Free RPG Day has gone to the dogs: the best games and free adventures for 2023
Free RPG Day is Saturday, June 24. Like Free Comic Book Day, it’s traditionally been an opportunity to visit your friendly local game store and stock up on bite-sized tabletop role-playing games and one-shot adventures. For 2023, publishers have cranked the dial up to 11 by tossing several meaty quick-start guides into the mix. But what really stands out is how things have gone to the dogs — literally.
This year’s most interesting release is Heckin’ Good Doggos: Someone’s Last Day At The Track, an all-ages TTRPG quickstart document from Wet Ink Games. Using just a handful of six-sided dice and a regular deck of playing cards, players can crack open this slim, 33-page softcover book and get right to doing their business. And that business, my friends, is role-playing as a dog. It’s a wonderful intro experience for families — or, really, anyone new to tabletop role-play as a hobby. This booklet includes all the rules needed to play and an adventure. You can find the full game on DriveThruRPG.
Not to be outdone, the Ennie-award-winning team at 9th Level Games is back with Level 1, an 80-page softcover book filled with novel rules-light TTRPGs. The standout here is called Rainbow Bridge. In it, players take on the roles of pets passing on into the afterlife. It’s a tiny, three-page game that is dense with emotion. You can find previous years’ Level 1 volumes, available as free downloads, on the 9th Level website.
Wrapping up the rare pet-lovers’ TTRPG trifecta is a one-shot adventure for Steamforged Games’ Animal Adventures, which uses the rules of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons. The Faraway Sea: Apocalypse Miaow is 27 glossy pages long and includes full-color art and a battle map — the perfect add-on to the U.K.-based
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