I've been on the hunt for new indie TTRPGs for a while now, I've played dozens of them with my friends, and I'm looking for some outside of the normal cycle of repeated ideas. I have my own list of games (https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/best-indie-tabletop-rpgs)that I've played a lot and enjoy, but I want to know what you all think.


I love anything that deviates from the normal DnD feel, especially games with unique mechanics that can be adopted elsewhere, like Clocks or Devil's Bargain in Blades in the Dark, or the meta points in Fabula Ultima.


What parts of TTRPGS do you look for? Mechanics? Settings? Just aesthetic?

One that is often overlooked, but is choking full of goodies is Artesia. The mechanics are interesting and very intuitive (D10+bonuses, lots of stats though, which I am personally fine with). Magic feels "real" (curses and incantations), and some serious world building.

Otherwise I am very fond of the "solid" feel of Runequest. It doesn't feel like a set unrelated rules stitched together.

It's fairly D&D-like, but the Dragon Age Roleplaying Game is an interesting game. It's got stunt tables, so whenever you roll a particular way you get points you can use to do different things in combat. So you could move an opponent, deal more damage, get a bonus to defense, etc. There are even stunt points for roleplaying and exploration. It's also not a neat way for spellcasting that combines mana points and rolling for spell success.

Another one I recommend is Mothership. It's a generic horror-in-space style of game, and while it doesn't do anything in particular, it works really well as a bit of a wildcard for just about any setting you come up with. It's perfect for shorter campaigns based around a single idea.

As for what I like in a roleplaying game, I usually go for mechanics and the aesthetic. Nothing too complicated, but nothing too basic; I want to play a game after all. I also tend to try to fill in game genres, rather than look for different mechanics. I know it sounds lame, but besides Dragon Age, D&D is my go to fantasy game. It's what I like, and it covers most fantasy settings. Then if I want to play a Cyberpunk genre, I play Cyberpunk 2020. Sure, I don't expand me horizons as much, but I have a stronger grasp on the rulesets I do play.

A perennial favorite of mine is Traveller.  I have currently been using Cepheus Engine variants to run games.  Hostile is excellent for the 80s style gritty scifi and I've been using it to run a cyberpunk game.  The last fantasy game I ran I used Sword of Cepheus and that worked vary well. 

I really like the WEG Star Wars RPG.  The Open D6 system is a great place to start for more high adventure and lower risk games.

Finally, I really like ICRPG and have recommended it on this forum more than once.  It's great to run with kids.  It also has a lot of little innovations that you can adapt to other games.

Currently experimenting with Traveller 5 - I have long favored the MegaTraveller rules and T5 feels hyper technical in comparison, but it covers a lot of ground. I tend to run a Third Imperium game but with a feel that combines the aristocratic intrigues of EC Tubb's Dumarest saga's worlds and the grittiness and shitiness of the Alien universe or The Expanse novels - so my Third Imperium is more like the dysfunctional version of the early Marc Miller adventures than the overworked version of the Third Imperium in later Traveller. T5 has been good for that type of game so far.

Currently running the Dolmenwood setting. Can't say I necessarily recommend the system. It's just OSE with a new paint job, and you either like that or not.

What I do recommend as a system is Dragon Warriors, which I ran a campaign of last year. It's an old school game structurally similar to classic D&D, but with a number of mechanical differences, most (but not all) of which I regard as direct improvements.

https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/90926/Dragon-Warriors

I tend to initially check RPGs out based on the setting/tone, but if I don't care for the mechanics they get shelved pretty quickly. What I'm ultimately looking for is games that will allow me to run different types of campaign from what D&D and it's derivatives tend to produce.

The problem is that I own tons of independent games, and don't really have time to run more than one campaign at a time. What I'm hoping to do in the near future is start up a rotating series of mini-campaigns to kick the tires on some of these games I have on my shelves. Here are some of the current candidates and why:

Warlock!: A skill-based low fantasy game, sometimes described as a mashup of Advanced Fighting Fantasy and 1st edition WFRP. I expect it would be a strong option for running "street-level" fantasy campaigns, with more investigation and intriguing than dungeon crawling.
https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/383512/Warlock-Traitors-Edition

Against the Darkmaster: A semi-retroclone of Rolemaster/MERP. I like the implied setting and I'm curious to see how its stripped-down version of the Rolemaster system behaves in play. Potentially offers a bit of extra tactical depth, but I'm not sure how clunky it'd be.
https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/329319/against-the-darkmaster-core-rules

Elfking the Immortal: A D10 based game I just bought on a whim. I've been looking for a while for a game that can run a very high fantasy campaign without devolving into incoherence and bloat, and this one has some interesting ideas for it.
https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/446616/elfking-the-immortal-roleplaying-game-core-rulebook-revised-edition

Shadow of the Demon Lord: Just looks like a solid all-around fantasy adventure game. It's been sitting on my shelf for a couple years and I still haven't gotten around to trying it.
https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/155572/shadow-of-the-demon-lord

I'm into obscure dead IPs that don't have communities and which are often difficult to acquire because they're out of print. Fuck copyright law.

