fantasy, cyberpunk, mecha, or any combination of the above.

BESM sports a simple, flexible game system that works well with most genres. The biggest downside to the game is that it doesn't contain a specific setting, which means you will have to purchase a setting book, or design one yourself. There are several short setting ideas near the back of the book that will get you started.

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Publisher: R. Talsorian Games
Cover Price: $10.00-$12.00 (used)
Availability: Out of print - check eBay or Amazon for a used copy.
Summary: Teenagers attending an inter-galactic high school find all kinds of wacky adventures.
Dice used: 1d6, preferably one for each player
Supplements: Rare

The Good: Rules-lite. Younger kids love to play teenagers. Contains photocopyable play money to use for allowance and transactions. 'Episode Guide' at the end of the book is great for story inspirations.
The Bad: Layout makes for difficult reading (the sample characters are parked in the middle of the rules, for example)
Advisory: Cartoon violence. Minute amount of racy material.

Teenagers from Outer Space (or TfOS for short) is an anime-styled RPG set in an integrated high school - one that integrates teenagers from all over the galaxy. Players can create characters from any part of the galaxy they choose, with one or more of 23 different strange powers.

TfOS uses a very rules-lite system, and the focus is on fast and funny play, rather than serious number-crunching. Players roll 1d6 and add an appropriate skill score when they attempt something - the GM then rolls 1d6 and adds the skill score of their opponent, or a difficulty number if it's unopposed. The higher roll wins, and the GM wins any ties.

One unique feature of TfOS is the copyable character sheet, which includes images of play money that you can cut out and hand to players as allowance, income, rewards, et cetera. This could easily be used as a tool for teaching money and resource management.

Games like TfOS are popular with young people, especially kids and tweens, who are always eager to play the roles of teenagers.

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Publisher: Wingnut Games (Land of Og's webpage)
Cover Price: $9.95 / $6.00 PDF
Availability: In print from Wingnut's site, or downloadable at RPGNow
Summary: A prehistoric role-playing game where the players can only use a small set of words to speak in character.
Dice used: A pair of d10s and a few d6s
Supplements: The Complete Caveman's Club Book, also available at Wingnut's site.

The Good: Rules-lite. Inexpensive. Funny. Speech limitations make for creative use of language
The Bad: Nothing, really.
Advisory: Cartoon violence. The name of one ability in Land of Og has a rude word in it, but it can easily be renamed to "Save Your Hide" or simply "Luck."

A great "(root)beer and pretzels" game for young people, Og/Land of Og is a roleplaying game set in prehistoric times, where cavemen and cavewomen struggle to get through their daily lives and avoid becoming dinner for some giant reptile.

Og and Land of Og are two editions of the same game. Land of Og is the revised edition, with expanded rules, a set of live-action guidelines, and a bonus reprint of the original Og game (something closer to a wargame than a role-playing game). You do not need the original Og to use the Land of Og book.

Og/Land of Og plays like most any other rules-lite RPG, with one twist - characters can only speak with a limited vocabulary. When a player speaks in character during a game of Og, they may only use words from a 16-word list that includes "go," "you," "smelly," "rock," and "verisimilitude" (a bonus word NOT FOUND in the original Og, by the way...)

So, a player speaking as their character would not say "I'm going to throw a rock at that lemur over there," but would instead say "Me go rock bang small tree thing." Speaking this way is very challenging, and can make for some very creative speeches during the game.

Because of the simple system and subject matter, either of the two editions of Og would make a great impulse game - something to play when the mood strikes, or while waiting for players to show up to your regular game. Land of Og's character creation system is more involved than the original edition of Og, which would make the earlier game a little better for on-the-spot gaming.

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Publisher: White Wolf Studios
Cover Price: $15.00 - $20.00 (used), $15.00 PDF
Availability: Out of print - PDF edition is available on DriveThruRPG - for a print copy, check your local game store, Amazon, or eBay
Summary: Urban fantasy - a hidden world of changelings and other magical creatures exists parallel to our own, and it is threatened by the banality of our modern existence.
Dice used: d10s, and lots of them - 10-12 ought to cover it
Supplements: Many, some of which are available as downloadable PDFs.

The Good: Kids love to play teens (which are an option in this game)
The Bad: Some supplements may contain mature themes.
Advisory: Fantasy magic, supernatural themes, swashbuckling violence

Changeling is set in our own world, but with a hidden world behind it where creatures of legend still live and thrive. It is part of the World of Darkness series, which includes many other games based around legendary people and creatures as characters - Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension (modern-day wizards), and Wraith: The Oblivion (ghosts). Much of this material is for mature gamers, and would not be suitable for anyone who is not in their teens yet.

Changeling, on the other hand, is the bright side of the World of Darkness. Players take on the roles of fae - magical spirits that are trapped in the mortal world, bonded to mortal bodies and living day-to-day among the other mortals who rarely see their true nature. Players can choose from several types of fae - from stocky Trolls to creepy Sluagh, prankster Pooka to inventive Nockers, and many more.

Changeling has been out of print for some time now, so a print copy may be difficult to obtain - but a PDF edition can be found online (see link, above).

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Publisher: Troll Lord Games (C&C's webpage)
Cover Price: $19.95
Availability: In print, and available in some major book chains
Summary: Sword and sorcery using a lighter set of the Dungeons & Dragons rules, in a nostalgic format.
Dice used: Full set of polyhedrals - d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, & d20
Supplements: Monsters & Treasure ($19.95), plus several adventure modules

The Good: Simplified version of the d20 rules used in the latest editions of Dungeons & Dragons. D&D material is compatible with this game.
The Bad: Core book does not contain monsters or very much setting material - like D&D, other corebooks are needed if you want that material
Advisory: Fantasy Magic, swashbuckling violence.

