DnD 3.5 and Pathfinder.

According to their FAQ: So it looks like the answer is, yes you can, but they would prefer that you didn't.

They are water marked, meaning that you can tell what account the particular PDF is from. There is nothing that prevents you from sending the file to someone else, but if that person then passes it on to more people, then you might get into trouble.

Oh my goodness! If you want an amazing adventure board game with basic rules, spell casting, treasure hunting, dice combat, weapon and armor purchasing, tons of quests (tons made by fans online), and game expansions, then look into Hero Quest. The game is available on Ebay as it is not made anymore. But you can also give it a try in the digital version here.

http://www.yeoldeinn.com/na-pc-games.php

HeroQuest is a great kids game, but I wonder how long adults would be able to stay interested in it, at least if they don't have any nostalgic ties to it. There are some games along the same line as HeroQuest, that probably will appeal to older players a lot more, like Descent.

In therms of easy to understand rules and just jump into the game I'd say Cthulhu is the best choice. As already has been pointed out the gameplay is intended to be brutal. The "lucky" players end up in an asylum at the (mostly quick) end of their career. BUT! regardless of the PnP system used, the last call has always the DM, and if the DM chooses to do a softer route and its ok with the players it is still a very entertaining gametime you can have.

I would say just go for D&D 3.5. It's pretty easy to learn, there's only two important rulebooks and the rest is just fluff, expansions and examples. Plus you can just google the D&D SRD and you have an easy online rule resource. 4E is much more video gamey but still decent enough and much easier to learn for new DMs, though not necessarily for players.

However, I've also had terrific luck with newbies and new World of Darkness. The rules are as straighforward as possible and levelling up is super easy to figure out. Storyteller was good, but nWoD did a good job fixing up the rules, if not necessarily the lore. But it's highly adaptable, even to the old setting.

Call of Cthulhu is another easy to learn one. It's not easy to win at all, but it is easy to learn.

Avoid Shadowrun, the rules are unbelievably convoluted. Avoid Pathfinder until you at least try D&D, since it really builds off of it and you'll appreciate the improvements enough to deal with the complications.

Also since I didn't suggest anything new, I'll plug Fiasco. It's not really a traditional RPG as it focuses almost exclusively on improv and roleplaying with no stats or combat, but it's amazingly fun.

Thanks for all the tips, will check em all out! keep em coming if you have any new ideas!

I'll second what PeanutBrittle said...stay away from Pathfinder and especially Shadowrun for a first ever table top RPG. Certainly tke a look at them later, but they're more involved.

I'm going to recommend Savage Worlds. Nice, clean rule set that covers every action set piece that could come up. Dogfights? Big group battles? Car chases? All of that is in there. It's a quick to play game set that moves quickly and is easy to run.

And there are a ton of settings and pre-made campaigns out there. I can't recommend Deadlands Reloaded enough. Weird War II, War of the Dead and Agents of Oblivion are some other settings I've played that were quite a bit of fun.

As a final perk, it's inexpensive. The books, particularly the Explorer's Editions, are very easy on the wallet.

so: did some searching around the net and I think i'm gonna start playing call of cthulhu for several reasons; it seems widely aclaimed through forums and youtube, pretty easy to get into, my brother has the rulebook and all my friends (relevant for this project) actually has the necronimicon including myself. So it should fit us like a glove:) then im probably gonna check out vampire masquerade; a nice new edition of the rulebook as well as the intriguing story focus has me hooked, as well as savage worlds and perhaps deadlands reloaded to that, found some cheap inbound editions of them which is not something u see often when it comes to pnp in sweden.If that doesnt satisfy my hunger i will keep going with the advices. thank u all for sharing your tips with me and keep em coming!

Coming from germany I started with "Das schwarze Auge" P&P (The dark eye) and found it interestingly easy to learn. I especially liked the scenario of a mild fantasy realm (i don't really like these vampire/cyberpunk scenarios and couldn't becom friends with the D&D ruleset and scenario (even if it looks really similar to the TDE one)). Even mastered some gaming sessions and had a lot of fun with it.

Found a great prize on a bundle of vampire books so i know have both the regular vampire masquerade rule book, the new world of darkness rule book as well as the vampire requiem rule book. If one is to play vampire should it be played in the old (masquerade) way or the new (requiem) way. Or combined, rules from one and setting from the other, which is made possible with the translation book that I also got in the package?

Saw this thread now, so I'll share my bit of knowledge of the mater:

RPG, Role playing games. Role, as in improvised theatre. You don't need rules, dices, paper and pen. You only need a group of friends, a story to share, and only ONLY one thing clear: the DM is not against the players, quite the opposite. The DM is the narrator of the story so don't make the combats something personal.

That said... use the system you find more comfortable, don't hesitate to improvise, ignore or change rules if it makes the story more interesting. And the goal of the game is having fun, not 'win'.

The one and only time I played Vampires I was using Requiem and the nWoD base rules. I had a ton of fun with it, it's fairly open with setting and style so it gives the GM a lot of freedom to write campaigns. I don't think Masquerade is inherently better.

That being said, there are a lot of people who are very passionate about the old world setting, so I imagine I'm in the minority. But honestly you can go with whatever sounds more appealing.

Only one I ever played was Shadowrun, and it was good. Not sure how beginner friendly it was though.

God damn that feels like another life ago.