So, no fantasy games on my list.  They're fine, but also done to death. 

1.  Mini-Six Bare Bones.  It's probably the best version of Star Wars D6 rules, fixing three big issues I had with Star Wars.  The combat sequence, the Hero Point being too powerful when used, and wild die being in play too much. 

2.  Warbirds.  I like planes, so a dieselpunk game centered around mercenary fighter pilots on flying aircraft carriers appeals to me. 

3.  Tiny D6 Supers.  It's probably the easiest way to play super heroes there is.  Also, the system works, but not for their fantasy game.  It's why I suggest Supers.  The Fantasy game has no rules for armor and a vague magic system.   I also recommend getting the Fallen Justice add-on for more "Batman" style character options. 

4.  Jovian Chronicles.  It's as close to a Gundam RPG as you can get.  Maybe better as it has more factions and uses the whole solar system instead of just Earth orbit. 

I am into a bunch of different games:


1) For Fantasy:  Old School Essentials (OSE)  https://necroticgnome.com/

2) For roaring 20's/30s:   Gangbusters 3rd Edition (Out of print)

3) For Mecha I use the Mecha RPG I wrote some time ago.  Its gone through many revisions as it has been heavily playtested and improved

4) For everything else:  Savage Worlds which is a generic rpg that has many great settings:   http://www.peginc.com

My favorites are still 1e AD&D, Classic '81 Traveller, 1e Warhammer Fantasy RP, and pre-7e Call of Cthulhu.

I like 2e "Classic" Runequest, 1e->3e Stormbringer, 1e Gamma World / Metamorphosis Alpha, and FASA Star Trek.

I will play 2e Fading Suns, 1e Cyberpunk, and Rogue Trader, but I'm not fond of those systems.

I'm interested in Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Jags Wonderland, 4e (original) Hackmaster, 1e Prime Directive, Age of Shadow, Warbirds, Zaibatsu, Dragon Lines, The Celestial Empire, Thieves Guild and Ghastly Affair. I'd also like to give one of the swashbuckler games a try, but haven't settled on a system yet (I bought the likely contenders).

Honestly I dislike learning new rules. I like Steve Perrin's whole Basic Roleplaying system, so I'd probably use that to make custom games for settings.

But who am I kidding? I won't get to play most of these, there aren't enough hours in the day!

Quote from: Baron on December 17, 2023, 06:56:15 PM
My favorites are still 1e AD&D, Classic '81 Traveller, 1e Warhammer Fantasy RP, and pre-7e Call of Cthulhu.

I like 2e "Classic" Runequest, 1e->3e Stormbringer, 1e Gamma World / Metamorphosis Alpha, and FASA Star Trek.

I will play 2e Fading Suns, 1e Cyberpunk, and Rogue Trader, but I'm not fond of those systems.

I'm interested in Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Jags Wonderland, 4e (original) Hackmaster, 1e Prime Directive, Age of Shadow, Warbirds, Zaibatsu, Dragon Lines, The Celestial Empire, Thieves Guild and Ghastly Affair. I'd also like to give one of the swashbuckler games a try, but haven't settled on a system yet (I bought the likely contenders).

Honestly I dislike learning new rules. I like Steve Perrin's whole Basic Roleplaying system, so I'd probably use that to make custom games for settings.

But who am I kidding? I won't get to play most of these, there aren't enough hours in the day!

You play Cyberpunk 2013?

Sure. I've only played 2013 and Red. But I still want to give Zaibatsu a try, since I'm a Traveller fan.

Quote from: Baron on December 17, 2023, 07:44:31 PM
Sure. I've only played 2013 and Red. But I still want to give Zaibatsu a try, since I'm a Traveller fan.

I was being an ass.  I assume you're a fan of Cyberpunk 2020, as am I.  I have a couple of the 2013 books but they are mostly just collector's items at this point.

Zaibatsu is excellent.  The 2d6 system of Traveller is fairly intuitive for most players and it's married up to some really nice OC for the game.  If you're looking for a modern Cyberpunk game, I would also nudge you to take a peek at Neon Blood before you commit.  I was very impressed with how they use the core d20 system and make it really feel like Cyberpunk.  Either way, I think you'll have a great game for your table.

1) The One Ring 2e - my current go to game
2) Call of Cthulhu - although Chaosium won't see another penny from me due to their woke ideologies
3) Forbidden Lands - absolutely love this game and world
4) Traveller 5 - a little crunch heavy, but enjoying it with just the Core rules, Central Supply Catalogue and book for the sector you play in
5) Dolmenwood - not out yet, but will be played a fair bit I think

Honourable mention: Coriolis for a game on my shelf I have yet to play but love the system, setting and looks fun.

Wishlist to play or run: Shadows of Esteren (been sitting on my shelf unrun for what feels like a decade), Scum and Villainy (a neat FitD game).

The only game I am running right now is 5e.  I have three ongoing 5e campaigns.  I used to run quite a bit of Call of Cthulhu but it was becoming increasingly difficult to get reliable players for it.  I may go back to it in the future.  I have a ton of games I would like to run but I don't have the time or players to do it.  I might run a short Dragonbane campaign after the holidays are over.