Castles & Crusades is a simplified version of Dungeons & Dragons, aimed at capturing the look and feel of the original Basic D&D game. The subject matter is mostly identical to that of D&D - pseudo-medieval high fantasy with lots of monsters and magic items - but here, some of the rules are simplified and some of the more complex options are taken away, all in the name of making a simple fantasy game like the one so many of us old codgers played when we were young.

If you'd like to run a simple D&D game for young people and you feel that the latest version of the rules is too complex. Castles & Crusades may be what you're looking for.

(See also: Blue Rose)

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Bunnies & Burrows corebook

Publisher: Steve Jackson Games
Cover Price: $12.95 PDF / $10.00 - $12.00 (used)
Availability: PDF is available at e23, or check game stores or eBay for a print copy.
Summary: Rabbits have adventures and defend their warren
Dice used: d6s - at least three, preferably three for each player
Supplements: None

The Good: Encourages limited-ability problem solving (no opposable thumbs, cannot count past 4)
The Bad: Not a standalone game, requires the GURPS rulebook (though a lite version of the rules is available for free here).
Advisory: Supernatural themes, small amount of kung-fu violence.

Bunnies & Burrows is a rewrite of an earlier RPG based on the Watership Down book and film. Players create rabbits as characters and adventure in a world where almost everyone is your predator.

These aren't Saturday-morning cartoon bunnies, however. They can't manipulate objects very well, or count past four, and they're scared of any loud noises. They're very much like the rabbits you may find at the park or in your backyard - except for the things that make them very unique.

Some practice Herbalism, and can use different plants to heal comrades or attack opponents. Some are Seers, and can attempt to see the future. Some are trained in Bun Fu, the ancient art of rabbit combat. All are heroes when it comes to protecting the warren and its occupants from harm.

Bunnies & Burrows uses the GURPS rules, and the book by itself is not enough to play - to use GURPS, you'll either need to get a copy of the rules (the third edition is compatible with B&B, but an updated fourth edition is also available), or download a free copy of GURPS Lite, which will give you enough to get a game going. Since this is a GURPS book, it also would be possible (with a bit of work) to convert the system to something else that you and your players are more familiar with.

The B&B book contains a lot of factual information about different breeds of rabbits and other wild animals, but it also contains information on psionic abilities, martial arts, and other fantasy elements that are not part of the nature of rabbits or other animals. You may want to clarify that to your players, especially if you are taking the opportunity to use the game to teach a little bit of natural science to them.

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GURPS 4th edition core rulebooks

GURPS Lite is available for free at the Steve Jackson site.

Publisher: Steve Jackson Games
Cover Price: Variable
Availability: Variable
Summary: VERY variable!
Dice used: d6s, at least three, preferably three for each player.
Supplements: TONS. Far too many to mention here.

The Good: A massive amount of quality sourcebook material that is usable with any roleplaying system.
The Bad: System can be very complex. Out-of-print books can be hard to locate at times.
Advisory: Varies by book. Please use discretion when presenting role-playing material to young people.

GURPS stands for Generic Universal Role-Playing System, a set of rules created by Steve Jackson Games and still in print today. The rules are designed to accommodate any sort of genre - fantasy, superheroes, science fiction, historical - or mix and match genres to create something truly unique (Kung-Fu Space Vikings, anyone?)

GURPS is actually a game system, and does not contain any setting material on its own. The system itself is pretty complex for kids, and would probably have to be simplified a lot to keep it from bogging down the game for them. A free, simplified version of the rules is available in the form of GURPS Lite, which can be downloaded here.

But this listing isn't about praising GURPS - it's about praising GURPS sourcebooks, which come in an amazing variety, are packed with information on their subject matter, and - here's the best part - are great for using with any other RPG that you prefer. Each GURPS book is like a gaming textbook of information on the subject at hand, with facts, chronology, history, and even tips on crossing the material with other genres.

A small sampling of GURPS sourcebooks published over the years, from all four editions of the game. This is only a small fraction of the variety of GURPS books that are available.

There are GURPS books devoted to geography and culture (Japan, China, Russia, Egypt), historical periods (Middle Ages, Old West, Ice Age), setting elements and characters (Religion, Villains, Dinosaurs), genres (Cyberpunk, Horror, Space, Steampunk), and even historical characters and "What if?" possibilities (Who's Who 1 & 2, Alternate Earths 1 & 2).

It bears repeating that you don't need to play GURPS to use most of this material, and the material that is system-specific to GURPS is usually very easy to convert. Each GURPS sourcebook is packed with enough information and ideas to be useful to any gamer who is interested in the subject matter.

The list of GURPS sourcebooks is so large that it wouldn't be feasible to post it here - plus, new books are coming out constantly, so such a list would hardly ever be up-to-date. Your best bet for finding a GURPS book to suit your needs is to check out SJ Games site at http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/ to see what is available - and if you can't find it for sale on their site or in your local game store, try an eBay search to see if you can score a used copy.

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Publisher: Green Ronin (Blue Rose's website)
Cover Price: $29.95, $16.00 PDF - a free 'fastplay' game is available here.
Availability: In print, and available in some major book chains or from Green Ronin's website - PDF version available from RPGNow
Summary: Sword and sorcery using a simplified version of the Dungeons & Dragons rules, but with a more romantic fantasy theme.
Dice used: d20
Supplements: World of Aldea, and Blue Rose Companion, with more on the way. Conversion rules make the large amount of Dungeons & Dragons material useable with this game.

The Good: Simplified version of the d20 rules used in the latest editions of Dungeons & Dragons. D&D material is compatible with this game.
The Bad: It really should have been a full-color book.
Advisory: Fantasy magic, some subtle adult themes (see below).

