I've started running one-shots once a month with my group to try out different games. What are some good RPGs that are light enough on crunch to be picked up for one-shots? Bonus points for games that'll appeal to my murderhobo group of players.
Pick-up-and-play games for old school murderhobos, eh?
The first ones that pop into my head are several of Rose Baileyâs mini-games. Theyâre not all suitable for killing monsters and taking their stuff - for example, Die For You is about vampire relationship drama - but a few that might fit your needs include:
Bright and Terrible - The PCs are lost heirs of Atlantis, as written by Michael Moorcock and Tanith Lee.
The Shadow of Golgotha - Post-apocalyptic vampire theocracy in the mode of Castlevania and Vampire Hunter D.
Sharded - Murderhobo speculative fiction, examining the broader social implications of having a caste of high-powered mercenaries with access to resurrection spells.
State Machine - Picture Blade Runner from the perspective of the replicants and youâll be in the right ballpark.
All are in the 16-32 page range, so you should be able to shoot through them quickly. There are a number of ways to get ahold of them, but the cheapest from your perspective would probably be to drop five bucks on her Patreon - backers at the $5+ level can download copies of all previously published titles.
Apart from those, a few other random recommendations of similar scope:
Hero Kids - If youâre in the mood for an old-school tactical dungeon crawl, but you donât care for high rules overhead, this is a great option. Itâs got the battle grids and chess-like tactics and such, but itâs all abstracted down to the point that your character sheet can fit on a business card.
Kobolds Ate My Baby - Self-explanatory.
PokĂŠthulhu - Itâs a remarkably solid piece of work for a parody game, and the notion of kids beating the stuffing out of each other with chibi Mythos beasties is just edgy enough that even gamers who disdain âkidsâ stuffâ may be willing to give it a fair shake.
Valley of Eternity - This is definitely the heaviest entry on this list, though most of its 92 pages is setting; the actual system is remarkably light. Player take on the roles of outcast warrior-philosophers in a bleak wilderness, wielding esoteric mental disciplines to defend the very communities that shun them, and also they are all penguins.
(As youâve no doubt gathered, these range from faintly silly to very silly; I figured I had better balance out the grimdarkness of the first set of recs!)
