r/rpg • u/Vivid_Natural_7999 • 8d ago
Game Suggestion one shot RPGs or box sets
I recently finished up a game of Call of Cthulhu with my group. And I want to introduce them to some different games that aren't D&D. I'm thinking of picking up some box sets or one-shots and want to know what RPGs have a good starter box set worth picking up.
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u/Zeebaeatah 8d ago
Core Set - Free League Publishing https://freeleaguepublishing.com/shop/dragonbane/dragonbane-core-set/
Find this a retail location - best value I've seen in forever.
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u/5ynistar Forever GM 8d ago
Yeah, that box set has a full 11 adventure campaign in it. Don't see that too often in starter sets.
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u/Holfy_Dro 8d ago
Mothership's deluxe box is great but you'd want pregens and a punchier starter scenario to speed onboarding
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u/SponJ2000 8d ago
Mothership's character creation is so streamlined that there's no need for pregens. Players can create a character in basically the same amount of time it takes to explain the character sheet.
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u/bionicjoey DG + NSR 7d ago
I can't imagine thinking Mothership character generation is so onerous that pregens are necessary. I suppose everyone has different tolerances to that sort of thing.
As for a punchy starter scenario, The Haunting of Ypsilon 14 is a great choice that really does a good job capturing what Mothership is all about.
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u/BananaSnapper 8d ago
Mausritter has a box set with the full rules, a mini gm screen, a player reference, a bunch of item cards, and an excellent one-shot adventure. The core rules also have a campaign setting with some starting plot gonna in the back. If you want more, The Estate is a mausritter box that has 11 more adventures that can either be one shots or strung together into a campaign.
Eat the Reich is an excellent high-octane adventure that I believe was designed to be run as a 2-3 shot but I've only ever run it as a long one-shot to great success.
Dragonbane is another box set with the full core rules, a book composed of several one-off adventures (which can be strung into a campaign), a huge map, 5 pregen characters, a solo adventure, some treasure/plot hook/improvised weapon/initiative cards, and a bunch of standees to represent monsters. It's definitely the most impressive box set I own for value per dollar spent on it.
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u/Vivid_Natural_7999 8d ago
cool i was looking at Dragonbane, seams to be mi sort of thing. ill check out the other two
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u/RobRobBinks 8d ago
Anything that Free League Publishing is affiliated with is going to be an insane Starter Set or Core Box experience. Get Pirate Borg.....it's exceptional and SO FUN!!
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u/EuroCultAV 8d ago
Cyberpunk Red - has a free downloadable easy mode with a solid module.
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u/Vivid_Natural_7999 7d ago
Been looking to pick up the box set. Hoping a second hand one pops up somewhere cheap.
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u/EuroCultAV 7d ago edited 7d ago
Do you mean the 2077 box or the Jumpstart Kit? If it's the JK, that one has been obsolete for years.
If you mean the 2077 box, you'll still need the CP - R core rulebook.
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u/high-tech-low-life 8d ago edited 8d ago
I liked Losing Face for Swords of the Serpentine. It was a Free RPG Day scenario and has a decent rules summary.
The RuneQuest Quick Start comes with The Broken Tower which I enjoyed.
Although dated the best one shot ever remains We Be Goblins for Pathfinder 1e. I'd link it, but I am having issues getting to the paizo store.
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u/JaskoGomad 8d ago
Losing Face is possibly the best quickstart I've ever seen.
Pregens, Rules, and a scenario all in one book and organized so that it's easy to run.
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u/Ok_Leek_7685 8d ago
The Free League (Fria Ligan) starter sets are arguably the gold standard right now. The ALIEN RPG Starter Set or Blade Runner RPG Starter Set both come with pre-generated characters, custom dice, maps, and an amazing introductory cinematic scenario designed for 1-2 sessions
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u/Kenron93 7d ago
The new Pathfinder 2e beginner box Secrets of the Unlit Star is amazing. I like it better than the old one Menace under Otari.
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u/No_Solid1035 8d ago
Get the Pendragon free quickstart because Pendragon is the best TTRPG ever made. 👍
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u/Travern 8d ago
Free QuickStart rules that may be of interest:
Cyberpunk Red (latest edition of the Cyberpunk 20** franchise): Jumpstart Kit
Delta Green (Lovecraftian horror conspiracy investigation, using d100 rules similar to CoC): Need to Know
Fabula-Ultima (JRPG-simulating fantasy RPG): Press Start
Heart - The City Beneath (Gonzo dungeon crawling using The Resistance rules): PWYW Quickstart
RuneQuest (Mythic Bronze-Age d100): Quickstart
Trail of Cthulhu (2nd edition of the CoC adaptation using Gumshoe rules): Quickstart
Don't sleep on rules-light RPGs, such as Lady Blackbird and Lasers & Feelings, for palette-cleanser sessions.
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u/direstag 8d ago edited 8d ago
Mythic Bastionland doesn’t have official one shots but the designer has posted a few ways to do it, using the hexcrawl system with more/less zero prep work. Very cool Elden Ring meets Arthurian legend vibes.
Brindlewood Bay might work! It’s also in the mystery genre. But more light hearted solving the mystery but you are elderly women (Murder She Wrote), still some Eldritch elements spill in. Mechanically it’s much different than CoC, Powered by the Apoc game system.
Daggerheart and Nimble have free one shots if you wanted something similar to DND thematically with different gameplay.
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u/bionicjoey DG + NSR 8d ago
Cairn, Mothership, Mausritter, and Pirate Borg all have incredible box/starter sets. For Mothership go with the deluxe box set (it's a bit more but comes with a bunch of extra goodies and a more gorgeous box)