Blue Rose is described as a 'romantic fantasy' role-playing game, modeled after the works of authors like Mercedes Lackey, Diane Duane, and Tamora Pierce. Romantic fantasy, as defined in the introduction of this book, deals with characters who are seeking to belong - either to a single companion, a group of friends, or a community. Stories of romantic fantasy rarely include demihuman characters such as dwarves and elves, but often include intelligent animals. Stories will also frequently include themes of nature/environmental issues and gender equality.

Blue Rose is an incredible book - beautifully illustrated, with a very simple rule system, and tons of cultural and historical background. The rules are a drastically pared-down version of the d20 rules that are now being marketed by Green Ronin as the True20 System - they make an excellent introduction to simple d20 roleplaying.

A handful of creatures are included as adversaries, and a conversion guide in the back of the book allows you to quickly and easily convert any monster, feat, or spell from most any d20 supplement to the Blue Rose version of the rules, which makes a large amount of material available for use with this game.

Parents and guardians should be aware that the book makes very brief mention of same-sex relationships, but not in a graphic manner. If you wish to avoid this issue altogether, it could be left out of the game seamlessly, with no change in the setting whatsoever.

Don't forget that a free 'fastplay' version of the game is available, with pre-made characters and a short adventure so that you can try the game before you buy it.

(See also: Castles & Crusades)

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Publisher: Human Head Studios (Redhurst's website)
Cover Price: $29.99
Availability: In print - check your local game store or buy it online
Summary: A school for young magic-users that can be transplanted into almost any fantasy setting.
Dice used: Full set of polyhedrals - d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, & d20 - or if the setting is converted to a different system, then the dice for that system will be used.
Supplements: None to date, but you can download scenarios at Human Head's website.

The Good: Kids love to play teenagers. Contents are mostly setting material, so it can be used easily with systems other than d20.
The Bad: Lengthwise-bound book doesn't fit in most bookshelves very well
Advisory: Fantasy magic, swashbuckling violence

Redhurst Academy of Magic is truly a work of art - a roleplaying setting book written like a guide for a huge, dimension-hopping school for magic students. It even has wisecracking notes scrawled in the margins by a previous owner.

Note that no rule system is presented in this book - it is meant to be used with third edition Dungeons & Dragons, and the characters, items, spells, and monsters contain within are described in D&D statistics. However, the majority of the book is descriptive text - setting, background, history, and such - and because of that, it would not be difficult to use it with any other role-playing system.

Redhurst is high fantasy's closest answer to a Harry Potter roleplaying game. It is set in a school for young magic-users - a school that jumps from world to world every day, which can be the perfect springboard for getting existing characters involved in some adventures at the school or with its students and faculty. The book contains maps, characters, monsters, spells, and a wealth of information on the classes, programs, and events that happen at the school.

(For something closer to the actual Harry Potter setting, see Broomstix, listed below.)

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Publisher: Atomic Sock Money Press
Cover Price: $13.00/PDF - $20.00 print
Availability: PDF version available on RPGNow and e23, print edition available at your local game store.
Summary: A superhero RPG with story-driven rules
Dice used: Two d6s
Supplements: Product page is here

The Good: Story-driven rules help develop an interesting plot. Many opportunities for players to help build the story.
The Bad: The rules, though not very complex, may be over the heads of some younger gamers.
Advisory: Comic book violence. Some uses of a minor expletive ("bad___", "lame___"), in one case as an alternate name for a rule.

Truth & Justice was heavily influenced by other RPGs such as Risus and Marvel Super Heroes, and it shows - the best elements of those games have been borrowed to form the game core, and souped up into a story-driven superhero RPG that has gained a loyal following.

Story-driven means that the rules of the game help to create the story. Rather than acting as a background engine to determine hits and damage, the rules in Truth & Justice reward good roleplaying, and generate story possibilities as the game is played. For example:

~ Players choose a Motivation when creating their character, something like "heal the sick" or "protect the innocent." If an incident occurs that 'triggers' that motivation, the player can either drop everything and react to it, gaining 1-6 Hero Points as a reward, or spend a Hero Point to not react to it.

~ Rather than take damage through a Hit Point or other wound system, characters lose levels (or take a 'Downshift') in their qualities or powers, which makes it more difficult to use those abilities. This is very much like the system in Risus, but T&J does it one better - when a character chooses an ability to lose a level in, it triggers a Plot Hook, which can complicate the story at any future time. This happens the first time a hero takes damage, and (optionally) whenever a hero "zeroes out," or loses all of their levels in an ability. If a hero took a Downshift in their Chemist quality, for example, they may later discover their chemistry lab ransacked or sabotaged by their arch enemy's henchmen.

Truth & Justice is not only a fantastic example of how to design rules around a setting (instead of the other way around), but it's also a fantastic example of ripping the best parts out of different RPGs and fitting them together into something that is much more than the sum of those parts.

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Publisher: Harlekin-Maus
Cover Price: Free
Availability: Free on the web - PDF version available here
Summary: A VERY rules-lite RPG where each character has a "shadow" that acts against their wishes as they attempt to do things.
Dice used: Two of any type of dice, each of a different color - preferably a pair for each player.
Supplements: None

The Good: VERY rules lite - as in, the rules fit on just a couple pages, and can be taught in a matter of minutes. The rules encourage and reward co-operative play.
The Bad: No setting, background, or scenarios to play - you will need to concoct all of these things yourself. But, most gamers feel that's a big part of the fun! No skill system is in place at all - rather, characters are expected to be able to do anything that the players can do. No rules are present for competitive actions - two characters fighting over an object, for example.
Advisory: Possible supernatural themes.

Shadows is an excellent starter RPG for young people. Players take on the roles of characters who are just like they are, except that each has a shadow that acts against them whenever they try an action. A player announces something that they would like their character to do, then announces how their Shadow is trying to thwart their action. The dice determine the results of their efforts - if the Shadow rolls higher, then they fail, if the character's die meets or beats the Shadow's, then they succeed. Tokens are used to help other players - each token donated to another player after a roll allows them a chance to re-roll.

