Fantasy as a roleplaying game genre goes back to the very beginning. The most popular RPG today, Dungeons & Dragons, got its start as a fantasy-themed hack of a historical wargame, folding in ideas from the works of J.R.R Tolkein, Jack Vance, and other fantasy writers of the day.
Fantasy continues to be an enormously popular genre for TTRPGs today, with designers from all over the globe creating fantastical and mythical worlds for characters to explore, fearsome monsters to defeat (or befriend), and wondrous magic to behold.
10 Apotheosis By Gordie Murphy Follows The Evolution Of Myths
The myths and stories of fantasy take the center stage in this GMless storytelling game about how legends grow and change in the telling. Players work together to create a culture that they will then follow through five generations. Next, the group creates a legend by asking questions about important aspects of the culture. This legend will shift as major events occur throughout the generations, with the story affecting the culture and vice versa. While Apotheosis can be used to tell stories about any kind of culture, the mythological structure will appeal particularly to fantasy fans.
9 Slayers By Spencer Campbell Is Monster Hunting In A Haunted City
One of the biggest tropes in fantasy gaming is monster hunting, and Slayers puts this center stage. Characters are monster hunters for hire working to keep a haunted, endless city as safe as they can from all manner of arcane and eldritch beasts.
One of the most interesting aspects of Slayers is how it uses different dice mechanics for different classes. For instance, the duelist-like Blade can combo their hits to rack up a massive attack, while the revolver-wielding Gunslinger holds six dice to represent the bullets in their gun, using them up with each shot.
8 Deep Forest By Mark Diaz Truman And Avery Alder Sees Things From The Monsters' Perspective
The Quiet Year, also by Avery Alder, tells the story of a group of people fleeing an unspecified danger, living out a single year before their pursuers catch up to them. Deep Forest flips things around, with the players telling the story of a community of fantasy monsters immediately after they repel the invading human "heroes." It invites players to consider the other side of traditional fantasy narratives, and involves drawing maps and reflecting on community tension and values.
7 Resist The Darkness In Bonfire & Blade By Simon Moody
The influences behind Bonfire & Blade are clear, as it bills itself a "Souls-Lite" game. The players take on the role of undead, "cursed to an endless cycle of death and resurrection.
The characters adventure through a ruined world, doing battle against dangerous monsters and desperately trying to reach the next bonfire. Once per session, a player can have their character unlock a new Memory to help them on a particularly dangerous roll or action.
6 Ithaca in the Cards By Ehronlime Details What Happens After The Quest Is Over
Plenty of storytelling games in the modern era choose to use a deck of playing cards as a randomizer mechanic rather than dice, and Ithaca in the Cards does the same. It follows the story of a group of doomed travelers returning after completing a quest. The journey is not safe, however, and the group will need to pass through several challenges before they are safe. After each encounter, the players reflect on what motivates their need to return home. The game ends with the dire instruction "Repeat rounds until either everyone is dead or you've reached home."
5 Wanderhome By Jay Dragon Puts Combat On The Back Burner
Wanderhome is an award-winning game of pastoral fantasy that follows a group of wandering animal-folk as they encounter sleepy towns and beautiful countrysides. Each player chooses from a long list of evocative playbooks, such as The Teacher, The Veteran, or The Moth Tender. It can be played with or without a game master, or Guide, and is perfect for groups looking to take a break from the hack-and-slash side of fantasy gaming.
4 Venture Into An Oversized World In Mausritter By Isaac Williams
Humans, elves, and dwarves are nowhere to be found in Mausritter. Instead, it follows the adventures of mouse adventurers, armed with needle swords, fishhook spears, and thimble helmets. The rulebook is a short 25 pages, packed with everything a group needs to plot out a tiny fantasy realm complete with cat lairs and insect hives. It is available on a pay-as-able basis but is well worth a buy for anyone looking for a fresh fantasy adventure game.
3 Home Again By Nell Raban Is A Magical Realism Game Of Cultural History
In Home Again, the characters are members of the Tao people, transported to a modern world from their island home by an unknown cataclysm. It explores themes of cultural identity, diaspora, and colonization.
Rather than focussing on wild or flashy fantasy, Home Again is interested in how fantasy can be used to defy a harsh reality and propose potential alternatives. It is a slice-of-life game following the activities of community leaders and activists discovering and rediscovering their secret magic.
2 You Are The Dungeon By TheOtherTracy Puts The Player In Charge Of The Dungeon Itself
The name gives it all away with You Are The Dungeon. It is a solo game that guides a player through the process of portraying a deep, dangerous dungeon. The game is played in cycles of forays, when adventurers and explorers plumb the depths and fallows when new creatures inhabit the dungeon and new powers come to be. It's a fun twist on the classic dungeon-delving formula, and the book itself is printer-friendly and ready to be drawn in.
1 Brinkwood: The Blood Of Tyrants By Erik Bernhardt Lets Players "Drink The Rich"
This Forged in the Dark game has an easy pitch: Robin-Hood-like brigands do battle against evil, domineering vampires. It is a game of rebellion, with grassroots resistance cells working in secret to strike at the vampiric government. Brinkwood bills itself as a "castylpunk" game, focused on uplifting the downtrodden and turning power on its head. It replaces the traditional Forged in the Dark playbook system with several magical masks, each of which carries a set of unique fae abilities.