Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Savage Worlds is a tabletop roleplaying game designed by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Originally released in 2003 and updated, as the Adventure Edition in 2018. Its a universal system for running games in almost any genre from weird west and high fantasy to deep space sci-fi. The game is specifically engineered to handle cinematic pulp action and massive battles without slowing down the narrative. The system it directly evolved from is Deadlands (1996) Description Savage Worlds has everything you need to play narrative or miniature-based games, with quick, simple, yet comprehensive rules for everything from combat to Dramatic Tasks, Chases, and Interludes. The emphasis is on less bookkeeping for the Game Master so she can quickly and easily create worlds and adventures for any setting and focus on the players and their actions to keep the action and story rocketing along.

Talislanta is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game created by Stephan Michael Sechi, first published by Bard Games in 1987. It draws its inspiration from Jack Vance's Dying Earth novels and the travelogue spirit of the Arabian Nights rather than from Tolkien. It built its identity around a single blunt promise printed right on the box: "no elves". No dwarves, no halflings, no standard-issue fantasy races at all - just dozens of original cultures found nowhere else in the genre.  The game has passed through five editions and nearly as many publishers, including a stint at Wizards of the Coast in the early '90s, and creator Stephan Michael Sechi now makes the entire back catalogue - every edition, every supplement - available for free through the official Talislanta Library. Description Playing Talislanta starts with a choice. Instead of creating a character from separate race, class, and skill lists, players pick one of well over a hundred archetypes. Things like the Cymrilan Rogue Magician, the Jaka Beastmaster, or the Mandalan Mystic Warrior - each one a fully realised character tied to a specific culture. Complete with attributes, skills, gear, and a place in the world already worked out. A little light customisation (a point moved here, a skill added there) and the character is ready to play.  What makes the game distinct isn't its mechanics, which are deliberately light, but the scale of its setting: the continent of Talislanta is home to more than a hundred distinct peoples, and the rulebooks spend far more pages on culture, custom, and worldview than on combat math. It rewards players who want to explore a genuinely alien fantasy world over chasing mechanical optimisation. System Overview & Key Features Archetype-Based Character Creation Character creation isn't a build process, it's a selection process. Every archetype in the book arrives fully statted, dressed, and equipped, tied to a named culture and a defined role in Talislantan society. Archetypes are deliberately unbalanced against one another, since staying true to the setting mattered more to Sechi than parity between character options. The Unified Action Table Skill checks, combat rolls, and magic all resolve on a single d20 chart. Attacking works exactly like any other skill roll: add a skill rating, compare to a target number. There's no separate combat subsystem to memorise, which keeps the rules themselves down to a few dozen pages even in the densest editions. Modes and Orders Magic runs on two interlocking pieces: Modes (twelve broad effect categories like Attack, Heal, or Illusion) and Orders (culturally rooted schools of magic, from Cartomancy to Elemental Magic). A magician's Order shapes how a Mode behaves and looks when cast, so the same underlying effect plays out completely differently in different hands - which lets a short list of Modes support a near-endless variety of actual spells. A World Built Without Tolkien Every culture in Talislanta was designed to avoid genre default: no elves, no generic barbarians, no standard dragons. In their place are peoples like the Thralls (identical clone-warriors distinguishable only by tattoo), the sky-sailing Phantasians, and the shapeshifting Sindarans. The setting material - not the rules - is where most of the page count and most of the game's reputation live. Links talislanta.com - Official Talislanta website talislanta.com/talislanta-library - Free official PDFs of every edition and supplement ever published

Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game (DCC RPG or simply DCC) is a role-playing game published by Goodman Games in 2012. The game is famous for its chaotic magic, bizarre dice, and its distinct artwork. DCC RPG is a fast-paced, open-feeling rules set allowing for epic game experiences without unnecessary tethers. It uses modern game-play while paying homage to the origins of role-playing and the fun that it inspired. While it is an ongoing argument, DCC can be considered an OSR game. The system it directly evolved from is Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition (2000). Description You’re no hero. You’re an adventurer: a reaver, a cutpurse, a heathen-slayer, a tight-lipped warlock guarding long-dead secrets. You seek gold and glory, winning it with sword and spell, caked in the blood and filth of the weak, the dark, the demons, and the vanquished. There are treasures to be won deep underneath, and you shall have them. System Overview & Key Features The Level Zero Funnel Instead of carefully crafting a single hero, each player generates three or four completely random level zero peasants. You run this mob through a deadly introductory dungeon. The few survivors who manage to escape earn their first class level and become your actual player characters. The Dice Chain The game uses a set of unusual dice alongside the standard setup. These include a d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24, and d30. Instead of applying static mathematical penalties or bonuses, the Game Master might simply tell you to roll the next die up or down on the chain. Mighty Deeds of Arms Warriors and Dwarves do not have rigid skill trees or complex combat feats. Before any attack, they can declare a heroic maneuver, like blinding an enemy or sweeping their legs. They roll a Deed Die alongside their attack, and if the die rolls high enough, the maneuver succeeds dynamically. Roll to Cast Magic Magic is incredibly powerful but highly unpredictable. Wizards and Clerics must roll a spell check every time they cast. A high roll creates a massive, reality altering effect, while a low roll causes the spell to fail and potentially slip from the caster's mind for the rest of the day. Additional links goodmangames.com - Official Goodman Games website purplesorcerer.com - Purple Sorcerer Games (free tools and character generators) Community Resources - Resources for new DCC players Events Page - This is the place to find out all of the games the Road Crew will be running