Shadows encourages co-operative play through the token system, and creative thinking and artistic skills. A character is generated by drawing a picture of them, their Shadow, and the dice that they plan to use for each - this gives young people a clear picture of their character and how the game is played. Because the most difficult game mechanic is comparing two numbers to see which is the highest, Shadows could be played with very young children to introduce them to the concept of role-playing games.

Be aware that Shadows contains no skill or ability system - every character can do anything as well as any other, and there are no superpowers or extraordinary abilities. All games begin with the characters waking up for one reason or another - other than this, the game contains no background, setting, or scenarios, so you will have to create all of these things beforehand, or as you go. Since the whole idea here is to run something simple and fast, that shouldn't be too difficult, even for a intermediate gamemaster.

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Publisher: ZMan Games
Cover Price: $12.50/PDF, $24.95/print
Availability: Check your local game store, or online at Zman's site or DriveThruRPG.
Summary: A multi-genre RPG that works to emulate the action cartoons of the 1980s.
Dice used: d12s, as many as five (for high-powered games).
Supplements: "After These Messages" e-magazine, Darkness Unleashed (a sort of GI Joe with monsters), Metal Wars (similar to Transformers), Star Warriors (a space opera setting).

The Good: Point-based character creation system helps teach simple resource management. Customizable Special Abilities allow for lots of different types of characters. Character death is extremely rare.
The Bad: More sample Special Abilities would be useful, to speed up character creation.
Advisory: Cartoon violence, possible supernatural themes (depending on the genre being played).

Cartoon Action Hour brings the realm of 80s action cartoons to the gaming table - classic animated shows like HeMan, Transformers, Thundercats, GI Joe, and others. The rules are designed to make it easy to run any sort of action cartoon - sci-fi, sword and sorcery, transforming robots, or just about anything else you can imagine.

Characters are made by spending a set amount of points on traits, abilities, and special abilities. To attempt a task, a player rolls a twelve sided die and adds the appropriate score (rated between -2 to +4) to the result, attempting to beat a difficulty number set by the Game Master. A natural 12 (rolled on the die before the modifier is added) gives an added bonus - the character's "Oomph" score is added to the roll, for an even better result. Characters can also have super traits, which allow for additional dice to be rolled and the highest number counted. Characters also have "Stunt Points" which can be used to improve rolls, or perform drastic last-ditch feats.

The layout of the book and the terminology of the game support the "80s cartoon" genre. Game sessions are called "episodes," and a series of 10-15 episodes are a "season." There's even an optional procedure for running the after-show message, where characters from the cartoon instruct the audience in safety, manners, and morals. If you're old enough to remember the great action cartoons of the 80s, the Recommended Viewing section will bring back a lot of memories, and may even remind you of a few cartoons from that time that you might have forgotten about.

"Iconia - Warriors of the Cosmos" is included to start you out with a basic setting to play in, and there are 23 "setting seeds" - simple outlines of different cartoon series and the types of characters and adventures they contain - to give you ideas for building your own 80s action cartoons. ZMan's site features Cartoon Action Hour downloads, forums, a picture gallery, and more - http://www.zmangames.com/products/CAH/

In all, Cartoon Action Hour is a flexible game system that works hard to evoke the feeling of those excellent after-school and Saturday morning cartoons, and is packed with enough background and idea seeds to fuel many adventure sessions. Older folks who remember those classic cartoons would easily have just as much fun running adventures for young adventurers who have never experienced them firsthand.

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Publisher: Memento Mori Theatrix
Cover Price: Free
Availability: Free at memento-mori.com - PDF version - character sheet
Summary: Possibly the closest thing we'll ever see to a Harry Potter RPG.
Dice used: One d20, preferably one for each player.
Supplements: None. Read the books, watch the movies - THOSE are your supplements!

The Good: Simple game mechanics. Includes simple rules for playing Quidditch.
The Bad: Very little background information or spells - but anyone wanting to play this should have a good knowledge of these things anyway. The rules-lite, freeform magic system may require an experienced gamemaster to run it.
Advisory: Fantasy magic, supernatural themes

The story goes that J.K. Rowling has refused to give permission to allow anyone to make an official Harry Potter RPG, for reasons that only she seems to fully understand. Whether the story is true or not is most anyone's guess, but the fact remains that no one has released one to date. Broomstix is an unofficial HP RPG by Jared Sorensen, and since he would probably find himself chased by a mob of Death Eaters if he tried to profit from it, he has opted to make it available free of charge.

Broomstix is a mostly bare-bones set of rules for roleplaying in the Harry Potter world. You won't find extensive information on the setting or characters here, mostly because the books and movies are so accessible. Characters are made by spending points on three character stats - Athletics, Knowledge, and Intrigue. A fourth stat, Magic, is determined by your character's year, so a first-year would have a Magic stat of 1. Skills are divided by appropriate stats, and a character gets one point for every point in that stat to spend on those skills. Players then choose a house for their character, and a Unique Situation - a special quirk that makes them unique. (For two of their starting points, they can purchase a second Unique Situation, but that will leave them short on stats in the end.)

The system is very simple - roll a d20 and add the appropriate stat or skill to the roll. A result of 0 or less is a Bludge, 1-5 or less is a Flop, 6-10 is a Bumbling Success, 11-19 is a Success, and 20 or over is a Smashing Success. Opposed actions are resolved by subtracting the opponent's skill modifier from the final result.

The magic system is limited to magical duels, and even then, no specific spell results are outlined. Though it doesn't say it in the rules, it's assumed that any spell that a character tries to cast will automatically succeed, unless there is something to oppose it. There are no rules for spells that a character may not know how to cast very well, or any limitation on what spells a character would be able to cast. This keeps the game light and unencumbered, but it also means that it requires an experienced GM to keep the game fair for everyone.

