# West End Games d6 PDF's, FREE!



## Treebore (Dec 11, 2009)

I never saw mention of this here, so...

RPGNow.com - West End Games - - The leading source for indie RPGs

This is not the old d6 stuff, but their new versions of Fantasy, Adventure, and Space.

Still a lot of usable stuff, IMO.


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## jdrakeh (Dec 11, 2009)

More importantly, all of these D6 System documents have been released under the OGL in their entirety, less trade dress and artwork (the license is appended to the end of each PDF). Note that the RPGNow documents do _not_ have the license attached yet.


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## vagabundo (Dec 11, 2009)

Having a look now.

How do these play? What is the systems strengths and weaknesses?


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## Treebore (Dec 11, 2009)

vagabundo said:


> Having a look now.
> 
> How do these play? What is the systems strengths and weaknesses?





Its best to just read through them and see for yourself. I don't know about you, but I have read plenty of people's "opinions" about how this or that game system sucked, and totally disagreed with them. I have also read about how this or that game system totally rocks, and I totally disagreed with them.

Which is why I no longer write or read reviews, and just find out for myself. So rather than risking following opinions that do not actually reflect your personal tastes and preferences, find out for yourself, especially since this time its free.

I for one am not someone who wants just one system to do everything, like GURPS, or like D20 tried to be. I have found that various gaming systems have made play noticeably better than it would have been with a "universal" system.

My two biggest examples for me were D20 Traveller versus the 2d6 system and D20 Rokugan versus the L5R Rokugan system. Then there is GURPS itself. Using the same basic mechanics for every genre was cool in some ways, but it also made everything too much the same.

So just check it out, you may find you like what it does, and you may not. Just don't let someone else make that decision for you.


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## jaerdaph (Dec 11, 2009)

You can download these d6 books and more legally and for free, with the OGL license attached, here:

http://www.wegfansite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1451

While the message board is a fan site, the linked PDF files are all stored on WEG's Web site. If you go to WEG's Web site and click on Forums, you are taken to this fan site anyway. 

WEG has yet to release the equivalent of the d20 System license for d6 yet, however, which they mentioned they were going to do awhile back (which would allow you to claim compatibility and use a d6 logo etc.). The whole OpenD6 project seems to be in limbo...


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## jaerdaph (Dec 11, 2009)

jdrakeh said:


> More importantly, all of these D6 System documents have been released under the OGL in their entirety, less trade dress and artwork (the license is appended to the end of each PDF). Note that the RPGNow documents do _not_ have the license attached yet.




Sorry - didn't see that you linked this already.


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## Hjorimir (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks for the heads-up!


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## Wik (Dec 11, 2009)

Awesome!

I just want to say here, for people that have no experience with the system, that the d6 system is a lot of fun.  It has a lot of strengths, and while the main books can appear a touch confusing, they are actually one of the simpler systems out there once you get the gist of it.  It is a game where the "action economy" of other systems is perhaps a bit less prevalent, since PCs can take as many actions per turn as they like (within reason, but higher level PCs essentially get more actions).


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## El Mahdi (Dec 11, 2009)

deleted


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## Wik (Dec 11, 2009)

I think it has to do with the fact that they released much of this information for free as a sort of "OGL" for d6, anyways.  They really want the d6 system to be the next open game, which would be great in my book.  

I think what WEG really needs to do is to rework the character design system - there's a lot of confusion there.  Pare it down into a simpler method of character creation, and THEN start layering on the options, instead of the option overload presented as is.  Also, the current rules are set up in a way that makes it hard to create a character with interesting options without GM supervision (ie, a lot of powers are sort of "negotiate with your GM what this power means").  

The game is a grab bag of options, which is awesome - but some grounding of things would be great.  The system is super simple, and in my mind, one of the chief problems of the d6 system these days is how it makes the system seem a lot more difficult than it actually is (the old d6 Star Wars system pretty much described all the rules in around five pages).


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## ggroy (Dec 11, 2009)

vagabundo said:


> Having a look now.
> 
> How do these play? What is the systems strengths and weaknesses?




Two words:  dice pool.


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## jaerdaph (Dec 11, 2009)

I never played WEG's popular Star Wars RPG where the d6 System comes from, but I did buy the d6 Adventure hardcover back when it came out, read it, and was really impressed with the system. I never got to play it because d20 Modern and later True20 were already doing what I needed (and it was easier to find d20 players in general), so it ended up on the bookshelf. I recently rediscovered it though (through the free PDFs) and I've been giving it a good going over, kicking the tires etc. I've got a project I'm working on, and I've actually been considering going OpenD6 with it instead of True20. The only problem is that OpenD6, while perhaps not dead, does seem on life support, and another year has passed since it was first announced and nothing has materialized. The longer it takes, the less likely I see other publishers jumping on board over something like the d20 SRD, Pathfinder, or True20 (not to mention Savage Worlds and other non-d20 systems that can be used by 3PPs). 

If you want to know more about the history of OpenD6 (and the history of waiting folks have been doing for some announcement from WEG's Eric Gibson), check out the forums here: http://www.wegfansite.com/forum/ 

I'd love to see Eric's plans come to fruition, because it really is a robust game system with a lot of potential as an open source.


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## Panthanas (Dec 12, 2009)

Hey, thanks for the heads-up!  Maybe I can get my group to try it out sometime.  One of the guys really likes the D6 Star Wars so maybe it won't be too hard.


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## possum (Dec 12, 2009)

I'm going to have to pick these up, too.  I loved WEG's Star Wars game.


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## Wik (Dec 12, 2009)

A quick word of advice to all those new to the system - use the life points damage system, as opposed to the original WEG d6 SW "damage resistance" system.  The first system will help speed up play - the second system results in a "I hit, but you resist all the damage" and "I hit, and you resist most of the damage, lose your next action, and then resist the rest" sort of play that can make even easy fights turn into dice-rolling grinds.


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## pawsplay (Dec 12, 2009)

It's a great system. I always hoped to see more development, but it never really took off. I'm hoping going open will change that. And, for the record, I prefer damage resistance rolls.


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## jdrakeh (Dec 12, 2009)

Wik said:


> I think it has to do with the fact that they released much of this information for free as a sort of "OGL" for d6, anyways.




The documents that I and jaerdaph linked to earlier have been released under _the_ OGL, not another OGL-like license. That's a significant difference worth noting.


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