Browsing around I noticed that there are quite a few threads here about mainstream games like D&D, but little discussion about indie RPGs. This brought to mind Wil Wheaton's recent video, in which he introduces some of his favourite indie RPGs.

So, what's an indie RPG? Definitions vary, and I'd be curious to know what yours is, but I define it as a roleplaying game that is basically the brainchild of an individual (or very small group) who has published it on a small scale and a low budget. This may have occurred through a publisher, as long as the final product is neither flashy nor expensive.

The indie RPGs I've used the most are Dungeon World and Shock - Social Science Fiction.

Dungeon World, as introduced by Wil Wheaton in the above clip, seeks to contain the spirit of old school dungeon crawl games like AD&D, but frames their tropes in an elegant, flexible and free ruleset derived from Apocalypse World. The thing I most love about the system is that whenever dice are rolled, something happens; you never end up with a situation where nothing has changed. This keeps the game dynamic.

And it gives you experience points for fumbling. Which is as it should be.

Shock - Social Science Fiction seeks to emulate the storytelling of a science fiction book. I'd like to state here that the system is in no way bound to the science fiction genre, and my group has used it for all sorts of storytelling, including high fantasy, steampunk, cyberpunk and modern day drama.

Shock runs on a protagonist-antagonist mechanic. You create a central character, a 'protagonist', who you strive to reach a 'story goal' with (this can be something like 'Fall in love', 'Save the world' or 'Die'); and declare what your 'antagonist', the force that strives to complicate the protagonists journey to the story goal, is. Antagonists can be individuals, factions or abstract concepts, and are run by the player next to you.

The game proceeds with someone starting their protagonist's story. You can describe your protagonist and the world around them however you want until the antagonist decides that what you want should come at a price. If you think the price is fair, then you incorporate the price into the story, and may continue until such time that the antagonist demands a price you're not willing to pay without a fight. Then both roll dice, d10s for your own success and d4s to make the other fail. If your best d10 modified by the opposition's best d4 clears the threshold, you succeed, and the other side goes through the same procedure. Thus there are four possible outcomes: the protagonist succeeds but at a cost; the protagonist succeeds at no cost; the protagonist fails but must still pay the cost; or the protagonist fails, but at no cost. Once you know how the conflict ends, you narrate it and pass the turn to the next player's protagonist.

There are some neat details to it that I left out, but the system is incredibly elegant, and the best system for social conflicts I've encountered so far. It also supports storytelling on any scale: the conflict can be a lovers' spat, an elaborate heist, a world war, or the overthrow of an intergalactic government.

Both of these games are great for world-building. Dungeon World encourages gaming groups to create the world collaboratively, and many character abilities explicitly state that the player may describe a part of the world. Shock, as originally devised, is all about world-building, and has some very neat mechanics to support it.

So, what about your indie games? What do you like to play? Or if you don't play them, is it due to a conscious decision or lack of opportunity?

Updated 20 July 2013 (23:14)