If you have young people who are waiting for their Hogwarts letter - and you know the background well enough to take them there - this is your game.

(See also Redhurst Academy of Magic, listed above)

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Publisher: West End Games
Cover Price: $10.00-$12.00 (used)
Availability: Long, long out of print - check eBay for used copies
Summary: Based on the hit movies - characters investigate supernatural phenomena and battle ghosts, spirits, and higher powers.
Dice used: Five d6s, plus a special "ghost die" (a d6 with a Ghostbusters logo in place of the 6)
Supplements: A few, plus an updated edition (Ghostbusters International) and several supplements for that edition.

The Good: Lite rule system. Adventures can involve lots of investigation and research.
The Bad: Last printing was in the early 90s, so it may be difficult to find.
Advisory: Supernatural elements. Some mention of gods and demons.

(This entry is based on the original Ghostbusters RPG released in 1986, not the later version released in the early 90s. This is only because I do not have access to the newer edition.)

Ghostbusters harkens back to the day when role-playing games usually came in boxes, and included extras like cards and dice along with the rulebooks. Because of its age (it was released around 20 years ago), it may be difficult to find a copy that includes the dice and extras, let alone the box itself. But if all that you can dig up are the two rulebooks (the Training Manual and Operations Manual), you can still manage to get some ghostbusting done.

The game system is simple - characters have point values in Brains, Muscle, Moves, and Cool, and one Talent for each of those four stats ("Brawl" would be a good Muscle Talent, for example). When a character wants to do something, they roll as many dice as they have in the appropriate stat - and can add three dice to the pool if they're using their talent at the time. The dice are added, and the resulting total must meet or beat the difficulty level (5, 10, 20, or 30, judged by the gamemaster) in order for the action to be a success.

Every die roll must include the Ghost Die as one of the dice being rolled. The Ghost Die is a regular d6 with a Ghostbusters logo in place of the 6. If this logo comes up during any roll it counts as a zero - and something bad happens, as determined by the GM. If the roll is a failure and the ghost comes up - something REALLY bad happens!

(If you can't find a copy of the game with the dice intact, you can use regular d6s and choose a different colored d6 to be the Ghost Die, counting it as a zero whenever it comes up with a 6.)

The back of the Operations Manual contains 21 random story ideas, a random adventure generation system, and three different "routines" (with suggestions for creating more), all of which are great for those times when your players want to bust some ghosts, but you don't have anything ready for them.

It is a game well worth tracking down if your players enjoy Ghostbusters and can't wait to strap on a proton pack.

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Publisher: TSR
Cover Price: FREE!
Availability: Free to download at www.classicmarvelforever.com, or if you're looking for an original copy, check your local game store or eBay.
Summary: A classic 80s superhero RPG
Dice used: d10s, at least two of them, preferably several pair.
Supplements: Many, available on the site - magazine articles, too!

The Good: Lots of well-known super heroes included. System gives a clear idea of the level of success. Lots of supplemental material available for free online.
The Bad: Rules can be a little dense.
Advisory: Comic book violence.

Marvel Super Heroes was originally published in the mid 1980s by TSR, the company that was at that time in charge of Dungeons & Dragons. Since that time, the Marvel license moved on to other publishers, and TSR vanished in a flurry of corporate purchases. Because of this, the MSH RPG will never be republished, but due to the kindness of its former masters, permission has been granted to make this RPG available as a PDF - and this is the best part - as long as no money changes hands whatsoever.

Marvel Super Heroes lets players take on the role of many of their favorite Marvel characters, or design one of their own. The game system uses words to describe a character's abilities (years before Fudge came along) and a color-coded Action Chart to determine not only if an action is successful or not, but the degree of success as well. It's a great visual aid for demonstrating probabilities, as a player can easily see their potential for failure and different levels of success every time they attempt an action.

The Advanced rulebook can be a bit of a difficult read for younger players, so they may need an older gamer to help them out with it.

With the recent popularity of superhero movies (and more seem to be on the way each year), Marvel Super Heroes may be just the thing your young gamers are looking for.

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Publisher: West End Games
Cover Price: $6.00-$10.00 (used), sometimes bundled with the other MiB RPG products
Availability: Out of print, but available cheaply on eBay.
Summary: Based on the popular movie where agents in a secret government agency protect the planet from dangerous illegal aliens from all over the galaxy.
Dice used: d6s, about 5-8 of them
Supplements: Two, a Gamemaster screen with Director's Guide, and an Alien Recognition Guide

The Good: Semi-lite rule system. Can be found very cheaply on eBay.
The Bad: Published after the first film, so no information from the second (or upcoming third) movie is covered. Not much in the way of supplemental material available
Advisory: Comic book violence.

Someone needs to keep the Earth safe from hostile aliens - and keep the friendly aliens safe from Earthlings. Those someones are the Men In Black.

The official Men In Black RPG was released almost simultaneously with the first film in 1997. Two supplements were released shortly after - a Director's Guide with a gamemaster screen, and Aliens Recognition Guide Volume One. Sadly, the game never took off, but because of this, it's very easy to find the game for cheap online, and sometimes it can be found bundled with the two supplements.

The system works similarly to the Ghostbusters RPG (also by West End Games) - each attribute and skill has a die rating, like 2D or 3D+2. When a character attempts to use a skill, they roll the amount of dice they have in that skill (or attribute, if they have no dice for it) and add the modifier, if any. The total is compared to a difficulty number for the task (as determined by the GM) - if the roll meets or beats it, the character is successful.

Men In Black uses a clever game mechanic - Cue Cards - that might be worth stealing to use in other games. Cue cards are cards written up by the gamemaster before the game that have an action and a reward written on them. Before the game starts, the set of cards are shuffled and three (or more or less) are handed out to each player. The actions are things such as saying a certain catch phrase at a good time, or performing a certain maneuver. If, during the course of the adventure, a player performs the action on one of the Cue Cards at an appropriate moment (or manages to make most of the other players laugh while doing it), they get the reward at the bottom of the card - anything from getting to act first in a combat round, to gaining some character points, to healing wounds.

