High fantasy has a long history in the world of tabletop gaming. The most popular roleplaying game today is all in on the Tolkienesque fantasy genre, with elves, dwarves, wizards, and rogues at every turn. But there are plenty of other genres in which to roleplay. Almost any genre or setting found in film, television, or literature has been replicated in tabletop RPG form.

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There are thousands of RPGs to choose from, but some are a better choice than others when trying to replicate a particular genre. With rules designed from the ground up to account for and simulate genre conventions and tropes, these games are a great choice for groups looking for a break from swords and sorcery.

10 Uncharted Worlds Is Textbook Space Opera

Uncharted worlds cover art

The space opera genre was defined for a generation with the release of Star Wars in 1977 but has since flourished into a vast and diverse type of fiction. Uncharted Worlds by Sean Gomes is a game that cites Farscape, Mass Effect, and Starcraft among its influences.

It uses a unique careers system to allow players to customize their spacer a combination of jobs and skills. The Far Beyond Humanity expansion adds rules and guidance for alien species and magical abilities, and a second edition is in development at the time of writing.

9 Mecha Anime Is Brought To Life In Beam Saber

Beam Saber game cover two mechs fighting with laser swords

Drawing from such shows as Moblie Suit Gundam, Escaflowne, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Beam Saber by Austin Ramsay is a game about mech pilots struggling for victory in an impossibly large-scale war. The game is under development but fully playable, and has an active fan community.

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There are dozens of third-party character playbooks, allowing players to find the pilot type that is exactly right for them. The game's Bonds system does a great job replicating the high stakes, high emotion relationships common to the genre.

8 Teenage Superheroes Thrive In Masks: A New Generation

Masks A new generation character spread

From classics such as Spider-Man to modern-day favorites like Ms. Marvel, the teenage superhero is a beloved trope in both comics and television. Masks: A New Generation by Brenden Conway embraces the genre completely, putting superheroic teens at the center of the action.

Rather than using traditional stats, Masks characters have shifting "Labels" which reflect how they feel about themselves and their place in the world. The shifting labels really serve to hit the highs and lows of adolescent life.

7 Glitter Hearts Is Cartoonish, Versatile, And Charming

Glitter Hearts RPG cover

Glitter Hearts by Greg Leatherman is a Powered by the Apocalypse game that does a great job of replicating not only shows like Sailor Moon but also She-Ra and the Princesses of Power or even Power Rangers.

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Characters in Glitter Hearts have a mundane persona that gives them certain moves, along with a set of magical abilities they gain access to after performing a transformation sequence. The game uses a traditional HP system uncommon to PbtA games that allows for fights to be longer and punchier without characters suffering too much lasting damage.

6 The Veil Pushes Cyberpunk To Its Limits

The Veil RPG Character artwork

Fraser Simons' The Veil is an incredible game that spans the breadth of what cyberpunk has to offer, from The Matrix to Bladerunner to Inception to Dennou Coil. With incredibly specific and evocative playbooks and a unique emotion-driven stat system, The Veil has a post-modern approach to cyberpunk that makes it well suited to plumbing the depths of what the genre has to offer.

The Veil: Cascade expansion pushes things even further into the future and into post and transhumanism.

5 Alas For The Awful Sea Sets Sail On Grim Nautical Adventures

Alas for the awful sea ship and characters

This game of mystery, myth, and crime by Storybrewers Roleplaying takes place in a fantasy version of the British Isles during the 19th century. Whalers struggle to hunt tremendous beasts, honest folk dodge the attention of pirates, and one can never be too sure what lies beyond the fog.

This game prioritizes character drama, but plenty of swashbuckling action and mystical intrigue are also par for the course. Anyone looking to play out Moby Dick with some added magic should check out Alas for the Awful Sea.

4 Good Society Is The Jane Austen RPG

Good society characters in a blue room

Jane Austen's writing is a genre unto itself, and Good Society by Storybrewers Roleplaying takes the high-class social maneuvering of her books and brings them to the game table. Players work together to create a web of favors, acquaintances, and social mores they must navigate to get what they want.

Rather than spell-slinging and sword swinging, characters send sly glances across the ballroom floor and have quiet conversations in secluded gardens. Good Society also includes a deck of cards, each bearing the name and face of a potential connection or NPC within the story.

3 Dogs In The Vineyard Is A Serious And Heavy Western

Dogs in the vineyard cover and illustrations

D. Vincent Baker's Dogs in the Vineyard is a heavy game that grapples with questions of authority, faith, and morality. Players take on the iconic role of marshalls, or "God's Watchdogs," as they patrol the West and enforce the judgments of the church, sometimes in defiance of the government.

Drawing from western movies and books, as well as the history of pre-statehood Utah and the Mormon settlement thereof, Dogs in the Vineyard is a great game to play for groups looking to tackle the deepest questions westerns have to offer.

2 Sleepaway Is Truly Terrifying But Encourages Compassion And Safety

Sleepaway campfire artwork

Camp counselors try to protect their campers from a supernatural evil in this terrifying RPG by Jay Dragon. This game is a wonderful examination of identity and marginalization through the lens of a horror story.

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Like many of the best horror movies, it is using the terrifying to get at feelings and experiences that are all too real. The author includes a host of tools and advice to ensure everyone at the table can engage with the content safely and enjoy the terror that awaits.

1 Tales From The Loop Has Kids Solving Mysteries

things from the flood giant wire creature in winter landscape

Based on the artwork of Swedish illustrator Simon Stålenhag, Tales from the Loop by Free League Publishing is a retro-futuristic game about children solving supernatural mysteries in their town, often stemming from an experimental science facility called The Loop.

The book is filled with Stålenhag's gorgeous artwork, and the system is easy to learn and smooth to play. Tales from the Loop was also adapted into a short television show on Amazon Prime.

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