Dragonbane is a classic fantasy tabletop roleplaying game published by Free League Publishing in 2023. It is a modern English translation and reimagining of Drakar och Demoner, Scandinavia's first and longest-running TTRPG, originally released in 1982. The game carries over four decades of Swedish gaming heritage into a sleek, accessible package designed around the philosophy of "mirth and mayhem": fast-paced adventures with minimal prep, where danger is real, luck matters, and even a humble merchant can become a legend. Unlike many modern fantasy RPGs, Dragonbane deliberately avoids the power-escalation treadmill of level-based systems. Characters are capable but mortal from session one, and the game works equally well for a single one-shot evening or a sprawling long-term campaign. It was a strong contender for TTRPG of the year on release, praised widely as one of the most accessible entry points into tabletop fantasy roleplaying. Description In Dragonbane, players take on the role of adventurers in the Misty Vale, a hidden mountain valley, ancient and full of ruins from fallen kingdoms, only recently cleared of orc and goblin occupation. The world is shaped by the eternal cosmic struggle between two great powers: the Dragons and the Demons, rival godlike forces whose conflict bleeds into mortal life. Players choose from six playable Kins: Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, the duck-like Mallards, and the feral Wolfkin and one of ten Professions (Fighter, Mage, Hunter, Thief, Artisan, Merchant, Mariner, Scholar, and others), each providing a distinct set of skills and heroic abilities. One player takes the role of the Game Master (GM), who builds the world, voices NPCs, and runs the dangers the adventurers face. The tone balances genuine peril and dark fantasy with moments of levity and absurdity.

Draw Steel is a tactical heroic fantasy tabletop roleplaying game designed by Matt Colville and the team at MCDM Productions. It is built to provide a modern, cinematic alternative to traditional d20 fantasy games. It focuses on high action, tactical depth, and ensuring that every player character feels like a legendary hero from the very first level. The system it is a spiritual successor to is Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Description In Draw Steel, players take on the roles of Heroes. Unlike other systems, the characters are heroes from the start. The characters are already capable of taking on the world and whatever threats may arise. The system encourages a highly tactical approach to combat encounters, promoting teamwork and clever use of abilities to control and affect any battlefield they might find themselves at. System Overview & Key Features The 2d10 Core Mechanic The game abandons the d20 focus and instead offers two ten-sided dice (2d10) instead. This creates a better mathematical average and becomes more predictable and reliable. No To Hit Rolls Draw Steel eliminates the traditional roll to hit. Instead, heroes automatically hit their targets with their primary abilities, but they roll to determine how much Power or impact the effect has. This keeps the game focused on making meaningful tactical choices rather than wasting turns on a miss. Heroic Resources Each class manages a unique resource, such as Focus or Valor, which builds up during a fight. These resources are spent to activate powerful Signature Moves and Heroic Abilities, ensuring that combat has a rising sense of drama and escalation as the heroes grow more powerful the longer a battle lasts. Tactical Movement and Forced Position Combat is designed for a grid. Many abilities do more than just deal damage; they allow players to slide, push, or pull enemies and allies across the battlefield. Positioning is vital, and the environment is intended to be a weapon that heroes can use to their advantage. Tiered Success Action resolution often uses three tiers of success. A low roll might provide a success with a cost, a middle roll is a standard success, and a high roll is a spectacular success that might trigger bonus effects or additional damage. This ensures that every roll contributes something to the ongoing narrative. Links mcdmproductions.com - Official MCDM Productions website mcdm.gg - MCDM community and developer portal