Men In Black is a good graduation from the Ghostbusters RPG - it uses a similar system with a slightly higher level of complexity, and young people love both of the movie series. You may even consider cooking up a crossover setting between the two - it wouldn't be difficult at all to convert one set of rules to the other, and an MiB/GB crossover would be too cool for words.

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Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Cover Price: $1.00-$5.00
Availability: Out of print, but available for very cheap when you can find it - check toy liquidation or department stores.
Summary: A simple, choose-your-path Pokemon adventure for a gamemaster and one to six players.
Dice used: One six-sided die and a 'Pokecoin' (both included)
Supplements: None

The Good: Quick and easy to play. Requires very little preparation time. Pokemon contests can be played without the adventure game. All required components are included in one box.
The Bad: No further support after the basic set. Limited amount of Pokemon to collect. Replay value is low once the basic book has been finished (though, you could create your own adventures and Pokemon for it, if you were so inclined...)
Advisory: Cartoon violence.

The Pokemon Jr. Adventure Game is a great little game that, sadly, didn't go very far. Packaged in a 4"x6" box, the game includes an adventure book, 26 Pokemon power cards, 48 hit tokens, 2 Pokecoins, and one six-sided die. One player acts as the Narrator, and reads the adventure aloud to the other players as they choose their first Pokemon, enter into battles, capture more Pokemon, and add their own details to the story.

The adventure gives the players many opportunities to act out in their roles as Pokemon trainers, and to help develop their environment ("What kinds of animals live in the forest? What do you see and hear in the forest?"). Once the book is finished, the adventure is over - no further adventures or expansions were ever published, despite the number 1 on the box, and the enclosed checklist of extra Pokemon that are not included in this set.

Replay value is medium to low. It is possible to play Pokemon battles without a story behind them, but then you're not really playing an adventure game anymore. Most young people would not be that interested in playing the adventure over again, but there are some exceptions. It would be possible to design new adventures and create more Pokemon to collect using some of the cards from the Pokemon Collectible Card Game, if a person were so inclined.

The Pokemon Jr. Adventure Game can still be found in some department stores (usually in the clearance section), or in any good toy liquidation store. In either case, you should be able to find it for a very reasonable price.

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Publisher: Guardians of Order
Cover Price: $10.00-$15.00 (used)
Availability: Out of print. Check your local game store, Amazon, or eBay for a used copy.
Summary: The official RPG of the popular anime series Sailor Moon, plus an extensive episode and character guide.
Dice used: d6s, at least two, preferably several pair.
Supplements: A couple - Complete Book of Yoma, Vol. 1 (a collection of different monsters), and a character diary.

The Good: Characters are popular with girls. System is similar to Big Eyes Small Mouth (see above), so material from that game can be used with this one, or vice versa.
The Bad: See description below.
Advisory: Supernatural elements. Fantasy magic. The name of one character attribute contains a minor expletive. Some of the images from Sailor Moon episodes printed in the book may concern some parents (see more, below).

The Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book (the full title) was published by Guardians of Order in 1998. It contains an easy role-playing rule system similar to the one found in GoO's multigenre anime RPG Big Eyes Small Mouth (see above) and their generic rule system Tri-Stat dX (see below) - so GMs looking to expand on this game could use some of the source material from BESM (Sailor Moon MECHA, here we come!)

The Sailor Moon setting is similar to modern day Japan, but with magical teenagers who battle evil magic-users and creatures from other dimensions. The book contains a short section on Japanese life, to help players put themselves into the role of a Japanese citizen - it's far too short to give a cultural lesson in Japanese life, but it could be used as an opportunity to research the subject.

Some of the material in the book bears mentioning. The name of one character attribute contains a minor expletive ("_ _ _ _ Healthy!"), but this can easily be changed to something more appropriate ("Very Healthy," perhaps). Thankfully, the attribute name does not appear on the character sheet, so this revision is easy. The end section of the book contains an episode guide for the show accompanied by images from some of the episodes. Two of these images may be of concern to those who haven't seen the episodes and don't know their context. One is of a young girl holding a gun to an older girl's head, and the other is of the Sailor Scouts trapped on large crystal crosses.

Sailor Moon could be a great way to introduce girls to roleplaying, especially if they are interested in the anime series and movies.

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If you're interested in roleplaying in the Star Wars universe, you will need to be aware that there have been two Star Wars games in the past. One was first published in 1986 by West End Games, and later editions and supplements were published well into the 90s. In 2000, Wizards of the Coast acquired the rights to make the Star Wars RPG, and released it with a different game system, along with a handful of sourcebooks. At the present time, it does not look as if Wizards will be supporting their Star Wars RPG any longer, which makes it possible for yet another version to pop up in the future - or possibly even a resurrection of one of the existing games.

This shouldn't shy you away from diving in to some good old Stormtrooper-blasting fun, however - you just need to be aware that there are two different sets of rules from two different companies, and because of that, you could end up getting a batch of supplements that are incompatible with the rules that you own. Even that's not such a tragedy - the best part about Star Wars is that a lot of the material is based around the sorts of things that don't have a lot of rules attached to them - strange aliens, planets, and cultures. So you can use a lot of the things you'll find in just about any Star Wars RPG book, and once you've played for a while and become familiar with the system of your choosing, you'll be able to convert the "crunchy stuff" - statistics for ships and weapons and such - without too much hassle.

If you're checking out a Star Wars RPG book and are confused about which version of the game it works with, check the back cover for the publisher's name and logo. West End Games is the publisher for the older version, and Wizards of the Coast published the newer one. The listings below will hopefully help you decide which ruleset is right for you.

The West End Games edition. Later editions had different covers.

