%% date:: [[2021-04-05]], [[2021-04-06]], [[2021-04-21]], [[2021-08-17]], [[2021-12-26]], [[2022-04-17]], [[2022-04-24]], [[2022-04-26]], [[2022-05-22]], [[2022-09-11]], [[2022-09-28]], [[2022-10-07]], [[2022-10-09]], [[2022-10-10]], [[2022-10-13]], [[2022-11-03]], [[2023-01-08]], [[2023-03-19]], [[2023-06-04]] %% # [[Tabletop Roleplaying Games]] A Tabletop Role Playing Game is a ruleset and framework for participating as a character in a fictional world for the purpose of entertainment and comraderie. The "tabletop" qualifier refers to an RPG that is played in the physical world (as opposed to a virtual world as is the case for video RPGs), usually over a communal table. ## TTRPG Rule Systems ### Heavy on nostalgia: [[Old School Revival]] ![[Old School Revival#OSR games]] ### Rules light Game systems with rules that fit into one page or a few pages. They are built for simplicity and speed, and therefore lend themselves well particularly well to one-shots. These systems also tend to be more story-focused. - [[Alice Is Missing]] - [site](https://www.huntersentertainment.com/alice-is-missing): silent, text-based narrative system with cards instead of dice - [[EZD6]] - [site](https://www.ezd6.com/): d6 system with simplified rules, optimized for conventions - [[Fate]] - [site](https://fate-srd.com/); d6-based, story-focused RPG with high player agency and variable theme - [[Fiasco]] - [site](https://bullypulpitgames.com/games/fiasco/) - [[Honey Heist]] - [site](https://gshowitt.itch.io/honey-heist); silly one-page RPG about bears at a honey festival - [[Index Card RPG]] - [site](https://www.modiphius.net/products/index-card-rpg-master-edition): d20 RPG with innovative mechanics to simplify combat and adventure creation - [[Kids on Bikes]] - [site](https://www.huntersentertainment.com/kidsonbikesrpg): stats are assigned different polyhedral dice, about kids exploring strange mysteries like in Stranger Things - [[Lasers & Feelings]] - [site](https://johnharper.itch.io/lasers-feelings); sci-fi one-pager about a threat in outer space - [[The Witch Is Dead]] - [site](https://gshowitt.itch.io/the-witch-is-dead): You're familiars avenging a witch who's just been murdered. Go! - [[Tiny Dungeon]] - [site](https://www.gallantknightgames.com/tiny-dungeon-2e/): minimalist RPG - [[Warlock!]] - [site](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/2503/Fire-Ruby-Designs): old-school British RPG with many careers and a lot of randomness - [[Microscope (RPG)]] - [site](https://www.lamemage.com/microscope/): collaborative world- and story-building with a heavy emphasis on narrative roleplay ### More complex rules These games are more suited for longer campaigns. - [[13th Age]] - [site](https://www.13thagesrd.com/): story-focused, and players can use their relationships with "icons" (factions) to change the story - [[Alien RPG]] - [site](https://www.alien-rpg.com/): sci-fi horror based on the [[Year Zero engine]] - [[Apocalypse World]] - [site](http://www.apocalypse-world.com/) - [[Blades in the Dark]] - [site](https://bladesinthedark.com/); [[Book/Six of Crows (series)|Six of Crows]]-esque urban noir about a party of scoundrels - [[Balikbayan]] - [site](https://temporalhiccup.itch.io/balikbayan): Cyberpunk dystopian world based on Philippine folklore - [[Castles & Crusades]] - [site](https://trolllord.com/castles-crusades/): Based on [[Dungeons & Dragons|D&D]] 3e. Higher power level than [[Old School Revival|OSR]] games. - [[Call of Cthulhu RPG]] - [site](https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-rpg/): Investigative [[H P Lovecraft|Lovecraftian]] stories with psychological horror - [[Chronicles of Darkness]] - [site](http://theonyxpath.com/category/worlds/chroniclesofdarkness/) - [[Cortex RPG]] - [site](https://www.cortexrpg.com/) - [[Coyote & Crow]] - [site](https://coyoteandcrow.net/); alternate future sci-fi where North America was never colonized - [[Cypher]] - [site](https://cypher-system.com/): d20 system addressing [[Dungeons & Dragons|D&D]]'s issues in encounter balancing, with a primary setting in a world that mixes science and fantasy (Numenera) - [[Dungeons & Dragons]] - [site](https://dnd.wizards.com/): the most popular TRPG in the world, now on 5e - [[Dungeon World]] - [site](https://dungeon-world.com/): capped progression to level 10, fronts as main movers of a world/adventure - [[Ironsworn]] - [site](https://www.ironswornrpg.com/): Random table-heavy RPG with GM, GM-light, and GM-less play options - [[Masks - A New Generation]] - [site](https://magpiegames.com/pages/masks) - [[Modiphius 2d20]] - [site](https://modiphius.us/) - [[Root RPG]] - [site](https://magpiegames.com/pages/root-rpg): About cutesy woodland creatures, but it's actually a highly political [[Powered by the Apocalypse|PbtA]] game with mechanics for backstabbing and deception. - [[Pathfinder]] - [site](https://paizo.com/pathfinder): D&D 3.5e, but with more crunch. Now on 2e. - [[Starfinder]] - [site](https://paizo.com/starfinder/): Pathfinder, but in space - [[Shadow of the Demon Lord]] - [site](https://schwalbentertainment.com/shadow-of-the-demon-lord/) - [[The One Ring RPG]] - [site](https://freeleaguepublishing.com/en/games/the-one-ring/): Sprawling medieval fantasy setting in the world of [[Lord of the Rings]] ## Other resources - [[Elements of Tabletop RPGs]]: What's in a TTRPG? - [[TTRPGs Games Index]]: Roleplaying games I've played in the last two years and all my notes from them - [[Interesting TTRPG mechanics]]: Good ideas for mechanics that I've picked up from playing all these games - [[TTRPG system families]]: Overarching groups of games that have some mechanics or themes in common - [[TTRPG systems by their use of the OGL]]: List of TTRPGs, categorized by whether or not they use the [[OGL]]. - [[Shortlist of systems I want to play next]]