Scarlet Heroes is an old-school tabletop role-playing game designed by Kevin Crawford and published by Sine Nomine Publishing in 2014. Built on the chassis of early fantasy role-playing games, it is explicitly engineered to support "duet" play (one Game Master and one player) or completely un-GMed solo play. The system functions both as a standalone game and as a mechanical conversion overlay, allowing a single player character to survive and conquer classic modules written for a full party of four to six adventurers without any structural modifications to the adventure itself. Description The default setting for Scarlet Heroes is the Red Tide, a dark, sword-and-sorcery fantasy world where the remnants of humanity have fled to an isolated archipelago known as the Sunset Isles to escape a world-devouring crimson mist. In this setting, players choose from traditional fantasy heritages and step into classic archetypes: the Fighter, Cleric, Thief, or Magic-User. However, the true focus of the ruleset is its revolutionary math-rebalancing engine. Traditional early-edition fantasy games are notoriously lethal for solo characters due to the "action economy" favoring groups of monsters. Scarlet Heroes alters how standard numbers are interpreted, transforming a single baseline character into a legendary epic hero who can cleave through hordes of lesser foes while preserving the danger of boss monsters. Links sine-nomine-publishing.myshopify.com - Official website drivethrurpg.com - Drive Thru RPG shop page

Fabula Ultima is a tabletop roleplaying game designed by Italian creator Emanuele Galletto and published by Need Games!, released first in Italian and then in an English edition in October 2022. It bills itself as a TTJRPG - a love letter to Japanese console RPGs like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Dragon Quest.  Built by a designer who tried reskinning other systems to capture that feeling and, failing to find one that fit, wrote his own. The game found its audience fast, taking home the Gold ENNIE for Best Game and the Silver ENNIE for Product of the Year in 2023.

DC20 is a fantasy tabletop RPG designed by Alan Bjorkgren, a former high school math teacher and track coach better known online as The Dungeon Coach, where he spent years producing D&D 5e homebrew content before deciding to build his own system outright - a decision accelerated by Wizards of the Coast's 2023 OGL controversy.  Rather than reinventing fantasy TTRPGs from scratch, DC20 keeps 5e's basic silhouette - classes, levels, a d20 core - while substantially rebuilding the parts Bjorkgren felt were holding the format back: action economy, damage resolution, spellcasting, and character customization. Its June 2024 Kickstarter broke $1 million within its first week, and the game has been in active public beta ever since, currently on Core Rules Beta 0.10.5, with the full Core Rulebook still pending release.

The Dungeon Crawler Carl Roleplaying Game is an officially licensed tabletop adaptation of Matt Dinniman's bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl LitRPG novels, developed by Renegade Game Studios and launched via a BackerKit crowdfunding campaign in April 2026. The campaign became the most-followed TTRPG crowdfunding launch in history, pulling in over 27,000 backers and more than $6.6 million against an original $250,000 goal, putting it in the same company as Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere RPG and Avatar Legends among the biggest tabletop crowdfunders ever run.  The book series itself has an unusually indie-to-mainstream trajectory: Dinniman began posting it as a free web serial on Royal Road in 2020, and it grew organically into a multi-million-copy bestseller before Ace Books picked it up in 2024. Fulfillment for the RPG and its companion deck-building game, Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable, is expected in late 2026. Description Playing Dungeon Crawler Carl means playing a Crawler - a contestant, willing or otherwise - trapped in the World Dungeon, a lethal, alien-broadcast reality show where survival means keeping quadrillions of viewers across the galaxy entertained. The GM takes on the role of the System AI, the sardonic, rules-obsessed intelligence that narrates the dungeon, hands out achievements, and is never quite as fair as it claims to be.  Players can step directly into the shoes of characters from the novels - Carl, Donut, Katia, and others - or build an original Crawler from more than 30 species and a roster of gleefully absurd classes (Fire Mage Arcanist, Former Child Actor, Shotgun Messenger) that matches the source material's satirical, over-the-top tone. True to the books' obsession with loot, XP, and gamified progression, the ruleset leans hard into that same structure rather than smoothing it over for a more traditional fantasy feel.

Blue Rose: The AGE RPG of Romantic Fantasy is a tabletop roleplaying game of heroism, intrigue, and romance, originally designed by Jeremy Crawford, Dawn Elliott, Steve Kenson, and John Snead and published by Green Ronin Publishing. It first appeared in 2005 running on the True20 system, a simplified offshoot of the d20 System, before Green Ronin funded a full second edition through Kickstarter and rereleased it in 2018 rebuilt on their own Adventure Game Engine (AGE). It holds a real place in the hobby's history as the first roleplaying game to explicitly write acceptance of every gender and sexual orientation - including polyamorous relationships between adult characters - directly into its rules and setting, well before that became common practice. The system is built on the Adventure Game Engine (AGE), the same engine Green Ronin uses for Dragon Age, Fantasy AGE, and Modern AGE, replacing the True20 rules the original 2005 edition ran on. Description Players take on envoys of the Sovereign's Finest, agents of the Kingdom of Aldis charged with defending it through diplomacy, investigation, and magic as much as combat, often partnered with a rhydan - one of Aldea's psychic, sapient animals, treated as a full citizen and frequently a fellow player character rather than a pet. The Game Master sits across a conflict between Aldis's tolerant, magic-embracing society and its neighbors: the zealous Theocracy of Jarzon and the corrupted Kingdom of Kern, both shaped by the legacy of the ancient Sorcerer Kings and the creeping influence of the Shadow. The game asks its table to take relationships and personal conviction as seriously as any fight - romance, loyalty, and belief are built into the character sheet, not left to sit outside it - and it leans toward stories that resolve through negotiation and investigation at least as often as the sword.