Publisher: West End Games
Cover Price:
Availability: Out of print - check your local game store, Amazon, or eBay for used books.
Summary: It's Star Wars. Do you need more than that?
Dice used: d6
Supplements: Many, including hardcover guides for the Empire and the Rebellion, alien and planet guides, lots of adventure books, a boxed set campaign (DarkStryder), and even a long-running digest (Star Wars Adventure Digest) that was packed with fiction, adventures, and new characters, aliens, weapons, ships, and planets.

The Good: Supplements are easy to find and usually cheap in game stores or on eBay.
The Bad: Only covers the people, aliens, places, and tech from the original trilogy (for some, this is not seen as a bad thing).
Advisory: Swashbuckling violence, supernatural themes

WEG's Star Wars plays very fast and furious. The system uses dice totals for ability scores, which are then rolled to meet or beat a target number. 'Multitasking' is one of the unique qualities about this system - a player can announce that their character is performing several actions in a round, instead of just one. For each additional action over the first, all action in that round are penalized by one die. So if you wanted your Smuggler to shoot at two Stormtroopers, then dive into a garbage compactor, he would roll two fewer dice for each of these actions as a penalty. If you have enough skill, and the difficulty numbers are low, you can perform some pretty heroic feats in this version of the game.

The Wizards of the Coast edition. A revised edition had a different cover.

Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
Cover Price: $29.99
Availability: Out of print. Check your local game store, Amazon, or eBay for used or new books.
Summary: Star Wars with very similar rules to those in Dungeons & Dragons
Dice used: Full set of polyhedrals - d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, & d20
Supplements: A few, including sourcebooks for Naboo, Coruscant, and Tattooine, plus a Dark Side sourcebook, Galactic Campaign Guide, Arms & Equipment Guide, and more.

The Good: Uses a form of the d20 system found in Dungeons & Dragons, so experienced players will have a jump on the rules. Material covers the original trilogy, plus some of the people, aliens, places, and tech of the first two prequels.
The Bad: The d20 system can be complex, which may not be a good fit for a fast-paced setting like Star Wars.
Advisory: Swashbuckling violence, supernatural themes.

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Publisher: Palladium
Cover Price: $10.00-$15.00 (used)
Availability: Out of print since 2002 - check your game store, Amazon, or eBay for a used copy.
Summary: A classic RPG from the 1980s that allows players to play the Turtles themselves, or make their own mutated animal superteam.
Dice used: d4, d6, d8, d10, & d20
Supplements: Many, mostly for different settings (Australian, Yucatan, post-apocalypse, time travel, dimensional travel, etc), plus a couple of adventure books. Most all include new 'races' of animals (including dinosaurs!) to use as mutated characters. The system is compatible with Palladium's RIFTS RPG, which opens up a lot of other supplemental material that can be used.

The Good: Younger kids love to play teenagers. Flexible character creation rules allow for lots of different kinds of mutated animal characters. Compatible with RIFTS, which allows a lot of options and supplemental material.
The Bad: Out of print for so long that most copies that you find may be in pretty worn condition.
Advisory: Kung-fu violence

Based on the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books, which were released in the mid-80s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness can be played with the characters from the comic books, or the players can create their own mutated animal characters (or even human ones, if they really want) and start their own superteam.

Character creation not only includes stats and skills, but four human features - Hands, Biped, Speech, and Looks, each of which can be none, partial, or full. Each modifies the character based on how closely those features resemble a human's. The Turtles, as an example, would have full Hands, Biped, and Speech, but their Looks would be "none."

For a more up-to-date (and likely more expensive) alternative, you can get Palladium's updated version of After The Bomb ($20.95) - but make sure it's the 2002 edition with the black cover, which is a full game - not the older red-cover edition, which was a supplement for the original TMNT game. The new edition contains the complete set of rules from the original TMNT, but without the specific characters from the comic books, and an apocalyptic-style setting.

Whichever path you choose - the classic 80s book or After the Bomb, you will find a wealth of material available in Palladium's RIFTS books, all of which are compatible with both games.

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Publisher: Grey Ghost
Cover Price: $34.99, though there is a free lite version available
Availability: In print (check your local game store or online at Warehouse 23), and also available as a free PDF
Summary: An RPG toolkit that uses adjectives instead of numbers to describe skills, abilities, and success rolls.
Dice used: dFs - Fudge dice, special six-sided dice with two faces each of pluses, minuses, and blanks. You can get them from Warehouse 23 in basic or bright colors - $15.00 for a set of 20 dice (5 different colors), plus a dice bag.
Supplements: A few available on the Fudge product page, plus supporting material on the web (Fudge Factor)

The Good: Rules-lite. System uses a series of words in place of numbers to describe abilities and skills.
The Bad: Uses special dice that are mostly unusable with other games (dice are inexpensive, and with some extra effort, the game can be played with regular d6s or d4s - but this can be confusing to kids)

Fudge is a role-playing "kit" as well as a system. Gamemasters can decide what abilities and skills are available to a player, depending on the genre of game that is going to be played. Because the system uses words instead of numbers, it is easy to convert material from other games into Fudge.

The game uses seven levels to describe skills, attributes, and successes - Terrible, Poor, Mediocre, Fair, Good, Great, and Superb, and four specially marked six-sided dice. In place of numbers, each die has two pluses (+), two minuses (-), and two blank faces. When a player attempts an action, they check their appropriate stat, then roll the dice to see how much it should be modified. Pluses and minuses negate each other, so a roll of + + + - would factor out to two postives (the negative cancels one of the three). Blanks count as nothing.

So a player with a Strength of Fair would modify it by two steps up the Fudge Level chart, to a final result of Great. If the difficulty of the action was Great or lower, then the check was a success - if it was Superb, he didn't make it.

A handful of Fudge supplements are available in print, such as Terra Incognita, a great exploration setting. You can find even more material online, especially in the online magazine Fudge Factor.

On the downside, Fudge uses dice that are unique and mostly unusable with other games. The dice aren't very expensive, however, and there are alternatives available that use more common dice (though these can be confusing to kids). A Fudge Factor article on making your own Fudge dice out of regular six-siders with pips can be found here.

Fudge is great for using in place of any system that you feel may be too complex for your players, and the word-based system is excellent for those who think more in terms of words than numbers.

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Publisher: Cumberland Games
Cover Price: FREE! Click here for your copy!
Availability: In print, and available in mere moments
Summary: A simple rule system that uses cliches instead of attributes, skills, or character classes
Dice Used: d6s - at least 6 of them, preferably 6 for each player. Some rules allow for other dice to be used for superhero or other powerful characters.
Supplements: Many, most are free, all are scattered all over the internet. Visit the main Risus page for links to most of them.

The Good: FREE! Lots of supplemental material to be found on the internet.
The Bad: Intermediate and experienced gamers may find it to be too general.

Risus: The Anything RPG is a rules-lite system that drops abilities and skills and replaces them with cliches. A player gets ten dice to spend on as many of these cliches as they like - each one defines what type of character they are. So, if a player wanted to create a noir-style private investigator, they might create the following cliches for him:

Private investigator(4), Ex-Policeman(3), Jazz Enthusiast(2), Coffee Addict(1)

Those cliches create a basic idea of the type of character he is. When a player tries to perform an action, he uses the cliche that is most appropriate. This P.I. would roll 4 dice to search for a clue or fire a gun, 3 dice to know a specific law or police procedure, 2 dice to recognize a jazz song heard through an open window, and 1 die to talk someone into buying him a cup of joe.

Rules are included for Hooks and Tales, which encourage players to flesh out their character even more in exchange for more starting dice. There are also Pump and Double Pump rules, which give emergency bonus dice to skills in exchange for a penalty price in later rounds. Combat consists of cliche rolls compared to one another - the losing roll loses a die on all future rolls, and when one of a character's cliches reaches 0, they have lost the combat.

Risus has achieved quite a following, with many fan-made rules and supplements available online - check the Risus website to see what's out there.

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Publisher: Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Cover Price: $19.95 PDF / $29.99 print
Availability: In print and available as a PDF
Summary: A fast-paced RPG system
Dice Used: A nearly-full set (without the d20) - d4, d6, d8, and d12 - with one extra d6 for the "Wild Die." A set of standard playing cards with the Jokers included is used for initiative, but this is optional.
Supplements: Many available online at PEG's website, including 50 Fathoms (swashbuckling), Evernight (fantasy), Necessary Evil (supers), and more.

The Good: Easy to convert other gaming material to the Savage Worlds system. Has a very active and helpful online community (see below). Game mechanics are very simple and straightforward. The use of playing cards creates a familiar element to the game rules. Rules can also be used to run miniatures wargames and large-scale battles.
The Bad: Core book is somewhat limited in scope, but this is remedied by supplemental material. Some of the text is a little racy, but never vulgar.

Savage Worlds describes itself as "Fast, Furious, and Fun!", and they're not kidding - the game system is quick, easy to learn, and has many elements that make it fun to play. Skills and attributes are rated by die type - d4 through d12 - and actions are resolved by rolling the appropriate die to beat a target number (usually 4). "Wild Cards" - characters that are especially gifted (this includes all of the player characters and some of the villains and monsters) get a "wild die," an extra d6 that they can roll during every check, with the option of taking the better roll of the two.

Bennies are benefits handed out to the players at the beginning of the game, usually represented by tokens, that can be spent to reroll an undesired result. The gamemaster also gets a pool of bennies to use for the villains and monsters in the adventure.

Standard playing cards are used for initiative - determining which characters get to act first in a round. The gamemaster hands a single card to each player and one (or more) to himself for any opponents that are involved. The highest cards, starting with the Ace, act before the others, unless someone draws a Joker - then that character goes before all others, and gets a bonus to her actions. There are even special abilities that can be used whenever a Joker is drawn. Familiar elements like playing cards can be helpful in teaching new players the rules of the game.

Savage Worlds has a very devoted fan base. If you have a rules question, need help with a conversion, or just want to talk to other players, you can join the forum at www.peginc.com/forum. The Savage Worlds Explorer's Society is the official game master's club, and offers nifty playing aids like player's mats and tent cards, as well as member benefits for running the game at conventions and clubs. There's also a wiki - Savagepedia - and an unofficial fanzine titled Shark Bytes.

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Publisher: Guardians of Order
Cover Price: Free, though a print version is available for a price.
Availability: Downloadable at DriveThruRPG, or you can purchase a print copy direct from Guardians of Order
Summary: A free RPG system packed with a ton of options.
Dice used: Any - the system is scalable to use any type of die as the main die. Whichever die type you choose, you will need at least two of them, preferably two for each player.
Supplements: Many RPGs have been built around this system, including Big Eyes Small Mouth (see above) and Silver Age Sentinels.

The Good: Free. Lots of material packed into a free game. Scalable system means that you can control the power level of the game - or play using the dice that are available on hand.
The Bad: Some of the text is a little dense. The scalable system makes character creation a little more complex.

Tri-Stat dX is a free RPG system that gives you the most for your download. The core book is packed with options - skills, defects, superpowers, even rules for creating vehicles. The system is unique in that it is scalable - the setting determines what type of dice are used, which, in the end, determines how difficult actions will be for all characters. Tips are given for scaling the system for 30 different genres.

Skills have variable point costs, depending on the setting, which can complicate character creation a little. But this could always be avoided by sticking to the Multigenre costs and discarding all of the rest.

If you are looking to start a campaign completely from scratch, and you would like to do it on the cheap, Tri-Stat dX may be your best choice.

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