The Adventure Game Engine (AGE) is a tabletop roleplaying game system designed by Chris Pramas and published by Green Ronin Publishing, first introduced in the Dragon Age Roleplaying Game, an officially licensed adaptation of BioWare's video game series. Rather than staying tied to that one setting, AGE was generalized into a standalone toolkit that Green Ronin has since reused across a growing family of otherwise unrelated game lines: Fantasy AGE, Modern AGE, The Expanse Roleplaying Game, Blue Rose: The AGE Roleplaying Game of Romantic Fantasy, and Cthulhu Awakens. Each line shares the same dice math and character-building vocabulary while reskinning them for a different genre, from grim high fantasy to hard-science-fiction space opera. Description Sit down at any AGE table and the character sheet looks familiar whatever the setting: a handful of ability scores, a page of Focuses that narrow down what a character is actually good at, some Talents, and a Health track that goes down rather than up. What changes by line is who's being played and what the group is doing with them. Dragon Age and Fantasy AGE put players in a class-based, sword-and-sorcery world built on the same tropes as the video games. Modern AGE drops the classes in favor of a freeform, contemporary or near-future toolkit for playing civilians, agents, or specialists; The Expanse puts players on a scraping-by crew in a hard-edged solar system where violence is fast and often permanent; Blue Rose asks for heroes of a deliberately hopeful, consent-based fantasy nation. The Game Master narrates outcomes and calls for rolls, and underneath every one of those settings sits the same rhythm: roll, hope for doubles, and spend what's earned on a stunt table built for the scene in front of you.

Fantasy AGE is a tabletop roleplaying game of class-based sword-and-sorcery adventure, designed by Chris Pramas and published by Green Ronin Publishing. It first released as the Fantasy AGE Basic Rulebook in 2015, adapting the Adventure Game Engine (AGE) that Pramas built for the Dragon Age Roleplaying Game into a standalone, setting-neutral fantasy toolkit rather than a licensed tie-in. A second edition followed in February 2023, staying roughly 90% compatible with the original while folding in years of supplement material and adding two new subsystems, Peril and Daring. The system is built on the Adventure Game Engine (AGE), the same engine Green Ronin uses for Dragon Age, Modern AGE, and Blue Rose. Description Players build adventurers from one of four classes - Envoy, Mage, Rogue, or Warrior, covering the social, magical, sneaky, and fighty corners of a party respectively - and one of nine Ancestries (Draak, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Human, Orc, or Wildfolk), a term Green Ronin adopted across its AGE games to sidestep the baggage "race" carries in older fantasy RPGs. The Game Master (GM) runs a setting of the table's own choosing rather than a fixed world. Fantasy AGE was built from the start as a toolkit for running any sword-and-sorcery campaign rather than one specific IP. Sessions lean on the AGE system's stunt-heavy combat to keep fights fast and cinematic, while the optional Peril and Daring systems ask a table to decide up front how much extra swing they want between a party's best and worst moments.

King Arthur Pendragon is a tabletop roleplaying game of Arthurian chivalry, tragedy, and multi-generational legacy, originally designed by Greg Stafford and first published by Chaosium in 1985. It's one of the hobby's oldest continuously-revised games, having passed through five earlier editions and several publishers (including Green Ronin's Arthaus imprint and Nocturnal Media) before returning to Chaosium, who released the 6th Edition in April 2024.  Stafford completed the design draft for this edition before his death in 2018, with longtime Pendragon line editor David Larkins overseeing it to print - a fact the game's own promotional copy leans into, framing it as the culmination of nearly forty years of Stafford's design thinking on the setting. Description Players take on knights of Arthur's Britain, sworn to a lord and bound by a code of chivalry the game asks characters - and players - to genuinely wrestle with rather than simply declare. The Game Master (GM) runs a campaign built to span decades of in-world time: between adventures, a Winter Phase resolves a knight's marriage, estate management, aging, and family events, and campaigns are explicitly designed to carry a player from their original knight's prime through old age and into playing that knight's own heir.  The game asks a lot of a table willing to commit to it - character death by old age is expected, not a failure state, and a knight's personal flaws are written onto the character sheet where they can force bad decisions at the worst possible moment. In exchange, it delivers something few other RPGs attempt: a genuinely generational campaign where a table can watch the consequences of one knight's choices land on their grandchild decades later.